Transactional Skills

This course focuses on the development of skills used by lawyers in connection with transactions, as opposed to controversies. It should appeal to a wide range of students because virtually all lawyers will be required to learn these skills as junior associates or in similar positions, and to use these skills throughout their legal careers. One of the key purposes of the course, therefore, is to give the students a solid head start, and thus a competitive advantage, in achieving success in the early portions of their legal careers. The skills developed in the course are broadly applicable to a corporate lawyer drafting a merger agreement, a tax lawyer preparing a tax sharing agreement, a lawyer for a government entity or community organization negotiating a settlement agreement or consent decree, a domestic relations lawyer negotiating a property settlement, or a litigator preparing a settlement agreement in a business matter. The class will provide substantive knowledge as well as practical training and insights. In addition, the ability to work in teams is a vital skill for lawyers. Students in this course will have many opportunities to work in teams in the course's written assignments and presentations.

Students may take either this course or Law 763. Contract Drafting, but not both.