Business and Transactional Law Certificate

Students who desire to concentrate their elective and extracurricular courses of study on the general areas of business and transactional law can seek a Certificate in Business and Transactional Law. The Certificate is an acknowledgment by the Faculty that the student has successfully completed a focused course of study to expand his or her knowledge in business law while developing essential skills of the transactional lawyer. With the approval of the Certificate Advisor the Certificate can include, when appropriate, a designation stating a single area of concentration, such as: "Corporate Law," "Real Estate Law," or other descriptive designation.

Course of Study

Required Course. Business Associations (LW 703, 4 hours)

Optional Curriculum Courses. 12 credit hours selected from the courses listed on the chart below. Unless the appropriate certificate advisor approves a different mix of courses, of the twelve required elective credits, a minimum of six must be earned in courses taught by full-time faculty. Externship credits will not count towards the six-credit minimum, and no more than three externship credits will count towards the twelve-credit elective requirement.

Extracurricular Course of Study. 500 minutes of extracurricular programming sponsored by the Business and Transactional Law Center or any student organization presenting a program supported by the Center, to include Washburn's Business Law Society, Real Estate Law Society, and the Tax and Estate Planning Association. At least 300 of the 500 minutes must be earned at Center-sponsored programs.

Writing Requirement:

Complete the upper level writing requirement (or equivalent writing project) on a pre-approved Business and Transactional Law topic. Students may satisfy the Certificate writing requirement through Directed Research (LW763) or an alternative writing opportunity approved in advance by the student's certificate advisor. Students must receive a grade of "B" or better on the paper they submit to satisfy the writing requirement.

General Requirements:

Students interested in pursuing a Business and Transactional Law Certificate must first meet with a faculty member administering the program (Professor Pierce or Professor Westbrook) to declare their interest and plan their course of study. This must be done prior to completing 40 hours of study. [NOTE: This requirement will be adjusted to accommodate students who have completed 40 hours but desire to pursue this new Certificate opportunity.] Following the meeting the faculty member and student will complete a "Meeting Summary" in which the faculty member who will serve as the Student's Certificate Advisor will be identified.

The student must complete 90 hours of total law school credit and achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in the 16 hours of courses selected by the student to meet the Certificate requirements. Students who obtain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 for courses used to satisfy their Certificate requirements will be awarded the Certificate in Business and Transactional Law (with distinction).

Optional Curriculum Courses

The following courses, if taken prior to Fall 2009, will meet the Optional Curriculum Courses component for the Business and Transactional Law Certificate:

Approved by the faculty: October 2006; revised: October 29, 2007; revised: December 2007; revised: October 20, 2008; revised: March 2, 2009; revised: March 14, 2009; revised: November 9, 2009; revised: August 19, 2010; revised: October 11, 2010; revised: May 3, 2011.