International Trade and Finance Certificate

Overview

The International Trade and Finance Certificate permits KU Law students to specialize their studies in the areas of international trade, international business and international finance, and to obtain a certificate reflecting that specialization.

The International Trade and Finance Certificate is designed to serve the following purposes:

1. to assist KU Law students in preparing for the increasingly global practice of law, and in particular to emphasize the business nature of that practice; and
2. to give KU Law graduates a competitive advantage in the employment market.

Certificate Requirements

Students who intend to pursue a certificate program should complete the Declaration Form. The form deadline for your intention to pursue a certificate is November 1st of your 3L year, though you may certainly do so at an earlier point. If you fail to meet the requirements of the certificate by the time you graduate, you will not earn the certificate.

In addition to all other J.D. degree requirements, students must complete the requirements below to earn the International Trade and Finance Certificate.

Core Courses

Three fundamental courses dealing with international trade, commerce and investment:

• International Commerce and Investment
• International Trade Law
• Advanced International Trade Law

In any academic year in which one of the Core Courses is not offered, a candidate for the Certificate may, upon approval of the Director of the Certificate Program (or, in their absence, the Associate Dean for Graduate and International Law), substitute a course offered by KU Law School or another professional or graduate unit of KU. The substitute course should have sufficient coverage of topics related to international trade, commerce, investment, finance and/or tax issues.

International Finance and Economics Courses

At least two courses, for at least 5 credits, from the following list:

• Accounting for Lawyers
• Business Planning Seminar
• Corporate Finance
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Real Estate Finance
• Securities Regulation
• Taxation of Business Enterprises
• Or a course in International Finance, Portfolio Management, International Tax, Financial Law, International Banking Law or International Securities Regulation offered by the School of Business or the Department of Economics, with director's approval.

Business Sector Course

One course on legal issues pertaining to a specific sector of the American economy, or to a specific sector or sectors in a region of the world (e.g., energy in the Middle East):

• Antitrust Law
• Biolaw
• Copyright Law in a Digital Age
• Elections and Campaign Finance
• Energy Law & Policy
• Health Law and Policy
• Higher Education and the Law Seminar
• Intellectual Property
• Media and the First Amendment
• Oil and Gas 
• Patent Law
• Special Topics course (with approval of the certificate director)
• Water Law
• A course on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Trade and/or Electronic Commerce

Comparative and Public International Law Course

At least one course for a total of 3 credits in comparative law or international law. This course is complementary to the core courses in that it deals with legal issues from the perspective of a foreign legal system, an Indigenous legal system or the international legal system. International Trade and Finance is practiced in jurisdictions reflecting all the major legal traditions, as well as in the context of the international legal system, so it is important to develop in an American law school some facility with such other legal systems.

• Comparative Law
• Federal Indian Law
• Human Rights Law
• Immigration Law
• International Law and Literature
• Islamic Law
• Public International Law
• The Law of War
• Any other course focusing on a comparative dimension of a field of law, including Comparative Constitutional Law, Tax Law or the legal system of another country, region, culture or religion with permission of the director (or in their absence, the Associate Dean for Graduate and International Law). Courses from ABA-approved summer programs can be submitted for approval.

Course descriptions

Requests to deviate from these requirements may be granted by the director of the certificate program in instances of life circumstances, scheduling conflicts or other pressing reasons.