Entrepreneurship and Business Law LL.M. Program

LLM Mountain View

Colorado Law enjoys gifted teachers in core business law subjects such as Corporations, Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Taxation. Our permanent faculty has significant experience in the both the transactional and litigation practices of some of the country鈥檚 preeminent law firms. They also engage in cutting-edge research, which enriches their classroom teaching.

Students benefit from the law school鈥檚 particular focus on entrepreneurship. Boulder is the epicenter of one of the nation鈥檚 most dynamic startup regions. The reported Boulder as the number 1 city in the United States for startups followed by Fort Collins, which is less than 45 minutes away. Denver, only 30 minutes away, and two other cities within a two hour drive of Boulder, also placed in the top 10. The region abounds in startups in software, energy, aerospace, green technology, health care, telecom, bioscience, outdoor sports equipment, and food.

The law school is at the hub of the Boulder startup scene, with the hosting weekly events for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, technologists, and policymakers. Colorado Law鈥檚 innovative entrepreneurial law program lets students take advantage of all of these resources and connects them with a network of entrepreneurs, lawyers, and thinkers. Students benefit from the talented venture capitalists and startup lawyers who teach in our classrooms.

We seek to build students' 鈥渢ransactional IQ.鈥 Our business law curriculum features an innovative approach to integrating traditional doctrinal and experiential learning. Students can take traditional courses, such as Securities Regulation or Mergers and Acquisitions. They can then take follow-on Deals Lab courses in these areas (such as Deals Lab: Securities or Deals Lab: M&A), in which students engage in extensive drafting, counseling, and negotiation simulations.

Further, Colorado Law students often engage with entrepreneurship programs offered across campus. For example, the Deming Center Venture Fund (DCVF)听 provides an opportunity for law, engineering, and business graduate students to make angel investments into local companies. And the is the world鈥檚 largest venture capital competition with over 70 universities competing.

Students interested in policy can learn how to create the next innovation and startup hub like Boulder.

Entrepreneurship and Business Law LL.M.

Curriculum Resources and Programming Faculty Learn from our LL.M. Alumni
Curriculum

General Degree Requirements:听All LLM students are required to complete a minimum of 24 credits for degree completion and conferral.听 LLM students with a non-US JD are required to complete the following two-credit courses in the fall semester.听 LLM students with a first degree in law from a common law country are eligible to waive either course:

  1. Intro to US Law for LLM Students, 2-Credits
  2. Intro to US Legal Practice: Legal Writing, Research and Analysis, 2-Credits

Concentration Requirements:听To earn an LL.M. degree in this concentration, students must complete听16 credits in courses in entrepreneurship and business law.

  1. At least 12 of these 16 credits, must come from the following list of 鈥渃ore鈥 courses:
    • , 3-Credits
    • Bankruptcy, 3-Credits
    • , 4-Credits
    • , 3-Credits
    • Entrepreneurial Law Clinic,
    • , 3-Credits
    • , 3-Credits
    • , 3-Credits
    • Seminar: Tax Law, Economics, and Policy, 2-Credits听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听
    • and Private Equity, 3-Credits 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听
  2. At least 4 other credits in courses designated by the Faculty Director of the LL.M. program as entrepreneurship and business law courses.听 The following courses will automatically qualify for this requirement:

Thesis Option:听Students shall have the option to complete a thesis, which will require the student to complete a substantial written research work.听This will typically be conducted in conjunction with a seminar in this field.

Other Courses and Extracurriculars:听With the consent of the Faculty Director of the LL.M. program, students can earn credit towards the 4 credit elective requirement via:

  • one听competition in this field (such as the Transactional Meet); or
  • one course in another campus department, such as the Leeds School of Business.

Students are encouraged to participate in other non-credit extracurricular activities such as the听New Venture Challenge and programs from Colorado Law鈥檚听.

***Curricular requirements and course availability can and will vary and are subject to change. Semesterly course offerings are dynamic and can be cross referenced here.***

Student Organizations

  • Construction and Real Estate Law Association
  • Intellectual Property Association
  • Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot
  • Silicon Flatirons Student Group
  • Sports and Entertainment Law Association
  • Society for Work, Employment, and Labor Law

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, Entrepreneurship and Business Law LL.M. Faculty Advisor

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Entrepreneurship & Business Law - LLM Quotes

Brad Bernthal

鈥淏oulder has a world-class startup scene. What鈥檚 unique is that this startup community regularly convenes at the law school. If you want to meet entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and learn to use legal tools to help innovators, Colorado Law is the place to do it.鈥

Brad Bernthal
Associate Professor

Jason Mendelson

鈥淭eaching the Venture Capital course at Colorado Law energizes me. Our program produces leaders in entrepreneurial law and the innovation community. And the law school serves the intellectual hub of Boulder鈥檚 startup community. We want more international scholars and students to join us in Boulder. International participants diversify and enrich our innovation ecosystem.鈥

Jason Mendelson
Managing Director, Foundry Group
Adjunct Professor

Erik Gerding

鈥淢uch of my eight years of law firm practice in New York and Washington, D.C. focused on cross-border transactions. I worked extensively with clients and local law firms in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. LLM students interested in transactional law need not only the bread-and-butter U.S. business law courses but the transactional IQ that our curriculum provides as well. Our students don鈥檛 just learn about court cases involving deals, they also learn how transactional lawyers put deals together.鈥

Erik F. Gerding
Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs