Business & Finance Law

Business and finance law has long been a core area of study and research at GW Law, and we offer an integrated and intensive program for the study of the laws governing economic and financial markets and institutions and the legal contexts for business and entrepreneurship.

Last decade's financial crisis reinforced the importance of GW’s home city of Washington, DC as one of the world’s major centers of gravity for business and finance, and the study of business and finance law at GW Law combines our Washington location with close contacts and significant activity in New York, including our GW in New York program for select JD students.

GW Law takes the view that legal policy, economic policy, financial policy, and public policy will be well served by integrating such fields as corporate law and finance, securities regulation, banking law, tax, bankruptcy law, market regulation, commercial law, comparative economic and financial law, accounting, and innovation-driven entrepreneurship.

The LLM in Business and Finance Law is a vital part of this program. It highlights GW Law’s unique strengths, which include an expert faculty, an extensive curriculum, and access to both the Washington and international regulatory communities, as well as important links to the New York and international financial markets. GW Law has ongoing and in-depth relationships with regulators, business leaders and scholars both domestically and abroad (a few examples being China, Korea, and India).

GW Law's full-time faculty members have authored books and articles in the areas of business and finance that number well into the hundreds. Their opinions are welcomed by some of the world’s most respected news outlets. Its adjunct faculty includes experienced private practitioners and seasoned general counsel, as well as a large number of distinguished regulators and judges. GW Law prides itself on the credentials, enthusiasm, accessibility and excellence of each and every one of its teachers.

The business and finance curriculum at GW Law is both rich and diverse. Thus, courses available to candidates for the LLM in Business and Finance Law include everything necessary to master the basics of the field and go well beyond. There are, for instance, courses supporting concentrations in such fields as commercial law, corporate law, securities regulation, finance, tax, and international business and trade. Moreover, students are welcome to design a curriculum suiting their own interests and career plans, and will find an array of offerings allowing them to do so.

GW Law's location in Washington, DC is a critical asset to those interested in business and finance. The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and dozens of other government authorities, associations, organizations and think tanks committed to the regulation and study of financial markets, all are nearby.  Coupled with the interest and involvement of the faculty, this creates numerous opportunities for learning and networking outside the classroom. Three of the major areas of thematic emphasis connecting recent speaker and other event programs have been: (1) global finance and stability, (2) innovation-driven entrepreneurship, and (3) business leadership and judgment.