LL.M. Concentration - International Finance

For the fifteenth year, Harvard Law School is offering its LL.M. students the opportunity to take a specially designed series of courses in international finance.  The Concentration is led by Professors Howell Jackson and Hal Scott.  Students successfully completing the concentration will receive a transcript notation to that effect.

The subject of international finance is increasingly important to lawyers given the growing globalization of financial markets.  The sequence of courses will give students the background they need for a specialized practice or policy making role in the field.  The concentration will be organized around a year-long 2-credit seminar in International Finance, taught by Professors Howell Jackson and Hal Scott.  The seminar will explore issues of current interest in the field, and will also include a series of outside speakers from government, practice and industry.  

Supporting participants in the concentration will be the Program on International Financial Systems (PIFS), directed by Professor Hal Scott.  PIFS conducts the highest quality international research, provides an international forum for exchange of ideas, gives public policy advice to governments, and educates international lawyers.  Some opportunities to work as research assistants with PIFS may be available to students in the concentration.  More information on PIFS can be found on the Program website.

A description of the concentration seminar (course number 95810A) can be found in the electronic Course Catalog, available here.

The 2-credit seminar requires a paper.  Students choosing to write a Long (approximately 75 pp.) LL.M. Paper in conjunction with the seminar will receive a total of 4 credits: 2 for the seminar and 2 for the LL.M. Paper.  Students may also opt to write a 50-Page Paper for a total of 3 credits: 2 for the seminar and 1 for the Paper.  

In addition to the International Finance seminar, students participating in the concentration are required to take the following course of study in addition to the year-long seminar:

Regulation of Financial Institutions  (fall, Visiting Assistant Prof. Ricks, 3 credits)                     

Securities Regulation  (fall, Mr. Stern, 3 credits)

International Finance  (spring, Prof. Scott, 3 credits)

Capital Markets Regulation (spring, Prof. Scott and Prof. Glauber, 1 credit)

We recommend that students take one more course related to international finance at the Law School or possibly elsewhere at Harvard.  We consider many second and third year courses at the Law School to be appropriate.  These include corporate finance, commercial law, bankruptcy/reorganization, trade law, certain courses on international law, certain tax courses, some law and economics courses, courses on financial regulation, and comparable courses elsewhere at the University.  Students are encouraged to take at least one course outside the finance area.  Concentration participants may use Securities Regulation to satisfy the “core” course requirement for the LL.M. degree.  Students also should ensure that they satisfy all other requirements for the LL.M. degree.

Admission to the seminar and the Concentration will be granted only with the permission of Professors Jackson and Scott.  If you are interested in pursuing this Concentration, you are encouraged to complete and return the attached Application Form to the Graduate Program office by July 25, 2011.  Please note that submitting an application does not obligate you to participate in the Concentration if you are accepted.  The Application Form requires you to provide to the Concentration directors a copy of your application to the LL.M. Program.  Since admittance to the Concentration is not guaranteed, you must also complete the regular course selection process.  A briefing about the Concentration will take place during Orientation; students are encouraged to attend that session regardless of whether they have submitted an application.  Decisions as to admission to the Concentration will be announced by no later than September 9, 2011.

International Finance Concentration application form. (DOC)

Fidelity Guest Lecture Series

2012-2013 Speakers

Jeffrey Solomon, CEO, Cowan Group
Ways in which seemingly well intended, disconnected regulations have adversely impacted capital formation in America, with focus on improving public market regulation for small issuers.

Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director, IMF
A Changing Sovereign Bond Market in a Changing World.

Adam Cooper,  Chief Legal Officer, Citadel
Central Clearing of OTC Derivatives: Policy Rationale, Implementation Progress, and the Road Ahead

Gary Gensler, Chairman, CFTC
What the CFTC is doing to bring reform to the swaps market and the situation regarding

Previous Speakers

Til Schuermann, Senior Economist, Banking Studies Function, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Topic: "The limits of financial re-intermediation or banks as liquidity providers of second to last resort"

Pierre Cailleteau, Managing Director of Lazard International and a member of Lazard's Sovereign Advisory Group, Lazard Frères Banque
Topic: "Sovereign Debt Distress in the Eurozone: Terminal Illness or Teething Pain?"

Sean Hagan, General Counsel and Director, Legal Department International Monetary Fund
Topic: "Role of the IMF in the Prevention and Resolution of Financial Crises"

Michael Taylor Adviser to the Governor, Central Bank of Bahrain
Topic: "Regulatory Reform after the Financial Crisis: Twin Peaks Revisited"

Arturo Porzecanski, Distinguished Economist-in-Residence, American University
Topic: “When Bad Things Happen to Good Sovereign Debt Contracts”

Eva Huepkes, Head of Regulation, Swiss Federal Banking Commission
Topic: “The Financial Stability Board and Its Role in the International Financial Architecture”