LL.M. CONCENTRATION IN INTERNATIONAL FINANCE

For the tenth year, Harvard Law School is offering its LL.M. students the opportunity to take a specially designed series of courses in a single concentration: international finance. 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 Professor Hal S. Scott, the Director of the Concentration. The course sequence and seminar will link students who share a common interest.

Supporting participants in the Concentration will be the Program on International Financial Systems (PIFS), directed by Prof. 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. For more information on PIFS, please see below:

PIFS Description (pdf)
http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/pifs

A description of the concentration seminar (course number 95810) can be found in the Preliminary Registration Bulletin (the Bulletin), available on line at: http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/registrar/Bulletin/bindex.htm. The 2-credit seminar requires a paper. Students choosing to write a Long (75-100 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. Many of these papers have been published and have made major contributions to the field.

Prominent speakers give Guest Lectures at the Seminar. Last year the speakers included Sir Callum McCarthy, Chairman of the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority and William Donaldson, former Chairman of the SEC. In the coming year, we expect the speakers to include Christopher Cox, current Chairman of the SEC and Clara Furse, the CEO of the London Stock Exchange.

In addition to the International Finance seminar, students participating in the Concentration must also complete the following course of study during the year:

Capital Market Regulation (Spring) (2 credits) (Scott and Glauber)

Securities Regulation (Fall or Winter) (3 credits) (Scott or Ferrell)

International Finance (Spring) (3 credits) (Scott)

We recommend that students take one more course at the Law School, or possibly elsewhere at Harvard, that is financial or related to finance. 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 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. Participation in the Concentration will satisfy the "primary" course requirement for international students. 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 Profs. 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 the last week of July 2008. 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 and return a normal Course Selection Form, if you have not done so already. A briefing about the Concentration will take place early in the week of August 28, 2008. Applications will be accepted up until August 31, 2008. Decisions as to admission to the Concentration will be announced Monday, September 1, 2008.

International Finance Concentration Application Form (pdf)

Established by the Program on International Financial Systems at Harvard Law School. The prize, awarded annually, provides $2,500 for the best paper written in that particular academic year in the Seminar on International Finance.
 

Select Papers from the Seminar in International Finance

IF-LL.M. Concentration Students

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Guest Lecture Series of the International Finance Seminar

Upcoming seminar speakers for the 2006-07 academic year include:

Past speakers* include:

*Titles represent the position held at the time of the seminar lecture.