Pick your courses thoughtfully (and consider cross-registering)

If you don't plan to actually practice law at all

If you don’t intend to practice law at all, you might want to consider taking classes that will expose you to types of analysis and information that will be particularly hard to get outside of the law school context, and which can help provide you with an unusual set of perspectives and knowledge. (E.g., perhaps explore legal theory, comparative law, legal history, or regulatory courses which teach you the background structure of industries that particularly interest you.)

  • Advice from an HLS grad who is currently a Managing Director at a major investment bank

    “You don’t need to focus solely on business-oriented courses during your time at HLS, to have a successful career in business. Courses that stretch your mind and teach you a new way of thinking can ultimately serve you very well in business… taking business-focused courses is certainly one way to go about it, but definitely not the only way, and not necessary.”

If you plan to be a corporate lawyer, at least for a while

If you, like the vast majority of HLS graduates, plan to practice corporate law for at least some period of time after you graduate, then you should do at least some coursework that will directly prepare you to work on legal issues for large corporations.

  • Doctrinal foundations
    In addition to doctrinal courses, there are a handful of HLS courses that focus more on the strategic, financial, or operational aspects of corporate law, including course like Business Strategy for Lawyers, Analytical Methods, and Professional Services. Keep an eye out as the law school continues to expand its offerings in this area.
  • Business strategy, financial analysis, management skills

    You should at minimum take at least some of the foundational courses like Corporations, Taxation, Securities Regulation, M&A, Antitrust, Bankruptcy, etc. In many of these topic areas, more advanced courses are also available.

  • Negotiation skills

    The ability to negotiate and communicate effectively is a critical skill for any corporate lawyer, and also for virtually any business role. The law school offers a variety of negotiation courses, usually including the following: Negotiation Workshop, Deal Design, International Negotiation, Dealing with Emotions, Mediation, and Dispute Systems Design. (Exact course offerings may vary from year to year.)

    (IMPORTANT NOTE about the Negotiation Workshop: The Negotiation Workshop is only open to small number of 1Ls, as a spring elective, and you need to apply in the fall to be considered. If you are interested in taking a number of negotiation courses during your time at the law school, we highly recommend that you try to take the Workshop during your 1L spring, if you can.)

    Several of these courses offer opportunities to serve as a paid Teaching Assistant, which can be both an excellent learning experience and also a way to make some money while you are in school. (Typically, you need to take the course first, before you can apply for a TA position.)

    There are also a number of clinical credit and extracurricular opportunities for practicing negotiation skills in a hands-on way, including:

  • Cross-registration

    HLS allows students to cross-register for a certain number of credits per year, at other Harvard schools, including the Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Business School. See the HLS cross-registration website for more information.

    The forms and deadlines can be a bit complicated to manage: Pay close attention to the administrative requirements, get started early (the schools often operate on different schedules), and be aware that some classes at other schools, especially the business school, might be hard to get into, or available on a lottery basis only for cross-registrants. Talk to current HALB members for advice on good courses to take at other schools.