JSD/LLM/MLS Course

This is not a complete list of all the required courses. Additional courses will be developed and added according to the students’ interests of study and according to their specific professional needs.

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Required courses for the Doctor of Juridical Science, Master of Laws and Master of Legal studies are listed below. This is not a complete list of all the required courses. Additional courses will be developed and added according to the students’ interests of study and according to their specific professional needs.

LAW 8000 Individual Income Taxation 3

U.S. Tax introduces the fundamentals of US federal income tax applicable to individual taxpayers. Issues include an overview of the federal tax system; gross income, inclusions and exclusions; identity of the proper taxpayer; concepts and categories of deductions; basic timing principles; tax credits; and the tax aspects of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of property.

LAW 8005 Advanced Income Taxation 3

Advanced Income Taxation addresses the federal income tax aspects of deferred payment transactions and like-kind exchanges, as well as the design and operation of employee benefit plans such as qualified pension and profit-sharing plans, non-qualified plans, and taxation of plan distributions. The part of the course focuses on tax accounting issues.

LAW 8010 Civil Tax Procedure 3

An advanced course in tax procedure that addresses the structure of the US tax system; the IRS and other tax collection and enforcement agencies; administrative and judicial tribunals with jurisdiction; dealing with audits; administrative rulings; assessment of deficiencies and penalties; closing agreements; tax liens; statutes of limitation; claims for refund; hearings before the IRS Appeals Office, and civil and criminal aspects of tax fraud; ethical issues in engagement acceptance; confidentiality and the attorney-client evidentiary privilege; conflicts of interest; and tax shelters.

LAW 8015 International Taxation I & II 6

US-International Tax is a United States oriented course rather than a global tax course. The emphasis is upon the federal taxation of (1) the U.S.-related income of nonresident aliens and foreign corporations, and (2) the foreign-related income of U.S. taxpayers. Topics include taxation of outbound and inbound expatriates; the source of income and expense allocation rules; the concepts of “US trade or business” and “effectively connected income,” and the effect of a tax treaty; the foreign tax credit; Subpart F, PHC, PFIC and other anti-deferral mechanisms; FDAP income and withholding; foreign investment in U.S. real estate and FIRPTA; and the next generation of Foreign Sales Corporations tax preferences.

LAW 8020 Taxation of Business Entities 3

The purpose of this course, Taxation of Business Entities, is to offer students a comprehensive overview of how business entities are taxed including, but not limited to, sole proprietors, partnerships, S-Corporations, C-Corporations and Limited Liability Companies (LLC’s). The course will focus on what type of forms are used by the business entities for federal taxing purposes. For example, the Schedule-C is used by sole proprietors, the Form 1065 is used by partnerships, the 1120-S is used by S-Corporations and the Form 1120 is used by C-Corporations.

Finally, the course will focus on which entity type is best to use under certain circumstances; how partnerships cannot be used by single member LLC’s; to use an LLC in lieu of an S-Corporation, a C-Corporation in lieu of an S-Corporation, etc.

LAW 8025 International Tax (offshore) & Financial Services 3

This course examines the effective use of financial centers in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States of America, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and Mauritius in tax planning within global business structures. This course focuses on how to use financial centers as transfer conduits, the use of efficient multinational offshore operations, investments vehicle strategy, re-insurance, and private banking and tax planning and mitigation. Other topics covered include due diligence; offshore business planning structures such as asset protection trusts and MNE holding and investment companies; planning techniques such as back-to-back finance, licensing agreements, cross-border double dip leasing and corporate inversions; comparative regional and jurisdictional analysis; and multinational offshore operations [e.g., treasury management]. Students will be required to research the various tax and regulatory systems and apply rules in foreign countries aimed at problem-solving analysis and finding effective and functional solutions. This course will also focus on cross-border tax planning techniques.

LAW 8030 Ant-money Laundering (AML) 3

This course emphasis will be on both domestic and international anti-money laundering and compliance. The course will focus on case studies, case and statutory analyses, policy and jurisprudential discussions, comparative legal studies, typologies, et.al. Topics will include but not limited to research guidance on anti-Money laundering & compliance – domestic and international configurations; definitions, stages & techniques of money laundering, magnitude and significance of money laundering; money laundering techniques/ typologies, trust companies, insurance company, and investment services; primary and secondary players, gatekeepers, and the global mafias; electronic ML, digital cash and cyber-cash; United States ML and forfeiture law; critiques of ML and forfeiture law; US Patriot Act and critiques of Patriot Act; terrorist financing; and introduction to compliance. The course will also examine FATCA.

LAW 8035 Ant-Avoidance Legislation & Tax Risk Management Program 3

This course focuses on the principles and tax cases that have led to the formulation of anti-avoidance legislation in OECD countries. Particularly, how international tax avoidance schemes are structured and the main components of tax avoidance structures; the difference between tax avoidance, tax planning , and tax evasion; the difference in approach of US and European tax administrations to tax avoidance and tax evasion; judicial doctrines such as” Shams”, “General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR)”, “Substance and Form” , “Step transactions”, “Business purpose test” , “Abuse of law” and the relationships that exist between these concepts; specific anti avoidance legislation including Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) rules, Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) rules, transfer pricing and thin capitalization; OECD Model Double Tax Convention; leading tax cases from US and other OECD countries that have influenced judicial thinking. As well as how tax administrations view attempts to reduce their tax bases and the dangers and pitfalls that are encountered when tax avoidance plans fail; and professional and ethical responsibilities of tax advisors and the risks involved in advising clients and preparing tax avoidance schemes.

LAW 8040 Comparative Tax Law 3

This course introduces the study of comparative tax law. The coverage is broad, focusing on many countries and types of taxes, as well as the general legal framework for tax law and tax procedure. The course emphasis on the income tax and, to a lesser extent, value added tax. The course primary focus is on underlying structural differences in legal systems, including constitutional issues, judicial interpretation of tax laws, judicial and legislative anti-avoidance doctrines, different approaches to defining income, alternative systems for taxing corporations and shareholders, and problem areas in the Value Added Tax (VAT), including international services and e-commerce. Student in this course will have a basic understanding of how to approach foreign tax law, and tools to better understand the tax system in the student’s own country. To enroll in this course, student should have taken or concurrently takes Law 8000 and/or Law 8020.

LAW 8045 International Transfer Pricing I & II 6

This course explains the core concepts of the international transfer pricing framework and within the domestic context; methodologies for determining arm’s length pricing from a managerial and a tax administration perspective; discuss the merits of arm’s length pricing methodologies and latest initiatives in the 2017 OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines (post Base Erosion Profit Shifting guidance); highlights the business value chain and its connection to functional analysis in connection to global strategies; discusses the relationship between transfer pricing and related areas of tax law (e.g., GAAR, customs duty and GST); discusses key domestic and international case law developments in the context of transfer pricing. This course also focuses on key transfer pricing documentation; comparability studies that support pricing outcomes; analyzing statutory and management accounts to detect transfer pricing risks, audit issues and resolution mechanisms. The course will also examine transfer pricing principles in the context of more specific or complex transactions; such as intra-group financing arrangements, business restructurings and services, including digital services.

LAW 8050 Taxation of Investments 3

Taxes impacts entities on all levels, from individuals and small businesses to large corporations. Taxes also affect investment decisions and the value of compensation and benefits received by employees. This course explores tax implications of a variety of common individual and business investment activities. This course seeks to develop a conceptual understanding of the federal income tax system and to provide a framework for integrating income tax planning into the investment decision-making process. This course is designed to help students anticipate the impact of taxation on activities and seek alternatives that maximize the use of pre-tax dollars and the after-tax value.

LAW 8055 International Estate Planning 3

The course is an in-depth study of legal, ethical, and tax issues that arise in the context of estate planning. Student will learn about client expectations and ethical considerations that arise while working with individuals and families to achieve their goals. The course explores initial information and contracts that are relevant to the practice of estate planning, as well as focusses on the probate process, intestacy, methods to avoid probate, and various assets and their transfer rules. Student will learn about incapacity planning and crucial healthcare documents used in estate planning. The course explores gifting and inheritances and will address the gift and estate tax and related income tax issues that arise in the course of planning for individuals and married couples. Student will learn about trusts and other techniques used to achieve the client objectives of minimizing taxes and providing asset protection.

LAW 8060 Introduction to Financial Compliance and Risk Management 3

This is an introductory course that introduces students to the concepts of Risk Management, and the legal foundation framework in financial compliance. This course prepares students for more advanced coursework in financial crimes and law of banking topic areas. This course is MANDATORY.

LAW 8065 Financial Crimes 3

This courses emphasis is on domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing and compliance and, secondly, on bribery and corruption. This course includes comparative studies of foreign anti-money laundering regimes, case studies and policy discussions. The course goals include analyses of the key players and typologies, the complex evolution of the legal regimes and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the legal regimes. The course concludes with a review of the defenses against financial crimes and the resources for researching the problems and defenses.

LAW 8070 Banking and Financial Institutions 3

This course will introduce students to the dual regulatory system governing financial institutions and the history and legal development of financial institutions through today’s technology-driven financial markets and current reforms of the financial system. The course focuses not only large banks and community banks, but also other financial institutions such as thrifts, credit unions, industrial banks, finance companies, money transmitters, payday lenders and mortgage brokers. Topics include the organization and chartering of financial institutions, bank ownership structures and holding companies, restrictions on bank powers, preemption, regulatory examinations, understanding bank financial statements, the Federal Reserve System, the FDIC and OCC, bank mergers and acquisitions, bank failures and receiverships, non-traditional bank activities and products such as the sale of investment securities, insurance products, and derivatives, the Bank Secrecy Act and Patriot Act, and consumer protection laws governing financial institutions.

LAW 8075 Consumer Compliance 3

Consumer financial services regulation is in rapid flux, creating high demand in the marketplace for compliance professionals who are trained in consumer financial services law. The course is designed for attorneys, bankers, and other financial services professionals. This course covers United States regulations on consumer financial services such as mortgage lending, loan servicing, credit and debit cards, Truth in Lending, Equal Credit Opportunity, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and other topics. The course also examines financial institution compliance policies and risk management.

LAW 8080 Securities Law and Compliance 3

This course covers the basic structure and requirements of the federal securities laws, focusing on compliance and liability issues. The course includes the statutory and regulatory framework of the federal securities laws, the mechanics of securities offerings governed by the Securities Act of 1933, as well as compliance with the periodic disclosure requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Specific attention is given to liability issues for violations of the two acts’ regulatory regimes, and to the special responsibilities of securities.

LAW 8085 Asset Management Regulatory Overview 3

Financial planners are a diverse group of investment professionals. This course will introduce students to the regulatory risk and obligations of financial planners, as well as the fiduciary obligations of planners. The course also focuses on the federal and state securities laws that apply to investment professionals and the accompanying risks.

LAW 8090 Introduction to Financial Services and Wealth Management 3

This course introduces wealth management and builds foundations of knowledge in wealth management. This course is designed to prepare students for more advanced course work in asset management and portfolio management.

LAW 8095 High Net Worth Client Planning 3

The wealth management practice is a growing and complex area to compete. Financial institutions, brokerage firms, boutique advisory firms, and individual advisers are all marketing their unique approaches to growing, protecting, and efficiently transferring clients’ wealth to succeeding generations or charitable organizations. Wealth managers must have a solid foundation of wealth principles to understand their client’s challenges and to offer timeless and varied solutions to the client’s situation. The course emphasizes on investment strategies, tax impact analysis, factors affecting retirement plan selection for the family businesses, and intra-family transfer techniques.

LAW 8100 International Trade 3

This course will cover a broad array of relevant topics over a short duration of a semester. As a result, it will emphasize both theoretical (mathematical/analytical) models as well as empirical studies of how well those models fit “real world” data. Further, the course will frequently compare and contrast alternative theories/conceptions of the nature of international trade and the gains or losses thereof. The course will focus on understanding the economic insight behind the technically demanding examples as well as thinking critically about the assumptions behind the theories and how well they fit actual trading economies. This course will offer an opportunity to discuss some of these issues and to use theoretical tools to make sense of the fundamental arguments involved. It is highly improbable to cover all aspects of international trade in class, therefore, the lectures will focus on a “core” of major theoretical models, policy analyses, and empirical studies.

LAW 8105 International Trade, European Regionalism and Trade as Development Policy 3

The course discusses the development of the basis of trade: comparative and absolute advantage, partial and general equilibrium analysis, the Heckscher-Olin model, and intra-industry trade. The course evaluates Heckscher-Ohlin model and explains how a nation should operate and trade when resources are imbalanced throughout the world. The course also explores the determination of the terms of trade, the process of factor price equalization, the implications for winners and losers and government policy. The course will further discuss protectionism, integration, as well as regionalism. The course will discuss the EU in great detail. The discussion will include the topics of broadening vs. deepening, the issue regarding Europe as an optimum currency area (or not), the role of fiscal institutions, the Greek debt crisis, etc. Finally, The course will explore the impact of trade on growth and develop and review development policy as it relates to liberalization and European expansion.

LAW 8110 International Investment 3

The course introduces and reviews the elementary finance tools. It discusses financial system & financial assets — fixed income securities; financial system & financial assets – – equity securities and derivatives, and organization of financial markets and securities trading. The course will focus on explaining the investment management process; reviewing elementary concepts in finance; computing present value or future value of a single cash flow; computing present value of future value of a stream of cash flows; defining an annuity or perpetuity; applying time value of money tools to solve basic mortgage, loan or retirement problems; and explaining the roles of financial markets. The course will also distinguish between real and financial assets; define and explain money market instruments, zero-coupon and coupon- bonds and features; identify the cash flows associated with fixed-income securities; and define and explain bond market features. The course will further explain the roles of corporations, households, government, and financial intermediaries in the financial system. At the completion of the course, students will understand bond valuation, financial markets, and finance investment.

LAW 8115 The Economics of International Trade 3

This course surveys the economics of international trade (both theory and empirics) for students who have a solid background in economics but do not specialize in international trade. This course will investigate why nations trade, what they trade, and who gains from trade. The reviews the history of international exchange and study its effects on economic growth and development. The course will explore a number of timely and topical subjects. After the review of the historical evolution of trade theories, the course will use these frameworks to organize the thinking about such topics as trade and inequality, trade and employment, how large firms affect trading patterns, and how trade has contributed to globalization. At the end of the course student will have a full understanding of how to think about many of the forces affecting modern economies and economic growth.

LAW 8120 International Trade and Politics 3

This course analyses the interdependence that arises from international trade in goods and services. The course covers topics such as the gains from trade, the pattern of trade, the impact of protection, international factor movements, and trade policy. The course further focuses on an in-depth study of the institutions dealing with and regulating trade policy. The objective of the course is to offer students an introduction to the theory of international trade. The course will also cover the most important trade models and will often refer to current issues of international trade politics and globalization. The course will explore among others, questions sch as: Why do countries trade? Does international trade deepen wage inequality? Is growth in emerging economies bad for Western countries? How does trade affect competition? What are the consequences of protectionism? Although the course will emphasize the understanding of past and current events in the world economy, it will heavily rely on formal economic modelling to help us understand these events.

LAW 8125 Thesis 3

This final capstone course is required to graduate and is offered in every Semester. It is an advanced research course in which each student for LLM must write a thesis of between 12,500 and 25,000 words with a minimum of ten independent sources and 100 footnotes; and each student for JSD must write a dissertation between 50,500 and 80,000 words with a minimum of one hundred and forty independent sources and 150 footnotes, under faculty supervision. The thesis or the dissertation topic is chosen by the student, subject to approval by the professor. JSD students must also defend the dissertation which the University shall coordinate for time and platform. The student is encouraged to publish the thesis or dissertation after completing the course. The thesis/dissertation tests the student’s ability to independently identify the issue, address a research methodology for the issue, create an outline, think laterally but improve on the relevant, as well as to produce an article of professional quality. During the course, students will learn advanced research techniques and participate in workshops in which they receive feedback both from the instructor and from other students, including doctoral candidates.

DOC 8150 Introduction to Doctoral Studies 1

The course offers students an opportunity to obtain information that clarifies the structure and assessment process for the research program. The course gives the students an introduction to doctoral study, the doctoral faculty, doctoral program support staff, and the doctoral program. The overall curriculum covers topics such as library resources, database searching strategies, and the most current tools for bibliographic referencing, along with the partnership mentor program, portfolio guidelines, and professional standards in assessment.

DOC 8160 Teaching and Training Course 3

Teacher training course will help you acquire the skills you need if you plan to teach. The course covers transferable skills such as team building, time management, presentation skills and cross-cultural awareness that will help you achieve a qualified teacher status. The course provides aspiring teachers with well guided experiences in pre-K through eighth-grade classrooms where practice and theory merge masterly.

DOC 8170 Practice/Practicum 3

The course provides the student with the opportunity to integrate advanced skills in his or her profession and measure the importance of interpersonal communication skills with others. The aim of this course is to enable students to achieve the national competency standards for the beginning of a fruitful career. As an integral part of the curriculum the students will evaluate the ethical standards and record keeping of patient information, including the reporting of clinical information.

DOC 8180 Research Methods, Design and Analysis 3

Using theoretical underpinnings to begin to critically review literature relevant to their field the students will opportunity to establish or advance their understanding of research through critical exploration of research language, ethics, and approaches. By examining the applications, strengths and major criticisms of methodologies drawn from both the qualitative and quantitative traditions, this course permits an understanding of the various decisions and steps involved in crafting (and executing) a research methodology and will work through the course as part of a group, interacting with other learners.

DOC 8090 Strategic planning: Team Coordination, Cooperation and Collaboration 3

The course will improve your knowledge of strategic planning to understand what senior management is thinking and why and increase your value to your organization. Major part of the course discusses how participants can question an existing strategy, produce a new one or decide if one is even necessary. The curriculum revolves around topics such as Current reality & creative tension, Power of vision, Backwards thinking & the Merlin factor, How to develop vision, Why creating vision is difficult, Power of vision, Discovering strategy, Critical success factors & critical success indicators.

DOC 9100 Qualitative Reasoning and Analysis 3

The aim of the course is to instill knowledge of the representations and reasoning methods that have been developed for Qualitative Reasoning, as well as enhancing skills particularly in designing and implementing such systems. During the course students will understand how real-world problems and social issues can be analyzed using the power and rigor of qualitative reasoning and analysis. The entire curriculum focuses on cognition and education; explaining human reasoning and developing means to support and enable this ability.

DOC 9110 Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis 3

This course covers the basic technological tools used in the social, physical and life sciences to analyze quantitative information with emphasis is on real world, open-ended problems that involve reading, writing, calculating, synthesizing, and clearly reporting results. The program will provide additional opportunities to deepen the analytic understanding that will function as pathways to further quantitative work. Major topics covered in the curriculum include back-of-an-envelope estimation, descriptive statistics, linear, and exponential models, spreadsheets, and the wise use of internet resources.

DOC 9120 Advanced Mixed-Methods Reasoning and Analysis 3

The course is designed to strengthen your ability to engage with others’ ideas and communicate productively with them by analyzing their arguments. The course provides a review of quantitative reasoning topics, including rate, ratio, and percent, perimeter, area, volume, and the units and conversion between units for those calculations. The entire course covers topics in college-level mathematics that develop critical thinking skills, flexibility of thought, appropriate problem-solving strategies, and the ability to express ideas in mathematical language.

DOC 9150 Research Proposal 3

The course has been designed keeping in mind the importance of a good research project in completion of a course. As a part of the curriculum the students will create a research proposal with proper review of literature, methodology, results as well as discussion sections for their study. Depending upon their choice the students can opt to go for a topic of their interest. A thorough time is devoted to the practical as well as theoretical aspects of the topic, with special emphasis on time-to-time presentations of the work being done as a part of the project.

DOC 9160 Dissertation 9