Within the corporate and financial law field, lawyers focus their work on allocation of power between shareholders and managers, managing corporate transactions and handling investor litigation. Law schools design corporate law courses to instruct law students on how consider a wide range of policy issues in corporate law and regulations and how to critically think about maintaining financial stability for future clients and businesses. Law students are further able to examine the legal characteristics of business corporations.
A course in criminal law explores substantive principles focused on penal criteria. This may include conspiracy theories, insanity pleas and execution of crimes such as theft, rape, or homicide. Law students will study the justifications of punishment for various crimes (retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, and restitution), as well as mitigating defenses and various forms of criminal liability. Like other concentrations of law, criminal law has a set body of rules (e.g., usage of parole and probation, and fines) which are defined and modified by governmental jurisdictions, and courses will instruct law students how best to prepare themselves for careers in the criminal law field.
Concentrating on family law gives law students the opportunity to study a range of familial and domestic relations. Courses within the family law sphere include subjects centering on the nature of marriages and civil unions as well as problems that may arise during a marriage or legal partnership (spousal abuse, child custody and child abuse). Some advanced course work can examine the dissolution of relationships through divorce and annulments and how best to instruct clients of their rights and responsibilities during such times. Family law also can focus on adoption and surrogacy. Law students will learn how to convey the basics of legal doctrines surrounding all aspects of family law to best serve future clients and their families.
Health law courses introduce students to laws regulating the United States health care system, and how the necessity health care reform has become a national debate. Courses particularly emphasize the operational, regulatory, and transaction legal issues that can evolve among hospitals, insurance providers and patient claims. In addition, studies provide an overall knowledge base of the finance and delivery of health care through public and private insurance companies. Law students will become well versed in federal, state and local law, rules and regulations affecting the health care industry. Advanced health law courses will show students how law, rules and regulations apply to patients, physicians, pharmaceutical and insurance companies.