Master the Law Behind Business Strategy
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The Advanced Business Law Certificate for Non-Lawyers

You're already familiar with negotiating vendor agreements, reviewing partnership terms, supporting M&A due diligence, and managing procurement contracts. Imagine having the legal fluency to evaluate contract terms independently, negotiate more strategically, and know exactly when you need counsel versus when you can move forward with confidence.

This certificate gives you that capability. Go beyond the basics of contracts and corporate structure to master the commercial legal frameworks that drive business strategy: M&A transactions, securities law, business entity selection, and antitrust compliance. You'll build the legal literacy to assess risk independently, negotiate from a position of strength, and collaborate with counsel as an equal partner in strategic decision-making.

Program Details

  • 3 courses
  • Complete in as few as 6 months
  • 100% online & asynchronous
  • Stackable to the MSL
  • No LSAT required
  • Start Term: Summer 2027

Master Legal Skills in AI, Privacy, and Compliance

Built for working professionals navigating legal complexity without a law degree. The online MSL from U. of I. delivers stackable credentials in high-demand areas including AI governance, cybersecurity, employment law, and business compliance. Start with a certificate or go straight to the full degree.

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Advanced Business Law Curriculum

This certificate equips you with the legal frameworks and strategic tools to navigate contracts, corporate transactions, securities regulation, and antitrust law with confidence.

LAW 523: Antitrust Law (4 credits)
This course equips non-lawyers in business, tech, government, and related fields with the tools to understand and navigate antitrust law, enabling strategic decision-making in competitive markets and regulatory environments. Through practical case studies and assessments, students explore antitrust reasoning and its application to violations like price-fixing or monopolization. In addition, students apply legal knowledge to practical issues that commonly arise in business and tech through case studies that ask them to analyze antitrust or anticompetitive scenarios, evaluate compliance programs, and create strategies aligned with tech and governance, preparing to advise on competitive practices in business, tech, and related industries.

LAW 524: Securities Law (4 credits)
Navigate securities law and develop strategic decision-making skills for capital markets and regulatory environments. Understand securities regulations (e.g., SEC disclosure rules) and their role in investor protection. Apply compliance protocols to draft prospectuses or insider trading reports, analyze disclosure failures by contrasting with strategic or ethical priorities, and create disclosure strategies aligning with ethical practices. Support financial compliance roles with practical knowledge of securities statutes and regulations.

LAW 525: Business Organizations (4 credits)
Master entity types (e.g., LLCs, corporations) and their governance and tax implications. Apply entity selection principles to business formation simulations, analyze dissolution risks by preparing targeted counsel questions, and evaluate hybrid structures by contrasting legal and strategic flexibility. Understand organizational forms and their impact on liability, governance structures, and tax treatment—enabling you to advise on business formation strategies that align with ethical and compliance goals in business, tech, and related industries.

Faculty Spotlight

Verity Winship
Professor of Law & Director of the Illinois Business Law Program

Verity Winship is a professor of law, former interim dean, and director of the Illinois Business Law Program. She holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and is a two-time winner of the Carroll P. Hurd Award for Scholarly Excellence. Her empirical research on securities enforcement and corporate litigation has won multiple national awards. She teaches courses in Securities Law and Business Organizations—bringing both the rigor of a top-tier legal scholar and the practical insight of someone whose research shapes how courts and regulators approach corporate compliance and enforcement. If you're navigating M&A transactions, securities filings, or board governance questions, you're learning from someone whose scholarship is cited in the cases that define those fields.

Meet the Faculty

Verity Winship

Ready to Build Legal Expertise for Your Career?

Start your application to the MSL or a certificate program; or learn more about the program and how legal knowledge could help you reach your professional goals.

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