Get hands-on training.
You’ll have an opportunity to obtain practical training through BFL’s spring semester Financial Services Law Internship course, which will immerse you in the day-to-day operations of a law firm, financial services organization, financial nonprofit entity or regulatory agency. Working under the supervision of a practicing lawyer, you’ll be able to brandish your skills portfolio —and make valuable connections in the market.
The nation’s first and only.
The BFL is the oldest and only program of its kind in the nation: no other LLM program boasts its own dedicated faculty of senior industry practitioners who teach a curriculum designed exclusively for graduate study. Since its inception, BFL has trained 2,000+ lawyers from 70+ countries around the world.
Comprehensive perspective. Specialized expertise.
Real world learning.
Practical knowledge.
Compliance training.
Comprehensive perspective. Specialized expertise.
With more than 25 LLM courses, the BFL’s curriculum enables you to explore in-depth the interrelated regulatory, transactional and business aspects of banking and financial services law.
That, by itself, is a stand-out.
The program’s one required class, Banking Structure and Regulation, will give you a foundational understanding of US banking and financial services law and where US laws intersect with international banking supervision structures and principles. All your other courses within the program are elective, empowering you to customize your study plan according to your professional needs and interests.
Courses fall into three main areas, giving you a comprehensive perspective on the industry’s players and dynamics.
Regulatory courses.
Regulatory courses provide a foundational understanding of the structure and content of banking, securities, and financial services regulations; the role of central banks and oversight agencies; and the interaction of commercial banks, the Federal Reserve System, and monetary policy.
Transactional courses.
Transactional courses provide hands-on training in structuring, negotiating and documenting transactions in numerous areas, including commercial lending, project finance, securitization, and mergers and acquisitions.
Business-oriented courses.
Business-oriented courses explore the legal structure of financial products and services, such as hedge funds, pooled investments, derivatives, and structured finance products; the taxation of international transactions; and the technology-driven innovations of cryptocurrencies, blockchains and other fintech products and services.
In developing your plan, you’ll be able to pursue any one of five elective concentrations in: The Business of Banking; Compliance Management; Financial Services Transactions; Lending and Credit Transactions; and Securities Transactions. Each concentration consists of a basket of classes that, when taken together, give comprehensive training in a particular sub-specialty of financial service law practice.
To meet the program’s 24 credit requirement, full-time students generally take six 2-credit courses each semester.
Online or in-person? Part-time or full? The choice is up to you.
Whether you’re looking to earn your degree as a full-time online student, a part-time residential student, or vice versa, BU Law’s LLM program can make it happen.
Both online and in-person classes lead to the same degree and are taught by the same experienced faculty. The online option is ideal for domestic and internationally-trained lawyers whose jobs preclude them from attending our traditional on-site program option in Boston.
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Top 10
in Banking & Finance Law
– LLM Guide (2023)
#10
for “Best Classroom Experience.”
– Princeton Review
Real world learning.
Practical knowledge.
On the other hand, if you want to understand how to practice financial services law and hone the lawyering skills needed for success in the field, then the BFL may be a perfect fit.
Your training will be practical, not theoretical. Your instructors will be accomplished professionals who have served in leadership positions in a broad range of industry settings. They bring to the classroom their experience as senior advisors at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve and other agencies; as law firm partners and heads of banking and financial services practice groups; as general counsels of state insurance departments; and as presidents, chief operating officers and general counsels of money management firms, banks, finance companies and Fintech enterprises.
They are adept at “showing you the ropes” of practicing banking and financial services law. In other words, you’ll be negotiating deal documents, not exploring the theoretical underpinnings of contract law.
Despite their diverse backgrounds, they share one thing in common: a passion and commitment to teach and train young lawyers.
Your practice-oriented perspective will deepen outside the classroom as well. In addition to the Financial Law Internship elective class, you’ll be immersed in co-curricular activities such as career panels, special guest lectures, and have an opportunity to serve on the staff of the Review of Banking and Financial Law, the nation’s oldest student-run law journal devoted to this subject.
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#1
QS Best Student Cities 2023 ranked Boston first in the United States.
Top 10
in Banking & Finance Law
– LLM Guide (2023)
Top 10
Online and Hybrid LLMs
– LLM Guide (2023)
Compliance training.
Minimizing risk through effective internal compliance programs is among the highest priorities for financial institutions, whether based in the US or abroad.
Expertise in the field is at a premium worldwide, as US regulators must consider foreign financial firms’ operations in the US; and foreign regulators must look at US firms’ operations in their home jurisdictions.
A BU Law credential in financial services compliance will distinguish you in the market and signal your readiness to add immediate value to employers and clients.
For LLM students, one pathway is through the LLM program’s Compliance Management concentration, which will train you to design effective compliance systems for regulated institutions in today’s post-2008 Dodd-Frank environment. You’ll develop expertise to counsel clients on a range of compliance matters, including those related to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; the Office of Foreign Assets Control; the Bank Secrecy Act; Securities and Exchange Commission regulations; Glass-Steagall; and Bank Holding Company Act issues, to name but a few
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1
One-of-a-kind
graduate-level faculty and curriculum.
5
Optional Concentrations:
The Business of Banking
Compliance Management
Financial Services Transactions
Lending & Credit Transactions
Securities Transactions
Flexible and online enrollment options.
If there’s a will, there’s a way. If you seek the LLM credential, the BFL is available at your convenience. You can enroll in the BFL as a full-time residential student in Boston, or on a part-time basis if you are US citizen or permanent resident. You can start in the fall or spring. Prefer online? BU Law also offers the BFL online. Classes are offered in an asynchronous format, featuring built-in interactive components that foster lively engagement with your instructors and fellow classmates — an ideal arrangement if you’re unable to study on a full-time residential basis.
Start with the fundamentals.
Entering students who lack basic familiarity with the overall structure and workings of the financial services industry have an opportunity to enroll in Financial Services Fundamentals, a three-week summer course designed to provide essential background on subjects relevant to financial services law studies. Taught by many members of the BFL program’s faculty, the modules are curated to help ensure students’ preparedness for first semester classes. The course has the added benefit of introducing incoming international students, including those in the American Law and Graduate Tax programs, to lectures, discussions and readings on financial topics in English.
You’ll miss out if all you do is study.
In the BFL, you’ll learn as much outside the classroom as inside. To make the most of your experience, you don’t want to spend the entire year in the library. Trust us.
Because networking is key to identifying and securing job opportunities, we orchestrate events to get you “out there” and forge connections with potential employers, including those who attend the International Student Interview Program (ISIP), held in NY each January. We also connect you with the 200+ other LLM students from around the world, your future professional colleagues, clients and referral sources. Whether this happens at the annual LLM “Lobster Feast” or annual Red Sox night at Fenway Park, you’ll be glad you took that hard-earned study break.
BFL By the Numbers
#1
QS Best Student Cities 2023 ranked Boston first in the United States.
Top10
Top 10 in Banking & Finance Law
– LLM Guide (2023).
5
Optional Concentrations:
- The Business of Banking
- Compliance Management
- Financial Services Transactions
- Lending & Credit Transactions
- Securities Transactions
