There are many different types of contract law courses available to students and professionals alike. When it comes to the curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate students studying business and law, the contract law courses offered generally fall into one of four categories. Each individual school will have its own specific names for the courses offered on their campus, but the general categories remain the same. These categories include classes dealing with an overview of contracts and law, legal contract drafting, contract negotiating and international contracts. In addition, business professionals are also offered the option of taking contract law courses through training seminars.
College students studying law or business will often be required to take contract law courses as part of their curriculum. For example, students who are training to become paralegals and business majors who are specializing in corporate or international law will often take a basic course that will give them an overview of the laws and procedures associated with contract law. Contract law courses for paralegals will cover contract requirements, legal parameters and how to draft them. For business majors, contract law courses will focus more on contract elements, strategies, negotiating, fraud and breach of contracts.
During the first year of law school, graduate students will take a general contract law course that will outline the basics of forming contracts, the legal parameters that the contracts must abide by and give an overview on the different specialty areas of contract law. After completion of this first course, students can then choose their specialty classes, such as contract drafting, contract negotiating and international contracts. During the contract drafting class, students will learn how to write contracts in the correct form while using specific legal terminology. In the contract negotiating class, students will learn how to negotiate contracts and how to handle disputes. The international contracts class will teach students how to deal with contracts on an international scale, the laws to which contracts must adhere and the options for resolving disputes.
The final type of contract law courses are offered as seminars for business professionals. Business professionals frequently need to deal with both domestic and international contracts, making it essential for them to have a good understanding of business law. There are a variety of seminars available offering insights into dealing with contract law. The primary focus typically will be on the types of contracts available, the legalities associated with forming contracts, tips on strategies to improve on contract negotiations and what to do when a party breaches a contract, just to name a few.