Consultation with professors teaching in the field should be helpful in making course selections. Each version of the basic course is similar, but content, focus, and approach may vary significantly from professor to professor and over time. Their version of the course does not touch on the Securities Act of 1933, leaving that for the course in Securities Regulation. As currently taught by Professors Ramseyer and Vagts, the course is substantially similar, but with more emphasis on closely held companies. Also, Professors Charny, Ramseyer, and Vagts cover the basics of the Securities Act of 1933 for students who do not contemplate taking the Securities Regulation course.
Corporations is a prerequisite for each.
Corporate Finance examines advanced topics in corporate law from a perspective informed by economics and finance. Both topics are addressed in some depth, although not with as much attention as they would receive in entire courses devoted to corporate reorganizations or mergers and acquisitions. In addition, corporate finance provides a brief introduction to financial economics, including discounting, analysis of risk, pricing models, and market efficiency. This course is not a substitute for financial economics as this would be taught at the Sloan School or Kennedy School, however. Corporate finance is principally a course about law and legal issues rather than about financial economics.