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Certificate in International Business Law
Pitt Law’s Online International Business Law Certificate program helps students advance or begin their careers in international commercial law. The curriculum focuses on key foundational topics in U.S. and international business law applied to business transactions, and to the resolution of cross-border disputes through litigation, mediation, and/or arbitration.
After completing the International Business Law Certificate, you will have a solid working knowledge of the complexities of cross-border business transactions, a roadmap of the potential pitfalls and most likely areas where disputes will arise, and the framework for how to either avoid those issues, or work toward resolving them if a formal dispute arises.
Program Benefits
- Learn on your schedule with asynchronous classes
- Complete the program in 11 months
- Learn from experienced, working legal experts who teach courses and concepts applicable to real-world challenges
- Gain access to a valued and diverse network of colleagues and mentors within the Pitt Law and broader Pitt communities
- Build concentrated expertise to work more knowledgeably with lawyers and gain increased regulatory and legal awareness
Meet the Program Director
Hear from Max Laun, the director of the Online International Business Law Certificate program. He shares his background in international studies and law. His experience brings valuable, real-world insight to his students. Professor Laun also touches on several key highlights of the program and gives you a taste of what you can expect from the online experience at Pitt Law.
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Video Transcript
Max Laun:
Hello. My name is Max Laun, and I’m the director of the Online International Business Law Certificate program at Pitt Law.
By way of background, I’m a long-time (30+ years) in-house corporate counsel. After receiving my undergraduate degree from Rice University, I spent two years in Romania in the mid-’80s as a Fulbright Scholar doing research in history, then changed directions and came to the University of Pittsburgh for law school.
As you might expect, my area of interest and specialization was international. I was a commercial lawyer first and foremost and spent 20+ years as my company’s primary international mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lawyer, doing transactions on six continents (sorry, Antarctica!), and over 25 countries. I worked on all varieties of cross-border transactions, ranging from simple sales to buying privatized companies to arranging complex joint ventures.
Later in my career I became a manager and spent nine years as the general counsel of two publicly-traded companies, overseeing our worldwide legal operations across 30+ countries and more than 15 time zones. Our company’s growth was driven by international transactions—both acquisitions and building new facilities for our existing product lines, finding new customers and markets, and figuring out how to serve them efficiently and effectively.
We are very excited to offer the Online Certificate Program in International Business Law. I teach the introductory course, as well as co-direct the final seminar. Across the five courses, we impress on our students how cross-border transactions both build on, but also differ from, the way you look at domestic transactions. We cover the basic building blocks of transactions and use examples and case studies to illustrate how to understand, analyze, and address the risks of going abroad. We also cover what happens when something goes wrong and results in a dispute, whether litigation, mediation, or arbitration.
I strongly encourage you to apply today to join our International Business Law program. Pitt Law is a very nurturing environment for learning. We have small class sizes, and you will have the opportunity to get to know your professors and your classmates even though we connect virtually. We will teach you what you need to know about doing business across borders and would love to have you come learn with us.
Hello. My name is Max Laun, and I’m the director of the Online International Business Law Certificate program at Pitt Law.
By way of background, I’m a long-time (30+ years) in-house corporate counsel. After receiving my undergraduate degree from Rice University, I spent two years in Romania in the mid-’80s as a Fulbright Scholar doing research in history, then changed directions and came to the University of Pittsburgh for law school.
As you might expect, my area of interest and specialization was international. I was a commercial lawyer first and foremost and spent 20+ years as my company’s primary international mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lawyer, doing transactions on six continents (sorry, Antarctica!), and over 25 countries. I worked on all varieties of cross-border transactions, ranging from simple sales to buying privatized companies to arranging complex joint ventures.
Later in my career I became a manager and spent nine years as the general counsel of two publicly-traded companies, overseeing our worldwide legal operations across 30+ countries and more than 15 time zones. Our company’s growth was driven by international transactions—both acquisitions and building new facilities for our existing product lines, finding new customers and markets, and figuring out how to serve them efficiently and effectively.
We are very excited to offer the Online Certificate Program in International Business Law. I teach the introductory course, as well as co-direct the final seminar. Across the five courses, we impress on our students how cross-border transactions both build on, but also differ from, the way you look at domestic transactions. We cover the basic building blocks of transactions and use examples and case studies to illustrate how to understand, analyze, and address the risks of going abroad. We also cover what happens when something goes wrong and results in a dispute, whether litigation, mediation, or arbitration.
I strongly encourage you to apply today to join our International Business Law program. Pitt Law is a very nurturing environment for learning. We have small class sizes, and you will have the opportunity to get to know your professors and your classmates even though we connect virtually. We will teach you what you need to know about doing business across borders and would love to have you come learn with us.
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Objectives of the Certificate in International Business Law
The International Business Law Certificate program was developed by working with practicing international lawyers who have years of experience in cross-border business transactions and the disputes that arise out of them. The program provides busy working professionals with a practical understanding of all aspects of cross-border business transactions, including:
- Establishing business relationships in new jurisdictions
- Understanding and analyzing risks in doing business
- Negotiating key substantive points, including in key specialty areas like intellectual property, investment and trade and tax law
- Providing the framework for resolving disagreements that may arise between the parties and litigating or arbitrating such disputes
Pitt Law's International Business Law Certificate Program Students
The certificate in international business law was designed for:
- Non-lawyers, both in the U.S. and abroad, who work closely with lawyers on cross-border matters
- This includes paralegals, legal assistants, and legal support professionals with law firms, as well as entrepreneurs and those who work in sales, procurement, insurance, and risk management for U.S. or multinational corporations
- Foreign-qualified lawyers looking for an online credential from a U.S. law school that is relevant to their practice in the international space
- Anyone who wants to gain knowledge about cross-border transactions and international disputes
- U.S. lawyers looking to get useful, practical information on cross-border transactions and disputes that is usually only available in on-the-job practice
International Business Law (15 credits)
Introduction to U.S. and International Business Law (3 credits)
Course Description
This course introduces U.S. and international business law to the non-lawyer or foreign law graduate. It will provide the baseline knowledge necessary to understand how the U.S. legal system works and how cross-border transactions can be approached.
Students will learn through textbooks, articles, and original-source readings, lecture and outside videos, weekly writing assignments or quizzes, and online discussions with their classmates.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
Course Topics
This course introduces U.S. and international business law to the non-lawyer or foreign law graduate. It will provide the baseline knowledge necessary to understand how the U.S. legal system works and how cross-border transactions can be approached.
Students will learn through textbooks, articles, and original-source readings, lecture and outside videos, weekly writing assignments or quizzes, and online discussions with their classmates.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify the major sources of U.S. law and which branch of government is responsible for them
- Identify the major sources of international commercial (business) law
- Understand the differences between the U.S./Anglo-Saxon common law system and the civil law system
- Identify the major areas of law, substantive and procedural, that apply to cross-border business transactions
- Be able to summarize (brief) U.S. cases
Course Topics
- U.S. sources of law and judicial review—constitutional, statutory, and administrative, and the central concept of separation of powers, including the role of the court system
- U.S. Federalism and State Authority—the division of responsibility among the central government, state governments, and local governments
- The Common Law tradition and the Civil Law system in use in most of the non-English-speaking world, including comparative concepts
- The origins and sources of commercial law, including the U.S. Uniform Commercial Code, non-U.S. national laws, and the development of the U.N. Convention on the International Sale of Goods
- Overview of documenting cross-border transactions and how they differ from domestic ones
- The use of third parties—agents, representatives, distributors, and other intermediaries—in cross-border transactions and the ethical and compliance risks associated with them
- Key specialty areas in cross-border transactions—intellectual property, tax, trade compliance, risk management, and insurance
- The origins of cross-border commercial disputes and potential forums in which they can be resolved
Commercial Aspects of Cross-Border Transactions (3 credits)
Course Description
This course will introduce the student to commercial transactions that cross borders. Students will consider the impacts of choices of law and choices of forum on the transaction, with a focus on how the parties allocate risk.
Students will learn through textbook, articles, and original-source readings, lecture and outside videos, weekly writing assignments or quizzes, and online discussions with their classmates.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
Course Topics
This course will introduce the student to commercial transactions that cross borders. Students will consider the impacts of choices of law and choices of forum on the transaction, with a focus on how the parties allocate risk.
Students will learn through textbook, articles, and original-source readings, lecture and outside videos, weekly writing assignments or quizzes, and online discussions with their classmates.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Determine if a contract for the cross-border sale of goods has been formed and its applicable terms
- Identify and critique elements of particular importance to international purchase and sale contracts and their role in risk allocation
- Analyze risks arising under various structures of international sales and purchases and how to best manage those risks by allocating them between the parties
- Deconstruct the specific process to sell goods to a foreign customer, comparing alternatives to manage risks, including securing payment
- Understand the basic anatomy of a commercial transaction involving the sale and purchase of a business, including formation of joint ventures
- Consider regional and cultural differences in cross-border transactions, including when dealing with international partners
- Assess practical elements of cross-border transactions, including the impact of world politics on the commercial playing field and evaluate varying levels of risks associated with those elements
Course Topics
- How new cross-border transactions are planned and implemented, including contract formation under U.S. and national rules and the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
- Growing cross-border commercial relationships and risk allocation between parties
- Evaluating long-term supply relationships, including payment and other risk allocation, as well as antitrust/competition law implications
- Risks of getting cross-border agreements enforced, including choices of law, forum, and jurisdiction
- Joint venture structures to accomplish cross-border growth—rewards and risks
- Mergers and acquisitions—moving from idea to closing to implementation, including understanding required governmental reviews and approvals
- Regional and cultural differences in cross-border transactions, including the roles of competing stakeholders, corporate culture, local laws, and international standards
- Real-world impacts on cross-border transactions, including politics, trade wars, and external forces that might give rise to force majeure
Specialty Areas in Cross-Border Transactions (3 credits)
Course Description
This course will introduce the key specialty areas that are involved in a cross-border transaction. Students will learn how taxes, intellectual property, trade compliance, risk management and mitigation strategies, and insurance coverage are used by businesses to allocate and minimize risks in such transactions.
Students will learn through textbooks, articles, and original-source readings, lecture and outside videos, weekly writing assignments or quizzes, and online discussions with their classmates.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
Course Topics
This course will introduce the key specialty areas that are involved in a cross-border transaction. Students will learn how taxes, intellectual property, trade compliance, risk management and mitigation strategies, and insurance coverage are used by businesses to allocate and minimize risks in such transactions.
Students will learn through textbooks, articles, and original-source readings, lecture and outside videos, weekly writing assignments or quizzes, and online discussions with their classmates.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify the major types of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets
- Understand when each type is used
- Understand the cross-border licensing of intellectual property
- Have a high-level understanding of corporate taxation and how companies utilize tax planning to minimize their short-term and long-term cash tax obligations
- Distinguish between legal tax optimization, tax planning, and tax minimization, as well as illegal tax evasion
- Understand the role of trade compliance, including import and export regulations, on the cross-border sale of goods and services and on cross-border intellectual property licensing
- Gain a high-level understanding of the different types of insurance coverage available in the cross-border transaction context and how each applies and can be used
- Understand how risk management processes and systems can assist businesses in identifying and allocating risk between the parties
Course Topics
- Intellectual property: patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets
- Developing, protecting and defending intellectual property, including technology clearances, licensing, and IP litigation
- Basics of corporate taxation, including double taxation, and the U.S. and international sourcing of revenues
- Tax planning to minimize corporate taxation
- Trade regulation and trade compliance—how imports and exports work and how businesses must comply with both ordinary trade regulations and with boycotts and sanctions
- Risk management and risk mitigation processes and systems as a key tool in a business’s evaluation of selling outside its borders and to thoughtfully allocate risks between the parties
- Insurance coverage as a further way to protect a business against risk and allocate risks between the parties
Foundations of International Dispute Resolution and Litigation (3 credits)
Course Description
This course will introduce the resolution of disputes in cross-border transactions. Students will learn the basics of how disputes arise, how to avoid or resolve them, and how to litigate them when cases are filed.
Students will learn through textbooks, articles, and original-source readings, lecture and outside videos, weekly writing assignments or quizzes, and online discussions with their classmates.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
Course Topics
This course will introduce the resolution of disputes in cross-border transactions. Students will learn the basics of how disputes arise, how to avoid or resolve them, and how to litigate them when cases are filed.
Students will learn through textbooks, articles, and original-source readings, lecture and outside videos, weekly writing assignments or quizzes, and online discussions with their classmates.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify how cross-border disputes may be resolved in U.S. or other national courts
- Understand the procedures for commencing, pursuing, and resolving a case, including the service of process, evidence-taking, and the enforcement of judgments
- Use contractual choice of forum and choice of law clauses to mitigate risk
- Understand how arbitrations arise and are conducted, including the taking of evidence, hearings, and awards, including enforcement of them
- Appreciate how litigation and alternative dispute resolution can assist a business in mitigating political risks
Course Topics
- U.S. and other national court proceedings to resolve disputes between parties in different countries, including subject-matter and personal jurisdiction of national courts
- The use of national courts to resolve cross-border disputes—the applicable law and choosing advisors
- Choosing a forum—how to serve process on the other side, evidence taking, and enforcing a judgment
- Litigation vs. alternative dispute resolution—when does one or the other make more sense?
- Initiating an arbitration on a dispute—how negotiations, escalation, and mediation work
- The arbitration process—evidence, hearings, and awards
- Enforcing arbitral awards
- Mitigating political risk through investment arbitration
Seminar in Cross-Border Transactions and Dispute Resolution (3 credits)
Course Description
This course will put together what students have been introduced to in the first four courses using an investment or other cross-border transaction as a case study. Students will be exposed to the strategies that are used in executing transactions and help conduct a post-mortem of the transaction.
Students will learn through textbooks, articles, and original-source readings, lecture and outside videos, and online discussions with their classmates. There will be a substantial (10-page) written paper on the case study.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
Course Topics
This course will put together what students have been introduced to in the first four courses using an investment or other cross-border transaction as a case study. Students will be exposed to the strategies that are used in executing transactions and help conduct a post-mortem of the transaction.
Students will learn through textbooks, articles, and original-source readings, lecture and outside videos, and online discussions with their classmates. There will be a substantial (10-page) written paper on the case study.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify how cross-border transactions are documented and how—despite the best efforts of the parties to anticipate and address areas of potential disagreement—disputes may still arise
- Appreciate the difficulty of foreseeing all possible areas where contractual counterparties may disagree
- Understand the role of cross-border dispute resolution in narrowing and focusing parties on key areas of disagreement
- Analyze and critique an arbitral award
- Consider “what ifs”—how the results may have differed if key facts, locations, and dispute resolution choices changed
Course Topics
- Review and analyze a cross-border transaction that resulted in a reported dispute
- Risk mitigation strategies and steps employed by each company to the transaction
- Review the key factors that led to the dispute and how it escalated
- Consider how advisors to each side influenced the positions taken in the dispute
- Arbitration and award—who won, and why?
- Post-mortem of the transaction, the arbitration, and reflection on the outcome—how could this have come out differently?
Online Law Certificate Programs Tuition
| Online Certificate Programs | 2025-2026 Academic Year |
| Certificate Per Credit | $866 x 15 credits |
| Total Estimated Tuition* | $12,990 |
*A $100-per-semester technology fee will be added to the overall cost of attendance. Tuition and costs effective as of May 5, 2025. Tuition rates are not inclusive of textbooks and fees. Tuition and costs are subject to change and should be confirmed on the University’s official tuition listing at www.tuition.pitt.edu/online/graduate.
Pitt Law’s Online tuition and technology fee are qualifying expenses for the federal Lifetime Learning Credit.
Earning Your Legal Certificate in International Business Law is Just the Beginning
With your certificate, you will have a sure footing in international business law. Certificate students who successfully complete a graduate certificate program with a 3.0 GPA have the option to pursue the Master of Studies in Law degree at Pitt Law.
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Fall 2025 Admissions Deadlines
Jul
14
Priority Deadline
July 14
Fall 2025
Aug
13
Final Deadline
August 13
Fall 2025
Aug
18
Start Date
August 18
Fall 2025