European Corporate Finance Law Excellence Course

Introduction

Corporate finance is omnipresent in today’s global economy, be it for the financing of start-ups, for multi-national company groups that may list shares or bonds to meet their financing needs for ongoing operations, to invest in new R&D projects, or for private equity firms that seek to acquire target companies. The field of corporate finance is, moreover extensively harmonised at the EU level, making it extremely relevant from both a European and national law perspective.

Are you curious about how different financing operations are structured from a legal perspective? Do you want to acquire the practical and theoretical skills needed to be able to negotiate and draft corporate finance documentation? Are you interested in meeting law firms and other market players in this area and building your own network for your future career? If so, the European Corporate Finance Law Excellence Course might be right for you.

Application deadline

The application deadline is 30 December 2022, 23h59.

Who can apply?

The European Corporate Finance Law Excellence Course is open to Bachelor and Master students that are either registered with the Erasmus University Rotterdam or with other universities. The Excellence Course is for free.

Online environment

Please note that the Excellence Course generally takes place online. However, four in-person events will take place during the course, namely an introduction event in Rotterdam, an excursion to Rotterdam/Amsterdam, an excursion to Paris and the final simulation game in Luxembourg. The excursion to Rotterdam/Amsterdam and the final simulation game in Luxembourg are mandatory, the other two events are optional to attend in person.

Testimonials

We highly value feedback from our participants. That is why we conducted a survey on the first three editions of the Excellence Course.

> Read the testimonials

The European Corporate Finance Law Excellence Course offers students the opportunity to gain a deep and practical insight into corporate finance law. Students will learn first-hand and interactively from academics, practitioners and policymakers about:

• the basic theoretical and legal concepts of corporate finance law, such as the regulation of financing structures.
• the acquisition of technical skills, for example, the ability to draft and negotiate corporate finance documentation (articles of association, shareholder agreements, loan documentation and so on);
• the critical evaluation and formulation of policy options in the ambit of corporate finance.

This Course has been the recipient of a Jean Monnet grant by the European Commission for the purpose of promoting excellence in teaching and research in EU studies and equipping students and young professionals with knowledge relevant to their academic and professional lives and civic skills.

Testimonials

Statements from participants about the Excellence Course based on an anonymous questionnaire conducted for the first three editions of the Excellence Course:

“Amazing experience, really worth it. Recommendable to anyone eager to learn more about life and work of a corporate lawyer, and who wants to build a good network of friends and colleagues.”

''The depth and technicality of the knowledge gained during the course would not have been possible in the regular masters. The size of the group, the practical sessions and the networking events do not feature in traditional university programmes.''

“In my perception, the course provides with the knowledge that is necessary to work as lawyer in a corporate environment. It does not matter whether you will be working with taxation, litigation, or M&A, all the topics covered will somehow be beneficial in those areas.”

“Very complete course with great organisation.; Content wise, this course allows to get a great overview of the technical aspects of Corporate Finance / M&A. The group assignments, interim simulation and final games allowed to get a great insight of the practice. Overall this course equipped us very well for our future careers, especially for the future corporate lawyers.”

“The excellence course was by far one of the best courses during my whole bachelor and the course in which I learnt the most. It gave the students so much knowledge, both theoretical and practical, and so many opportunities to practice those skills. I am really thankful this course was provided and that I had the amazing opportunity to take it.”

“The Skills classes were certainly helpful as the classes offered a unique opportunity to gain practical knowledge on corporate documentation and allowed the participants to practice the drafting of such documentation first-hand. I see this as an asset which might enable me to stand out from other university graduates in the beginning of my career.”

“Being competitive and intensive experiences, the games enabled me to consolidate and further build upon the previously acquired legal knowledge. They were certainly one of the highlights of the Excellence Course.”

''The simulation games have helped me have a helicopter view of the procedures of transactions. This overall and general view of the whole transaction is essential for giving a piece of legal advice.''

“The speakers were an excellent addition to the track, they were happy to answer questions even after the day of their sessions and one in particular has been assisting me with my applications for the upcoming year.”

“Every speaker had a different story, different background, experiences, and it was certainly very inspirational, with determination, motivation and hard work you can go as far as you want.”

“The friendships, bonds and memories I have made during these 5 months are invaluable to me. The knowledge I have gained and the areas of law I have been exposed to have helped me define my future goals! Most importantly, this course has helped all student build our own network that will last us our whole lives […].”

“To me attending the course has been a great opportunity to do an 'aptitude check' and see if corporate finance is the area of law with which I could associate my future academic and professional choices. Having now completed the course, I can firmly (at least for the time being) say that it has been the right pick that left me a lot less doubtful and a lot more excited to become a corporate lawyer. To prepare myself for setting foot in the corporate legal market, I have already made some very conscious and targeted choices, which were in part shaped by my excellence course experience.”

“The most valuable thing that would make me do it again is the connections I made during the course. The admission process to the course proved itself to be very efficient in selecting people who are eager to learn new things, but also to select people who would get along and go for drinks and have fun together.”

“I have been offered an internship at one of the firms we visited during one of our excursions. Even if I hadn't been offered an internship, I still believe that the track is something great to put on your CV and is an excellent topic to focus on in job interviews.”

“Mostly all the students in the track got excellent internships, jobs or they found out what they want to do in the future namely become a lawyer, go for banking, finance or decide to do something different.”

The European Corporate Finance Law Excellence Course is aimed at students with a background in corporate law or corporate tax law. Your interests should lie at the intersection of law and finance, and you should be hardworking, highly self-motivated and able to put forward your perspectives and analyses with confidence. The Excellence Course is open to Erasmus University Master’s and Bachelor’s students, as well as to students from other universities. 

• A total of 30 spots are available. Selection will be based upon the applications received
• Applying is possible from Friday, 18 November 2022 until Friday 30 December 2022
• Please add your CV and a letter of motivation to the online application form

For more information, please send an email to biermeyer@law.eur.nl to the attention of Dr. Thomas Biermeyer.