Location & Start Date
Online
Self-PacedCourse Launch:
August 12, 2024
Content Access: 5 months
Time Commitment: ~ 15 hours of mandatory content
Who Should Participate
This course is for all legal professionals, including:
- First-time General Counsel and Chief Legal Officers
- In-house Legal Professionals (Attorneys and Legal Operations Professionals)
- Outside Counsel
- Legal Service Providers (e.g., search firms, consulting firms, legal technology companies)
Course Structure for GC University
Course Format
GC University is a self-paced online course.
Course Lectures
This course consists of eight modules (plus one optional module), each containing a set of 10- to 15-minute videos. In the videos, instructors Seth Jaffe and Mark LeHocky use visual presentations to demonstrate the legal department’s responsibilities and expectations, the GC’s management of internal and external relationships, and legal’s role in business transactions such as mergers & acquisitions and IPOs. The videos also cover crisis management, ethical leadership, and how to make use of behavioral science.
Practitioner Perspectives
These course-exclusive interviews feature leading general counsel and corporate executives from companies such as Amazon, Gap, Intel, Starbucks, Toyota North America, Uber, and more.
Curated Readings
With new articles being published each day, it is difficult to navigate the vast amount of literature concerning in-house legal practices and operations. In this course, we have curated, and continually update, a selection of studies, surveys, and articles.
Live Office Hours and Networking Sessions
Optional live, online office hours with course instructors and facilitators, as well as online and in-person networking sessions (often featuring special guests), provide participants with the opportunity to ask questions and bring up topics for discussion.
GC University Course Modules
Below is a list of the course modules.
Module 1
Module 1
Roles and Expectations of the GC and Legal Department
Expert Contributors:
- Sandra Phillips Rogers, Senior Vice President, Corporate Resources, General Counsel, Chief Legal Office, Chief Diversity Officer and Corporate Secretary at Toyota North America
- Rishi Varma, Chief Legal Officer at Cargill
Module 2
Making Use of Behavioral Science
Expert Contributor: Adine Varah, General Counsel at SFMOMA
Module 3
The GC’s Role with Boards and Shareholders
Expert Contributor: Julie Gruber, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at GAP
Module 4
Managing Outside Counsel Relationships
Expert Contributor: Brad Lerman, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Starbucks
Module 5
The GC’s Role in Crisis Management
Expert Contributor: Tony West, Chief Legal Officer at Uber
Module 6
Leadership
Expert Contributors:
- Minnie Alexander, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at REI
- David Zapolsky, Senior Vice President, Global Public Policy & General Counsel at Amazon
Module 7
The GC’s Role in M&A and IPOs
Expert Contributors:
- Trâm Phi, Senior Vice President, General Counsel at Databricks
- Robert Schlossman, Chief Legal Officer at Zscaler
- Kristin Sverchek, President at Lyft
Module 8
Managing Disputes
Expert Contributors:
- Danielle McCoy, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Fannie Mae
- April Miller Boise, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Intel
Module 9
In-House Careers (Optional)
Expert Contributor: Clint Smith, Chief Legal Officer at Discord
Module 10
GeoLegal Risk (Optional)
Expert Contributor: Sean West, Co-Founder at Hence Technologies
Scholarship
Berkeley Law Executive Education is offering up to 50 scholarships to underrepresented members of the legal community for General Counsel (GC) University.
The scholarship application opens on Monday, May 6 and closes on Friday, May 17. Scholarship recipients will be notified on May 20, 2024. General registration for GC University opens on Thursday, May 23, 2024.
Questions? Please contact [email protected].
Tuition & Discounts
General Tuition
$1,500
UC Berkeley Alumni and Government, Nonprofit, and University Employees*
Applies to past participants of paid Berkeley Law Executive Education courses.
$1,275
Save 15%
Partner Organization Members*
$1,275
Save 15%
Group Rate*
Available for groups of three or more people from the same organization
$1,275
Save 15%
*For all special rates (i.e. UC Berkeley alumni and government, nonprofit, and university employees; groups; or partners), please email [email protected] for instructions to access your tuition category. To register a group, please email [email protected]. All special rates are discounted off of the general tuition.
Sallie Mae Financing
If you are interested in financing this course, Sallie Mae provides competitive education loan programs for credit-qualified borrowers. For more information and to apply, visit the Sallie Mae website. If you decide to pursue such financing, please submit your application to Sallie first and then contact us at [email protected]. We will provide additional instructions on completing your registration.
Professional Development Sponsorship
If your employer provides professional development opportunities and funding, we highly recommend asking them to subsidize the cost of tuition for the course. This certificate program is an excellent professional development and networking opportunity, and your employer may be willing to cover some, or all, of the costs. You are welcome to customize this template for your purposes.
Certificates & MCLE
Certificate Type
Certificate of Completion
Participants who complete all required course elements will receive a certificate of completion from Berkeley Law Executive Education.
MCLE
12 Hours
This program has been approved by the California State Bar to offer up to 12 credit hours of MCLE. Attorneys from other states will need to contact their local bar to verify their own certification requirements.
Expert Contributors
Minnie Alexander
General Counsel at REI
Julie Gruber
Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Gap Inc.
Brad Lerman
General Counsel at Starbucks
Danielle McCoy
General Counsel at Fannie Mae
April Miller Boise
Chief Legal Officer at Intel Corporation
Trâm Phi
General Counsel at Databricks
Sandra Phillips Rogers
Chief Legal Officer at Toyota North America
Robert Schlossman
Chief Legal Officer at Zscaler
Shana Simmons
Chief Legal Officer at Zendesk
Clint Smith
Chief Legal Officer at Discord
Kristin Sverchek
President at Lyft
Adine Varah
General Counsel at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Rishi Varma
Chief Legal and Ethics and Compliance Officer at Cargill
Sean West
Co-Founder at Hence Technologies
Tony West
Chief Legal Officer at Uber
David Zapolsky
General Counsel at Amazon
Lead Instructors
Seth Jaffe
Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley (Former General Counsel of Levi Strauss & Co.)
Mark LeHocky
Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley (Former General Counsel of Ross Stores)
Course Facilitators
Irene Liu
Executive in Residence at Berkeley Law Executive Education and Founder of Hypergrowth GC
Adam Sterling
Assistant Dean at Berkeley Law
Accessibility
For disability accommodation requests and information, please contact us at [email protected]. Please attempt to make your service request with as much advance notice as possible.
