Practical Skills

Day 1: Building Community and Confidence in a Required, Skills-Based Class

By Prof. Sarah J. Schendel

Each fall I teach Legal Analysis and Methods (“Methods”), a required class for students who have been placed on academic probation or warning. When planning the class, I try to pause and reflect about what the last few months have been like for these students. They came to a new school, entered a new learning environment, worked hard for months, paid a lot of money, sacrificed time with friends and family, and at the end of the year were told (in the form of low grades) that they needed to do better, to do more, to do something differently. That’s tough! . . .

Massachusetts Operating Agreements: What You Need To Know

By Sarah Eskreis

You have chosen your ideal entity type, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), so what’s next? Once you have filed your Certificate of Organization, you must consider how you want your LLC to be structured and governed. This can be done in one of two ways. You can choose to default to the Massachusetts Limited Liability Company Act (Act) or you can create an operating agreement. An operating agreement is a document that helps members or managers customize the terms and functions of the LLC to suit their needs. The operating agreement is a contract that binds the LLC’s members and managers . . .

When and Why a Business Should Implement a Sexual Harassment Policy

By Elena J. Despotopulos

In the wake of the #MeToo and #TimesUp Movements, as well as the highly publicized charges against people such as Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, sexual harassment is very much in the public conversation. Business owners should take this shift in conversation to reflect on their business’s harassment policies and to consider if it is compliant with applicable laws. And if such a policy does not exist, businesses should consider implementing one . . .