LLM in International Business Law: A Comprehensive Curriculum

The LLM in International Business Law is an advanced postgraduate course designed to provide a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the legal frameworks governing business activity within the United Kingdom, Europe, and globally. This programme distinguishes itself through its extensive focus on the legal aspects of international business activities, encompassing a broad spectrum of legal issues from corporate and intellectual property law to international trade and investment law.

Core Curriculum Structure

Structured with a blend of compulsory and optional modules, the programme allows you to tailor your studies to your specific interests whilst ensuring a solid foundation in international business law. The modular structure provides you with the flexibility to pursue specific areas of interest within the realm of international business law.

Two-Part Core

In the two-part core curriculum, you'll find the scope you need to combine regulatory and business law courses with international litigation and arbitration courses, or to focus more in one area. You also will choose from a selection of related courses and be able to take additional classes from across the entire Law School curriculum or law-related classes at NYU Stern.

Compulsory Module

As a Compulsory module, Postgraduate Legal Research Skills enables you to develop your legal research and writing skills, culminating in an independent piece of research on your chosen topic, the Dissertation.

Optional Modules

Optional modules offer a wide range of specialisations, including financial, corporate, competition, tax, trade, and investment law.

Key Features of the Programme

A distinctive feature of this programme is its commitment to the principles of the new Leeds Curriculum. It emphasises research-led teaching, ensuring that you engage with the latest scholarship and debates. The curriculum also promotes a breadth of learning, providing you with a holistic understanding of the subject matter. Contents are regularly updated to reflect the evolving nature of business and legal landscapes, preparing you to address current and emerging challenges in your professional career. Professional development is a key focus, with the programme equipping you with the skills necessary for both advanced research degrees and leadership roles in international business law.

Learning and Teaching Approach

The approach to learning and teaching on the Master of Laws programmes is predominantly learner-centred. Traditional lecture content will be presented in short bite-sized segments of approximately 10 minutes to better engage the modern student.

In-class learning activities are structured around lectures, seminars and workshops. Although the nature and format of the activities will vary from unit to unit, interactive learning and practice-based activities are key to all units. In-class activities and exercises will involve a mix of group discussion, debating, individual and group presentations and moots and will provide you with the opportunity to test and consolidate your knowledge and to apply it in a variety of contexts requiring analysis, evaluation and synthesis and/or problem-solving. Alongside in-class activities, you will also be expected to engage in a range of online learning activities, including virtual workshops and seminars delivered by guest speakers, training sessions for legal databases such as Lexis Nexis, Westlaw, discussion forums and group and individual e-journals.

The opportunity to be an active participant in the learning process will improve your learning experience and increase your confidence as a future legal professional. Your contribution to your own learning, and particularly your engagement with assigned reading in advance of each session, will maximise the benefit of in-class activities and your learning experience.

While primarily delivered through in-person lectures and seminars, the programme also utilises digital technologies to enrich the learning experience. This combination allows for an inclusive, engaging, and flexible environment, accommodating diverse learning styles and needs.

Prepare: this represents all the work the student needs to complete before attending the relevant workshop. Engage: this represents the interactive element of the Unit.

Assessment Methods

Throughout the course, you will be assessed in various ways. The different types of assessments will enable you to demonstrate both breadth and depth of subject knowledge and contextual understanding, whilst at the same time developing your academic and professional skills.

Assessment methods which you will encounter in the course of your LLM studies include:

• Written Report or Research Essay: These assessments will enable you to develop your knowledge, legal research and critical analysis skills. You will be required to perform literature-informed research, review and evaluate the relevant sources and use an appropriate methodology in order to analyse and evaluate the relevant concepts.
• Case Study Reports: This will require you to apply your legal knowledge in the context of a specific factual scenario, in order to provide a sound legal analysis of the options available.
• Oral Presentation: By presenting your research and arguments in a formal setting, you will develop a number of transferable skills, including in particular the ability to communicate your ideas and findings in a professional, clear and concise manner.
• Mooting: This will develop your legal research, written and oral advocacy skills, by requiring you to devise a solid and convincing legal argument and articulate and defend it during simulated proceedings.
• Dissertation: In your final project, you will be required to produce an individual, independent piece of written work, supported by high-quality legal research. You will be asked to identify the research question or problem under investigation, critically review the relevant case law and academic literature, develop a sound methodology in order to explore the problem, proceed with the analysis, discuss your findings, and, where appropriate, make recommendations. This is the final step of your LLM studies and it builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in all taught units.

Academic Integrity

The notions of accountability and academic integrity play an integral role in the course. Starting from the initial induction, and in the context of each unit, you will be given extensive training on the principles of academic integrity, how to avoid plagiarism, reference legal sources, and correctly acknowledge other peoples’ work and ideas. Specific training on the use of AI tools in an academic and professional context, with a particular focus on legal practice, will also be provided. All coursework assignments will require a thorough evaluation of the sources used and all sources will need to be fully acknowledged and referenced in accordance with the OSCOLA referencing system.

Thesis Workshop

You will take International Business Transactions in the fall and spring, and produce an original piece of scholarship by the end of the year. As you develop your research in stages, you'll complete a short paper by the end of the fall, and choose a thesis topic and outline it by the start of the spring. The course as a whole, and each individual unit, are designed in such a way as to enable you to build upon the knowledge and skills that you gained during your undergraduate studies and to develop greater autonomy of learning, independent analysis and critical evaluation. Learning activities and assessment tasks are designed to foster the incremental development of your subject knowledge and transferrable skills, whilst at the same time supporting your personal and professional development.

International Business and Economic Law (IBEL)

The Master of Laws in International Business and Economic Law (LLM in IBEL) degree provides an interdisciplinary, global perspective for law students who wish to develop skills that will enable them to understand and integrate relevant laws, policies and business best practices that shape international business and economic law. LLM in IBEL students are required to complete 24 units of study. Students must enroll in three mandatory courses and from among the electives below and other graduate law courses.

Programme Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this programme, you will have achieved a comprehensive understanding of the laws regulating international business, including its application to real-world and hypothetical scenarios. You will be able to critically evaluate legal rules and policies, undertake independent research, and effectively articulate your arguments. In addition to these subject-specific outcomes, the programme also develops transferable skills such as critical thinking, time management, and advanced communication abilities, which are indispensable in professional settings.

Additional Information

This course will introduce you to the five main areas of international trade law: international sales of goods; e-commerce; financing and insurance; the transportation of cargo; and dispute resolution.

Flexibility

Enjoy flexibility - We understand that everyone’s circumstances are different. In addition to a general induction to the programme, there is a two-week induction covering the Key Principles of the English Legal System. This is compulsory for non-law students, but also open to students wanting a refresher in the fundamentals of the law of England and Wales.

*All optional modules are subject to availability and may change from time to time. Not all modules may be available in all terms. Only modules running at the location of study will be available to choose.

Visa Information

If you are an international student and are coming to the UK to study, then you must apply to the Home Office for a visa. In most cases you will need to obtain a Student Route visa. The Home Office has also introduced a Graduate Work visa which allows Graduates to work flexibly, switch jobs and develop their career in the UK for 2 years post completion of a UK degree. Please note that the University does not currently provide visa sponsorship to students for part-time study.

We offer this course with Pre-sessional English for students who need to improve their English language level to meet the language entry requirements.

This course cannot be chosen to study alongside our Legal Practice Course (LPC). By studying a Master's degree you could be eligible for a Postgraduate Loan.

Optional Modules

Candidates will be required to study 105 credits from the following optional modules:

Semester 1

Candidates will be required to study 45 credits in Semester 1 from the following optional modules:

Basket 1: Choose 3 modules

NOTE: If LAW5613M (30 Credits) or LAW5861M (30 Credits) is chosen, these each count as one 15 credit option from Basket 1 AND one 15 credit option from Basket 2.

* It is strongly recommended for candidates who wish to study LAW5556M Corporate Finance and Securities Law and have not previously studied Company Law in a common law jurisdiction to enrol on LAW5550M Corporate Law, as it will provide essential preparation.

Semester 2

Candidates will be required to study 60 credits in Semester 2 from the following optional modules:

Basket 2: Select up to 4 modules

NOTE: If LAW5613M (30 Credits) or LAW5861M (30 Credits) was chosen in Basket 1, these each count as 15 credit options pre-selected from Basket 2. If LAW5613M (30 Credits) OR LAW5861M (30 Credits) was chosen in Basket 1, choose only 3 modules in Basket 2. If LAW5613M (30 Credits) AND LAW5861M (30 Credits) was chosen in Basket 1, choose only 2 modules in Basket 2.

LL.M. Curriculum

The LLM program in International Business and Trade Law prepares students to meet the challenges of an increasingly global economy by giving them the knowledge and training needed to handle complex transnational transactions that define the current legal and business environment. Contract Law, International Arbitration, and Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions. Students may also choose courses from an evolving curriculum that reflects current global economic power players with courses such as Islamic Finance and Estate Planning and China and International Law.

Each student is required to complete a minimum of 24 credits of approved courses; the maximum number of credits permitted is 30. Full-time students take 10-15 credits per semester (11-13 recommended); part-time students take 2-9 credits per semester and must complete the program within 24 months of starting.

All LL.M. students who do not hold a J.D. Legal System and Process and Legal Writing and Research for LLM Students during their first semester of study in the LLM program.

Note: If a course fulfills both a Specialization Distribution Course requirement and a Content Outline requirement, the course may count toward both requirements. For example, Corporations (4 credits) counts towards the Specialization Distribution Course requirement and also counts toward the Content Outline requirement.

* Students who completed a similar course in their prior studies, or who have significant business, tax, or other experience that provides them with sufficient knowledge of this topic may seek a waiver by submitting the Request for Waiver from LL.M./M.S.L. Program Requirements form. Late registrants who are unable to register due to enrollment limits must take this course in their second semester of study.

Legal System and Process and/or Legal Writing and Research for LLM Students by submitting the online Request for Waiver from LL.M./M.S.L. Program Requirements form.

Legal Profession and/or the Content Outline course requirement by submitting the online Request for Waiver from LL.M./M.S.L. Program Requirements form. and can establish that that they have been in good standing and practiced law in that jurisdiction full-time for at least one year (or half-time for two years).

Legal Profession and Process, students may substitute a three-credit Professional Responsibility course, including those courses that are focused on a particular area of practice. Any remaining credits may be chosen from among the wide variety of courses that are open to LLM students as indicated on the class schedule(s) posted on the Registrar's webpage.

The LL.M. program strives to ensure that there is a wide range of courses available in the evening in each of our LL.M. However, it would be impossible to ensure that any specific course will be offered at a time that is convenient to all students.

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