LLB Hons Business Law

Program Overview

The Royal Docks School of Business and Law is made up of professional experts from the worlds of business, accounting and finance, economics, law and criminology. This new LLB (Hons) Business Law brings that diverse expertise together to create a specialist degree that applies the letter of the law in a modern business context.

The course is a qualifying law degree that prepares you to work as a barrister or solicitor while specialising in areas like employment law, commercial law and company law. It’s ideal for anyone hoping to work as an in-house legal professional for businesses, or as a lawyer or paralegal with specific commercial expertise.

The business and commercial law sector is becoming increasingly competitive, so this course offers the academic rigour you would expect from an accredited law degree, with the practical skills and experience you need to understand the contemporary business world.

Its graduates will be highly employable as a result and our unique locations in Stratford and Docklands give us access to major business and law institutions who can provide networking opportunities, guest talks and mentoring; our links include Ernst & Young, JP Morgan, Barclays, CILEx, The University of Law and the Law Society.

Our Foundation year course prepares students for successful transition to a wide range of honours degree courses in the complementary subject areas in the Law and Criminology department within the Royal Docks School of Business and Law.

Program Outline

As this is a qualifying law degree, you can expect to learn the fundamentals of the profession from day one.

The compulsory modules in your first two years include an introduction to legal skills and methods, and insights into the key specialist areas of the subject. These include contract, land, criminal, human rights, constitutional and administrative law.

In your final year, you'll need to complete one compulsory module on equity and trusts, but will then be able to choose from a wide range of options. These include intellectual property law,  commercial law,  client practice and civil and criminal litigation.

If you take these last two options, you can gain the Higher Diploma in Paralegal Practice in addition to your degree.

You'll be encouraged to 'learn by doing' by volunteering for the University's much-admired Legal Advice Centre in Stratford and through work placements with local law firms.

You can also choose from a range of business-oriented module options on existing programmes offered by RDSBL in both their second and third years. This is the only qualifying law degree programme at UEL that allows students to choose business option modules at levels 5 and 6.

We consistently review our courses to ensure we are up-to-date with industry changes and requirements from our graduates. As a result, our modules are subject to change.

Teaching methods vary throughout the course but you'll find them all stimulating and challenging. You'll learn by lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops and individual supervision, supported by digital materials, notes and handbooks.

You'll also have the chance to learn through moots and mock trials in our own chambers.

You'll be expected to carry out your own independent study to build on your learning, so don't expect to be spoon-fed. You'll find that you get out of the course what you are willing to put in.

Our lecturers have strong links with the legal profession, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to learn outside of the lecture theatre and seminar room. If you play an active role throughout the course, joining in with debates and attending guest talks, conferences and events, you'll reap the rewards.

Many of our students take the chance to help local people with real legal problems in our Legal Advice Centre, where practicing solicitors give up their time to supervise and support you. This much-admired law clinic is a shining example of civic engagement in action – taking learning out of the classroom and, at the same, making a real difference to society. It's highly popular with our students as well as the public, and the experience will give you a taste of what being a legal professional is all about.

We'll assess you with a  mix of coursework and exams. Coursework includes essays, a reflective diary, oral presentations, practical exercises and answering hypothetical problem questions. Throughout the course you'll be given plenty of feedback to help you improve.

If you choose the final-year project option, you'll conduct independent research on a legal topic of your choice and complete a 4,000-word dissertation.