Law with Business LLB (Hons)

Program Overview

This combined law and business program at the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Law School prepares students for the academic stage of the route to practice law while offering complementary business coursework. It emphasizes knowledge of major legal subjects, skills development, and the opportunity to study various legal and business-related topics to gain a comprehensive understanding of the law and its applications in the modern business landscape.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This degree combines the strengths of the Liverpool Law School and the University of Liverpool's Management School to offer a modern legal education that reflects the needs of the 21st century. The Law with Business course allows students to combine complementary programs while still going through the academic stage of the route to practice.

Objectives:

• Develop knowledge and understanding of the major "core" subjects of English Law and enable students to pass the academic stage of the route to practice.
• Provide the opportunity to study a range of subjects beyond the core modules to enable students to appreciate the wider context of the law and legal processes in areas that enhance their legal education and complement their understanding of the basic principles of law.
• Develop an understanding of organizations, their management, and the changes in the business and social environment.
• Equip students with the skills to work, adapt, and respond positively to the demands and changes in the business and social environment.
• Prepare students to play leading roles in industry, research, teaching, and the public services.

Outline:

Year One:

• Compulsory Modules:
• FOUNDATIONS OF LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE (LAW102):
Introduces fundamental concepts and techniques of legal study and reasoning, exploring key legal systems, processes, and concepts through a social justice perspective.
• LAW OF CONTRACT (LAW105): Covers legal principles and rules applied by the courts in Contract Law, developing case analysis, synthesis, and problem-solving skills.
• PUBLIC LAW (LAW106): Focuses on the law creating and relating to the UK's system of government, exploring constitutional and administrative law.
• FUNCTIONS OF BUSINESS 1 (ULMS101): Introduces human resource management, marketing, and finance, building knowledge of common tools and techniques used in each area.
• FUNCTIONS OF BUSINESS 2 (ULMS102): Builds on ULMS101, exploring the inter-relationship between business functions and their implications for organizational decisions.

Year Two:

• Compulsory Modules:
• LAW OF TORT (LAW209):
Introduces civil wrongs actionable at common law, including negligence, trespass, nuisance, and defamation.
• EQUITY & TRUSTS (LAW211): Covers trusts, equitable remedies, and concepts of property.
• LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN ACTION (LAW212): Enhances legal and transferable skills, engaging in group work and critically evaluating the impact of the law through a specific case study.
• LAND LAW (LAW242): Examines estates and interests in land in English and Welsh law, including freehold and leasehold estates, easements, restrictive covenants, and mortgages.
• BUSINESS ETHICS (PHIL271): Deals with business ethics and social responsibility, helping students identify and manage ethical dilemmas.
• BUSINESS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY (MKIB225): Explores business strategies and behavior in the global economy, considering firms, states, international organizations, and social movements.

Year Three:

• Compulsory Modules:
• Law of the European Union (LAW310): Introduces the constitutional and institutional law of the European Union and considers areas of substantive Union law.
• Optional Modules:
• COMPANY LAW (LAW029):
Covers fundamental aspects of Company Law, including regulation, separate legal entity, duties of directors, and minority shareholder rights.
• MEDICAL LAW AND ETHICS I (LAW051): Examines the legal regulation of the doctor-patient relationship, focusing on medical negligence claims and legal limits to medical treatment decisions.
• International Human Rights Law (LAW308): Introduces the field of international human rights law, covering historical and philosophical foundations, substantive rights, and international mechanisms for protection and promotion.
• FAMILY LAW (LAW316): Provides an introduction to key aspects of family law in England and Wales, exploring the legal regulation of family relationships and state intervention in family life.
• COMMERCIAL LAW (LAW318): Explores fundamental issues in Commercial Law, focusing on Sale of Goods and the Law of Agency.
• Legal History (LAW329): Provides a historical account of key "flashpoints" in the development of the English common law, encouraging critical analysis of the law's impartiality.
• CLINICAL LEGAL SKILLS - A Law Clinic Module (LAW321): Provides experiential learning through working in the Liverpool Law Clinic, assisting in-house and external solicitors and barristers in providing legal advice to the public.
• JURISPRUDENCE (LAW332): Aims to give students an understanding of the basic problems of legal theory, exploring the nature of law, obedience, morality, and judicial decision-making.
• ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION LAW (LAW335): Focuses on the way borders operate within the UK and EU, examining the treatment of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants under the law.
• EMPLOYMENT LAW: RIGHTS AND JUSTICE AT WORK (LAW349): Provides a critical understanding of rights and justice at work, exploring the protection of workers, wages, and work.
• Public Interest Lawyering (LAW364): Provides an understanding of access to justice and public interest law through a placement in a public sector or non-profit organization.
• Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Legal Services (LAW383): A project-based module that requires students to work in teams using AI technology to solve a challenging legal problem.
• MEDICAL LAW AND ETHICS II (LAW052): Introduces key ethical principles as they relate to the legal regulation of medical practice, examining autonomy in various contexts.
• SECURITY, CONFLICT AND THE LAW (LAW320): Engages students in critical learning about the role of law in the context of national security crises caused by conflict and political violence.
• BANKING LAW (LAW317): Focuses on risk and threats to the banking system, examining the role of law in addressing these challenges.
• CLINICAL LEGAL SKILLS - A Law Clinic Module (LAW322): Provides experiential learning through working in the Liverpool Law Clinic, assisting in-house and external solicitors and barristers in providing legal advice to the public.
• PRIVACY, SURVEILLANCE AND THE LAW OF SOCIAL MEDIA (LAW341): Examines the challenges faced by individuals in determining how their personal data is collected and processed in a digital environment.
• Advanced Public Law (LAW343): Explores key challenges facing constitutional frameworks at the UK, European, and/or international levels.
• Comparative Law (LAW344): Introduces the principal theories and methodologies of comparative law, empowering students to understand its application in resolving legal problems and regulatory challenges.
• SPORTS LAW (LAW347): Introduces key areas of sports law, examining questions related to professional sports contracts, criminal liability, anti-doping regimes, and transgender and intersex athlete participation.
• CORPORATE INSOLVENCY LAW (LAW373): Critically examines the legal rules, policy, and theoretical underpinnings that exist to deal with insolvent companies.
• ANIMAL LAW (LAW348): Examines the way in which the law regulates the treatment of animals in the UK and internationally.
• Public Interest Lawyering – Semester 2 (LAW369): Provides an understanding of access to justice and public interest law through a placement in a public sector or non-profit organization.
• COMPETITION LAW (LAW374): Covers the basic rules of competition law in the EU, UK, and other legal systems.
• Law and Gender (LAW384): Investigates how law affects gender and how gender affects law, using feminist theories to examine how individuals from disadvantaged groups could be disenfranchised by law.

Assessment:

Assessment methods vary depending on the module, but generally include:

• Formal assessments:
• Seen and unseen examinations
• Extended coursework assignments
• Other methods:
• Case work
• Empirical projects
• Reflective journals

Teaching:

• Teaching methods:
• Large group lectures
• Small class sessions (tutorials, seminars, workshops)
• Alternative forms of delivery (podcasts, lecture capture technology, drop-in sessions, learning cafés, clinical legal skills workshops)
• Online resources and exercises
• Group work
• Presentations
• Faculty:
• Taught by world-leading experts in the subject areas.
• Experience in research-engaged teaching, learning, and assessment methods.
• Unique approaches:
• Liverpool Curriculum Framework, focusing on research-connected teaching, active learning, and authentic assessment.
• Liverpool Hallmarks:
• Research-connected teaching
• Active learning
• Authentic assessment

Careers:

• Potential career paths:
• Legal profession
• Civil service
• Banking
• Construction
• Charities and international non-governmental organizations
• Business management
• Academia
• Armed forces
• Accounting and finance
• Police and emergency services
• Opportunities:
• Regular careers events
• Annual law fair
• Careers advice and support from academic staff and Careers & Employability team
• Membership of the Inns of Court
• Scholarships for vocational training
• Vacation placements, training contracts, and mini-pupillage opportunities
• Extracurricular activities (mentoring, mooting, negotiation competitions)
• Work experience placements with organizations like the Citizens' Advice Bureau, Asylum Link, Merseyside Welfare Rights, and other pro-bono service providers
• Year-long placements in China
• Liverpool Law Clinic, providing students with practical experience in legal practice
• Outcomes:
• 92% of law students are in work and/or further study within 15 months of graduation (Discover Uni, 2018-19).

Other:

• Students have access to state-of-the-art facilities and are a short walk from the Sydney Jones Library.
• Based in the Knowledge Quarter, 10 minutes walk from the city-centre, students are surrounded by history and culture.
• Students have access to a vibrant program of extracurricular activities, including a visiting lecture program.
• A friendly and fun student community with supportive staff.
• Excellent links with employers and employability opportunities.
• Students can gain invaluable experience at Liverpool Law Clinic, assisting in-house, qualified lawyers provide free and confidential legal advice to members of the public.
• Studying at the University of Liverpool Management School also develops skills of flexibility, problem-solving ability, commercial awareness, and communication, which are highly valued by employers.