NUIM Department of Law

The LL.M. degree will enable law graduates to further their legal education by gaining a systematic understanding of the critical issues at the forefront of select areas of the law. Students can specialize in commercial law or criminal justice or pursue a general pathway. In addition to the acquisition of advanced disciplinary knowledge, the NUIM LL.M. emphasizes the development of legal research, reasoning, writing, advocacy, and teamwork skills. These skills are highly sought after by employers. Taught by an international group of scholars, the degree will be particularly valuable to those expecting to work in a transnational legal environment or pursue further study in law.

Click here for LL.M. Brochure.

Who is this course for?

This programme is open to graduates with a minimum 2.2 grade, honours (level 8) degree in law who wish to develop a career in law, business, and policymaking at the national and international levels. The programme is intensive and fast paced bringing the students on a high growth learning experience across the 12 months.

What will I study?

Students can choose between a commercial law stream, a criminal justice stream*, and a general path of study. Specialization in commercial law or criminal justice requires a minimum of 60 credits from modules in related areas. The Legal Writing and Advocacy module is compulsory.The following optional modules are currently offered:Global Business Transactions, International Trade Law,  Restructuring & Insolvency Law, Environmental Law & Finance, International Human Rights*, Criminology*, Criminal Justice*, Aircraft Financing Law, Negotiation, Media Law, International Criminal Law*, White-Collar Crime*, Criminal Procedure*, Banking Law, Funds Law, Employment Law, Introduction to Tax Law, Corporate Taxation Law

Note: All listed modules may not be offered in every academic year.

Sample module descriptions are below:

Global Business Transactions (15 Credits)
The module aims to introduce students to the current academic and policy debates in the law applicable to global business transactions. It gives students a systematic understanding of legal issues arising from globalisation of business and resulting contacts with domestic laws in several jurisdictions with different standards. The module also tackles key debates on corporate social responsibility and corporate governance and the role of employees in these areas.

International Human Rights (15 Credits)
The module introduces students to national, regional, and international legal guarantees of human rights. It will ground students in the robust academic and policy debates in the field. It covers the various pathways for the enforcement of human rights at the national, regional and international levels to understand how these various jurisdictions reinforce human rights protections. It examines the different categories of human rights – civil, political, religious, economic, cultural, individual and group – and their evolution. It analyzes the major international treaties and conventions and judicial interpretations thereof. The module also analyses circumstances allowing for human rights protections to be abridged by law. Students will also be introduced to the broader international law principles that underpin human rights law.

International Trade Law (15 Credits)
The module will provide students with a systematic understanding of critical debates in international trade law. The course will interrogate the dominant theories that underpin the world trading system as well as the proffered world trade spin offs of innovation, development, poverty reduction and employment. The course will also examine the divergent perspectives held by participants in the international trading system through the prism of the WTO.

Legal Writing & Advocacy (15 Credits)
The module will build on existing legal analytical skills and develop advanced skills in research, writing legal briefs, contracts, legal memoranda and other documents. It will enable learners to understand the structure of legal argumentation and the use of legal precedents and other sources of authority. In addition, students will also be taught how to advance oral legal arguments to courts and other tribunals. Students are expected to demonstrate competence in selecting from a range of complex materials to marshal arguments directed at attaining optimal outcomes.

Dissertation (30 Credits)
Students will be expected to arrive at a suitable dissertation topic after consultation with a faculty supervisor. Thereafter, s/he will be expected to complete a dissertation of 10,000 words, excluding footnotes.

How is the course delivered?

The programme will be delivered through lectures, presentations and seminars during each semester. There will be a significant number of written assignments and oral advocacy workshops. Faculty will use Moodle, an internet based tool, to monitor progress of students and offer feedback periodically.

How will it help my career?

The complexity of the modern legal environment requires lawyers, businesspersons and policy-makers to have an in-depth knowledge of relevant theoretical advances and to deploy an enormous array of analytical, conceptual, professional and writing skills. The NUIM LL.M. programme addresses this need by offering students a more robust and engaged learning experience than is typical in many law master's degrees. At the completion of the degree, students are expected to be better prepared to meet the requirements of prospective employers.

The department has strong relationships with law firms in Dublin and abroad. Many of these firms typically make recruitment presentations on campus during the academic year. Postgraduate students will have the opportunity to participate in these presentations, various job fairs and other recruiting avenues offered by the department.

What qualification will I receive?

Successful learners will graduate with an LL.M. Degree. This qualification is a nationally and internationally recognised qualification from the National University of Ireland. It is a 90 credit, level 9 (masters) on the National Framework of Qualifications

How is the course assessed?

A combination of continuous assessments and written examinations for most modules.
Graded assignments for Legal Writing & Advocacy module.
Dissertation of 10,000 words under supervision.

Timetable

Click here for timetable

Further Information

Further details about the Department of Law are available at http://law.nuim.ie 
Questions about the programme can be directed to the Head of the Department at Sandeep.Gopalan@nuim.ie

How to apply?

Application should be made through PAC only (www.pac.ie) where the following information will be required:
Official transcripts 
Two letters of academic reference