The LL.M. Program
Western Law's LL.M. program fosters advanced scholarship and research about law and its role in society. Our students develop sophisticated research, writing and analytic skills so they can contribute to developing answers to the many important questions emerging in relation to the role of law in society.
One of the primary aims of the program is to offer opportunities for advanced research to promising scholars and to prepare the best among them for a doctoral program in law or for teaching law. Graduates of the LL.M. program will also be well positioned for the workplace in the private practice of law, the government or various Canadian and international non-governmental organizations that focus on legal policy.
The LL.M. program trains future leaders and scholars who will have a broad understanding of key theoretical frameworks and research methods that contribute to legal scholarship and practice.
Since its foundation in 1959, Western Law has attained an admirable reputation among Canadian law schools. Our LL.B. graduates are highly sought-after and each year, Western is one of the national leaders in placement rates.
Our commitment to scholarship and research provides our students with exciting new perspectives on legal issues and creates an intellectually stimulating environment. Our Professors are regular contributors to leading law journals and are authors of legal texts and casebooks used in courts, law firms and law schools across Canada. Their publication rate is among the highest in the country.
Western Law's Master of Laws program consists of four courses and a substantial thesis of publishable quality. For full-time students, the degree is designed to take one year (three terms) to complete. For part-time students the degree is designed to take two years (six terms) to complete. We limit our enrolment to approx. 12 students each year.
Our Faculty, in addition to individual expertise with international recognition, also has been recognized for possessing a depth of scholarship in the following three areas:
Business Law and Taxation
The Business Law and Taxation Area capitalizes upon a long history of outstanding scholarship at Western Law. In the 1960s, the first published teaching materials in Canada on corporate law were developed at Western, and it is the home of the National Tax Centre and our tax scholars have been involved in comparative tax study and tax policy scholarship for decades. This perspective complements our growing scholarly reputation, built upon our traditional reputation in the LL.B. program, for business law analyses.
Intellectual Property, Information and Technology Law
Intellectual property, information and technology law (IPIT) at Western Law encompasses intellectual enquiry into all areas touching upon the new economic and social environments brought about by the computer and telecommunications revolutions. However, at Western Law this area is deliberately not only about intellectual property (IP) and information technology (IT). Our researchers all investigate phenomena at the nexes of boundaries between traditional areas of legal scholarship such as freedom of expression and patents or copyright and criminal censorship that have become increasingly important as the knowledge economy and its attendant social consequences have emerged.
International, Foreign and Comparative Law
The International, Foreign and Comparative Law Area at Western Law is directly related to our mission as a national law school with an international outlook. Our graduate scholarship in this area includes not only traditional international law subject and research expertise in public international law and international trade law but also extensive expertise in private international law or conflicts and research expertise in comparative analyses, both empirical and doctrinal, between and among jurisdictions in virtually all areas of traditional legal scholarship. Read More>
"The LL.M program at Western Law is a rewarding experience. The course structure and academic environment is very stimulating. As a mature international student seeking higher legal education, I found everything at Western Law, from the abundant library and computer resources to the support and encouragement from faculty members and staff. Western is a great place for research and higher legal education"
Samuel Ojogbo LL.M. 2007
Thesis: Globalization, Emerging Markets and Corporate Governance Convergance
Also from this web page:
