LLM Executive Law
Reimagine Everything®. Advise with Authority.
Commercial decisions increasingly turn on legal questions that cross borders, technologies and regulatory regimes. Delivered by Robert Kennedy College in exclusive partnership with the University of Lancashire, the LLM Executive Law is built for professionals who need to understand — and shape — how law operates in international commercial practice.
The programme covers AI regulation, intellectual property, commercial dispute resolution, cross-border litigation and business law, and concludes with an independent Legal Strategy Report on a topic of your choosing. A zero-credit Legal Method and Inquiry module runs alongside your first taught module, so students without a law background start on solid ground.
Welcome video from Professor Janice Allan
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Leadership), University of Lancashire
Swiss Quality. Since 1998. British Excellence. Award-Winning Innovation.
This programme combines the excellence of Swiss-quality education with the prestige of a British degree from an award-winning university. For over two decades, Robert Kennedy College has been at the forefront of online education, while the University of Lancashire’s recognition as University of the Year and ranked in the top 7% of universities worldwide ensures you receive exceptional value alongside academic excellence.
Why This Programme?
- Built for Executives, Not Just Lawyers: A dedicated Legal Method and Inquiry module gives you the research, reasoning and citation skills to succeed whatever your first degree was
- Law Where It Is Moving Fastest: Study AI regulation under the UK principles-based framework and the EU AI Act, generative AI and copyright, and automated decision-making under UK GDPR
- Cross-Border by Design: Jurisdiction, applicable law, enforcement, Brussels I Recast, the Lugano Convention and the post-Brexit Hague Conventions
- Dispute Resolution in Depth: Negotiation, mediation, arbitration and hybrid mechanisms, informed by game theory, cognitive bias and behavioural insight
- No Dissertation. A Strategy Report: Conclude with an original, independently argued Legal Strategy Report on a topic you choose
- Flexible Online Learning: Study at your own pace with 100% online delivery through our interactive OnlineCampus
Your LLM Executive Law degree is:
- Recognised worldwide by employers and professional bodies
- Awarded directly by the University of Lancashire
- Identical to degrees earned on campus
- Fully recognised by the UK government
Career Outcomes
Graduates are prepared for roles such as:
- In-House Counsel
- Legal Counsel, International Operations
- Head of Legal and Compliance
- Regulatory Affairs Manager
- AI Governance and Policy Adviser
- Intellectual Property Manager
- Contracts and Commercial Manager
- Dispute Resolution Specialist
- Company Secretary
- Director of Risk and Compliance
12 months to 2 years
100% online via OnlineCampus (an interactive online learning environment) with intensive class discussion and collaboration.
We offer rolling admissions throughout the year. Register at any time and begin your learning journey immediately.
Standard Programme Fee: CHF 12,600
Dean’s Bursary Now Available
Bursary value: CHF 2,700
Final Programme Fee: CHF 9,900
Flexible Payment Options
Interest-free monthly installments matched to your programme duration:
12-month programme: CHF 825 per month (12 installments)
24-month programme: CHF 412.50 per month (24 installments)
Payment plan corresponds to your chosen study timeline
This covers everything: tuition, online study materials, and University fees
Programme not eligible for UK Government student finance.
The University of Lancashire MSc and MBA programmes, offered online in exclusive partnership with Robert Kennedy College, are recognised worldwide. Once you complete your studies at Robert Kennedy College, you will receive a degree from the University of Lancashire.
The University of Lancashire received its University title and degreeawarding powers from Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council. It is fully recognised by the British Government and duly listed on the United Kingdom’s Department for Education list of recognised UK awarding institutions.
The University of Lancashire's recent accolades include University of the Year (The Edufuturists Uprising 2023) and ranking in the top 7% of universities worldwide (Center for World University Rankings 2024)
Programme Outline
Introductory
Not-for-credit
- Preparatory Module: Legal Method and Inquiry (0 credits)
Running alongside your first taught module, this induction prepares you for postgraduate study in English law. It covers the foundations of the English legal system, the research and writing skills you will rely on throughout the programme, and the responsible use of technology in legal study. It does not carry credits.
The LLM Executive Law consists of 180 credits delivered through six taught modules, supported by a zero-credit induction module that runs alongside your first taught module:
Stage 1: Foundations, Technology and Intellectual Property (60 credits)
Module 1: Governing Intelligence: AI, Law and Regulation (30 credits)
Module 2: Intellectual Property in a Global Economy (30 credits)
Stage 2: Disputes and Commercial Practice (60 credits)
Module 3: Deals, Disputes and Decisions (30 credits)
Module 4: Litigation Across Borders (30 credits)
Stage 3: Business Law and Legal Strategy (60 credits)
Module 5: Business Law and Practice (30 credits)
Module 6: Legal Strategy Report (30 credits)
Module Descriptions
Preparatory Module: Legal Method and Inquiry (0 credits)
Running alongside your first taught module, this induction prepares you for postgraduate study in English law. It covers the foundations of the English legal system, the research and writing skills you will rely on throughout the programme, and the responsible use of technology in legal study.
❚ Sources and nature of law in England and Wales; statutory interpretation
❚ The common law, precedent and the court hierarchy
❚ Locating cases and legislation using legal databases such as Westlaw and LexisNexis
❚ Reading cases and statutes: ratio decidendi and obiter dicta
❚ Legal writing and reasoning, IRAC, and OSCOLA referencing
❚ Ethical and responsible use of generative AI in legal research
Module 1: Governing Intelligence: AI, Law and Regulation (30 credits)
Examine the technical foundations of artificial intelligence and the legal and ethical questions they raise, then critically evaluate the UK and comparative regulatory frameworks now emerging — and what they mean for compliance and professional practice.
❚ Foundations of AI: machine learning, LLMs, automated decision-making and the black box problem
❚ AI and human rights: facial recognition, predictive policing, the Human Rights Act 1998, ECHR and Equality Act 2010
❚ Autonomous weapons under international humanitarian and human rights law
❚ Generative AI and copyright: training data and ownership of AI-generated works
❚ Automated decision-making under UK GDPR and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025
❚ UK principles-based AI regulation and the EU AI Act: comparative divergence
Module 2: Intellectual Property in a Global Economy (30 credits)
Develop the analytical and practical skills to protect and exploit intellectual assets across jurisdictions, working through the core principles of copyright, patents and trademarks within UK, EU and international frameworks.
❚ Foundations and rationale of intellectual property protection
❚ Copyright: originality, authorship, infringement and exceptions
❚ Patents: inventive step, protection requirements, scope and limitations
❚ Trademarks: distinctiveness, registered and unregistered marks, enforcement
❚ Creation and registration of rights in UK and post-Brexit EU frameworks
❚ The territorial nature of IP and international treaty frameworks
Module 3: Deals, Disputes and Decisions (30 credits)
Commercial disputes are cheaper to prevent than to litigate. This module examines how disputes are avoided, managed and resolved outside the courtroom, drawing on law, economics, game theory and psychology.
❚ Contract law principles underpinning dispute resolution clauses and party autonomy
❚ Tiered and hybrid mechanisms: negotiation, mediation, arbitration, med-arb and arb-med
❚ Theories of conflict: game theory, cognitive bias and strategic decision-making
❚ Commercial negotiation strategy, dynamics and barriers to settlement
❚ Facilitative mediation, its legal framework and post-Churchill CPR developments
❚ Domestic and international arbitration and the New York Convention
Module 4: Litigation Across Borders (30 credits)
When a dispute spans jurisdictions, the first questions are where it will be heard, whose law applies and whether the judgment will be enforceable. This module works through the principles of private international law and the tensions between common law and civil law approaches.
❚ Jurisdiction, applicable law, and recognition and enforcement of judgments
❚ Forum non conveniens and lis pendens: contrasting doctrinal approaches
❚ Jurisdiction clauses in international commercial contracts
❚ Brussels I Recast and the Lugano Convention
❚ Brexit and its consequences for private international law
❚ The Hague Conventions 2005 and 2019: scope and limitations
Module 5: Business Law and Practice (30 credits)
Follow the legal issues that arise across the lifecycle of a business — from formation and governance through employment, contract and tort, to professional ethics and financial crime compliance — and build the judgement to advise on them.
❚ Business structures: sole traders, partnerships, LLPs and private limited companies
❚ Corporate governance, directors’ statutory duties and the shareholder relationship
❚ Employment law: employees, workers and contractors; equality and non-discrimination
❚ Contract law and tortious liability in a business context
❚ Intellectual property protection for business assets
❚ Professional ethics, anti-money laundering and financial crime compliance
Module 6: Legal Strategy Report (30 credits)
Select and critically analyse a legal issue or strategic challenge drawn from the programme, and produce an original, independently argued Legal Strategy Report. Structured academic guidance and a formative mid-block checkpoint support you throughout.
❚ Independent selection and framing of a legal or strategic issue
❚ Postgraduate legal research using primary and secondary sources
❚ Critical analysis and synthesis of programme learning
❚ Structured academic supervision and a formative mid-block checkpoint
❚ Assessed by a 500-word preliminary written analysis and a 5,500-word Legal Strategy Report
❚ An original, reasoned and independently argued strategy