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 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.
You can choose to be part our exciting of Diversity of Thought Programme. Students and our top employers work together on a bespoke pathway of engagement involving mentoring and work experience based on the needs and capacity of the employer to provide support.
This course is in Clearing
Our LLM course is a top choice
UEL’s LLM programme has been recognised as a top choice in the latest PTES survey, achieving 1st place rankings for satisfaction, teaching and more.
What makes this course different

A specialist course
Graduate with a professionally recognised law degree (Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board), with specific expertise in employment, commercial and company law.

Professional qualifications
All of our law courses are qualifying law degrees – and you can obtain an additional diploma from the National Association of Licensed Paralegals as an extra benefit of studying at UEL.

Superb facilities
You’ll be studying at our new £33 million building at University Square Stratford, where you’ll benefit from superb facilities that include a chamber for moots and mock trials.
See our facilitiesCourse modules
Get a foundation in key legal concepts before moving onto modules which mix business and law.
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. You will also study a business law specialist module.
You'll '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 choose from a range of business-oriented module options on existing programmes offered by RDSBL in both your 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, helping you study both law and business at the same time.
In your final year, you'll complete one compulsory module on equity and trusts, but will then be able to choose from a wide range of business and law 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 a Higher Diploma in Paralegal Practice in addition to your degree.
NOTE: Modules are subject to change. For those studying part time courses the modules may vary.
Download course specification
Your future career
The business and commercial law sector is becoming increasingly competitive. 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. Our business law graduates will be highly employable and our London location gives us access to major business and law institutions for networking opportunities. Our lecturers have strong links with the legal profession, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to learn outside the lecture theatre. Many of our students help local people with real legal problems in our Legal Advice Centre, where practising solicitors supervise and support you. This much-admired law clinic is a shining example of civic engagement in action.
Industry links
We have many guest talks and mentoring sessions. Our industry links include Ernst & Young, JP Morgan, Barclays, CILEx and The University of Law and the Law Society.
Graduate employers
Our business law graduates have gone on to jobs at such companies and organisations as the Legal Advice Centre at UEL, the Metropolitan Police, law chambers, and the Department for Health and Social Care.
Job roles
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 side of this degree opens up a variety of career paths in both the public and private sectors as you will have knowledge of company law, and understand the legal complexities of business.
Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.
Further study
You could go on to further study by doing:
We also have a specialised masters in Business and Financial Law to further develop your skillset in this specific area.

UEL has been the base from which to promote human rights education and research, empowering students to meet the challenges of our global community so they can contribute to finding solutions to injustice, inequalities and conflicts."John Strawson
Honorary Professor of Law
How you'll learn
Teaching methods vary throughout the course but you'll find them stimulating and challenging. You'll learn through lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops and individual supervision, supported by digital materials, notes and handbooks.
You'll have the chance to learn through moots and mock trials in our own chambers and use our state-of-the-art business facilities.
You'll 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 and business professions, 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 practising 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.
Guided independent study
When not attending timetabled lectures or workshops, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This will typically involve skills development through online study, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, and preparing coursework assignments and presentations.
Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, and specialist facilities, such as edit suites, the library, the full Microsoft Office software, including MS Teams, and Moodle: our Virtual Learning Environment.
Academic support
If you need a bit of extra help with certain skills such as academic writing, English, maths, or statistics, our Academic Tutors offer workshops, drop-in sessions, and one-to-one appointments to help our students achieve their potential.
You can receive advice and guidance on all aspects of the IT systems provided by the university from our IT Service Desks located on all three campuses.
Our Student Support hubs in Docklands and Stratford feature centralised helpdesks to cater to your every need. UEL provides also support and advice for disabled students and those with specific learning difficulties (SPDs).
Dedicated personal tutor
When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of the academic course team who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at UEL and who will show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer.
Workload
Your overall workload consists of class and online tutor-led sessions, individual learning, and practical activities.
Your timetable
Your individualised timetable is normally available within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9.00am and 6.00pm. For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.
Class sizes
To give you an indication of class sizes, this course normally attracts 40 - 50 students a year. Lecture sizes are normally 40 plus students.
In workshops, you will be taught in groups of 12 - 15 students. However, this can vary by academic year.
How you'll be assessed
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.
More details will be included in the student handbook and module guides. You will always receive detailed feedback outlining your strengths and how you can improve.
We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 15 working days, although you will receive immediate feedback following many of our face-to-face assessments.
Campus and facilities
Our campus and the surrounding area
University Square Stratford is one of London's most modern and well-equipped campuses. It serves 3,400 students and is the base for our courses in law and criminology, dance and performing arts, and the Master of Business Administration (MBA).
Modern facilities include: performing arts spaces; three performance studios; the Harvard lecture theatre, with live lecture capture technology; the multimedia Weston Learning Centre; a dedicated MBA suite and teaching space; a 300-seat specialised tiered lecture; and a simulated courtroom for mooting experience.
The campus is close to new Stratford developments such as Westfield Stratford City, and next door to the Theatre Royal and Picturehouse cinema.
Who teaches this course
This course is delivered by Royal Docks School of Business and Law
The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.
- Course leader
Augustina Akoto
Department of Law & Criminology, Royal Docks School Of Business And Law - Course leader
Catherine Hobby
Department of Law & Criminology, Royal Docks School Of Business And Law - Course leader
Olubunmi Onafuwa
Department of Law & Criminology, Royal Docks School Of Business And Law - Course leader
Patrick Glennon-Farris
Department of Law & Criminology, Royal Docks School Of Business And Law - Course leader
Dr Annalisa Meloni
Department of Law & Criminology, Royal Docks School Of Business And Law - Course leader
Miroslava Marinova
Department of Law & Criminology, Royal Docks School Of Business And Law - Course leader
Bakari Arabi
Department of Law & Criminology, Royal Docks School Of Business And Law - Course leader
Iwa Salami
Department of Law & Criminology, Royal Docks School Of Business And Law
What our students and staff say

I liked the fact that the course involved so many different topics, and I learnt so many things that I did not expect.
I didn't think the course was going to involve so much theory but it was very interesting."
Ahmed Sharabash
International Law and Legal Practice LLM

The diverse and fantastic range of lecturers inspired me deeply, so much so that I have decided to continue my academic journey and pursue an LLM.
Tania Morgan
LLB (Hons) Business Law