International Business Law - Markets and Behavior

Overview

n the wake of the global financial crisis and today's economic upheaval due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increasing awareness that finance and corporate law should not only be studied in terms of its doctrine, but include a wider perspective of its social function.

You are well aware of these new legal schools of thought. You want to become a "T-shaped lawyer" also known as Lawyer 2.0. That means someone with a deep legal knowledge (the upright in the T) combined with soft skills and broader business knowledge (the crossbar of the T).

Clients today demand lawyers who are both fully versed in the letter of financial and corporate law, but also have a broader view on the context of that law: society itself. This demands a multidisciplinary approach. The innovative curriculum of International Business Law: Markets and Behavior at VU Amsterdam answers that call.

This LLM International Business Law - Markets and Behavior LLM programme offered at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam programme aims to train you to become an excellent lawyer who has a broader knowledge of the economic and behavioural context of financial and corporate law. 

You will therefore gain new insights, provided by experts with knowledge of other disciplines such as behavioural economics, psychology, sociology and political science. It has been designed for students taking their first LLM degree. This is one of the only financial and corporate master’s programmes in the Netherlands offering a multidisciplinary approach.

The courses in English will be taught jointly by lawyers and researchers from the VU Faculties of Economics and Behavioral Sciences. In addition, professionals from sectors such as banking, insurance, pension funds and government regulators will also be involved as guest lecturers and providers of practical cases studies.

Entering the job market

Students who successfully completed the programme have a wide range of career choices. They can work as professional business lawyers, in-house legal counsels for companies, government officials, corporate executives, legal professionals for an international (intergovernmental) organization, etc.

The alumni have jobs at, e.g., multinational companies, international law firms, banks and international accounting companies all over the world. Others pursue a career as a legal counsel in government institutions or international organizations. Some alumni choose to further develop their academic legal research skills by enrolling into a PhD programme at VU Amsterdam or elsewhere.