Business Law Concentration
Our Business Law concentration allows students to benefit from a rich curriculum, scholarly workshops in the field, and a robust faculty complement.
As an LLM student in this concentration, you'll gain nuanced understanding of key debates in Canadian and international business law while developing critical thinking and practical skills in drafting, deal structuring, negotiation, and problem-solving. Through our renowned strengths in corporate law and law and economics, you can pursue in-depth research from diverse topical, theoretical, and methodological perspectives, bridging theoretical knowledge with real-world business legal practice.
The University of Toronto Faculty of Law is home to several internationally renowned Business Law scholars as well as the faculty’s Investor Protection Clinic. With numerous faculty specializing in Business Law (and related areas), you'll enjoy small class sizes, frequent instructor interaction, and engagement with students with shared interests across the faculty’s JD and graduate programs.
Our downtown Toronto location in Canada's financial core brings leading practitioners and business leaders directly into our classrooms. These experts contribute their experience as advocates, negotiators, drafters, and policy-makers, offering valuable insights from both business and legal practice while introducing you to diverse career opportunities.
Admission requirements for the Business Law concentration are the same as for the general LLM program. Students who wish to be considered for admission to the Business Law concentration are encouraged to demonstrate their interest in and suitability for the concentration in their personal statement. Applicants to the thesis LLM program with a Business Law concentration, are expected to be pursuing a thesis in Business Law or a related area.
Admission to the program is competitive and not everyone who applies to the concentration will be admitted. If you are not accepted into the Business Law concentration, you may still be accepted into the LLM program.
For more information about our program and admission process (including how to apply), please review our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).
All students in the LLM Concentration in Business Law may pursue either the course-work only option, or the long or short thesis option.
Coursework-only option (28 course credits):
Students in the concentration who pursue the coursework-only option would complete 28 course credits in the LLM program. Students pursuing this option would complete:
- LLM Seminar (1 credit).
- At least 12 credits of courses from an approved list of Business Law courses.
- Additional courses, either within or outside of the list of Business Law courses, to bring them to 28 total credits.
- A writing requirement, by either:
- Designating a three (3) or four (4) credit course, related to the area of concentration, as a writing requirement course and producing one piece of writing that is at least 5,000 words (or approximately 20 pages)
- Only courses requiring a written assignment of at least 5,000 words will qualify as a designated writing requirement course.
- Completing a two (2) or three (3) credit directed research project on a topic related to Business Law, requiring a written assignment of 7,000 and 10,500 words, respectively.
- Designating a three (3) or four (4) credit course, related to the area of concentration, as a writing requirement course and producing one piece of writing that is at least 5,000 words (or approximately 20 pages)
Short thesis option (24 course credits):
If students in the concentration opt to prepare a short thesis of 50-60 pages (15,000 words), they would complete 24 credits in the program. Students pursuing this option would complete:
- Alternative Approaches to Legal Scholarship (3 credits) and LLM Seminar (1 credit).
- A short, 4-credit thesis in a subject related to Business Law.
- At least 8 credits of Business Law coursework from an approved list of Business Law courses.
- Students would take 8 additional credits of coursework, either from the list of Business Law courses, or from outside of that list.
Long thesis option (24 course credits):
If students in the concentration opt to prepare a longer thesis of 150 pages (45,000 words), they would also complete 24 credits. Students pursuing this option would complete:
- Alternative Approaches to Legal Scholarship (3 credits) and LLM Seminar (1 credit).
- A longer, 16-credit thesis in a subject related to Business Law.
- Up to 4 additional credits of coursework, either from the approved list of Business Law courses, or from outside of that list.
Your course selection will be reviewed in order to ensure that an appropriate number of credits are devoted to Business Law.
- Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law
- Beyond the Standard Labour Law Model: Construction, Film, The Gig Economy, and Beyond
- Business Organizations
- Canadian Income Tax Law
- Commercial Litigation: Process & Strategy
- Corporate Income Taxation
- Corporate Theory
- Finance, Business and Accounting in the Law
- Financial Crimes and Corporate Compliance
- International Taxation
- International Trade Regulation
- Introduction to Intellectual Property
- Patent and Trade Secrets Law
- Secured Transactions
- Securities Litigation: The Public and Private Enforcement of Securities Law
- Securities Regulation
- Selected Topics in Public Company M&A and Capital Markets
- The Law of Work
- The Life Cycle of a Startup
- Transnational Business and Human Rights
- US Taxation of Individuals and Businesses
The LLM does not qualify foreign-trained candidates to practise law in Ontario.
View our NCA-related offerings or contact the National Committee on Accreditation for information on practising law in Ontario.