Whether you’re launching your own business, negotiating contracts or allocating your company’s budget, understanding the law is crucial for making better and more informed decisions on the job. By studying the laws governing economic and financial markets and institutions, you will help ensure your business is compliant with corporate and legal regulations in every area.
Professionals in business and finance who would benefit from our Master of Legal Studies (MLS) degree include:
Business executives
Executives can make smarter business choices and protect themselves, their employees and their company by gaining expertise in contracts, corporate governance, compliance and international business transactions, among other topics.
Investors and entrepreneurs
You will build a background in intellectual property, contracts and employment law — crucial subject areas for investing in or launching a new business.
Corporate compliance and compliance officers
You will improve your ability to interpret legal regulations and develop the legal reasoning skills to ensure your organization is following applicable laws, policies and contract stipulations day to day. You will also develop the writing and presentation skills needed to better formulate policies, educate staff and communicate with management about compliance issues.
Consultants (including legal business consultants)
A strong foundation in legal topics such as contracts, negotiation and corporate compliance will allow you to identify solutions to legal challenges and make more informed, legally sound recommendations for your clients — an ability that’s even more important for legal business consultants. Additionally, our elective topics allow you to improve your legal knowledge in a specific area of expertise, such as health-care law.
Accountants and auditors
As an accountant or an auditor, it’s important to know and understand how the legal system impacts your business’s finances and taxes. With an MLS, you will gain the skills needed to interpret how the ever-changing laws and regulations affect the way your organization collects and represents financial information.
Insurance agents
You will develop the legal background to protect yourself, your clients and your company during claims management. For clients, this typically means an understanding of common law negligence, and the ability to explain policy terms in a dispute. You will also develop an understanding of negligence and contract breaches as they relate to you and your employer.
Procurement professionals
You will cultivate the skills to more knowledgeably oversee deals and how the laws impact the operation of these deals. This is also a profession where contract knowledge is extremely important, so you will learn to better understand and manage this aspect of your job more effectively.
Real estate agents
Real estate agents need to be able to draw up legally sound contracts for leases and purchases, read and interpret legal statutes in these documents, and explain legal jargon to clients. They also need to utilize top-notch negotiation skills to convince other agents and customers of the viability of their proposals. You will graduate with this full suite of skills and improve your confidence when dealing with these contracts and agreements.
