Law Courses at LSE Summer School – The Student Perspective

Hear personally from our Summer School alumni on why you should enrol for a Law course at LSE Summer School.

Salvatore Raso, Italian

LL135: Introduction to Corporate Law and Governance and LL105: International Law: Contemporary Issues

During the summer of 2022, I had the amazing opportunity to attend two courses at LSE - LL135: Introduction to Corporate Law and Governance and LL105: International Law: Contemporary Issues. I can state that despite each course taking place over only 3 weeks, I have learnt many important legal concepts such as limited responsibility, the composition of a company board and the legal differences between a company and a sole trader. Within international law, I recall studying relevant legal topics such as the war in Ukraine, drone strikes and humanitarian law.

I really appreciated the teaching system because even now I remember what I studied, and I feel I have permanently grasped difficult concepts: the quality of the teaching at LSE is extremely high. I decided to study LL135: Introduction to Corporate Law and Governance because of my interest in corporate law and my desire to become a skilled jurist in this field. I chose my second course, LL105: International Law: Contemporary Issues because I am very interested in the current political and international situation, and the war in Ukraine is a demonstration that international law is not just a theoretical topic but has practical implications.

I am very glad to have attended LSE Summer School for the second year in a row (I also attended in 2021!) because I feel that it helped me in two ways: personally, and academically.

It has been an experience that has made me more confident and focused on my academic goals. It provided me with the right skills to keep studying law with more determination and curiosity. Moreover, I met students from all over the world, some of whom have become close friends; you can build a really wide network whilst attending Summer School. Finally, I was able to convert the credits earned at LSE to my home university, so my time at LSE has been profitable to my law studies also.

Spending the next summer at LSE is the best choice you can make!

Sara Gabrielli, Italian and Luxembourgish

LL100: European Union Law

As a law student at the University of Luxembourg, with a particular interest in international and European law, I decided to take LL100: European Union Law at LSE Summer School in order to get a different insight into the topic. I was particularly interested in studying EU law in the United Kingdom given the latter’s complex history with the European Union.

The course provided a general overview of the history of the European Union and its main institutions, as well as the main principles serving as the foundation of the EU (rule of law, transparency, competence distribution, democracy etc.). Moreover, the course offered an in-depth analysis of the principle of the free circulation of goods and services as well as the mechanisms used in the protection of human rights, all while discussing how this has been impacted by the UK’s exit from the EU.

Particularly enjoyable were the interactive teaching methods, which included daily tutorials allowing for thought-provoking and enriching discussions with students from different backgrounds and levels of knowledge on the topic. This not only encouraged students to form and voice their opinions but also helped develop their level of English.

The LSE Summer School, and particularly the European Union Law course, is an experience I can recommend not only to law students and students in related fields but also to anyone harbouring a general interest in the functioning of the European Union.

Rodger Nyioh, Malaysia

LL301: Corporate Finance Law

During the LL301: Corporate Finance Law summer programme, I got a glimpse of the interplay between economics, finance, and law. The topics that were covered included, among others, equity and debt capital markets, shareholder’s rights and structure, insider dealing, market abuse, mergers and acquisitions, and EU public company regulations.

What I found most interesting during this summer school session was the discussion surrounding the EU Market Abuse Regulations. I learned about the broadened scope of the definition of ‘insider information’ and how this negatively affected the law surrounding insider dealing and market abuse. One of the most interesting quotes I came across in the lecture was ‘it is like a hammer and a saw; both can be used to build a house, but you are not well served hitting a nail with a saw’. You will have to find out for yourself why that is the case! I also found the tutorial sessions very insightful, especially when our expert tutor, Dr Kayode Akintola, guided us through a commercial case study. We were asked to mock advise an African start-up that had faced major financial difficulties following an economic recession. This was interesting because it allowed me to contextualize the practical application of the topics that I was learning about.

This interests me because I aspire to be a commercial solicitor specializing in corporate law. I come from Malaysia where the merger control regime is not as mature as it is in other financial centres. Learning about these regulations gave me insight into what constitutes a mature regulatory ecosystem to foster the growth of economies. It was also interesting to develop my understanding of how law and economics intertwine by learning about capital yardstick rules, and how this was responsible for determining various shareholder-director mechanisms such as the distribution of dividends.

The summer school sessions I attended have developed both my commercial and legal knowledge. I now have a better understanding of the director’s duties, which I have been able to apply when advising a start-up company in my home country of Malaysia. I have also been able to use my knowledge in a commercial awareness competition organised in the United Kingdom. The course has helped me to better analyse commercial news stories, which has been instrumental in enhancing my critical thinking skills and consequently boosting my employability.

Priyal Pandey, India

LL203: International Commercial Litigation and Arbitration, and LL200: Competition Law and Policy: Contemporary Challenges in a Global Market

India derives a lot of its laws from the United Kingdom, so it was interesting to see the similarities and differences of law and procedure. This was especially true while studying commercial litigation and learning how similarly and differently the courts run in each country, from filing suit, to appealing, to judgment.

In LL203: International Commercial Litigation and Arbitration, I really liked learning about international arbitration and its procedures, and how it reduces burden on the court. The practical skills taught in the class were my favourite. In LL200: Competition Law and Policy: Contemporary Challenges in a Global Market , we were studying healthcare and how it affects competition. We also discussed how a patent can either be under competition law scrutiny for monopoly or it can suffice as a patent.

International Commercial Litigation and Arbitration interests me because the world is so business-oriented that every matter that is not criminal is often commercial. London is a key player in the world’s financial forums and studying here allowed me to learn about the entirety of the world’s commercial problems and how to solve them. I loved Competition Law as well, because the world runs on businesses, so there should be a way to regulate them and curb commercial dictatorships, monopolies, and abuse of customers.

So far, due to summer school, I have received offers for international internships within the subjects I studied, along with a great network that helps me grow internationally in my legal career.

This blog was written by our 2022 Student Ambassadors, who are here to share their stories and help you understand the summer school experience at LSE.