Law and Commercial Law

Law and commercial law together provide a rigorous preparation for the complex legal environments that govern business, finance, and trade. Commercial law sits at the intersection of private law and the practical world of commerce, covering the rules that regulate contracts, companies, banking, and international transactions. Understanding both the foundations of the law and its specific application to commercial life is increasingly important in a global economy where business operates across jurisdictions and legal complexity is the norm.

At Birkbeck this three-year full-time degree is designed for students who want both a qualifying law degree and a deep specialist grounding in commercial and financial law. You will study the core subjects required for law graduate status, including contract, tort, constitutional and administrative law, while also developing specialist expertise in areas such as banking law, company law, commercial dispute resolution, and the economic and private law issues that shape business practice. The programme is taught at Birkbeck, which has a long tradition of providing intellectually demanding university education in a city environment, and the typical entry tariff is 88 UCAS points.

Graduates from this programme are well placed for careers in commercial law firms, in-house legal teams, banking and financial services, regulatory bodies, and compliance functions. Many proceed to the Legal Practice Course or Solicitors Qualifying Examination to qualify as solicitors, with the commercial specialism making them particularly attractive to City and regional commercial practices. Others move into roles in finance, consulting, and business management where legal literacy and commercial awareness are highly valued.

Postgraduate study in areas such as international commercial law, financial regulation, or dispute resolution is also a common route.