SCHOOL OF LAW
Master’s Program in Business Law - Description
The Master's Program in Business Law has been operational since 2015. The objective of the program is to equip graduates with the ability to apply the systematic knowledge and skills acquired in the field of business law to navigate the field's evolving landscape through innovation and the generation of new, original ideas.
The learning process combines lectures, seminars, analysis and simulations of practical situations, mock trials and negotiation simulations. The practical courses of business transaction simulations are an integral component of the program, which includes simulations of the following transactions:
- Acquisitions
- International investment deals
- Commercial real estate transactions
- Tender offers and IPO transactions
The Master's Program in Business Law offers students a Tax Law concentration that includes Financial Reporting, Financial Accounting, an Advanced Course in Tax Law and International Tax Law. Within the Tax Law concentration, the lecturers of the Free University of Tbilisi Business School (ESM) conduct financial accounting and tax reporting courses specially designed for lawyers.
The Master's Program in Business Law offers students a concentration in Tax Law, which encompasses financial reporting, tax accounting, practical tax law and international tax law. As part of this concentration, professors from Tbilisi Free University's School of Business (ESM) will lead a course tailored for legal professionals on financial accounting and tax reporting.
The Free University of Tbilisi and Washburn University have a memorandum of cooperation, according to which, 5 second-year students of the Free University of Tbilisi Master's Program in Business Law at can spend a year studying in the US at Washburn University's Law School.
Credits acquired at Washburn University are recognized by the Free University of Tbilisi Master's Program in Business Law. Graduates are awarded qualifications by the Free University of Tbilisi and Washburn University separately. As part of the memorandum, a graduate of the program will be able to sit for the New York State Bar Exam.
Upon successful completion of the 2-year program, the graduate is awarded the qualification - Master of Private Law.
CURRICULUM
The curriculum for the Master's Program in Business Law consists of 120 credits distributed across 4 modules, designed to fulfill the program's objectives.
- Business Transactions Law - within the module, students engage in practical courses focusing on common business law transactions. They discuss approaches to resolving issues related to obligations, contracts, real estate, secured transactions, enforcement law and international business transactions.
- Business Organization, Reorganization, Liquidation and Taxation Law - the module is focused on the analysis and research of legal practices necessary for carrying out business transactions. Students take hands-on courses covering business formation, corporate governance, mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, liquidations and tax issues.
- Practical General Professional Education - the module is focused on developing the necessary practical skills for business lawyers and offers students an opportunity to gain experience through the following: working at a "live client" law clinic, undertaking a legal practice at a law firm or relevant organization, completing special courses on court appearances and preparation of legal documents.
- Business Transactions Practicum - the module includes a course aimed at developing practical business transaction skills focusing on purchase transactions and a course for the simulation of widespread business transactions. The purchase transaction practice course is entirely based on the actual purchase transaction process, with attention paid to the Due Diligence process and the main legal and non-legal documents involved in a purchase deal. An important part of the course entails negotiating purchase deals and ultimately closing them.
- Diploma Thesis - the Master's Thesis is the result of independent academic research conducted by the student. In completing the thesis, students consolidate their academic research skills and apply them to the analysis of pertinent legal issues.
How to apply to the Master's Program in Business Law?
Who can apply?
An applicant can be a person who has a bachelor’s degree in law or in international law, and:
- Overcomes the minimum competence threshold for the Unified Masters Examination
- Preferably has English proficiency at the B1 level
- Preferably has one year of professional experience
Admissions Procedure
- Registration at the National Examination Center website (naec.ge)
- Passing Unified Masters Examination
- Registration on the Free University website
- Interview at the Free University of Tbilisi
Selection Criteria
Applicants will be assessed on following criteria during the interview:
- Legal Knowledge 40%
- Critical Thinking Skills 30%
- Reasoning Skills 30%
*The minimum competency threshold for interview is 65 points.
Tuition Fee
The tuition fee is calculated as follows:
1 semester, without tax law track, 1 015 * 3 (variable) = 3 045 GEL
1 semester, with tax law track [1] 1 200 * 3 (variable) = 3 600 GEL
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[1] Tax law track group will be registered if at least 7 students choose this track.
ABOUT THE LAW SCHOOL
The Free University of Tbilisi Law School offers a combination of undergraduate and graduate programs. When developing and updating educational programs, the best international practices, as well as relevant normative frameworks, practical experiences and existing challenges of teaching jurisprudence in Georgia are taken into account. The Law School includes the following programs:
- Bachelor’s Program in Law
- Master’s Program in Business Law
The Law School programs are led by partners from leading law firms, practicing judges, lawyers from international audit firms and other practicing lawyers.
In addition to theoretical knowledge, students gain crucial practical experience at law clinics. This hands-on involvement with real client cases (live client), fosters the development of their practical skills. The Free University of Tbilisi operates the following Law Clinics:
- Constitutional Law Clinic
- Administrative Law Clinic
- Business Law Clinic
- Criminal Justice Clinic
To apply the knowledge and skills acquired within the bachelor's and master's programs, all students are required to undergo legal practice in an organization, a mandatory component of the curricula. The Free University of Tbilisi facilitates students' legal practices by signing memorandums of agreement with various organizations and firms.
The Law School's successful operation is evidenced by the achievements of its graduates, which includes:
- Continuing their studies at some of the world's leading universities (University of Edinburgh, University of Cambridge, University of Columbia, University of California Berkeley, Duke University, University of Virginia, Bucerius Law School, Goethe University Frankfurt, CEU, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and others).
- Successfully competing in international and local competitions. Most competitions in which students of the Free University of Tbilisi Law School participate often result in successes at national and international rounds. In the event of victory in the national rounds, the Knowledge Fund provides financial support for the Law School students' travel expenses, covers their living costs and facilitates their full participation in competitions. This funding extends not only to students but also to the lecturers and professors who coach them.
- Occupying leadership positions in Georgian companies and securing employment at global companies.
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