Future lawyers will have the chance to study law in London and Paris, thanks to a new Double Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme launched by Queen Mary University of London and the Sorbonne (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne).
Students will spend the first two years in London, where they will be taught in English, and the final two in Paris, where they will be taught in French. Academic staff will divide their time between both cities.
Professor Valsamis Mitsilegas, Head of Queen Mary’s School of and Academic Lead for Internationalisation, said: “In the climate of Brexit, collaboration with our EU partners is of utmost importance; this programme is testament to Queen Mary’s drive to foster new and nurture existing partnerships in Europe, and to facilitate the mobility of students and staff.
“We are delighted to be deepening our partnership with the Sorbonne, a university that is consistently ranked among the top in the world.
“By giving our students professional access to two different legal systems and combining the expertise of two first-class law schools, graduates will be fully equipped for today’s globalised world. They will also have the flexibility to embark on careers in either the UK or France.”
Professor François Guy Trébulle, Dean of the Sorbonne Law School, said: “I am very much looking forward to developing this relationship with Queen Mary’s School of Law and to continuing the longstanding partnership that unites the Sorbonne and the University of London.
“Today, the development of competitive double degrees is essential to build a new generation of legal scholars and professionals in Europe. I am thrilled that the first cohort will start the programme in London as soon as September 2018.”
The programme has been developed by Queen Mary’s School of Law and the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, which are ranked 34th and 30th in the world respectively in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018. Queen Mary’s School of Law first partnered with Panthéon-Sorbonne in 2016, when it launched a Double Master of Laws (LLM) programme in Paris.
The first cohort of students will start in September 2018, and applications for 2019/20 entry will open in September 2018.
In June, Queen Mary announced that it will be the first UK institution to launch a Master of Laws (LLM) in Technology, Media and Telecommunications in Paris. This comes at a time when Emmanuel Macron, President of France, has announced his intention to make the country the world’s tech capital.