EDHEC LLM in Law & Tax Management: Business-Oriented!

Future managers undoubtedly need to be more and more aware of the legal dimensions of business practices, as:

• in the context of global competition, the complexity of law and regulation is growing
• this complexity leads to more legal risks, which must be integrated into the firm's risk management
• different regulations in multiple countries require more regulatory and ethical compliance from companies
• with the emergence of new business and technological models, companies might find new opportunities in the legal environments

Therefore, managers must develop their legal skills in order to better understand the impact of legal dimensions on company's business strategy and to communicate effectively with their legal counsels.

 “The LLM in Law & Tax Management benefits from innovative seminars and teaching methods. In March 2013, as part of the course in risk management and compliance, for example, two very renowned practitioners shared their expertise and practices with the students. Emmanuel Lulin, director of ethics for L’Oréal, presented the legal and ethical challenges for a worldwide company, a leader in its industry. He explained how L’Oréal relies on a code of ethics adhered to wherever the company is present. Its three major levers are: a steering and monitoring system, awareness-raising and engagement, and an open-talk policy (promoting a culture of dialogue and transparency). Mr Lulin also challenged the students with questions based on some very interesting examples of ethical and business dilemmas.

 Merope Sylvester, head of compliance for Barclays Europe and Middle East retail and business banking, presented the compliance function in a heavily regulated industry. She underscored some hot topics: anti-money laundering, trading with countries subject to sanctions, bribery, and manipulation of ratings. She also explained how compliance can be a powerful tool to reduce risks and improve performance and how a real culture of compliance can be created. Finally, she led students in several case studies.

 March and April are also months when ‘One firm, One File’ oral presentations take place. They give students the opportunity to work on a real-life legal and business case, proposed by a law firm or a company. Students have to analyse the case, write a memo, prepare a slideshow for the oral presentation, and finally make their presentations to a jury. These cases cover a wide range of topics: compliance, IP, M&A, criminal law, international JV, labor law, tax, antitrust, and are done with different partners:Deloitte, Ernst & Young société d’avocats, Freshfields, Linklaters, White & Case, Tarkett Group, Studio Canal, AG2R La Mondiale, Deuz. For students, they are a great opportunity to practice both their technical and soft skills. “ Professor Christophe Roquilly and co-director fo the LLM in Law & Tax Management.

‘The LLM in Law & Tax Management has provided me with not only valuable theoretical knowledge through varying teaching methods but also understanding on how to apply the gained knowledge in practice. The professors are passionate about their field of expertise and unbelievably gifted in increasing your hunger for knowledge by flavouring the theory with interesting real-life cases, stories and details. The program has managed to exceed my expectations, which were already very high initially.’ Maria Kangasniemi (class of 2012) from Finland