The Master of Laws (LLM) in International Economic Law, Business & Policy (IELBP) offers rigorous academic and professional training in subjects relating to international economic law, business, and related policy issues.
This specialized program seeks to provide foreign international business lawyers, as well as aspiring academics, with a broad base of expertise in such areas as international trade, international dispute resolution, international business transactions, international investment law, international environmental law, international finance, international corporate and securities issues, and international intellectual property law.
As with other LLM programs, students in IELBP must have a primary law degree earned outside the United States. They are required to be in residence at Stanford during the full (nine-month) academic year.
Candidates admitted to the IELBP program undertake an individually tailored sequence of courses drawn from the law school's international curriculum, from other corporate and business-related courses and, in some cases, from courses in other departments or professional schools. All LLM students must take a minimum of 35 credit units (and a maximum of 42 units). Most courses are three or four units, so the normal course load is three or four courses per semester.
Students are required to take an introductory course in American and common law course, as well as a colloquium (see below). Students must also take approximately half of their coursework in four general areas:
Public international economic law: Includes international trade law (WTO, NAFTA, etc.), international intellectual property law (TRIPS, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, etc.), international investment law (BITs, etc.), international environmental law (the Kyoto Protocol and its successors, etc.), international tax law, economic aspects of the law of the sea, and international financial regulation.
Core-course options outside the law school include offerings related to international relations, international political economy, international economics and international monetary economics. Students may also wish to enrich their perspective with courses in microeconomics, statistics and finance. Beyond the core, students may select from a vast array of courses, including those pertaining to antitrust, banking, bankruptcy, corporations, corporate finance, intellectual property, international law, securities, taxation and telecommunications.
Stanford Law School offers international graduate students an intensive two week Introduction to American Law course in early September, before regular classes begin. This course is required for LLM students. It is optional for SPILS Fellows, but is recommended for students with no prior exposure to American law. The purpose of this course is to:
All IELBP students participate in a weekly colloquium that is directed by a teaching fellow in collaboration with the program director. During the course of the year, students produce a research paper in connection with the colloquium. In the autumn quarter, the colloquium includes an overview and discussion of selected issues in international economic law and business, with a view toward enabling students to select topics for their papers. In the winter quarter, the colloquium features research presentations by distinguished academics in the field. In the spring quarter, it focuses on the completion and presentation of the students' research. Students are also encouraged to attend other relevant seminars and colloquiums that are held on campus.
The faculty for the IELBP LLM program includes professors recognized nationally and internationally for their expertise in international law, international environmental law, and international economics, business and policy.
Kyle Bagwell (PhD '86)
Affiliated Faculty
Department of Economics
Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar (MA '96, PhD '00)
Professor of Law and Deane F. Johnson Faculty Scholar
Judith Goldstein
Affiliated Faculty, Department of Political Science
Paul Goldstein
Stella W. and Ira S. Lillick Professor of Law
Thomas C. Heller
Lewis Talbot and Nadine Hearn Shelton Professor of International Legal Studies, Emeritus
Janet Martinez
Senior Lecturer in Law
Jenny S. Martinez
Professor of Law and Justin M. Roach, Jr., Faculty Scholar
Helen Stacy
Senior Lecturer in Law
Robert W. Staiger
Affiliated Faculty, Department of Economics
Alan O. Sykes
James and Patricia Kowal Professor of Law
Michael Wara '06
Assistant Professor of Law
Allen S. Weiner '89
Senior Lecturer in Law
IELBP students have opportunities for relevant coursework outside the law school in the Stanford University's departments of Economics and Political Science, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
In addition, IELBP LLM candidates may participate in several law school programs of academic and professional interest. The Program in Law, Economics & Business builds upon the strengths of two of Stanford Law School's most respected programs: the John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics and the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance. The Olin Program plays an active role in the law school, and more generally in the university, in promoting interest in the economic analysis of law. Its activities include the Law and Economics Seminar and an ongoing Law and Economics lunch discussion series.
The IELBP program seeks students with strong academic credentials, a clearly evident interest in public and private international law relating to international commerce, and excellent English-speaking abilities. All promising candidates will be interviewed briefly by telephone prior to admission. Admission is limited to students with a primary law degree earned outside the United States. Except under unusual circumstances, candidates must have at least two years of professional legal experience before commencing the program.