Hello!
I am a last year law student from Eastern EU. I would like to know which is better option - go to LLM or MBA. I am interested in both. Bourenmouth LLM in Intellectual Property and also in MBA International Business at UCE Birmingham. Which univ has better reputation in UK? Thank you!

Some law firms that specialise in IP law may not consider your job application without an LL.M. Assuming you want a career in IP law or IP related business (which I take from your mention of the IP LLM), I'd choose an LL.M. An MBA maybe touches on IPR for a few weeks at most. On an LL.M in IP, you'll be looking every day at issues of burning importance to IP around the world, taught by academics who focus on IP and keep their research at the very edge of current developments.

For example, compare the following from the LL.M Innovation, Technology and the Law (distance learning www.law.ed.ac.uk/distancelearning/programme/) module - that's a ten week course - with any similar course or module description you're considering on an MBA programme:

"Aims & objectives

The aims of this module (Intellectual Property 2: Industrial Property) are to:

* highlight the institutional framework within which policy is formulated and law is developed in the areas of patents and trade marks
* investigate how rights may be registered at international, European and national levels
* consider the impact of international policy making on the scope and exercise of the rights
* explore how the rights may be infringed
* consider the interests that the law protects and investigate the extent to which it is successful in balancing those interests with other, potentially competing, personal and public interests.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

* appreciate the variety of institutions involved in the intellectual property field and understand their role and functions in policy making
* understand the mechanisms available for registering rights and the reasons for the rules on which registration rests
* identify the rights in practice, explain their scope and identify when those rights may be infringed
* critically assess the development of the law and how changes in the law affect different interests
* be aware of current developments in the law and be able to contribute in an informed manner to the ongoing debate as to the proper role of these rights.


If IP is the subject area you wish to specialise in, then the above should sound quite interesting. You could do another 5 modules as well as the above, and progress to a dissertation (10,000 word research project on a title of your choice).

Thank you for your answer. I do not have so many choice about which faculty to choose- I would like to start in January., not in September, because I am a bit tired from my LLB and I would like to go travel for a few mounths in autumn. But not many Universities have start date in Jan. or Feb.(for LLM) in UK. But I do not want a distance study- I would like to live in UK for 1 year. What do you think about Brouenmouth Univ. Does it have a good reputation in UK?
I was thinking about MBA only because better chances to get a job. Every time when I go to Gumtree pages to look for a job in legal field there is nothing appropriate. But when I look at sales/managment/marketing jobs there is a lot. I come from Eastern Europe where salaries are low and I dream about working in western countries. Can I also do it with LLM? Because every country has a different legal system. My LLB does not work in UK. That is why I am thinking also about MBA. Thank you very much!

With the extra information you have provided above, Cinca, I'd say if you had to choose between an MBA and an LL.M, that an MBA would be most likely to assist you in finding employment in the sales/management/marketing area.

However, an MBA is no guarantee of employment - you may like to consider gaining some experience first, then go on to postgraduate education?

Another option would be to investigate employment opportunities as a lawyer in a different country. It's possible to transfer to a different jurisdiction if you complete the relevant tests, but only if you're already qualified in your home country.