Not all those wishing to undertake formal legal education plan on becoming lawyers. It may be equally important for compliance specialists, HR managers, people working in the healthcare industry, government officials, and entrepreneurs to have a better understanding of how law impacts their professional decision-making process. This is the very problem that can be addressed through pursuing a Master of Legal Studies.
Master of legal studies, usually abbreviated MLS, is a graduate degree offered to non-lawyers. Contrary to the Juris Doctor degree, it does not provide its recipients with the qualification to pass a bar exam or to act as legal representatives in court. Rather, it provides professionals with a framework for legal education and legal reasoning and offers them an opportunity to specialize in particular areas of law.
The average student is likely to hold a bachelor's degree and considerable work experience. These can include paralegals who wish to increase their knowledge, business executives who need to negotiate contracts, healthcare administrators who must be compliant, human resource managers who must deal with employment law, and government workers whose job relates to policy and regulation. What all these students have in common is that they don't want to change their career into law, but they must be fluent in the language of law in order to succeed in their career.
MLS courses usually follow some parts of the law school curriculum for the first year, which may include basic information about the legal system, legal research and writing, and the study of contracts before the student begins electives for his or her chosen area of interest. Some of the most popular concentrations are compliance, health law, intellectual property, cybersecurity, or employment law. MLS programs are mostly offered part-time or online because most students are working professionals and not recent graduates.
In general, an applicant needs to have a bachelor's degree, which should be completed, and he/she should also have at least three years of relevant work experience. Most universities do not require applicants to have a good score on the standardized admissions test, so this option is much easier to pursue for career changers or people who cannot leave their job and study for a few years. Therefore, one does not need to take a standardized test, but instead he/she needs to provide his/her academic record, work experience, and personal statement that explains how the degree will help him/her advance in his/her career.
The worth of the Master of Legal Studies comes from what the graduate can do with the knowledge and experience gained in the process of studying. Most people who obtained the degree claim that they became much better at interpreting contracts, in assessing the risks that may be associated with the activities of their companies, in communicating with lawyers, and in understanding the regulatory environment that affects the companies in their particular industry.
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