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University of Manchester: The LLM driving tech-focused career growth

09 February 2026
Categories: Career Clinic
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Manchester’s online LLM has accelerated career progression for its graduates

An online and part-time Master of Laws that enables lawyers to gain specialist skills while continuing to work is already paying dividends for its graduates three years after its launch.

Manchester University launched the Master of Laws in International Commercial and Technology Law in 2022, giving lawyers and regulatory professionals an opportunity to progress their skills in an increasingly important area. The curriculum is structured around four key areas: corporations and technology, online privacy and data protection, financial law and fintech, and intellectual property in the digital ecosystem. Together, these provide a clear framework for understanding how global commercial law is being reshaped by technological change.

International Commercial and Technology Law is a route to specialism and career progression. For lawyers, in-house counsel and regulatory professionals, the course can support career advancement and strengthen your professional profile. ​For those working in technology-driven sectors, it offers the legal literacy needed to stay ahead.

Recent graduate Mark Farrell, for example, reports that he has already progressed in his career as a direct result of undertaking the course. He advanced from Senior Case Officer at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to Data Protection Consultant at Data Protection People.

Farrell said the course ‘has given me the confidence to move into a role as a Data Protection Consultant where I will be tasked with finding solutions to complex data protection issues for client organisations, and I will have far more confidence when approaching issues involving emerging technologies in particular having studied various types from various angles’.

One major practical advantage is the course, delivered online and part-time, enables professionals to study alongside their careers—and at an institution with an excellent pedigree. The University of Manchester has been providing legal education since 1872 and is consistently ranked among the UK’s leading law schools. Completing this LLM will add academic legitimacy and professional recognition to every graduate’s CV, strengthening their profile with employers, regulators and investors.

Visit the course page and sign up to receive course information, free papers and books and invitations to online events related to this course. 

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