Master's in Law - Specialization in Business Law and Technology ("Law & Tech")
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Presentation
The Master’s in Business Law and Technology (“Law & Tech”) is part of the NOVA School of Law’s strategy to be at the forefront of legal education, to prepare for the Economy 4.0, for digital transformation, and to be international, responsible and sustainable.
The course is designed to prepare lawyers for the most advanced areas of technology (artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain), with a wide range of subjects, from data protection and management, intellectual property, digital contracts and cybersecurity to the challenges of governance and regulation, fintech, and programming for lawyers. The course content also relates to business and entrepreneurship, including Startup Lifecycle, as well as corporate management and tax frameworks.
This master’s is taught in English.
Coordination
Athina Sachoulidou
Fabrizio Esposito
Scientific Commission
President: Cristina Queiroz | Board Members: Francisco Pereira Coutinho (taught component) | João Zenha Martins (taught component) | Lúcio Tomé Feteira (non-taught component) | Fabrizio Esposito (non-taught component)
Goals
- To prepare lawyers for the Digital Economy, with knowledge of technological reality, ethical and legal frameworks, and the social and economic impacts of innovation;
- To prepare lawyers to support technology companies in the various aspects of their activity;
- To advise on the regulation of innovative ideas and to develop cutting-edge business structures in the technological areas.
Target Applicant
Graduates in Law or in related fields, and professionals who wish to deepen their legal knowledge of technological matters. Innovative and entrepreneurial students are welcome.
Timetable
This course is taught during working hours*.
*Some Optional Curricular Units may have schedules that do not match the timetable of the course
Certification
| Study Cycle | Degree | A3ES Decision | Number of Years | Publication of the A3ES Decision | DGES Registration Number | Publication in Diário da República |
| Law | Master | accredited | 5 | 30-10-2014 | R/A-Ef 3196/2011/AL02 |
Employability
Given its innovative, vanguardist and versatile features, the Master’s in Law – Specialization in Business Law and Technology (“Law & Tech”) opens up to students a vast array of job opportunities in the most diverse areas that intertwine Law and Technology, notably dedicated practices of law firms, supervisory authorities or other governmental agencies (particularly, in the technology, financial and energy sector) – from start-ups to established large economic groups
Testimonials
Curricular Plan
1st year – Taught Component
In addition to the mandatory course, students must complete 32 ECTS in the restrictive optional courses listed above and 20 ECTS in free-option courses that they may choose from any Master’s course taught at NOVA School of Law (subject to availability).
Total ECTS of the Taught Component: 60 ECTS.
| 1st Semester | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Mandatory | |
| Methodology of Legal Research* | 8 |
| Restrictive Optional | |
| Law and Technology | 6 |
| Law of Online Platforms | 6 |
| Programming | 6 |
| Life Sciences Law | 6 |
| Energy Law | 6 |
| Communications Law | 6 |
| Privacy and Security | 6 |
| Patent and Trademark Law | 4 |
| Copyright and Design Law | 4 |
| Legal English | 4 |
| Emerging Technologies: Governance and Regulation | 4 |
| 2nd Semester | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Restrictive Optional | |
| Data Protection and Management Law** | 6 |
| International Tax Law | 6 |
| Cybercrime | 6 |
| International Commercial Law | 6 |
| Competition Law | 6 |
| Startup Lifecycle | 6 |
| Ethics and Regulation of Artificial Intelligence | 4 |
| Intellectual Property Law and New Digital Challenges | 4 |
| Fintech | 4 |
* Taught in English & Portuguese. Students must choose the version they wish to attend.
**Data Protection and Management Law is a course offered by NOVA School of Law’s Jean Monnet Module on European Union Data Protection Law in Portugal (DataporEU).
2nd year – Non-taught Component
| 1st Semester / 2nd Semester | ETCS |
|---|---|
| Mandatory | |
| Dissertation, internship at national or international institution or project work. | 60 |
Opportunity to benefit from the THEMIS NETWORK international experience.
Three core elements: a semester abroad, an international internship and the THEMIS seminar.
Tuition Fees
- Total Tuition Fee – National and International Student: 6300.00€;
- Annual fee for the taught component – National and International Student: 4300.00€;
- Total Semester Tuition Fee for Non-curricular phase: 2000.00€;
- Tuition Fee for Additional Non-Curricular semester – National and International Student: 1000.00€;
- Extension of the non-curricular phase (90 days): 600€
Reading of this information does not exempt consultation of the full documentation regarding fees, emoluments and taxes for the academic year in question.
Tuition fees are annual and due in full upon enrolment in the course. Payment in instalments is allowed for students’ mere convenience.
In the case of withdrawal from the course, the amounts already paid are not refundable. The remaining tuition fee payments due for the academic year to which the application relates must also be paid.
Only in situations where the applicant does not complete the degree which they are applying for (in these cases, the applicant must submit a declaration from the institution of higher education by September), the amounts paid for the tuition fee will be reimbursed (application fee, School insurance and administrative costs are not reimbursed).
Payments must be made via ATM or through PayPal using the references available in the reserved area. Failure to pay tuition fees within the time limits indicated results in an increase in the amount to be settled and/or the suspension of enrolment and registration, as well as the invalidity of all curricular acts practised in the academic year in which the non-compliance is not respected.
Students who choose to pay tuition fees in a one-off initial payment at the time of registration receive a 5% discount on the amount to be paid.
Merit Awards
Merit Awards are awarded to:
- Candidates whose final average admission to a 2nd study cycle at NOVA School of Law, according to assessment and ranking by the appropriate jury, is equal to or higher than 17 points (on a scale of 0/20) and who enrol and attend the same course, benefit from an award in cash corresponding to 50% of the tuition fee for the taught component of the Master’s degree.
- Candidates whose final average admission to a 2nd study cycle at NOVA School of Law, according to assessment and ranking by the appropriate jury, is equal to or higher than 16 points (on a scale of 0/20) and who enrol and attend the same course, benefit from an award in cash corresponding to 30% of the tuition fee for the taught component of the Master’s degree.
In the non-taught phase, three prizes for academic merit are awarded (by master’s degree or area of specialization, in the case of the Master’s Degree in Law). These awards assume the completion of the taught component within the stipulated time.
- The best student of the taught component of each study cycle or specialization area of a study cycle who continues and attends the non-taught phase benefits from an award in cash corresponding to 100% of the tuition fee for the non-taught phase of the Master’s degree;
- The second-best student of the taught component of each study cycle or specialization area of a study cycle who continues and attends the non-taught phase, benefits from an award in cash corresponding to 60% of the tuition fee, corresponding to the non-taught phase of the Master’s degree;
- The third-best student of the taught component of each study cycle or specialization area of a study cycle who continues and attends the non-taught phase of the Master’s degree.
Emoluments/Charges and Taxes Fees
- Application fee: 51.00€
- Administrative costs per registration/enrolment (each year): 35.00€
- Institution insurance (each year): 3.00€
- Registration Certificate: 6.00 €
- Improvement grade exam: 15.00 €/enrolement
- Conclusion Certificate: 50€
Applications
2022/2023
Length 4 Semesters
120 ECTS
Entries: 120 places
These places are available within the areas of specialization of International and European Law, Business Law and Technology (“Law & Tech”), and Social and Innovation Law.
Applications from students who prove they will be able to complete their bachelor’s degree(licenciatura) by September will be accepted.
1st Phase of Applications:
- Submission of applications: From 1 to 28 February 2022
- Announcement of placements: 9 March 2022
- Complaint about placements: From 9 to 16 March 2022
- Enrolment: From 16 to 22 March 2022
Requirements
Holders of a bachelor’s degree (licenciatura) or legal equivalent.
Selection Criteria
- Final grade of the degree which the applicant is applying with (50%);
- Relevance and suitability of previous background to the master’s degree course with regard to the pluridisciplinary nature of the course (50%); the jury assigns each applicant a grade of 0 to 20, based on analysis of the letter of motivation and curriculum vitae. If necessary, the members of the jury may decide to conduct an interview with all or some of the applicants;
- Applicants with a rating lower than 9.5 will automatically be excluded.
Submission of Applications (Online):
- Completion of the application form (online);
- Payment of the application fee using the ATM or Paypal reference provided (51.00€);
- Online submission of the following documents: motivation letter, curriculum vitae (European model), copy of the course(s) certificate(s); copy of the tax number identification card; copy of the Identification Card;
- Applicants conditioned upon the conclusion of the bachelor’s degree must submit an interim academic transcript showing the subjects already completed and their final grades discriminated and a declaration under oath stating the course, school, expected average and the the conclusion date. In addition, a statement from the institution of higher education where they are attending the degree should be submitted, proving their academic situation;
- Applicants with foreign qualifications must send an academic transcript showing the coefficient of performance or a statement with the final average of the degree. Applicants are conditioned to the respective formal recognition or equivalence of the foreign qualification by a competent Portuguese authority, under the regime of the Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of August 16 (certificate or proof of submission of the request to be presented until September).
- Applicants who do not report the final grade average, expected or completed will be graded with a minimum score of 10 on the 0-20 scale.
- During the application, candidates must submit a request for accreditation of academic qualifications and professional experience obtained before entering the study cycle. For this purpose, the applicant must complete the appropriate form and attach all relevant documentation. When the request for accreditation occurs at the time of the application, the accreditation is not a sufficient condition to be accepted into the study cycle and only can be granted after the admission into the study cycle, in the same study cycle only.
- All documents must be presented in Portuguese, English, French or Spanish, and endorsed by the competent authority of the State where the document originates.
Applications omitting the documents requested or where the application fee has not been paid will be rejected.
Applications available through the NOVA School of Law applications portal.
Any questions?
Please do not hesitate to contact us by email: apoio.candidato@novalaw.unl.pt.
Readmissions
Readmission is the act by which a student, after interruption of studies in an institution/course of higher education, enrols in the same institution and enrols in the same course or in a course which has replaced it.
SCHOOL YEAR 2022/2023
Requirements:
Students who can apply for readmission to any cycle of studies:
- Must have already been enrolled and enrolled at the NOVA School of Law, in the same course or in a course in which they are already registered, without having completed it
- Must not have been enrolled in that course in the previous academic year to the one in which they intend to be readmitted to
- Those students whose registration has lapsed due to the requirements in force may apply for readmission once two school semesters have elapsed since the date of the regulations
The Faculty reserves the right to refuse readmission to applications from students whose curricular record indicates serious difficulties in adapting to the study plan in force and to the type of teaching provided at the NOVA School of Law. Requests from students who are in debt to the Faculty for tuition fees or any other amounts will be rejected, subject to the provisions of Law Nº. 75/2019, of September 2.
Deadlines for submission of applications | School Year 2022/23:
1st Semester
Submission of the application | From the 4th to the 15th July 2022 |
Enrolment | From the 30th August to the 2nd September 2022 |
2nd Semester
Submission of the application | From the 9th to the 20th January 2023 |
Enrolment | From the 30th January to the 3rd February 2023 |
Instructions for submitting the application (online):
The application is submitted online through the website of NOVA School of Law by filling in a form and uploading the necessary documents, namely:
- Online submission of a simple photocopy of the citizen card or passport (international applicants)
- Payment of the application fee through the Multibanco/PayPal references that will appear during the application process 70.00€ (non-refundable)
The student must print proof of the online application, essential for any subsequent steps.
Fees and emoluments
Fee | 70,00€ |
Administrative cost per enrolment/registration (annual) | 35,00€ |
School insurance | 3,00€ |
Registration certificate | 6,00€ |
Note: to these amounts must be added the annual fees applicable to the study cycle relevant to the academic year 2022/23 (see the relevant notice).
Tuition fees are fixed annually by the General Council of the NOVA University Lisbon.
The reading of this information does not exempt consultation of the relevant legislation and regulations, the public notice of fees, and the table of fees in force of the respective school year.
Applications that are not accompanied by all the documents or whose fee has not been paid will automatically be rejected.
Regulations Applicable: Decree-Law Nº. 36/2014, of March 10th, altered by Decree-Law Nº. 62/2018, of August 6th, and Regulation Nº. 436/2020, of April 28th, of the NOVA School of Law.
Applications through the NOVA School of Law applications portal.