Law with French Law

Law with French Law is a degree for students who want to combine rigorous English legal training with an authentic engagement with a different legal tradition. English law and French law differ fundamentally in their structures and origins: English law is a common law system built on judicial precedent and case-by-case reasoning, while French law belongs to the civil law tradition, rooted in codified statutory law in the tradition of the Napoleonic Code. Understanding both systems gives you an exceptionally sophisticated perspective on how law operates, and the ability to work across legal traditions is increasingly valuable in a globalised legal market.

At the University of Leeds, this four-year full-time programme gives you a clear and analytically rigorous understanding of how law is made, why it evolves and how it operates in practice across both jurisdictions. You will develop your French to a high level, building the linguistic competence needed to engage with French legal materials directly, and you will spend time studying law at a partner university in France, gaining rare first-hand insight into the civil law system from within. You will build sharp analytical, research and reasoning skills across major areas of law, developing the professional capabilities that both the English and French legal markets value.

Graduates from Law with French Law programmes are well-placed for careers in international law firms, cross-border commercial litigation, European institutions, comparative law research, EU law practice and roles in organisations that operate across French-speaking and English-speaking legal environments. The degree provides an excellent foundation for qualification as a solicitor through the Solicitors Qualifying Examination, and for postgraduate study in comparative law, European law or international commercial law. The combination of English common law training with French civil law experience is genuinely rare and highly valued in international legal practice.