Study the foundations of law

Law is one of the forces that keeps society functioning. Culture, economy, family ties, and international relationships all exist within a legal framework.

A law degree sets you up to practise law in Aotearoa New Zealand as well as overseas in places like Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

If you're interested in how laws govern society and how laws are made—and you love communicating ideas and solving problems—the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) is right for you.

Where you choose to study Law matters. A qualification from the Faculty of Law at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington is highly regarded both in New Zealand and internationally.

You’ll be supported on your study journey, and develop your thinking and skills along the way—rather than focusing solely on the outcome of getting your qualification.

Study legal analysis techniques and understand how laws are made, applied, and enforced.

You’ll explore both law in Aotearoa New Zealand and international law.

Learn the fundamentals

Learn skills in communication, problem-solving, research, and independent thinking. You’ll gain a solid grounding in different aspects of law, including:

• public law—how we control our government
• commercial law—law that supports business and negotiations
• international law—how law supports international relations
• common law—a methodology and way of doing law used in courts in many places around the world
• statute law—how to read and write the law made by an Act of Parliament.

Tikanga Māori as a part of your study

You’ll also learn about the development of the two legal systems in Aotearoa New Zealand—tikanga Māori and the general legal system. You’ll learn about how they relate to and influence each other.

You'll also study Te Tiriti o Waitangi—The Treaty of Waitangi as documents that reflect concepts important to both ways of doing law.

The first year of your legal study will teach you integration of tikanga Māori and how to appropriately apply tikanga Māori thinking in legal argument.

Law as a driver for change

Studying Law makes you think critically about the world and gives you tools to make a change. You’ll look at:

• big problems at a collective level, like climate change, human rights and the constitution.
• problems at an individual level, like property, employment and family issues.
• legal conflicts that come out of differences in areas such as ethnicity, gender and ecology.

The LLB can prepare you to work in advocacy roles in the community. For example, you might work supporting Māori rights to land or the rights of disabled people. You might challenge the climate crisis or breaches in human rights both at the national and international level.

The LLB is the first step to becoming a professional lawyer. After getting your law degree, you’ll need to:

• complete a course in practical professional legal studies, often called 'profs'
• be admitted to the High Court of New Zealand
• get a practising certificate from a district law society.

The New Zealand Law Society website has more information about becoming a lawyer.

The Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) is the main path to studying law.

It is a specialised programme, designed to setup you up for success in any career you pursue. It also gives you the professional knowledge and skills you need to become a lawyer.

This degree doesn't have majors.

Apply what you learn

You will be able to contribute to community-based projects that can help change lives for the better.

Learn through discussion

Many teachers in the Law School use a method of teaching known as discussion-based learning.

Law lecturers teach by asking you questions about the material you study and using your answers to explore key points.

This method keeps you engaged while you study. It gives you the skills you need to reason, debate, and communicate clearly when you enter any career. It changes the way you think—improving your ability to consider complex topics.

The LLB is a full-time, four-year degree. A conjoint degree takes a minimum of five years of study.

The LLB consists of 21 Law courses and a selection of non-Law courses that total at least 70 points.

• 100-level courses give you an introduction to the foundations of legal study.
• 200-level courses build your legal skills through the core subjects.
• 300-level courses allow you to delve into a specialised area of your choice.

In your first year, you will study four compulsory 100-level courses. You’ll complete three core Law courses and one that introduces you to Māori concepts and practices. Your study will integrate tikanga Māori and how to appropriately apply it in legal argument.

• Your study will also explore:
• critical, theoretical and cultural perspectives on the legal system
• legislation and the processes involved in drafting and interpretation
• case law, how precedent works and gain case law reasoning skills
• the social context of why judges make the decisions they do, and the interaction between case law and legislation.

Entry into second year law is limited. Entry is based on how you do in your first year.

If you have started study in your first year as a conjoint degree, you can switch degrees if you do not advance to 200-level LAWS or prefer not to continue with the LLB.

If you continue on to second-year Law, you'll take five 200-level full-year courses:

• Contract Law
• The Law of Torts
• Public Law
• Criminal Law
• Introduction to Legal Skills.

You'll learn how to use the Law Library and computer databases, how to refer to and cite legal sources, and how to prepare legal opinions.

You also get to argue a case before a judge in a mock New Zealand courtroom.

Your courses will include tikanga Māori principles and processes related to each subject area.

Five 200-level law courses in one year can be a heavy workload—you can choose to spread the 200-level courses over two years. The best way to do this is to take LAWS 297 with either two or three of LAWS 211–214.