Professional LLM in Taxation Law

OsgoodePD’s Professional LLM program is a graduate program in law designed specifically for working professionals. Each of our distinct specializations focuses on interdisciplinary learning and provides you with a unique mix of academic, applied, and theoretical perspectives. You will learn through interactive discussions and explore practical issues related to your specialization. You’ll have access to a wide range of elective options to broaden your legal knowledge or explore new areas related to your professional interests.

The Taxation Law specialization offers an in-depth examination of the policies, principles, and internal logic of tax laws in Canada and beyond. The required course addresses tax policy, statutory interpterion, and the taxation of individuals, while electives broaden the scope. You will explore all aspects of taxation law, from the basic rules underlying traditional personal tax planning principles to current developments in the sophisticated design of financial instruments.

Who is the Specialization for?

• Lawyers or law graduates with legal work experience who have a strong demonstrated interest in taxation law and wish to establish or expand the practice in this area of specialization

Course Requirements

The Professional LLM in Taxation Law requires the completion of 36 credits, including a research requirement. The program is designed to be completed in one year (three active terms) through a combination of required courses, related electives, and up to 6 credits of outside electives.

What You Can Expect

The program is designed to be completed in one year (three active terms) by completing 12 credits (two to four courses) per term.

All courses in the Taxation Law specialization are scheduled as intensive courses (typically Thursday evening, all-day Friday and all-day Saturday, or in 5-day 9 AM - 5 PM sessions).

In your first term of admission, you may be assigned a course as a condition of your admission. Admission condition courses count towards your degree requirements. Students with the following profiles usually have required introductory courses:

• Internationally trained lawyers: GNRL 6209 – Canadian Graduate Legal Research & Writing (Online) (3 Credits)
• Professionals without a law degree: GNRL 6149 Introduction to Graduate Legal Studies (3 Credits)

Required Courses

The required course is typically offered once a year and must be completed in your first term of study:

• TXLW 6100 – Tax Policy, Statutory Interpretation and the Foundations of the Taxation of Individuals (6 Credits) – Fall term

• TXLW 6201 – Introduction to the Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders (3 Credits) – Fall term

Elective Courses

Elective course offerings vary from term to term. Some options include International Taxation and Managerial Tax Planning.

You must complete at least 30 credits in total from Taxation Law courses. Up to 6 credits may be drawn from courses in unrelated specializations, so long as you have any required prerequisite knowledge for those courses.

Research Requirement

The research requirement can be fulfilled through one of the following three options. Most students elect to fulfill the requirement through option 3:

1. A Major Research Paper (70 pages, 6 Credits)
2. An Independent Significant Research Paper (30 pages, 3 Credits)
3. A Significant Research Paper (30 pages) is completed as the means of assessment for one of the courses within the specialization.