LL.M. Law & Technology Certificate

The UC Berkeley Center for Law & Technology (BCLT) offers a specialized certificate program for LL.M. students that recognizes successful completion of a course of study focused on technology law.

DEADLINE:

The final deadline for submitting the application is July 1 of the student’s graduation year.

However, if students wish to be noted in the graduation program as having received the certificate, they must submit the application by April 1 of their graduation year.

*We understand that the paper you intend to use to fulfill the writing requirement may not be due for class until after April 1. If this is the case, please submit a draft of the paper with your application by April 1, so that BCLT can provide preliminary approval of your application.

Submission Process

Complete the 2025 online application form by clicking on the button below. The 2025 application is now open!

For questions regarding the LL.M. Law & Technology Certificate, contact Alexis Goett (alexisgoett@berkeley.edu) and Abril Delgado (abrildelgado@berkeley.edu).

Program Requirements

The Law & Technology Certificate Program requires: 

1. Completion of at least two of the following core courses:

        • Copyright Law
        • Computer Crime Law
        • Cybersecurity Law and Policy
        • Intellectual Property Law
        • Patent Law
        • Information Privacy Law
        • Trademark Law
        • Trade Secrets
        • Topics in Privacy & Security Law
        • Business of Intellectual Property 
        • The Law and Governance of Artificial Intelligence
        • Venture Capital Law and Finance
        • Deep Tech Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Course offerings change every year; all listed courses may not be available.

 

2. Completion of at least five additional units of coursework in Law & Technology. Qualifying courses include all those listed under the Intellectual Property & Technology Law category in the list of course offerings at Berkeley Law. Courses cross-listed in the Intellectual Property and Technology Law category and other tech-law related courses may be counted toward the certificate requirements, but only with permission.*

The Samuelson Clinic can count toward a maximum of 4 credits for your additional units of coursework in Law & Technology.

An additional course, ENGIN 273 Deep Tech Commercialization Strategies, will be accepted as an additional course to count toward this certificate if taken during the Fall semester.

*Additional Courses that qualify towards the additional five units of coursework that are not listed under the Intellectual Property & Technology Law category:

    • Regulation and Policy of Crypto and web3
    • Select Topics in Venture Capital
    • Sports Law
    • Advanced IT Contracts: drafting and negotiating
    • Deep Tech Innovation & Entrepreneurship
    • Venture Capital Deal Bootcamp

3. A writing component, fulfilled by researching and writing a 15 to 20 page research memorandum addressing a compelling issue in law and technology. To meet this requirement, students may submit a paper written for a course at Berkeley Law, including a LAW 299 individual research-and-writing project.

4. An activity component, fulfilled by substantial participation in at least one approved activity for two semesters, or two approved activities for one semester. This requirement is designed to encourage students to develop collaborative working skills and to complement the substantive knowledge derived from course-related work. The list of approved activities will be reviewed periodically by BCLT. Participating in the following activities satisfies the activity component:

 Students may request to have another law and technology-related activity approved, such as a moot court competition relating to intellectual property.

Variance Process

There is some flexibility in the application of the certificate requirements, allowing students to substitute other curricular and extra-curricular activities for a shortfall in the formal requirements. Students who are close to meeting the L&T certificate requirements may submit an L&T certificate application along with a brief (one-paragraph) request for a variance. Variance requests are approved by BCLT Executive Director, Wayne Stacy. Among the types of requests that will be favorably reviewed are:

(1) I have taken take only two core courses but I have taken eleven or more units from among the Law & Tech “electives;” or
(2) I have some other basis for claiming functional equivalence of a core or elective course (e.g., RA work, externship, extensive clinical work, other writing projects)