Law

The single-cycle Master's degree in Law is designed to prepare students not only to pursue a traditional legal career (i.e. lawyer, magistrate, notary) but also to work ? as employees or freelancers? in any professional settings that require a deep knowledge of law.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of career options for graduates of this programme (professions are grouped according to the classification adopted by ISTAT, the Italian National Institute of Statistics).
- Lawyer
Job function: lawyers represent and safeguard the interests of individuals and companies, accompanying them through the different stages of criminal, civil and administrative proceedings. They draft briefs, contracts and other legal documents, provide legal assistance and consultation, and can serve as arbitrators or mediators for dispute resolution.
Professional skills: based on a solid training in the legal methods and the contents of positive law, lawyers can: i) understand and interpret legal cases correctly, by referring to the appropriate legal sources and the related case law; ii) draft legal opinions and documents; iii) develop effective argumentative strategies; iv) provide legal assistance and consultation for both in and out of court litigation.
Employment prospects: lawyers are freelance professionals who have completed a traineeship at a law firm and have passed the State Exam to qualify for this profession. Part of the traineeship can be replaced by attending the Postgraduate School of Legal Professions.
- Notary
Job function: notaries receive and draw up inter-vivos deeds, as well as last wills and testaments; they confer authenticity on deeds and contracts, keep records of them, and issue copies, extracts and certifications; they ascertain the intention of the parties and translate it into legal language, to ensure the lawfulness of the deed to be entered into; they recommend the proper legal instrument for the parties to reach their goals; they check the legal compliance of the contents of agreements and transactions.
Professional skills: thanks to their expertise in various areas of law ? particularly civil law, urban law, tax law, international law and EU law ? notaries are able to draft legal documents based on the specific needs of the parties.
Employment prospects: notaries are freelance professionals who have completed an apprenticeship at a notary's office and passed a public competition in order to qualify for this profession. Part of the apprenticeship can be replaced by attending the Postgraduate School of Legal Professions.
- Magistrate
Job function: depending on their role, magistrates adjudicate criminal, civil, and administrative matters through the different stages of legal proceedings, or ascertain criminal offences and prosecute criminal cases, or review public expenditures for compliance with current statutes and regulations.
Professional skills: magistrates possess an extensive knowledge of civil, criminal, administrative, international and European Union law, which allows them to: i) master the specific legal vocabulary and the skills needed to clearly identify and understand legal problems, as well as to provide well-structured legal arguments to support their conclusions or the solutions reached; ii) develop a methodological approach to collaborate successfully with experts from other fields, including economics, forensic informatics and sciences.
Employment prospects: magistrates can work for civil, criminal and administrative courts or the Italian Court of Auditors, upon passing a public competition.
- Corporate legal expert
Job function: thanks to their specific legal competencies, these professionals provide legal assistance and advice to companies, private entities and associations of enterprises, and contribute to their management and decision-making processes in order to protect them from legal risks, in line with corporate goals and strategies. Their job functions concern both the management of ordinary business activities as well as strategic management, including governance decisions, corporate transactions, contract negotiation and compliance (particularly with regard to corporate liability, health and safety in the workplace, environmental compliance, data protection and antitrust law).
Professional skills: thanks to an extensive knowledge of the various areas of law that are most related to business administration, as well as a solid grounding in economics, these professionals are equipped with the appropriate skills to address corporate legal issues and manage administrative and HR procedures.
Employment prospects: corporate legal experts typically work in legal departments of companies.
- Legal expert in public administrations
Job function: these professionals address all legal issues related to the operations of public bodies and administrations, also by managing and coordinating office activities, by drafting contracts and legal documents, and by providing consultation on legal matters within their assigned department or division.
Professional skills: thanks to their extensive knowledge of the various areas of law ? particularly administrative law ? and mastery of the legal vocabulary, these professionals are fully equipped to: i) draft regulations, contracts and legal documents, and ii) provide legal support to their employer with regard to administrative procedures and sanctions.
Employment opportunities: upon completion of specific public competitions, these professionals can work for the legal divisions of public administrations, national and supranational public bodies, and sectoral supervisory authorities such as the Bank of Italy, the Italian Companies and Stock Exchange Commission (CONSOB), the Institute for the Supervision of Insurance (IVASS), the Italian Competition Authority, the national authority responsible for the supervision of Italian pension funds (COVIP), the Italian Data Protection Authority, and the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (ARERA).