STUDYING LAW AT UNIVERSITY

Being educated in logical thinking, the articulate expression of complex ideas, the
composition and art of argument, and how to use evidence and rules, law graduates have
an excellent record of employability. A university law degree is the most adaptable of
academic qualifications.

WHERE WILL A LAW DEGREE TAKE ME?
A law degree covers the foundation subjects that are required for entry into the legal professions. But the understanding of
legal implications and obligations, combined with the ability to apply this knowledge in practice, is valuable in many parts
of the public, private and voluntary sectors. Many law graduates, of course, do go on to become solicitors or barristers but,
equally, many others use the qualification to become successful in companies, academic research, the media, the civil
service, local government, teaching, campaign organisations, and politics - over 80 MPs, for example, have law degrees.
The transferrable skills you will gain through studying law include:
research skills using a range of sources, including verbal questioning;
evaluation skills and the ability to interpret and explain complex information clearly;
analytical skills;
reasoning and critical judgment skills;
the ability to formulate sound arguments;
lateral thinking and problem-solving skills;
the ability to write concisely;
confident and persuasive oral communication skills;
attention to detail and the ability to draft formal documents with precision.

Legal training is therefore an extremely valuable commodity in the general market and Law graduates are sought after by
a wide variety of employers. There are many career paths to choose from.
WHAT IS THE BEST ROUTE INTO THE LEGAL PROFESSION?
Whilst a law degree is the traditional route into the legal profession, it is possible to study other degrees and then do a law
conversion course (known as the Common Professional Examination/Graduate Diploma in law course in England), or an
accelerated law degree in Scotland, after completing you first degree. If you do decide to choose this alternative route, you
will need to study a strong academic subject and attain a solid 1
st
or 2:1 in order to qualify for the rigorous accelerated
programmes. Naturally, you need to consider what you would gain from studying another discipline first, whether you can
afford, or want to spend any more years studying and whether you would gain as good a grounding in law as you would
from the full 3 or 4 year degree programme. Employers will accept bright young and determined candidates from either
route. But, it is a fiercely competitive job market so, whatever route you take you need to be working on gaining legal
experience and education during your summer holidays and attending law events where possible.
Once you have your degree, you may then progress to the vocational stage of training, which includes the Legal Practice
Course and the training contract/ traineeship should you decide to practice as a solicitor. The route to becoming a
barrister or advocate is a little different.
The Legal Practice Course - Before you become a solicitor, you must complete the Legal Practice Course (England) or
the Diploma in Legal Practice (Scotland). These courses will help you to develop the skills needed to work in a firm of
solicitors. The LPC is a key element of vocational training to become a solicitor. It must be completed by everyone who
intends to qualify as a solicitor.
The training contract or traineeship is the final stage of the qualifying process and involves working as a trainee
solicitor in a firm of solicitors or other organisation authorised to take trainees. The training contract period is usually
for two years.
Professional Skills Course - Passing the Professional Skills Course (PSC) is the final stage to becoming qualified as a
solicitor. Law graduates, and non-law graduates who have completed the Common Professional Examination or a
Graduate Diploma in Law, attend the PSC during the course of the training contract.


ROUTES TO QUALIFICATION
There are various routes into the legal profession depending on whether you want to practice as a solicitor or a barrister/
advocate and where you want to practice: England, Scotland or internationally.


CHOOSING A LAW DEGREE
Two important points to consider.
Not all law degrees are qualifying law degrees e.g. a law degree at Stirling University is not a qualifying law
degree, so you would need to then complete a law conversion course upon your graduation. Therefore, you need
to check the list of qualifying law degrees when selecting a university.
http://www.sra.org.uk/students/courses/qualifying-law-degree-providers.page
English law (common law system) is different to Scots law (mixed system). Therefore, if you choose to study in
Scotland and practice in England (or vice versa), you will have to apply to transfer under the SRA Qualified
Lawyers Transfer Scheme Regulations 2011 and may be required to sit additional examinations.

WHAT TO EXPECT DURING YOUR STUDIES

What subjects will I study on the qualifying law degree?
The qualifying law degree contains compulsory content laid down by professional bodies. You will study the following
foundation subjects:
Obligations including contract, restitution and tort (called delict in Scots law)
Criminal law
Equity and the law of trusts
Law of the European Union
Property law
Public law including constitutional law, administrative law and human rights
Students are also expected to have received training in legal research/ legal systems

Unlike other degrees the first year/s are extremely important. The courses you will take in your first year are compulsory
and your marks matter. They will be used to determine your application for the various honours courses and, indeed your
suitability for traineeships. Potential employers will be able to see these results so it is imperative that you hit the ground
running.

UNIVERSITY COURSES RESEARCH LOG
University Entry requirements (including
LNAT)
Core modules/ courses studied Recommended reading/
preparation
Additional information
e.g. Open days
e.g. attributes they are looking for
Cambridge Typical offers require A Level:
A*AA IB: 40-41 points, with 776 at
Higher Level

Course requirements
Essential No specific subjects
Many A Level (or equivalent) subjects
provide a good grounding for the study
of Law at university, and Colleges have
an open mind about the subjects that
are a sound preparation.
Good applicants tend to have taken
subjects at A Level (or equivalent) that
develop a careful, analytical approach
to reading and which require them to
present information in a way which is
well structured and thoughtfully
argued. In our experience, applicants
with backgrounds in Mathematics and
science subjects perform as well as
those whose background is in
humanities subjects. Many Colleges are
pleased to see applicants with a mixed
background in these subjects.
Applicants are not required to have
studied Law at GCSE or A Level. Those
who have done so tend not to have any
special advantage once they begin
studying Law at university. Academic
subjects other than Law will generally
provide a solid foundation for the
course, as well as giving a desirable
breadth of experience.
Churchill College has particularly
stringent entrance requirements for
Law. See the Churchill College website
for details.
In the first year, all students take the same four
papers:
Criminal Law
Constitutional Law
Civil Law
Law of Tort

In your second year, you choose five papers from a
wide range of options. Most students take
Contract Law and Land Law. Other options are:
Family Law
International Law
Administrative Law
Criminal Procedure and Evidence
Legal History
Civil Law II
Criminology, Sentencing and the Penal System
European Union Law

In the third year, you select and study five papers
from an even more extensive range.
Most students take Equity and European Union
Law but you can develop your interests in, for
instance:
commercial law
public law subjects
labour law
more theoretical aspects of law, such as
jurisprudence
You can take certain half-papers as well. In recent
years, subjects available have included:
Landlord and Tenant Law
European Human Rights Law
Medical Law
Media Law
You can also participate in a seminar course,
submitting a dissertation in place of one paper.
Seminar courses vary each year but in the past
have included Family in Society, Women and the
Law, Ethics and Criminal Law, Public Law, and
International Law.
Simpson, Invitation to Law
(Basil Blackwell)

Farrar and Dugdale, Introduction to
Legal Method (Sweet and Maxwell)

Twining and Miers, How to do things
with rules (Weidenfeld and Nicolson)

Atiyah, Law and Modern Society
(OUP)

Glanville Williams, Learning the Law
(Sweet & Maxwell) (12th ed.)
by ATH Smith

Berlins and Dyer, The Law Machine
(Penguin)

Kennedy, Eve Was Framed: Women
and British Justice (Chatto & Windus)

Pannick, Judges (Oxford)

It is always useful to keep up with
current affairs by reading a
broadsheet
newspaper and watching
news programmes on television.


PREPARING FOR UNIVERSITY YOUR RECORD
You need to ensure that you have researched and prepared thoroughly. It is essential that you do so in order to ensure that you are not blindly stepping into the unknown and
embarking on a career or course of study which isnt actually suited to you. Law is new territory for most students.

It would be useful for you to keep a record of the law society events, cases, court visits etc. which you planning to do in order to make the UCAS application procedure a little less
arduous. It will also highlight any weaknesses in your application/ knowledge which you can address ahead of submissions in the Autumn term. Writing a personal statement is not
easy, and keeping a log of what you have done to prepare, both in order to gain more knowledge about law and to develop the key skils (analytical, leadership etc) that the
universities are looking for will make the task much easier in the long run.

The sorts of things you might like to do may include: attending law society events; taking part in mock trial society; following a case in the media (the Guardian has some good legal
pages for this); visiting the courts; work experience placements; reading through some of the preparatory text books recommended by the universities (or myself, or Mr Reeves);
researching the various branches of law etc. Dont forget that leadership skills and analytical skills acquired through other activity programmes such as D of E, or debate society are
also relevant experience.


ACTIVITY/ EVENT
& Event details
KEY POINTS FROM THE EVENT/ KEY
INFORMATION
SKILLS AQUIRED OTHER