Studying Law - Where after the LLB?

Law remains a very prestigious subject that is much sought after as a university discipline. It is worth it's weight in it's own right. For many law graduates, the degree they hold is good currency for a job in many sectors, including banking and finance, management accountancy, tax consultancy and the media, amongst others. Latest figures in the United Kingdom show that a good proportion of law graduates go on to successful careers in fields other than as practising solicitors or barristers. We are sure our international law graduates find similar successes when they return to their home countries.

Of course many international and UK students commence a law course with the intention of having a career in the legal sphere eventually. For such students, there is a myriad of postgraduate legal courses available to them in the UK.

The LLM is the first award that usually comes to mind for an LLB holder intending to further his/her study in the field of academic law. Many UK universities offer the postgraduate taught degree of Masters of Law. Nowadays, besides the general LLM, many of these institutions also offer specialised named routes on their masters level law courses. For example LLM Business Law, LLM Critical Legal Studies, LLM Employment Law, LLM Family Law, LLM Human Rights, LLM Intellectual Property and LLM International Law. The named options available usually reflect the teaching and research expertise available at the particular university law school. Of course, the bigger the law school, the greater the number of options it can usually offer.

Most taught LLMs follow the familiar pattern of taught modules that run from September til May, and the students are then expected to complete a dissertation, usually around 15,000 words in length, over the summer months.

Some institutions now offer the LLM within their modular postgraduate framework, which enables the students to accumulate credits as they go along, until the totals required for each named award are reached e.g here, 60 credits = postgraduate certificate, 120 credits = postgraduate diploma, 180 credits + LLM.

Besides the traditional methods of delivery, a few law school are beginning to consider delivery of their LLMs via more 'cutting-edge' methods. For instance at Staffordshire university law school an e-LLM via the internet will be commencing in 2002.

LLM In Legal Practice and Management

If you have an LLB, you may have acquired a number of transferable skills during your studies but these are usually fairly basic, and are confined to the legal environment. It is becoming increasingly apparent that for a legal practice to survive, efficient and effective management is also required. All members of a law firm ought to understand the facts and concepts of effective management. Awards such as these that we have at Staffordshire are tailored specifically for that purpose. Additionally accreditation is available for Compulsory Professional Development (CPD) and it assists towards the Professional Skills Course (PSC) here in the UK.

MA

In addition to the LLMs named above, some institutions also offer postgraduate MAs that contain some elements of law. Again, these awards tend named-routes eg. MA in Child Care; Law, Policy and Practice, depending on their focus.

Common Professional Examination - CPE

This course offers a speedy route for non-law graduates to progress onto the solicitors or bar vocational courses. It is a one-year full time course, and students are expected to cover the seven foundations of legal knowledge plus one other area of law, this last area varies from institution to institution, e.g Social Welfare Law.

M.Phil/Ph.D

These awards are essentially research based, although for those not having any postgraduate experience, e.g. LLMs, there may well be a significant element of research training.

They are mainly for people who wish to pursue an academic career, but it is possible to pursue research in relation to professional interests. It is possible to register for the M.Phil as a degree as a distinct award but more usually students register for an M.Phil/Ph.D with a transfer from the former to the latter at the end of an eighteen month period.

The essential difference between the two awards is that Ph.D must contain an element of originality that need not be found in the Mphil. Whilst undertaking research degrees, students are allocated a subject expert as their supervisor and are expected to maintain a close academic relationship with that person.

Postgraduate Vocational Legal Studies

Legal Practice Course - LPC

The LPC is a one-year full-time programme for those intending to qualify as solicitors. The aim of the course is to prepare students for legal practice, enabling them to develop the necessary knowledge and skills required to practise as a solicitor. The teaching of legal skills is fully integrated in the relevant areas of law.

Some 40 institutions offer the LPC in the UK, and many deliver the teaching through a variety of forums. Assessments are also varied, ranging from practical exercises (tested orally and in written form) to unseen examinations. Again, like on the LLM, optional modules available vary from institution to institution.

A unique feature of Staffordshire LPC is the monitoring scheme. Run in conjunction with local practitioners. Each of our LPC students is assigned a mentor who is usually a local practising solicitor, and they get advice and practical experience from their mentor along the way.

Bar Vocational Course

For those intending to practice as barristers here or abroad, they will need to enrol on the Bar Vocational Course, run at some eight institutions in the UK. Unlike the old Bar finals Examination course, the BVC focuses much more on practical skills besides the acquisition of knowledge of law. This is also a 1 year full time course, and like the LPC is taught and assessed in a variety of ways.

After passing either the LPC or the BVC, students then go on to complete a period of practical training in order to qualify as solicitors, or be able to practice at the Bar.

Author: Andy Vi-Ming Kok, Senior Lecturer & International Programmes
Director, Staffordshire University Law School