Course overview:
This course gives you both a Qualifying Law Degree and exemption from the requirement to undertake the Legal Practice Course (LPC). It is geared to professional practice, and you can start your training to become a solicitor as soon as you graduate.
From the start of the course you will be given an introduction to the skills required by lawyers. This prepares you for the clinical experience in Years 3 and 4, where you will work with real clients on real cases, offering you invaluable experience which will make you more attractive to future employers. Fees are consistent throughout rather than increasing at the LPC stage, so the course offers a more accessible route to becoming a solicitor.
On completion you will carry out a period of work-based learning (currently called a training contract) under the supervision of a solicitor. Students completing the course, or those choosing to leave with a Qualifying Law Degree after three years, can also begin to train as a barrister.
Course content:
The general ethos of the course is one of integration of the academic and practical. In Years 1 and 2 you will cover the same core subjects as you would on a Qualifying Law Degree. Alongside these subjects you will study two modules in Legal Ethics, Method and Skills (LEMS) which have been specifically designed for this course. In Year 3 you will build on the foundations provided in these LEMS modules to conduct real cases with real clients. You will carry out this work under supervision and with appropriate training. You will also study a mixture of academic and practical subjects. Year 4 is entirely devoted to the practical subjects that would ordinarily be studied on the Legal Practice Course, while you will continue to work with real clients on one of our clinical modules.