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Law Degree

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
Hi Everyone :wave:

Iv'e applied to uni to do a Law degree and i know that some of you have done/are in the process of doing one so i was wondering if you could tell me the positives and negatives of such a degree.

What you enjoy about it and how much hard work it is etc. Any opinions you have then please let me know.

Thank you :)
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • BunnieBunnie Posts: 6,099 Master Poster
    hi hun

    its not as bad as you would think, but at the same time it is bloody hard...if that makes sense.

    you need to have some common sense and be able to pick things up quite easily. some modules you will enjoy and understand and others you wont. and i dont think id lose if i say i bet you had both land and equity!

    to do with pros and cons etc, it depends where you study. i have spoken to people who have done law degrees at unis all over the country and had different reactions. at my uni, we were hardly ever in (about 8-10hours a week) we had a bit of work, but not loads, and come coursework due dates everyone was leaving it til the last minute.

    People from all walks of life do the course, little did i know. i was expecting to be the only normal person there, and to walk into a room full of greasy boys with slicked hair and thick round specs. i was wrong, totally wrong!

    good luck babes, do you know what you want to do when you finish yet?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i don't study law but have a few mates that are studying for the LPC and have already done a law degree. if you believe them, the LLB is pretty fair going, the real hard work comes doing the legal practice course... so if you want to be a lawyer, expect some agonizing hard work, but from what i pick up, the law degree itself is no harder say, than most other degrees... so if you want to do something else with it, it should be pretty fair play to you. :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    hey im in my 2nd year of law and its ok .. some modules i fall asleep in such as property law and some i really enjoy like criminal law.. but it is really hard. But if its what you really want to do, which you ovbiously want to then just enjoy it and have fun..
    good luck :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Bunny_0_ wrote:

    good luck babes, do you know what you want to do when you finish yet?

    Thanks for the replies everybody, they were great :)

    If i get a 2:1 (I belive that is what you atleast need to be a solicitor) which would be a bit of a miracle because i'm only an average student, i would go on to do the LPC, if not then i think i would go into other fields of work which are law related.

    What are you planning to do?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    otter wrote:
    the law degree itself is no harder say, than most other degrees... so if you want to do something else with it, it should be pretty fair play to you. :)
    I don't agree. There are degrees out there that ARE much easier than a law degree. SOME of my friend's degrees look really easy. Thats not to say, other degrees ARE easy, just that there are some degrees that don't require half the work that a Law degree does.

    The LPC is bound to be harder than the degree but that doesn't mean that a Law degree is easy!

    Oh and squeal, you don't need a 2:1 to go on to do the LPC. However, I'd say its very hard to get a training contract with a 2:2. The only chance you'd have would probably be with the smaller high street companies.
    bunny_o_ wrote:
    its not as bad as you would think, but at the same time it is bloody hard...if that makes sense.

    you need to have some common sense and be able to pick things up quite easily. some modules you will enjoy and understand and others you wont. and i dont think id lose if i say i bet you had both land and equity!

    Yeah. Its not as bad as I thought it'd be when I applied in college. However, it is very very hard. There is alot of work involved and you can't just "blag it" like I did in college.

    URGH. I'm doing Land Law and Trusts & Equity at the minute. I hate them with a passion. I don't know one student that actually likes those modules or understands them. Really struggling with them.

    It is hard though. The first year is pretty easy. I got a 2:1 in the first year without really doing any work. However, in the second year, my marks dropped dramatically (but this was my own fault. I didn't do enough work and had too much personal shit going on).

    Like bunny_o_ has said, there will be some modules you love and others you'll hate. For example, in the second year, I loved Criminal Law but hated EC Law. I also really hated Contract & Tort in the first year. This year I love Evidence and Criminal Law relating to Sex & Violence but hate Trusts and Land.

    You'll need to be very self disciplined. There is ALOT of reading involved. You can't just do the bare reading that the tutors tell you to do. You have to go out there and do independent reading.

    Cases- you'll have to read shit loads of these things despite how BORING they all are. For exams and stuff, you will be required to know off the top of your head TONNES of cases (I needed to know about 100 for my Criminal Law exam), know the principles and judgements, etc. Its quite alot to take in and I've found it very hard.

    At my uni, there is alot of work involved. I have 5 assessed seminars a fortnight which are worth 20/25% of my marks this year. Each seminar takes about 8 hours to prepare for. Some of these seminars require me to give presentations to the rest of the class but others I'm just assessed on everything I answer, discuss. If I say nothing, I fail. I have 8 pieces of coursework a year (varying between 1500-4000 words) and have two unseen examinations at the end of the year.

    Some enjoy Law more than others. I think I've just got to a point where I just wanna leave now. Originally I wanted to do the LPC, but tbh, I don't think its what I want to do anymore. I'm not trying to put you off. Just warning you that its not going to be easy. However, you might find it easy :p

    Good luck with it anyways. Where are you thinking of studying it?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Lincoln - Nowhere decent as i want to stay close to home, just think it would be easier. Does it make a difference if you don't study at a top university?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    oooh lincoln, i go to lincoln! :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    oooh lincoln, i go to lincoln! :D

    Is it any good? What are you studying?

    I should have gone to that open day today, will have to wait till January now!

    Put in a good word for me :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    oh yes, i'll talk to a criminology lecture and say 'ooh tell them to let squeal in..!'. :p

    i'm in my final year of a ba (hons) degree in criminology and social policy.

    i love it in lincoln, i've pretty much lived in lincolnshire for most of my life. i sometimes wish i'd gone further away from home but it's a really nice city and the uni is good - i have high aspirations about its future. :)

    and i get to graduate in the cathedral. :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    oh yes, i'll talk to a criminology lecture and say 'ooh tell them to let squeal in..!'. :p

    i'm in my final year of a ba (hons) degree in criminology and social policy.

    i love it in lincoln, i've pretty much lived in lincolnshire for most of my life. i sometimes wish i'd gone further away from home but it's a really nice city and the uni is good - i have high aspirations about its future. :)

    and i get to graduate in the cathedral. :D

    Yeah i don't know if i would wish to have gone further away but i'm not too bothered about uni in the first place so i just feel it'l be easier to stay close to home.

    Did you live there or travel each day?
  • BunnieBunnie Posts: 6,099 Master Poster
    I wouldnt say it matters exactly where you go, but it would help to go to one of the better unis if you dont think you will do too well. not only will they push you, but the mark will (unfortunately) be treated differently when you apply for jobs. However, i dont know how good lincoln is for Law.

    In relation to Otter's comments about the LPC...its a real bastard! i pretty much hate every minute of it. i have never worked so hard in my life. i dont see my friends, i dont get to do the things i want, but hey, thats another story.

    All in all, Law is hard in some aspects, but its also so broad and varied that you can enjoy it, and not get TOO bored. You always have me and Snow White if you get stuck too hehe!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    squeal wrote:
    Yeah i don't know if i would wish to have gone further away but i'm not too bothered about uni in the first place so i just feel it'l be easier to stay close to home.

    Did you live there or travel each day?

    i live there but go home at the weekend to work.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Bunny_0_ wrote:
    I wouldnt say it matters exactly where you go, but it would help to go to one of the better unis if you dont think you will do too well. not only will they push you, but the mark will (unfortunately) be treated differently when you apply for jobs. However, i dont know how good lincoln is for Law.

    In relation to Otter's comments about the LPC...its a real bastard! i pretty much hate every minute of it. i have never worked so hard in my life. i dont see my friends, i dont get to do the things i want, but hey, thats another story.

    All in all, Law is hard in some aspects, but its also so broad and varied that you can enjoy it, and not get TOO bored. You always have me and Snow White if you get stuck too hehe!

    Aww thank you :thumb: You'll soon regret that when you get a PM every week with me asking for help :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hey, thought I'd give you an idea of some of the essay questions!!!

    In the middle of writing 2000 words for this Land Law question - “English courts have always viewed the constructive trust as necessarily founded on some common intention or conscious bargain directed towards the diffusion of common ownership. This requirement of demonstrable bargain, now regularly confirmed by the House of Lords at twenty year intervals has exerted a stranglehold over the development of any rational law of family property” – Discuss in the context of the law relating to implied trusts of the family home in England and Wales.

    My Trusts & Equity ESSAY question which I've also got to write 2000 words on is "Equity is parasitical upon the common law. More specifically, the invention and evolution of the trust is attributable to the historical and ongoing defiencies of the common law" - Critically evaluate the cogency of the above statement with particular emphasis upon the contemporary role of the trust within the English Law.

    URGH. Fucking hate this course. So boring.

    I'm sure you'll love it though :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    stacey i don't really think it's very fair to be showing her questions she'd be doing in her final year.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah, you have a point.

    Tbh, all of my coursework questions have been worded very similarly to those that I posted. Different subject matter of course.

    Just giving her an idea of how her essay questions may look. All of my law questions from year 1 to my final year have looked like that apart from the problem questions. I can't find any on my computer though :chin:

    Her university may set questions completely differently though. Just thought I'd give her an idea.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The last question isn't actually that hard. Equity does exist where the common law and statute is deficient- where equity has been replaced by developments in common law or statute the law has been strengthened as a result.

    To the OP, a law degree can be very interesting, but you have to like reading and you have to be motivated to do a large amount of independent study. It isn't really a degree course you can lounge about on, even in first year, as you need to know the law to progress in your second and third years.

    You do not need a 2.1 to take the BVC (barrister exams) or LPC (solicitor exams), but you will find it almost impossible to get a firm to pay for them for you if you do not get a 2.1. That means you'd need to pay for them yourself, and then try and get a training contract or pupillage afterwards, and I know the CPS take on trainees with a 2.2 (but they don't fund your LPC). The cost of the LPC is about £6000, plus living costs.

    I would recommend that if you want a legal career you take your degree at Northumbria, who offer a combined honours degree and BVC/LPC degree over four years.

    You don't need to become a solicitor to get somewhere in the law, as you can also become a Licensed Conveyancer or a Legal Executive, but be warned that there are more law graduates than there are places on training contracts. My office is full of graduates who can't get training contracts or pupillages (and about a third of my office have their LPC/BVC too), and whilst I have a reasonable job (I'm a conveyancer), the pay isn't that hot and the work isn't that exciting.

    On the subject, if someone wants to come and prepare this indemnity insurance quotation for a restrictive covenant breach, I'd love them forever!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote:
    The last question isn't actually that hard. Equity does exist where the common law and statute is deficient- where equity has been replaced by developments in common law or statute the law has been strengthened as a result.
    Never said the question was hard :p

    I do think its an incredibly BORING question though and tbh, its not like I'm going to find it "easy" as Trusts is a subject I struggle with the most. I have to write 2000 words on that question. I kinda know what I'm gonna write for it though.

    I am in the middle of doing the first question and am finding it alright. Surprised myself there though so don't know if I'm doing it correctly! Ah well. Marks will tell I guess! :nervous:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks Everyboday :)

    The example questions were useful and was good to know what kinda context they are written in. Meant nothing to me whatsoever but i'm sure it does when you've been taught the stuff.

    I went to an open day at Lincoln to talk about the Law course and met some of the students who are in their final year. There seems to be a lot of student support and a whole library dedicated to Law so it all looks good.

    Thanks for all the info just then SWQ and Kermit :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    did you go to a penology and penal policy lecture...?
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