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Does a Masters help with employability?

I was speaking to my Grand dad earlier, he's a very successful Barrister and one of the reasons I wanted to follow his path.

He said having a Masters offers no additional benefit in terms of employability as a Solicitor/Barrister, he said it is purely only for those who wish to teach Law at a high level.

Is this true? I knew a Masters was mainly for Teachers, but I felt it'd give you some extra edge at the very least.
Reply 1
Original post by 0zzy94
I was speaking to my Grand dad earlier, he's a very successful Barrister and one of the reasons I wanted to follow his path.

He said having a Masters offers no additional benefit in terms of employability as a Solicitor/Barrister, he said it is purely only for those who wish to teach Law at a high level.

Is this true? I knew a Masters was mainly for Teachers, but I felt it'd give you some extra edge at the very least.


He's right. It doesn't.
Original post by 0zzy94
I was speaking to my Grand dad earlier, he's a very successful Barrister and one of the reasons I wanted to follow his path.

He said having a Masters offers no additional benefit in terms of employability as a Solicitor/Barrister, he said it is purely only for those who wish to teach Law at a high level.

Is this true? I knew a Masters was mainly for Teachers, but I felt it'd give you some extra edge at the very least.


The Oxford BCL Harvard LLM and possibly the Cambridge LLM are perceived to give an advantage at the bar in the more cerebral disciplines. Otherwise "no".
Reply 3
Original post by nulli tertius
The Oxford BCL Harvard LLM and possibly the Cambridge LLM are perceived to give an advantage at the bar in the more cerebral disciplines. Otherwise "no".


Would you include Yale/Columbia in that? I'd have thought they'd be better than/equal to a Cambridge LLM, although I don't think I can actually recall seeing any of the three on the CV's of recent tenants at the sets I've looked at.
Reply 4
Original post by gtfo
Would you include Yale/Columbia in that? I'd have thought they'd be better than/equal to a Cambridge LLM, although I don't think I can actually recall seeing any of the three on the CV's of recent tenants at the sets I've looked at.


Yale's LLM is targeted towards people who want to go into academia, so it makes it a lot harder for wannabe-practitioners to go there.

Columbia specifies on its website that UK grads can only qualify to apply for their LLM when they have completed their undergraduate degree + LPC/BPTC + TC/Pupillage and not before, therefore making it less popular as well.
Reply 5
Original post by arrowhead
Yale's LLM is targeted towards people who want to go into academia, so it makes it a lot harder for wannabe-practitioners to go there.

Columbia specifies on its website that UK grads can only qualify to apply for their LLM when they have completed their undergraduate degree + LPC/BPTC + TC/Pupillage and not before, therefore making it less popular as well.


Ah, that explains why I've not spotted any Yale/Columbia alumni on websites, thanks
Reply 6
It can do if the subject of your Masters degree is better related to the job you want than your prior degree.
Reply 7
Original post by aranexus
It can do if the subject of your Masters degree is better related to the job you want than your prior degree.


The OP is specifically asking about an LLM - and for that an LLM is helpful if you want to specialise in a specific field, like Human Rights Law or Commercial Law.
Reply 8
In the famous debate at the Cambridge Law Society quite recently Jonathan Sumption argued quite persuasively that barristers should not study law at university at all. And he should know I would think !!!
Original post by Old_Simon
In the famous debate at the Cambridge Law Society quite recently Jonathan Sumption argued quite persuasively that barristers should not study law at university at all. And he should know I would think !!!


In the 1970s Jonathan Sumption campaigned against the introduction of the requirement for barristers to be graduates and against the the creation of what is now called the BPTC.
Original post by nulli tertius
In the 1970s Jonathan Sumption campaigned against the introduction of the requirement for barristers to be graduates and against the the creation of what is now called the BPTC.


He remains trenchantly critical of the professional bar courses to this day.
Original post by Old_Simon
He remains trenchantly critical of the professional bar courses to this day.


Unfortunately on this subject he is a flat earther. At no point in the last nearly 40 years has anyone run for Chairman of the Bar on a policy of going back to how it used to be. That speaks volumes for what the rest of the profession think.
Reply 12
Original post by c2uk
The OP is specifically asking about an LLM - and for that an LLM is helpful if you want to specialise in a specific field, like Human Rights Law or Commercial Law.

I don't know much about law. So, i was just commenting in a general sense..
Reply 13
I also come down in the no camp
I believe it is only worth doing it if you are really interested in a specific area, e.g. intellectual property, and wish to expand your own knowledge of that area. Perhaps, in work terms, it can be helpful as well, if you're looking to practise in this particular area and you apply to firms that specialise in it. It will probably show that you have a genuine interest and commitment.

Also, I think it may "open up" some other sectors as well if at any point of your degree you doubt whether you want to become a solicitor/barrister, or if you are unsuccessful in finding a job in the legal sector.
Reply 15
Original post by 0zzy94
I was speaking to my Grand dad earlier, he's a very successful Barrister and one of the reasons I wanted to follow his path.

He said having a Masters offers no additional benefit in terms of employability as a Solicitor/Barrister, he said it is purely only for those who wish to teach Law at a high level.

Is this true? I knew a Masters was mainly for Teachers, but I felt it'd give you some extra edge at the very least.


I was in your position a while ago, I didn't know whether to undertake a masters or not because of the competition.

Then I did a mini-pupillage and got some good advice which was very helpful and has not failed me: only do a masters if you really want to. If you do not want to do one, don't do it. I know lots of people who have gotten a decent degree and pupillage without a masters.

Better off getting some decent work experience and putting your legal knowledge into practice, if you are not that eager to do a Masters. It's expensive and obviously a lot of work.

It all depends on the person really. But it will not affect your chances negatively if you don't do masters, in my view and experience.
Reply 16
I agree with granddad. I wouldn't bother.

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