[El_Dude]

Hi,

I was hoping somebody with experience of the LPC could give me some practical advice to help me prepare for when I start my one year course with the College of Law in September 2012.

I graduated with a 2:1 Law Degree in 2006 and for the past three years have been working in education law at a large county council (I do a wide range of case work from writing documents similar to skeleton arguments to acting as an advocate at Tribunal hearings). It is probably the experience in my current job that helped me get a training contract with a decent firm for Sept 2013. So my break from studies has been very beneficial in this respect.

Anyway, it will have been six years between graduating from uni and commencing the LPC. I know that you're thrown into the deep when commencing the LPC and so I was hoping somebody could tell me what level of legal knowledge is required in order to succeed in the course. Having graduated six years ago, I am at the very least rusty with my legal knowledge. I do remember many principals and having started reading my old textbooks, a lot of it has come flooding back. However I certainly cannot quote case law any more and I know for example that land law changed shortly after I completed my land law module in 2003.

I suppose what I'm getting at is what level of knowledge will I need to get through the exams. I want to make sure that I spend the next seven months preparing as best I can for the course.

I've found a very useful document on the SRA's website (here) which details the six fundamental areas of law in which knowledge is required. However it doesn't indicate whether it's simply enough to know the principles or whether you still need the level of knowledge that I acquired during my degree.

I know it's quite common to take a break of a year or two between graduating from uni and commencing the LPC, but a six year break feels like a long time. Has anybody else experienced the LPC after a similarly lengthy break?

I'd be really grateful for any advice so that I can ensure I adequately prepare.

[jacketpotato]

Congratulations. I would have thought that you'll be in great shape. You might have to focus on the slightly more academic aspects (e.g. some of property law and practice and business law and practice), but you'll be ahead of your peers on civil and criminal procedure and on the skills like interviewing/advocacy. You generally do not need to cite case law on the LPC, it isn't academic like the law degree was. You are not tested on things like contract/tort/equity, the LPC covers different material it is not simply a repeat of the GDL or the law degree. For example, when I did it all that was really needed on something like negligence was an awareness that you need duty/breach/causation/damages - you are not going to get questioned on your knowledge of negligence.

The first stage of the LPC covers Business Law and Practice (mostly learning about the Companies Act and company accounts), Property law and Practice (there is some content from land law at university, but its covered again in detail and the focus is different - its more about how you would actually close a transaction in practice), Criminal Procedure and Civil Procedure which you probably didn't do on your law degree. The focus is quite different to what you did on the law degree. The second stage consists of electives and there are various skills you do throughout the course.

I don't think you'll have any problems if you go into it with a positive attitude and work hard. The College of Law is very professional, their textbooks and lecture handouts will cover everything you need.

[El_Dude]

Thank you ever so much for such a helpful response. I have to say I was feeling pretty daunted about the prospect of going into the LPC having been such a long time since I graduated. However I now feel a lot more confident thanks to your help.

I think just to get myself in the right frame of mind and to brush up a little, I'll continue to read through my old textbooks and notes - but I'll skim through it rather than going into the detail I was thinking I'd have to.

Thanks again - you've been a really great help!

[El_Dude]

Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but I accessed the CoL's Blackboard site and found a number of online "Refresh Your Knowledge" multiple choice exams for each of the seven pillars of law (criminal, contract, tort, etc). As it has been so long since I studied these subjects, I haven't been doing that well on them (although I am trying to go through my old NutShells books to at least get a refreshed overview of each subject).

The questions consist of not only problem questions but also questions about different caselaw - e.g. You are asked to match up a selection of cases with the correct description of what principle they establish. Is this really the level of knowledge we are expected to have/remember in order to successfully complete the LPC? Or is the CoL simply trying to scare us into revising more than we need to?

Seeing as JacketPotato in the post above, having completed the LPC, said all you need is to remember the basic principles, this is what I had been going by (it makes sense that the LPC would examine the professional practice side rather than re-testing what we did on our degrees). However, having seen their "Refresh your knowledge" online tests, I'm starting to feel alarmed by the apparent level of knowledge / remembering that we are expected to have.

[tomtom16]

Are those tests on a public site or do you have to be logged in?

I haven't started the LPC yet so I can't be of much help unfortunately. I can see why it would feel daunting, but maybe if you just take it bit by bit i.e. update yourself as you prepare for particular classes.

Can I ask you a question - when you applied for SRA student enrollment and completion of academic stage of training, did you just get the 2 emails of confirmation? Did you get a letter as well?

Best of luck to you!

[UnderPost]

(Original post by jacketpotato)
I don't think you'll have any problems if you go into it with a positive attitude and work hard. The College of Law is very professional, their textbooks and lecture handouts will cover everything you need.

Out of interest did you do the LPC at CoL over 4 half days or 2 full days?.

I'm thinking of doing it over 2 full days - any advice on this?

[El_Dude]

(Original post by tomtom16)
Are those tests on a public site or do you have to be logged in?

I haven't started the LPC yet so I can't be of much help unfortunately. I can see why it would feel daunting, but maybe if you just take it bit by bit i.e. update yourself as you prepare for particular classes.

Can I ask you a question - when you applied for SRA student enrollment and completion of academic stage of training, did you just get the 2 emails of confirmation? Did you get a letter as well?

Best of luck to you!

You have to login to their Blackboard site. I received an email a couple of months ago with the login details. It said in the email we should keep an eye out on our CoL emails and so I login every so often. No emails so far have actually come through to it other than things about IT maintenance!

I just got the one email from the SRA. I don't think I ever got a letter. To be honest I've found their emails less than clear.

[El_Dude]

(Original post by UnderPost)
Out of interest did you do the LPC at CoL over 4 half days or 2 full days?.

I'm thinking of doing it over 2 full days - any advice on this?

I'm going for the 2 full days simply to cut down on the amount of time and money I spend commuting from Kent to London (at least until the timetable changes when the electives start).

[Ethereal]

(Original post by jacketpotato)
Congratulations. I would have thought that you'll be in great shape. You might have to focus on the slightly more academic aspects (e.g. some of property law and practice and business law and practice), but you'll be ahead of your peers on civil and criminal procedure and on the skills like interviewing/advocacy. You generally do not need to cite case law on the LPC, it isn't academic like the law degree was. You are not tested on things like contract/tort/equity, the LPC covers different material it is not simply a repeat of the GDL or the law degree. For example, when I did it all that was really needed on something like negligence was an awareness that you need duty/breach/causation/damages - you are not going to get questioned on your knowledge of negligence.

The first stage of the LPC covers Business Law and Practice (mostly learning about the Companies Act and company accounts), Property law and Practice (there is some content from land law at university, but its covered again in detail and the focus is different - its more about how you would actually close a transaction in practice), Criminal Procedure and Civil Procedure which you probably didn't do on your law degree. The focus is quite different to what you did on the law degree. The second stage consists of electives and there are various skills you do throughout the course.

I don't think you'll have any problems if you go into it with a positive attitude and work hard. The College of Law is very professional, their textbooks and lecture handouts will cover everything you need.

Except as part of the modules such as civil litigation...

[UnderPost]

(Original post by El_Dude)
I'm going for the 2 full days simply to cut down on the amount of time and money I spend commuting from Kent to London (at least until the timetable changes when the electives start).

Cool that's what I want to do (but in Chester). Do you know when we are allowed to choose when to do this? I'm assuming it's all sorted on the first day?

[jacketpotato]

(Original post by Ethereal)
Except as part of the modules such as civil litigation...

I don't recall needing to know anything beyond knowing that negligence needs a duty of care, breach, causation and loss; and that breach of contract needs a contract, breach, causation and loss. You did have to know a bit of private international law but this was taught during the course.

[El_Dude]

(Original post by UnderPost)
Cool that's what I want to do (but in Chester). Do you know when we are allowed to choose when to do this? I'm assuming it's all sorted on the first day?

No, I was able to express my preference much earlier than this. I was sent a form a few months ago asking me to express my preferences for study centre and there was a section on this form where you could request a particular study pattern. You may want to give Chester a ring if you're starting this September.

[El_Dude]

(Original post by El_Dude)
You have to login to their Blackboard site. I received an email a couple of months ago with the login details. It said in the email we should keep an eye out on our CoL emails and so I login every so often. No emails so far have actually come through to it other than things about IT maintenance!

I just got the one email from the SRA. I don't think I ever got a letter. To be honest I've found their emails less than clear.

I double checked my email from the SRA today and it turns out they hadn't confirmed my membership. Although the email is from their student enrolment dept, the email only confirmed the academic stage of training.

Their site has been having difficulty with their payment system which means that enrolment requests haven't been processed. I had raised the payment issue back in April when I encountered the faulty payment web page. However i was reassured by their call centre staff that payment had been received and my requests would be processed. It wasn't until when i checked today with the SRA that in fact they had only half processed my request (ie they'd processed the confirmation of academic stage but not the student enrolment).

The SRA has now sorted out my application and i now have an email confirming enrolment. I'd highly recommend checking the wording of the emails from the SRA in order to confirm that you have both confirmations. According to the CoL they can come as one email or as two separate ones.

[Ethereal]

(Original post by jacketpotato)
I don't recall needing to know anything beyond knowing that negligence needs a duty of care, breach, causation and loss; and that breach of contract needs a contract, breach, causation and loss. You did have to know a bit of private international law but this was taught during the course.

We had some quirky torts thrown at us

[millybing]

There are some good GDL and LPC revision guides you can buy to get an overview of the course - the GDL ones will go into more depth than you need on the LPC but obviously that revision will be a big advantage when you go into practice. From my own experience I'd recommend the YourGDL, YourLPC ones - they're cheaper than some of the others but updated and very accurate. I had a gap between the GDL and LPC too so I found them really helpful in finding out what changed since I did my GDL and getting a quick refresher.

I've just finished the LPC and of the cores I think Property law was what I needed the most "hard" law for - you need to know about leaseholds and freehold reversions and covenants under both old and new law, plus the remedies for breach of those covenants. As other posters have said above - breach of contract, consideration issues and negligence are important in company law, but also misrepresentation comes up, as does undue influence. You also need to know the mens rea and actus reus of a couple of main offences in criminal law for criminal litigation. Burglary, Theft, ABH for example.

As I said above, the better revision guides/notes available for the LPC cover the basic law you need to know, as well as the new LPC stuff.

[The University of Law]

Hi all!

@El_Dude - Let us know if we can help with any queries on preparing for our LPC

@UnderPost - Did you manage to get things sorted regarding our 2-day timetabling option? If not, we recommend contacting our Admissions team, who will be able to point you in the right direction. Contact details for Admissions

Hope this helps! We're also on Facebook and Twitter if you ever need us for queries:

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