[TheCount.]

Having to choose my modules currently and i'm deliberating about whether or not to choose commercial law. Quite enjoying contract law and criminal law at the moment and can do it again next year, but feel that commercial law may be necessary if I decide I want to pursue a career in a large commercial firm. Thoughts? Is it interesting? Would it be better to choose a module such as criminal law that i'm likely to do well in or risk choosing commercial law but potentially finding it boring and doing badly?

[Norton1]

(Original post by TheCount.)
Having to choose my modules currently and i'm deliberating about whether or not to choose commercial law. Quite enjoying contract law and criminal law at the moment and can do it again next year, but feel that commercial law may be necessary if I decide I want to pursue a career in a large commercial firm. Thoughts? Is it interesting? Would it be better to choose a module such as criminal law that i'm likely to do well in or risk choosing commercial law but potentially finding it boring and doing badly?

Think about where the jobs are. Training contracts at commercial firms are relatively common compared to training contracts in criminal firms.

[TheCount.]

Yeah I suppose so.

[jacketpotato]

Its not "necessary" to do commercial law if you want a job in a corporate firm, I don't think it matters. In any event the law firms that people describe as "commercial" primarily practice company law not pure commercial law. Commercial firms will be more interested in your overall grades and your Contract result than anything else.

You should do what you enjoy and what you think you will do better at. If you want to do Criminal II do Criminal II.

I don't agree with the comment that "Training contracts at commercial firms are relatively common compared to training contracts in criminal firms". Commercial city firms are more visible because they are bigger and mostly restricted to central London - you don't get criminal firms taking on 100 trainees at a time. However, there are lots of smaller criminal firms up and down the country, when you put them all together thats a lot of TCs.

[Norton1]

(Original post by jacketpotato)
Its not "necessary" to do commercial law if you want a job in a corporate firm, I don't think it matters. In any event the law firms that people describe as "commercial" primarily practice company law not pure commercial law. Commercial firms will be more interested in your overall grades and your Contract result than anything else.

You should do what you enjoy and what you think you will do better at. If you want to do Criminal II do Criminal II.

I don't agree with the comment that "Training contracts at commercial firms are relatively common compared to training contracts in criminal firms". Commercial city firms are more visible because they are bigger and mostly restricted to central London - you don't get criminal firms taking on 100 trainees at a time. However, there are lots of smaller criminal firms up and down the country, when you put them all together thats a lot of TCs.

Your first point has certainly not been my experience, perhaps the legal market is different in that respect in Scotland and England. Although in terms of showing commercial interest/ awareness commercial subjects are probably better.

I also disagree with you on the traineeships available, although this is the point where nulli usually arrives and smacks down all comers. I would say that definitely definitely in Scotland this would be the case and I still think it would be the case in England.

[TheCount.]

(Original post by jacketpotato)
Its not "necessary" to do commercial law if you want a job in a corporate firm, I don't think it matters. In any event the law firms that people describe as "commercial" primarily practice company law not pure commercial law. Commercial firms will be more interested in your overall grades and your Contract result than anything else.

You should do what you enjoy and what you think you will do better at. If you want to do Criminal II do Criminal II.

I don't agree with the comment that "Training contracts at commercial firms are relatively common compared to training contracts in criminal firms". Commercial city firms are more visible because they are bigger and mostly restricted to central London - you don't get criminal firms taking on 100 trainees at a time. However, there are lots of smaller criminal firms up and down the country, when you put them all together thats a lot of TCs.

Ah that's interesting. well I've had a look at the modules available and commercial law is one of those. It's based on a 100% exam and last year awarded not a single 1st. On the other hand, modules which I would be more interested in for example: environmental law & public international law have awarded a far higher % of firsts. Would it be be wise to choose the latter and not necessary impinge on my chances of getting a vac scheme at a MC firm?

[jacketpotato]

(Original post by Norton1)
I also disagree with you on the traineeships available, although this is the point where nulli usually arrives and smacks down all comers. I would say that definitely definitely in Scotland this would be the case and I still think it would be the case in England.

It may well be - I'm not entirely sure.

(Original post by TheCount.)
Ah that's interesting. well I've had a look at the modules available and commercial law is one of those. It's based on a 100% exam and last year awarded not a single 1st. On the other hand, modules which I would be more interested in for example: environmental law & public international law have awarded a far higher % of firsts. Would it be be wise to choose the latter and not necessary impinge on my chances of getting a vac scheme at a MC firm?

In my view you should choose the subject you are most interested in and think you will perform best at. In any event, public international law would be relevant to an arbitration/public law practice and environmental law would be relevant to a property/planning practice in commercial firm. I definitely don't think you'd be looked down on for doing PIL/environemntal law, these are still hard-hitting subjects.

The title "commercial law" can be quite misleading. It will depend on your specific syllabus, but at my uni the commercial law module was half about the sale of goods and the other half was about agency, with a few extra subjects like security and letters of credit. This is certainly relevant to what commercial firm do, but you'd be unlikely to focus on the sale of goods - company law is much more relevant.

[TheCount.]

(Original post by jacketpotato)
It may well be - I'm not entirely sure.



In my view you should choose the subject you are most interested in and think you will perform best at. In any event, public international law would be relevant to an arbitration/public law practice and environmental law would be relevant to a property/planning practice in commercial firm. I definitely don't think you'd be looked down on for doing PIL/environemntal law, these are still hard-hitting subjects.

The title "commercial law" can be quite misleading. It will depend on your specific syllabus, but at my uni the commercial law module was half about the sale of goods and the other half was about agency, with a few extra subjects like security and letters of credit. This is certainly relevant to what commercial firm do, but you'd be unlikely to focus on the sale of goods - company law is much more relevant.

I have checked the commercial law module and it is identical to the one you have described: Sale of goods act, agency, security and Banking law.

I am considering either PIL, environment and planning law or perhaps Law and Business enterprise... Can't quite decide.

[andymt]

I have just completed a module in commercial law.

Pros:
Less cases to read than other subjects because the focus is on principles and their analysis and criticism
Excellent textbooks in the form of Goode, and Sealey & Hooley. Goode takes you smoothly through the course.
Mostly case law, guided by some statutes
Intellectually very stimulating; something you can really get your teeth into (although this might be a con for some people)
Business orientated; so when I say intellectually stimulating I don't mean philosophising about the meaning of a property right I mean analysing how the principles apply to different facts, and criticising them.

Cons:
Takes time to study each week, requires more attention than most other subjects
Impossible to do when you are tired
Might be perceived by some to be dry (e.g. security) but personally I found it mostly fascinating (except week 1 on the contractual aspects of sale of goods, which was bland).