[coffeebeans]

I am an Anglo-Swiss IB student..as I am bilingual in English and French and am attracted to the idea of being able to work transnationally as a lawyer, I have applied to UK unis for a degree in English and French law.

Have been made four offers -- UCL, KCL, Bristol and Exeter. The UCL course includes a year in Paris which MAY lead to a double degree enabling me to train professionally in both countries
( depending on Director of Studies' opinion of my level).
KCL degree is a double maitrise meaning I finish with two qualifying degrees -- two years in London and two years in Paris at the Sorbonne.

Exeter leads to double degree with one year at the Uni of Rennes.
Bristol is actually the European law option which does not give double degree.

Would be very interested to hear from those of you who may have taken these
degrees or anyone else who can help me make a sensible decision.
For your info KCL wants 39 points, UCL 38, Bristol 37 and Exeter 36.
If you're wondering what the fifth choice was it was Cambridge - my dream-- but didn't get an offer after the interview.

[DavidLL]

Your query is really interesting as I am just researching on exactly this point thinking of making a late application to a UK university. I am applying from Spain. So far Kent have confirmed I can still apply. I didn´t imagine that the entry requirement at the other universities you mentioned would be less.

My mother is British and studied Law at Oxford ; as far as she recalls Bristol and Exeter were in the second rank immediately after Oxford and Cambridge, and very prestigious once you come round to finding employment later. They are traditional universities with a huge range of societies and activities to join in.

I think you could make your decision based also on the French university reviews as I understand there can be quite a difference here.
If cost is an issue, Kent also enables you to get the French law qualification directly. I also see that Kent is very international university which is great if you are coming from outside the UK.

I will look out with interest to see what feedback you get from any French law student.

[roh]

(Original post by coffeebeans)
I am an Anglo-Swiss IB student..as I am bilingual in English and French and am attracted to the idea of being able to work transnationally as a lawyer, I have applied to UK unis for a degree in English and French law.

Have been made four offers -- UCL, KCL, Bristol and Exeter. The UCL course includes a year in Paris which MAY lead to a double degree enabling me to train professionally in both countries
( depending on Director of Studies' opinion of my level).
KCL degree is a double maitrise meaning I finish with two qualifying degrees -- two years in London and two years in Paris at the Sorbonne.

Exeter leads to double degree with one year at the Uni of Rennes.
Bristol is actually the European law option which does not give double degree.

Would be very interested to hear from those of you who may have taken these
degrees or anyone else who can help me make a sensible decision.
For your info KCL wants 39 points, UCL 38, Bristol 37 and Exeter 36.
If you're wondering what the fifth choice was it was Cambridge - my dream-- but didn't get an offer after the interview.

Do you want to qualify first in France? If so then I would say do one of the Maitrise courses as otherwise it's going to be a faff.

If you instead want to qualify in England (realistic the City if you want to do international business) then you can simply sit an exam to get status as an avocat in France under EU rules. This exam is apparently pretty brutal, but it is relatively quick and only open to qualified solicitors (or equivalent in another EU jurisdiction). Also, you wouldn't necessarily have to be qualified in a country in order to work for an international firm there, so long as you understood the law.

If you do like the idea email the HR at firms with strong international aspects, such as the MC and Big Law firms, who might give an answer as to any preference they'd have.

Within the UK UCL probably has the best rep, with the others in and around a similar level, though Bristol always seems to perform strongly getting people into law firms. Having been over here French unis seem to be more level, as people don't move away from home for their first degree as much, and you wouldn't get a situation like Britain where two unis dominate the majority of top legal jobs. Telling our French friends that not attending Oxbridge disadvantaged you so massively for becoming an appeal judge shocked them. http://www.suttontrust.com/public/do...ackgrounds.pdf

Was that for Cam's maitrise? I thought they'd discontinued that?

[coffeebeans]

(Original post by DavidLL)
Your query is really interesting as I am just researching on exactly this point thinking of making a late application to a UK university. I am applying from Spain. So far Kent have confirmed I can still apply. I didn´t imagine that the entry requirement at the other universities you mentioned would be less.

My mother is British and studied Law at Oxford ; as far as she recalls Bristol and Exeter were in the second rank immediately after Oxford and Cambridge, and very prestigious once you come round to finding employment later. They are traditional universities with a huge range of societies and activities to join in.

I think you could make your decision based also on the French university reviews as I understand there can be quite a difference here.
If cost is an issue, Kent also enables you to get the French law qualification directly. I also see that Kent is very international university which is great if you are coming from outside the UK.

I will look out with interest to see what feedback you get from any French law student.

Sorry didn't come back straight away..first IB paper today and been stuck in revision. I've got to make my mind up and am drawn towards King's as first choice and Exeter as the insurance...but having trouble pressing the decline button for UCL! King's is partnered with the Sorbonne whilst UCL is with Assas---there is a great argument between students about which is the better. To be honest, neither sounds brilliant compared to the British unis.

[coffeebeans]

(Original post by roh)
Do you want to qualify first in France? If so then I would say do one of the Maitrise courses as otherwise it's going to be a faff.

If you instead want to qualify in England (realistic the City if you want to do international business) then you can simply sit an exam to get status as an avocat in France under EU rules. This exam is apparently pretty brutal, but it is relatively quick and only open to qualified solicitors (or equivalent in another EU jurisdiction). Also, you wouldn't necessarily have to be qualified in a country in order to work for an international firm there, so long as you understood the law.

If you do like the idea email the HR at firms with strong international aspects, such as the MC and Big Law firms, who might give an answer as to any preference they'd have.

Within the UK UCL probably has the best rep, with the others in and around a similar level, though Bristol always seems to perform strongly getting people into law firms. Having been over here French unis seem to be more level, as people don't move away from home for their first degree as much, and you wouldn't get a situation like Britain where two unis dominate the majority of top legal jobs. Telling our French friends that not attending Oxbridge disadvantaged you so massively for becoming an appeal judge shocked them. http://www.suttontrust.com/public/do...ackgrounds.pdf

Was that for Cam's maitrise? I thought they'd discontinued that?

Thanks for the info; I am sure that the uni still has a significant influence on career opportunities. Being female does not bode well either for top judicial positions!

At Cambridge they told me maitrise was suspended...something to do with the students complaining that they did not have enough support in Paris I believe. Still possible to do an Erasmus year in France though. Not sure if that leads to certificate/diploma. Oxford still does maitrise as far as I know..but was not so impressed by them as by Cambridge and had to make the choice.

[roh]

(Original post by coffeebeans)
Thanks for the info; I am sure that the uni still has a significant influence on career opportunities. Being female does not bode well either for top judicial positions!

At Cambridge they told me maitrise was suspended...something to do with the students complaining that they did not have enough support in Paris I believe. Still possible to do an Erasmus year in France though. Not sure if that leads to certificate/diploma. Oxford still does maitrise as far as I know..but was not so impressed by them as by Cambridge and had to make the choice.

I think it probably does, but the concours system, for the judiciary (and maybe notaires?) seems to level it out, at least in comparison to Britain. Though the Bar is improving on other unis, it was down to 24% of Oxbridge Pupils last year having hovered around the low 30s for a while. Errrm no, but Lady Hale is at least providing some representation for women now and women lawyers like Gareth Pierce, Cherie Booth (admittedly partly for other reasons) and Helena Kennedy are making a significant impact now.

Oh right, yeah it was last open for 2008 entry so it's been suspended for a while now! Oxford does Law with French Law, as well as German, Italian and Spanish, it doesn't offer full maitirise.