Legal Practice Course

john williams

Hi,
What do people think about taking a degree in a subject other then Law then doing the Legal Practice course? Do you believe that you are at a disadvantage when applying for future jobs as solicitors by not having a law degree?

Thanks :smile:

LPC or the conversion course???

Reply 2

young_free

1

No, not at a disadvantage at all! Half of solicitors don't have a law degree. Opinions on this will vary but there are a lot of people who think it is actually an advantage to do a non-law degree and then the CPE (which i think is what you meant) because they are regarded as more rounded. History graduates in general and science graduates from top uni's are highly regarded. I'm doing a politics degree and would like to find out if this is a good non-law degree, by looking around on the net, a lot of lawyers have politics degrees so i think it may be good. What non-law degree are you thinking of doing?

Reply 3

LH

As long as its a good, respected degree, it won't but you at a disadvatnage; in some circumstances possibly an advantage.

Reply 4

young_free

1

Lord Huntroyde

As long as its a good, respected degree, it won't but you at a disadvatnage; in some circumstances possibly an advantage.

What do you think of a politics degree LH?

Reply 5

young_free

What do you think of a politics degree LH?

Well Tony Blair did law, went onto be a barrister, then went into Politics, what relevence this has I don't know. lol.

Politics I should imagine is a fairly decent and respected subject, however doing something such as art then doing the conversion course into law wouldn't be regarded as such a good thing.

Reply 6

OP

hi thanks for your responses, yeah sorry i meant a conversion course, i am thinking of doing a Economics and Management or just a Economics degree in 2005 and would maybe like to go into law after and feel by not doing a law degree i am keeping my options open.

Reply 7

Modes98

john williams

hi thanks for your responses, yeah sorry i meant a conversion course, i am thinking of doing a Economics and Management or just a Economics degree in 2005 and would maybe like to go into law after and feel by not doing a law degree i am keeping my options open.

i am thinking of doing the same thing... mainly as i don't stand much of a chance of getting on the law course! Any Ideas as to which degrees offer a good platform to move into law? :cool:

Reply 8

LH

young_free

What do you think of a politics degree LH?

I don't know how qualified I am to comment but as politics and law are closely related disciplines I imagine it would be a very appropriate degree to have.

Reply 9

OP

so you think politics would be better then economics?

Reply 10

john williams

so you think politics would be better then economics?

They both entail the same sorts of principles, such as logical thought and forming argument. Though economics is weighted more towards maths, both would be acceptable if you plan to convert to law later on. Just out of curiosity which uni are you off to?

Reply 11

OP

well iv looked at Manchester, Leeds, Royal Holloway, Sheffield and a few others.....

Reply 12

john williams

well iv looked at Manchester, Leeds, Royal Holloway, Sheffield and a few others.....

Why not just start on a law course straight away? It's obvious that that particular course attracts you. Plus law grads are highly sought after, as many of them can go into anything, business, finance, etc. The reason why the vast majority of students convert after doing their initial chosen course is EXACTLY because of this reason, that, and the decent earnings that a law career can provide. :biggrin:

Reply 13

OP

well its just that for ages iv been thinking about and researching to study economics and just recently started to think about law (although im doing it at alevel and have been following it for yrs). Also a few weeks back we went on a 2 day trip to Birmingham Crown court and was facinated by the whole process and have been going ever since. So i suppose by doing economics i can keep my options open a bit, as if i were to do a law degree i cant then do economics.

Reply 14

john williams

well its just that for ages iv been thinking about and researching to study economics and just recently started to think about law (although im doing it at alevel and have been following it for yrs). Also a few weeks back we went on a 2 day trip to Birmingham Crown court and was facinated by the whole process and have been going ever since. So i suppose by doing economics i can keep my options open a bit, as if i were to do a law degree i cant then do economics.

Bah!!! I had the same thing, initially I wanted to do Management at UMIST but changed my mind, so ended up spending another year at college to get higher grades, as law is really competitive. I'm glad I changed too, can't wait till September.

Anyway, like I said earlier, with a law degree, it puts you in good stead no matter what you want to branch into, having a law degree doesn't neccessarily mean you have to go and become a solicitor or barrister, as the skills you pick up as a law student are transferrable into other sectors, hell, most people go into law and then go into investment banking, journalism, co-orperate law, etc. There are many opportunities associated with a law degree, and all I'm trying to convey is that doors that normally open to Economics only careers aren't closed. Law degrees are very respected. Anyway it's up to yourself and whatever makes you happy, what is it you wanted to do?

Reply 15

~ o ~

2

Lord Huntroyde

As long as its a good, respected degree, it won't but you at a disadvatnage; in some circumstances possibly an advantage.

I strongly agree. I have been told that it is doesn't matter if you have a law degree or not - the degree merely covers content, and a lawyer can just refer to texts for this. It is the LPC that matters the most.
Moat popular conversions are from Business, Languages, History and Politics, though they can be from any subject really.

Reply 16