University of Law v City, University of London

Hey 👋 I'm looking at the bar course next year too . And I want to do medical law as well ! Do you know what the clinical legal project actually means ? I'm not sure myself .

Folk tell me it doesn't really matter which uni you do the vocational course at much away so I'd be inclined to advise to go for the course structure that you like the best

Hii. So I found this on the City, UoL website. This is all I could find.

"Clinical Legal Education (30 credits)

This module provides an opportunity to do real clinical legal work with one of our partner organisations and complete a reflective portfolio relating to that work. This will include representing and/or advising clients, legal research, undertaking appropriate training, and producing a reflective report of your work. (Only available to full-time students)."

Also, does it really not matter which uni you go to? Especially since I might be attending the Birmingham campus of the Uni of Law. I have no idea how it is but it's the only option there. At least the offer the LLM modules that I want.

Hii. So I found this on the City, UoL website. This is all I could find.

"Clinical Legal Education (30 credits)

This module provides an opportunity to do real clinical legal work with one of our partner organisations and complete a reflective portfolio relating to that work. This will include representing and/or advising clients, legal research, undertaking appropriate training, and producing a reflective report of your work. (Only available to full-time students)."

Also, does it really not matter which uni you go to? Especially since I might be attending the Birmingham campus of the Uni of Law. I have no idea how it is but it's the only option there. At least the offer the LLM modules that I want.

Thanks I think the name's confusing for people like us who want to do medical law but it seems like it's very much named after a law clinic rather than clinical law.

UoL have LLM options where you can do a medical law module which seems great although on the phone they were guiding me more to the probono options instead of the extra modules.
UWE in Bristol look good for this imo they have a clinical negligence option and some others eg crime, family that might go along.

My friend sits on pupillage panels and he was saying they really don't care which BPC provider you go to. I guess it comes down to experience, advocacy potential and luck 🍀!

Have you applied to any yet ??

Hi!

I'm applying for the Bar + LLM course for the September 2024 intake. I've heard City is more prestigious (idk, I'm British but I don't live in the UK), but it doesn't offer the LLM pathway I want. I want to do the 2 modules pathway that Uni of Law does offer, along with dissertation and pro bono, as opposed to the dissertation or clinical project one City offers, since I want to specialise in Medical Law.

But aside from the pathway situation, can anyone advise me as to which uni is better or if they're both equally good. City is around 200-300 on QS rankings, I don't remember exactly, but I can't even find Uni of Law on the list but it does have 5 stars or smth. I would really appreciate replies from students of both to make my decision since I can't go visit it myself.

Thanks in advance!

Hi @khadija_1573,

In all honesty, whichever you choose will be unlikely to change the opinion of a Pupillage panel as they usually redact any information pertaining to which school, university or bar course provider you attended. Therefore, I would choose the institution which has the structure, teaching methods and course that you prefer as the more you enjoy something, the better your grades will be and this is important when seeking Pupillage.

I can't speak for City, but I have done my MA Law (conversion) at ULaw and am currently studying the LLM BPC with them and have really enjoyed it. Throughout both courses I have felt supported and prepared for any assessments and the manner in which they structure the course means there are plenty of opportunities to try different sorts of questions to identify personal weaknesses. Also, as the majority of contact hours are in the form of workshops, it really facilitates making strong connections with peers which I have found to be essential when trying to tackle all of the elements, exam grades and experience needed when pursuing a career at the bar. Finally, ULaw has a really good employment team which help with written applications as well as interview prep and experience to help boost CVs. Therefore, I have found that they have helped to put me in the best possible situation for the upcoming pupillage round.

I hope this helps a bit and good luck 🙂

Sophie

Hey!

I'm applying to UoL in Birmingham but keeping the City option open in case. I wish I had more options in Birmingham though since that's likely where I'll be going. Even if I go to London, I'll probably take a transfer to the UoL London campus instead of city specifically because of the Medical Law option in the LLM part.

Where have you applied to (or are going to apply to)? And why are you interested in Medical Law? Just curious since not many people I know are interested in this field for some reason. 🤷🏻*♀️

I've applied to UWE and am looking at Manchester or Nottingham as well.

Well I'm a Family Doctor but I've always had a grumbling fascination with the Law. Medical law follows from that and I think I'd ultimately like to work in clinical negligence and maybe go on to be a coroner. But it also leads into family, mental health or public law too. What sparked your interest in the field ??