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Why is law so popular?

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Reply 40
Original post by breakeven
TV has a huge impact. There are so many shows about criminal lawyers who get all these criminals sent down and are the big heroes. However, there are no shows about other kinds of law that show the less 'glamorous' side of it.


I never watched it, but the ITV series 'Kingdom' (with the ubiquitous Stephen Fry) is about a rural lawyer in Norfolk somewhere, which isn't particularly glamorous - not exactly Old Bailey stuff. Although I assume, like all TV programmes, they stuffed in some exciting sub-plots.

Original post by nulli tertius
The classic television lawyer is the man (almost always a man, I think) who gets the wrongly accused Defendant off.

The prototype was surely Perry Mason, but we have seen Petrocelli, David Main, Ben Matlock, Rumpole, Harm Rabb, Rosie O'Neill, Kavanagh QC and William Garrow all get the innocent Defendant acquitted.


Ah, Garrow's Law :gthumb:

Yeah, it interesting about the popularity of defence, and the 'little guy', against prosecution in terms of TV. I watched the first episode of a drama called 'North Square' recently, and in that one of the first lines was the defence barrister belittling the prosecutor. And as for Garrow's Law, he actually spent more time prosecuting than defending, as this rather irate writer points out. And in one episode, where Garrow defends James Hadfield (who tried to assassinate George III), Garrow not only didn't defend, but was actually prosecuting it!

So, yes, there does seem to be this bias on TV towards the defence. Which is odd really, considering that the general public opinion of a defence lawyer is of an amoral, truthbending hypocrite.
Original post by chelseafan
Are they? I've heard a law degree is tedious and boring.


It is tedious, boring, and seriously regret doing it. I beg people not to choose law as a degree. Don't do it ever. There are plent of other degrees out there!
Reply 42
Original post by The_Male_Melons
It is tedious, boring, and seriously regret doing it. I beg people not to choose law as a degree. Don't do it ever. There are plent of other degrees out there!


Why? and what uni?
People study it because they are too dumb to have any maths in their degree.
Original post by chelseafan
Why? and what uni?


UoM. Hated law. I beg people not to do the same mistake as me. Wish I did something else. Anything?
Reply 45
Original post by TitanicTeutonicPhil
People study it because they are too dumb to have any maths in their degree.


Yeah...

:troll:
Original post by The_Male_Melons
It is tedious, boring, and seriously regret doing it. I beg people not to choose law as a degree. Don't do it ever. There are plent of other degrees out there!


I've just finished my law degree, loved it. Did it for 2 years at A-level beforehand too, and hoping to go back for a masters degree in Corporate law in September.

Each to their own, and all that..
Reply 47
Original post by chelseafan
Are they? I've heard a law degree is tedious and boring.


Being tedious and boring doesn't stop the skills being very transferable.
Original post by thecrimsonidol
I've just finished my law degree, loved it. Did it for 2 years at A-level beforehand too, and hoping to go back for a masters degree in Corporate law in September.

Each to their own, and all that..


Good luck. I did law at a level, and degree so far. Hated it. Hated it so much.
Each to their own...
Reply 49
Original post by The_Male_Melons
Good luck. I did law at a level, and degree so far. Hated it. Hated it so much.
Each to their own...


Any specific reasons?
Original post by The_Male_Melons
Good luck. I did law at a level, and degree so far. Hated it. Hated it so much.
Each to their own...


What modules have you done so far?
Reply 51
Interesting question.

People mention transferable skills, which undoubtedly there are in a law degree, but I doubt it has more transferable skills then several other degrees. Hell, I'd be confident in saying a law degree has less transferable skills then the Business & Management degree I did to be quite honest, yet I don't doubt law is the more prestigious. Economics is one that always springs to mind for me when I think about 'transferable skills'.

No the truth of the matter in my eyes is Law is oversubscribed because of reputation, not course content. There are those that want to be lawyers, and there are those that want to say 'I have a law degree'. The degree does have a very strong reputation, can't argue with that.
Original post by The_Male_Melons
It is tedious, boring, and seriously regret doing it. I beg people not to choose law as a degree. Don't do it ever. There are plent of other degrees out there!


Not everyone finds it boring - I've just graduated and I absolutely loved it. It was definitely the right choice for me. I do think you've got to be sure you'd enjoy it before you do it though because I can see why a lot of people would hate it
My son...
article-2091841-11751D3E000005DC-144_468x312.jpg

...IS BARRISTERRRR. WHAT IS YOUR SON?
Reply 54
Original post by RobertWhite
That's weird... it didn't say you quoted me...

I'm studying Psychology at the University of Southampton. The course is good but it's just the randomness of it and the 'wishy washyness' of it. For every theory I learn there seems to be one which contradicts it. I prefer a more grounded course - and I am concerned with the job prospects that a psychology degree will offer me.


Huh, maybe because I multi-quoted you, who knows.

Ah, I see what you mean. Well do you have a specific career path in mind that may not necessarily be directly linked to psychology or are you unsure and thus hoping to be able to go into various fields with the degree?

Either way, I think you should be fine. I can imagine that Psychology also has very transferrable skills. I shuld think that anything where you are working with people would benefit from it.
Reply 55
Original post by Sean9001
Being tedious and boring doesn't stop the skills being very transferable.


While I don't disagree with you that a Law degree has transferable skills (see my post a few up from this one), I fail to see the logic behind people picking Law for that reason.

There are other degrees with better transferable skills, simply because they mix qualitative and quantitative content. Sure law is a strong degree, but the question is why is it so oversubscribed, and I'm sorry but I refuse to believe it is because of the great 'transferable skills' because they simply aren't superior to many other degrees.

It's prestige, pure and simple. People associate Law with being difficult and therefore assume the degree must be difficult to do (which it may well be, I've never done one so can't comment).
Reply 56
There was a piece in the telegraph this week where a judge was saying better lawyers study something else at undergrad.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100
Original post by ThinkEmily
There was a piece in the telegraph this week where a judge was saying better lawyers study something else at undergrad.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100


But 37 years ago, the same judge, then at the bar, was complaining that it was wrong to require professionals to have degrees or even A levels.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by chelseafan
Are they? I've heard a law degree is tedious and boring.


What you've heard is purely subjective. I love law. I find it interesting. I love learning about how my law progressed through-out history, how EU law is having an impact on it and I love reading the cases. You can't be bored when you're reading cases about snails and bottles.
Original post by TitanicTeutonicPhil
People study it because they are too dumb to have any maths in their degree.


I was in the top 10 students in my school according to grades, and I studied Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and a couple of other A-levels, plus I missed out on the A* in FM for a few d@mn marks. I study Law now. Jus sayin :tongue:

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