foreign languages A-levels for law

What would be more beneficial? Doing an LLB with a language or doing an LLB whilst going through the DELF and/or DELE up to at least C2?

That depends. For instance I wouldn't do it because I am a mature and that would mean 1 extra year and extra money (it will be my second degree so I have to pay everything myself).

If I was a "regular" student, I would prefer a 4 year law degree that would give me the right to qualify in another country. Let's suppose someone gets accepted in the following programs:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/law/ugdegrees/ugproginfo/llb-lawfrench.html
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/index/name/english-law-and-french-law

they are both four years, but in King's case you get acquainted with french law and you get a qualifying degree in both countries, which I guess is much more impressive for employers.In both cases you have the opportunity to improve your french and go to France.


That being said, if you really think you are going to enjoy it go for it.

What are your uni options?

I thought about it but I opted against it. I know that many people working in the legal profession don't have a law degree, and law firms state it doesn't give you an advantage, but I still believe that it does make a significant difference. As far as I know the GDL is supposed to be more practical rather than academic, yet I have many reservations concerning the career development and the understanding of law (no offense) of non-law graduates.

I'm a graduate applicant as well (only that I am Scottish and want to qualify in Scotland) so currently my options are between the accelerated (2 yr) LL.Bs at Glasgow, Stirling, Strathclyde (all in the £6k p.a. band), Dundee or Edinburgh (both in the £9k p.a. band). The problem is that there's zero tuition fee support (not even the Career Development Loan) to help fund the degree and completing with an 'LL.B. w/French Legal Studies' would mean adding a third year at probably (I've emailed a few admissions departments with no response yet) another £6-9k. Hence why I am thinking that DELF and DELE might be good options for me.

It is an academic course, you can do it at unis like Birmingham, it's the LPC or BPTC that are practical.

And career progression is apparently basically the same, and looking at websites etc. there's no reason to doubt that. In fact both the current President of the SC and the guy who was formerly the most brilliant barrister in Britain, now SC judge, are non Law grads, the latter being a fervent advocate of such a route.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9384619/The-best-lawyers-are-not-law-graduates-claims-judge.html#

I understand what you are saying.I'm probably biased because in other countries there is no such option and it is hard for me to understand how you can get sufficient legal training in such a sort amount of time.

In Britain though training's mainly on the job through the TC, compared to America for example where it's Law School>Bar Exam>Attorney. This is an attitude we have in other areas, our training for doctors is some of the shortest in Europe, because they have more supervision when they start work. After the GDL remember you still have 3 more years training prior to being a solicitor.

If you want to do a Law degree in order to study Law, go for it, it's interesting, but a fair amount of what you learn is of mainly academic interest. Things like clinical negligence or the intricacies of corporate manslaughter are unlikely to come up in most people's working lives as a lawyer, but you'll spend quite long studying them at uni. Some optional modules are even more academic focussed, eg. Public International. This is even more so for big City firms where you'll be working in a very niche area for the vast majority of your working life. Generally, I'd recommend only doing the graduate LLB if you have a genuine interest in studying academic Law and the money doesn't matter too much to you, otherwise just get yourself funded for the GDL and save time and money.

Is it worth it to self-fund the GDL? Cause TCs are not easy to get.

What area of Law do you want to go into and how easily can you afford to do that are key questions for that I think.

If you want to do commercial, where loads of firms offer funding, both big regions and all the major London firms, I'd say probably not, but if you want to do something like Family where those firms aren't as common might be worth it. For High Street work it's basically the only option sadly.

And then if you can easily pay for it it could certainly help prove your commitment to Law, but I think as a non-Law if it's going to be financially difficult there are plenty of other ways of proving sufficient interest in Law to get a TC (CAB, vac schemes, casual work experience, marshalling etc.). It's a personal call really. One way to test it is to apply for vac schemes and TCs before you start, then if you seem to be getting nowhere pulling out and working on your CV in other ways but if you get say 2 TC interviews figuring it's probably worth the gamble you will get one next time round.

I want to do IP law.Thank you very much for your input.