Red brick university or exempting degree

I have been told that it is much more difficult to get employment in Law if you hvaen't been to a red brick university. However, the exemting degree at Northumbria really appeals to me so i would have to pay for a masters and could do a masters in something else like international law. If any one could give advice on whether a red brick university or the exempting degree would be a more sensible option it would be really helpful! Thanks

As I understand, the fourth year at Northumbria appears to exempt you from the LPC or BPTC. I have no idea how desirable this is in practice to employers, but I do see a benefit if you're looking at the bar, as presumably the fourth year is covered by student finance. As the BPTC is to be self-funded, and with fees in London being 18k + living costs (regional providers slightly cheaper) it would be cheaper and easier to finance it if you did it through a fourth year at Northumbria. If you are looking to get a TC and work for a large city type firm, they often sponsor the cost of your LPC - so in this situation, you would be paying for something that the employer normally pays for. If, however, you are looking at ideally working in high street law firms / small regional firms which do not typically cover the cost of the LPC, this would allow you to cover the cost more easily again.

To be totally clear though, if you are considering a masters in international law, this would likely be an LLM - which you would have to self-fund (student finance only covers undergrad). The MLaw appears to just be a fourth year covering legal practice skills - it will not have the same level of content as an LLM in international law.

Personally if I was making this choice as someone relatively fresh out of A2, I would go for a redbrick - the benefits of the Northumbria course will mostly apply to those who know they want to do the BPTC or who want to only work in the types of firms which don't sponsor the LPC. Those are pretty specific considerations; I know that when I was beginning my law degree I had no idea what I wanted to do after it, never mind having specific ideas as to what sort of firm I wanted to work in. That benefit also needs to be weighed up against the prospect of getting somewhere with the Northumbria degree (as what is the point in getting the supposed benefit of the exempting year if you're not going to get into practice?).

It also comes down to whether you would rather do the LPC or BPTC themselves. Both courses have electives that are about practice in specialised areas of law; some of these will likely never be replicated in the experience you get from Northumbria's student law office (e.g. I'd be surprised if they could do much in the way of corporate/commercial deals; arbitration; or public international law).

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I know I definitely want to do the BPTC and that the Inn's of Court can help with sponsorship, however, I wouldn't be able to have it fully funded. Northumbria also offer more work experience oppertunities, it just doesn't have the reputation of a Red Brick and I wouldn't want to miss out on opportunities in the future just because of the university I chose to go to, but money is a big worry for me.

As for a masters in international law that would be something I would have to do later on when i could fund it myself as it is the area of law I am most interested in. I just feel that would be easier for me if I hadn't had to fund the BPTC.

if you want to do the BPTC, i would advise asking Northumbria to provide a breakdown of the fourth year in terms of advocacy. as someone going the BPTC route myself, i want as much as advocacy training and experience as possible, and i would be concerned to make sure that the student law office experience was equivalent to that on the BPTC (advocacy training varies on the BPTC anyway, as some providers offer more than the required minimum). i would also want to know how the student law office experience differed between those wanting a BPTC experience and those wanting an LPC experience - the LPC and BPTC are very different programmes because they are geared towards different careers and prioritising different skillsets - if you are getting exactly the same training and experience without differentiation, i would query how equivalent it could be... that is my initial thought.

also, funding from the inns varies - some awards do cover the full cost of fees (thus leaving shortfall for living costs) and some also offer residential scholarships to offset living costs. providers also offer funding options, including a range of scholarships.

if you want to do the BPTC, google the bar barometer and look up the pupillage statistics by university for an indicator as to where pupils are typically graduating from (although do not consider it conclusive of anyone's ability - there are always other factors - but there are statistical trends each year)

if you want to do the BPTC, i would advise asking Northumbria to provide a breakdown of the fourth year in terms of advocacy. as someone going the BPTC route myself, i want as much as advocacy training and experience as possible, and i would be concerned to make sure that the student law office experience was equivalent to that on the BPTC (advocacy training varies on the BPTC anyway, as some providers offer more than the required minimum). i would also want to know how the student law office experience differed between those wanting a BPTC experience and those wanting an LPC experience - the LPC and BPTC are very different programmes because they are geared towards different careers and prioritising different skillsets - if you are getting exactly the same training and experience without differentiation, i would query how equivalent it could be... that is my initial thought.

also, funding from the inns varies - some awards do cover the full cost of fees (thus leaving shortfall for living costs) and some also offer residential scholarships to offset living costs. providers also offer funding options, including a range of scholarships.

if you want to do the BPTC, google the bar barometer and look up the pupillage statistics by university for an indicator as to where pupils are typically graduating from (although do not consider it conclusive of anyone's ability - there are always other factors - but there are statistical trends each year)

This isn't really a concern. Northumbria teaches both the BPTC and the LPC. Essentially the MLaw tags one or other of these onto the end of the LLB course.

For the OP this is purely a funding decision. If the OP is sure that he wants to be a lawyer but neither he nor his family can fund this without outside sponsorship, then Northumbria's MLaw is a sensible choice. It is all very well saying that the bar offers scholarships and larger law firms pay the cost of the LPC but what that amounts to saying is "if no-one will sponsor me I will go into another career".

What is sensible for those who are not single-mindedly committed to being lawyers or those who ultimately can rely on the Bank of Mum and Dad is different from what is sensible for those in a different position.