GDL and International Law

Hi,

I have graduated in Politics with a 2:1 from a Russell group university. I speak several languages (French and Spanish) and I am becoming increasingly interested in working in international justice and International organisations. I am unsure how to go about this, but I am considering doing a law conversion.
Any thoughts on whether this is the logical pathway to follow? Is a GDL worth it/open up my career prospects?

Reply 1

cliffg

Original post by Umut Budak

I don't think the GDL is the best/correct route to go down. [I hope others will correct me if I'm wrong, though]. It is designed to fit into one year the basics required of a qualifying law degree for those wishing to practice law in the UK and who intend to then do the Legal Practice Course or the Bar Professional Training Course. So the aim is to provide the academic stage of training required to go on and complete vocational training for UK legal practice.

I'd be more inclined to look at Masters level degrees in the likes of International Relations or International Human Rights or some of the more socio-legal Masters programmes. You might even consider doing an LLM or one of those MA law degrees that some unis run, specifically designed for inter-disciplinary graduates. I'd speak to some of the admissions tutors on those types of degrees before making any decision. Also research the background of some of the leading people working in the international organisations you're interested in to find out what route they took - some may have come straight from a legal background but I think others have come through a variety of different academic routes. I know of at least one leading international academic, who frequently writes in a legal area (refugee law), who's academic background is social anthropology. No formal legal training whatsoever.

I stand to be corrected, however.

Reply 2

Umut Budak

Thank you for the informative reply. I suspected that that might be the case.

I thought, however, that a GDL might be more widely recognised-as it covers all the cumpulsory academic law topics.

I have looked at some Masters of that kind. Unfortunately most LLMs require you to have an undergraduate degree in law. I have looked at a few legal Masters at SOAS, such as MA International Law, MA Legal Programme and MA/PGDIP International Studies and Diplomacy. All of these allow you to shape your own masters, from a number of International Law modules. My concern is that these may not help me find a job as: a) They are academic courses and not necessarily profession-orientated b) I am not sure how reputable SOAS is as a University. I believe there are some similar courses offered at Oxford University, but I doubt I can get into those, given my grades are not great and that I have no professional experience in the field.
Any further advice would be greatly appreciated..

Reply 3

username1494226

Be very wary about this before embarking on this potentially fruitless venture. The GDL exam and study period is not coverable by student finance so you will be subject to the full cost of studying for it and the BAR which can run over £10000/£20000 by time you're qualified. Only go about it if you can get sponsored by a law firm otherwise just get the idea out of your head. Law as a field is highly competitive these days so unless you're the top of the pile, don't put yourself through the agony.

Reply 4

Umut Budak

Thank you for your warning.

That is a significant amount of money, though it is likely that I will have to spend/borrow at least 10K for a Masters programme too.

Yes I hear that it is very competitive, but I also hear that of Journalism, International Organisations etc

GDL and International Law

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