durham law dept

It's utterly horrible.

I'm not even joking.

in what way?

All ways. I don't even know where to start because I've said it on TSR many times before.

Staff don't give a crap.
Atmosphere is depressing.
No solidiarity between students (and the staff do nothing to encourage it).
No support system.
Bureaucratic to the point of pedantry.

And before you think "she must be bitter because she has crap grades" I was actually the highest performing law student in the last exams.

thanks for being honest.

i'm chosing b/w durham and lse, and from what i've read and know the lse undergrad situation is quite a bit worse. i've got a mate doing law there at the moment and her complaints are generally the same as yours but of course being lse she has to deal with the excessive careers focus and lecturers who are actually phd students.

so i suppose there are probs everywhere, or do you think there is dept. that's got the balance right?

Oh yes we have that too. What else does she say?

Isn't LSE higher in the league tables for law? Wouldn't it make more sense to go there seeing as both are crap to their students?

Wouldn't it make sense to enjoy your degree (by doing another subject) then do graduate law?

Law looks good on the old CV.

I'll tell you one thing though, Durham Law has put me off being a lawyer.

The stereotypes are true. Lawyers are PRICKS.

I'm going into business. Screw this.

Law looks good on the old CV.

I'll tell you one thing though, Durham Law has put me off being a lawyer.

The stereotypes are true. Lawyers are PRICKS.

I'm going into business. Screw this.

Wouldn't it make sense to enjoy your degree (by doing another subject) then do graduate law?

Ha, you think people in business are any better? I think you might be in for a shock sadly.

Are you really serious about that? Couldn't it just be a Durham thing? I'm not exactly saying that Durham provides lawyers that are pricks but maybe it's just a Durham thing.

Is it really that bad?

Not really, for me I really like the course content of the three year law degree in general. Frankly I'm not sure if I wan't to practise law yet (I've got at least 2 years before having to think about all that...) so that's mainly why I'm not too keen on LSE and its careers focus.

Tufts, do you think quite a high percentage of students feel the same way?

I've spoken to lawyers from Newcastle, Northumbria and Durham. Although Durham is the worst of the bunch for hostility, law in general is known for being ultra-competative to the point of isolating students. In fact, research the mental health of lawyers in general. Not good.

I sound drastic when I say this, but studying law has forced a lot of my friends into counselling. Id love to be joking about this but I'm not.

It's the same here. We're played off against each other (with the director of studies asking each one of us who is most likely to fail, who is the "mistake")...it's not fun.

Oooh I ventured into Durham territory...fun

Well Mr Tufts is the director of a company and I know it's not as hostile as law. It's an improvement.

Also my father worked in business for 40 years so I've seen quite a lot.

So how am I in for a 'shock?'

I sound drastic when I say this, but studying law has forced a lot of my friends into counselling. Id love to be joking about this but I'm not.

Welcome to the dark side

So you're still going into law as a career?

yeah...I thought it can't be as bad as the degree! But I don't feel the competition and bitchiness so much as I'm going for the north west circuit in criminal chambers, not magic circle solicitor in London!! I never want to live in the South again, and there aren't many decent jobs in finance etc oop north, so I'm going to try my hand at this law malarky!!

Do you have a pupillage lined up?

It's the same here. We're played off against each other (with the director of studies asking each one of us who is most likely to fail, who is the "mistake")...it's not fun.

Oooh I ventured into Durham territory...fun