Firstly, congratulations on your decision to pursue a law degree. Regardless of the route you decide to go down after University, law certainly remains a well-respected degree providing a strong foundation for a variety of career options. Secondly, as you are probably aware, the next three (or four depending on your degree structure) years are going to be some of the most difficult and trying years. Law is by no means an easy course, you will read more during this time than you probably have ever read in your whole life. It will be challenging at times and you will definitely question your decision to study law a few times. You will probably meet someone at the start of the course who will drop out by the end of first year. I say all these things not to scare you, but to prepare you for the journey ahead. Despite all these things, here’s the good news – you’ve chosen an extremely interesting and enjoyable course. If you are genuinely interested in learning about the legal system in the UK and the different strands of law you will certainly do so. As I said, it’s not all doom and gloom, I’m here to help, so I’ve compiled a short list of useful tips that may or may not come in handy for you as you embark on your law degree.
1.
The learning curve is huge – but don’t panic.
Everything from what is expected of you to the grade boundaries at degree level
are different from what you’re used to. Upon receiving my grade back for my
first essay, I was in complete shock to discover all my hard work had earned me
a mere 65! For A-Levels, that would be the equivalent to a C grade but at
University, it’s a 2.1. Although it’s not a great score, for a first essay,
it’s actually not bad either. Don’t be too hard on yourself at the beginning.
It might take a while to adjust and for the first 3 months you might feel like
you don’t understand anything and are struggling to keep up. That’s okay and
you are not alone. I don’t think I really got the hang of the course until
about April during revision time. By that point, I was able to see how the
different topics worked together to form some kind of meaningful pattern. As
long as you keep on top of the work, you will probably experience the same
thing yourself. And that brings me to my next point…
2.
First year does count. In most Universities,
first year grades don’t count towards your final degree classification. For
many, this is an opportunity to faff around and slack off in the first year. Do
not make that mistake. Although the year doesn’t count, you’d be doing yourself
a huge favour to stay on top of your work and actually put in effort for
assignments. Here’s why - if you’re a keen bean, you’ll be thinking about career
paths and jobs right from first year, for everyone else, it’ll be from second
year onwards. Most companies will ask for your first year grades when making
applications and they are looking for students with 1sts and 2.1’s. In my
experience, it’s better to get in early with applications, and you don’t want
to knock yourself out of applying by having less than a 2.1 average.
Furthermore, you’ll find that the workload increases as you move into second
and third year, put yourself in the best position to cope with this by staying
on top of right from the beginning. It will save you a LOT of time and
avoidable stress. The course will be stressful enough on its own, why add to
that by being lazy?
3.
Make lots and lots of friends! Law is definitely
a group course and I mean this in the sense that no man is an island. As clever
as you might be, you cannot know everything. You’ll need friends who have
strengths in areas that you don’t to help you through seminar work and
assignments. So make friends with people in lectures and in your seminars,
getting to know your lecturers and seminar leaders won’t hurt either. As I’ve
mentioned before, you’re in for a challenging couple of years and I can tell
you from experience that you’d rather be panicking in the library with a group
of course friends than trying to ride out the storm of assignments on your own.
Also, you never know when someone might prove helpful particularly as you move
through the course over the years and change modules.
4.
Join a society, a sports team, campus club, it
doesn’t matter, but get involved! Your first year is the perfect time to get
involved in as much extra curricular activity as you can handle. Your workload
is manageable (even though it may not seem like it at first) and you will
definitely have enough free time to do things outside your studies. University
is the perfect place to meet people from around the world and try out new
things you’ve always wanted to or never even considered. Extra curricular
activities are essential when applying for jobs, they are the perfect examples
to display key competencies like team work, communication and attention to
detail. You do not have to get involved in mooting or the debate society just
because you are a law student. If these are areas that genuinely interest you,
then feel free, but otherwise, my advice is to join societies and activities
that you think you will enjoy whether it be yoga, dancing or the food society.
5.
I touched on this earlier before but I think it
deserves its own separate point and that is to get to know your tutors and
seminar leaders! Again, when it comes to applying for jobs, you will need to
put down references. It’s a LOT easier to ask a tutor who actually knows you to
be your referee than having someone who doesn’t. I think it will reflect in the
quality and depth of the reference they provide to your potential employer.
This might be the person who tutors your favourite module/ module you’re doing
really well in or the tutor you are assigned by the University. Note that your
referee will also change as your progress through your degree. By third year, you will most likely need a
more current referee than your first year contract law tutor. Aside from
references, a good tutor can also make a huge difference throughout your degree
in encouraging you and offering sound feedback in your assignments. So even if
you’re not focused on applying for jobs or internships, I’d still recommend
getting to know one or two tutors really well in each academic year.
As you begin your law degree, remember
that thousands of students before you have gone through this process
successfully. You will be fine, stay on top of your work and don’t forget to
have fun along the way. The three (or four) years go by very quickly and you’ll
probably never have another experience like this so make the most of it.
AUTHOR PROFILE
Ayomide Akin-Oteniya
Ayomide is a law graduate from the University of Kent. She is pursuing her goal of becoming a commercial solicitor. Ayomide recently organised an event exploring diversity and the use of technology in the legal industry at Hogan Lovells LLP. She will be launching a buddy scheme in October 2016 to pair students and graduates applying for vacation schemes and training contracts with mentors who have successfully secured both.
WHAT IS THE LPC?
Once you have finished your qualifying law degree, you need to decide whether you want to be a Barrister or Solicitor. If you want to become a solicitor you then have to take the Legal Practice Course, also known as the LPC.
The LPC is essentially a training course for aspiring solicitors. The LPC is designed to prepare you for the work that you will be expected to carry out as a trainee solicitor. It is a very practical course, it seeks to put the knowledge you have gained from your academia into practise hence the name - the Legal Practice Course.
TIME/LENGTH
The LPC is a one year course if you opt to do it full time, if you chose to do it part time it is two years. Some institutions enable students to do it full time but on the weekends. There is also the option of the accelerated LPC, which last 7 months, it is very intense, so if you opt to do this it is important that you are certain this is the route for you.
COSTS
The LPC is quite pricey, so it is really important that you are 100% that the solicitor route, in fact the legal route is the one you want to go down. The LPC ranges from about £9,000 to £15.300 depending on where you chose to study the course.
FUNDING
Sponsorship
Fortunately, there are ways to get funding for the LPC. The best way is to get a firm to sponsor you, this usually happens when you have secured a training contract. Some firms will pay for your fees and will also grant you money for maintenance.
Other ways
If you are not as lucky to get a training contract before embarking on the LPC, do not fear, there are other ways.
Scholarships
Many institutions provide scholarships for students, for example The University of Law provide £600,000 worth of scholarships each year.
Self funding
If you are fortunate enough you may be able to fund the LPC yourself. You can opt to do it part time and work alongside the course to help fund it.
Loans
Although loans may come with a lot of interest, look at it as investing into your future. This may be an option where you cannot get any of the above methods. Many loans have very good repayment plans, which means that it won't be too strenuous. Here are a few of the places you may want to seek a loan from:
- Postgraduate Goverment Funding (However you have to do this combined with an MSC or LLM in order to be eligable - https://www.gov.uk/postgraduate-loan/overview
- Professional and Career Development Loans - https://www.gov.uk/career-development-loans/overview
- The Univeristy of Law Future Fianance - https://ulaw.futurefinance.com/
- Your local Bank
WHERE AND WHEN TO APPLY
Once you have finished your law degree/GDL you must then apply to do the LPC. There are many universities that provide the LPC, however the best place to do the LPC is at a private Law school.
These are schools that specialise in Law, they are very well known by firms and have an excellent repuation in the legal profession. The top private law schools that I would recommend are the following :
The University of Law (formerly The College of Law) - http://www.law.ac.uk/postgraduate/lpc/
OR
BPP Law School - http://law.bppuniversity.ac.uk/lpc
OTHER PUBLIC PROVIDERS
Click on the law school to be redirected to their page.
Hopefully you found this informative, for further information regarding the LPC, please click the link below:
http://www.chambersstudent.co.uk/law-schools/legal-practice-course/what-is-the-lpc*IMAGE SOURCE:
http://www.staffs.ac.uk/course/OASL-10783.jsp
Unlike your A Levels or undergraduate degree, the LPC does not have condensed revision guides like they do. You just need to do your own reading to find the information you need, and it is usually across three or four books with an astounding amount of content. Well fortunately for all LPC students, YourLPC revision guide has just made the LPC a little bit easier. In summary the guide is described as:
... concise and straightforward notes cover everything you need to achieve a Distinction grade. We’ve painstakingly combed through manuals, i-tutorials, workshop notes and exemplars to make them completely comprehensive. YourLPC goes beyond most study guides by giving you example answers. For the first section of the course, we offer the LPC Core Modules book. For the second, we offer our Electives range.
Source: http://www.yourgdl.co.uk/YourLPC/yourlpc-our-notes.html
for more information regarding the guide click this link
WHERE AND HOW TO PURCHASE A GUIDE
STEP ONE
Log on to: http://www.yourgdl.co.uk/YourLPC/yourlpc-content.html
STEP TWO
Click 'BUY' on the navigation bar
STEP THREE
You will then be redirected to this page below. Click on the drop down menu to select what book you want.
STEP FOUR
Then click pay with amazon and a pop up will come up with amazon. Make sure that you have an account with them then you will be able to purchase the book.
*
TARGETjobs Law National Pupillage Fair, Saturday 5 November 2016
Start time: 10.30 am
End time: 3.00 pm
Venue: Gray's Inn, 8 South Square, London, WC1R 5ET
The TARGETjobs Law National Pupillage Fair takes place every year. It's the best opportunity for students looking for pupillage to meet representatives from chambers, course providers and other organisations essential to a successful career at the Bar.
You can:
- Talk to chambers’ pupils, tenants and members of pupillage committees and get all your answers to life at the Bar
- Talk to representatives from law schools and other course providers about all things course related
- Compare different sets and course providers to make the best career match
- Attend talks given by leading barristers about careers at the Bar – a chance to gain insights from among the best in the profession
- Find out how to finance your career at the Bar
- Pick up your must-read copy of the TARGETjobs Law Pupillages Handbook and, if you haven’t got a copy already, the leading sector-specific advice publication TARGETjobs Law.
It’s the only event of its kind and contains representatives from the broadest areas of practice.
To get the latest law-related news and details of pupillages, mini-pupillages and jobs in other areas of the legal profession, visit TARGETjobs Law
To register( it's FREE):
SOURCE:
TARGETjobs
https://targetjobs.co.uk/targetjobs-national-pupillage-fair?tab=home#tabs-start
*IMAGE FROM:
TARGETjobs
https://targetjobs.co.uk/targetjobs-national-pupillage-fair?tab=home
University of Law - http://www.law.ac.uk/
TARGETjobs
https://targetjobs.co.uk/targetjobs-national-pupillage-fair?tab=home#tabs-start
*IMAGE FROM:
TARGETjobs
https://targetjobs.co.uk/targetjobs-national-pupillage-fair?tab=home
University of Law - http://www.law.ac.uk/
Networking in the legal profession is so important, I cannot stress to you how important it is. Every where you go you need to make a good impression. When starting university you may have a lot of opportunities to go to various law events and meet barristers, solicitors and even judges. These people are in the position you want to be in so it is vital that you approach them in a way that is appropriate.
Here are some top tips for networking:
1. DRESS TO IMPRESS
When I mean dress to impress, I don't mean show up in a tuxedo or a ball gown - unless applicable.
It means dressing professionally, you have to look the part as well as act the part. As much as people would not like to admit it, looks matter. This even goes from brushing your teeth to wearing some deodorant.
2. DO NOT BE TOO EAGER
There is nothing wrong with being excited to meet a certain person but do not be too eager. It can be very off putting when someone behaves over the top, these guys aren't rock-stars that are use to crazy fan girls. You must approach them in a calm and professional manner. One thing that is important is to be yourself, do not act like someone you are not because you will not be able to keep it up.
3. DO NOT GO TO NETWORKING EVENTS WITH YOUR FRIENDS
There is nothing wrong with feeling a bit more comfortable approaching someone with your friend, but nine times out of ten, only one of you will end up getting the opportunity. Your friend may be a great speaker and take all your lime light. Hence, going as a group may not necessarily enable you to demonstrate your full potential. It may start to feel like a competition and that is something that you do not want. Just like you take exams by yourself you need to be able to get opportunities on your own.
Do not be disheartened if you do not make any connections, this profession is hard and it takes time. Eventually someone will say yes, just persevere and work on your weaknesses.
4. BE CONFIDENT WITHOUT BEING ARROGANT
Remember that you should be confident in whatever you do but do not be arrogant. You have to believe in yourself and in what you are saying, always ensure that everything you say is 100% the truth.
5. DO YOUR RESEARCH
Do not ever say that you are interested in XYZ Law when actually you couldn't care less. There is no point of asking for work experience in that area, and say that you love it but when it comes to it, be completely unenthusiastic.
If you are made aware of who is going to be at the event, do some research about what they do, so that you will actually be able to have something to talk about. Write down some questions but make sure that it's no more than three, you do not want to overwhelm them.
I hope this was useful, make sure you subscribe (on the left) to get notifications of new posts. There will be a part two to this so stay tuned.
1. DON'T REVISE, LEARN
Don't revise? What do you mean? yes precisely don't revise two or three weeks before the exam. Learn, as in learn the content as you go along, so every time you have a lecture go over your notes and make sure you understand them.
There is nothing worse than looking back at notes from the second week of lectures and not having a clue what they mean. Hence why it is good to do so as you go along, because you have the opportunity to clear up anything you don't understand with your lecturers. It will also still be fresh in your memory, so you will have a better understanding than you would have 2 months later.
2. DO NOT MISS ANY LESSONS/LECTURES
As much as a lesson/lecture may seem pointless, believe me when I say there is a reason for that lecture. You may end up getting an exam question on something you only covered once in that lecture that you missed.
So try your very best not to miss any lectures, and if you do catch up! That does not mean catch up the week before exams, it means actually doing so as soon as possible. Ask your lectures about what you missed, ask your friends for the lecture notes and use the resources available to you - check the lecture notes on your blackboard learn/moodle.
As much as we feel that we will be able to understand something by just reading the book about it, it is better for someone who really knows the subject to teach you it. As boring as some lectures/teachers can be, nine times out of ten they know what they are talking about, just take the time to listen and learn.
3. DO NOT LEAVE IT TILL THE LAST MINUTE
This is something I am sure many students are guilty of, revising at the last minute. Many students say " I work better with pressure" or " If I revise too early I won't remember it for the exam". Yes, pressure may be a good motivation but it certainly is not good for your mental health. Just because you may have gotten away with revising a week before your exam in A Level's does not mean you will be able to do so at degree level. Speaking from experience, you will get the shock of your life. Save yourself the trouble and revise in good time.
For those of you that say " If I revise too early I won't remember it for the exam" this will not happen if you learn instead of cramming information into your head. Ever wondered why you never remember any of your previous subjects? that's because you jam packed your head with information and once you were done with it, you would then clear it from your head in order to make space for new information. That is exactly why you should learn in order to retain the information in your mind for long periods of time. So that when exams are approaching you are simply recapping what you have already learnt.
4. FIND A LEARNING METHOD THAT SUITS YOU
Everyone has different ways of learning, it is really important that you find a way that works for you. A method may work for Tom, Dick and Harry but it may not work for you. Take the time to find what really works for you. Here are some examples that you may want to try:
- MAKING FLASHCARDS
- USING A WHITEBOARD - TEACHING METHOD
- MIND MAPS
- HANDWRITING NOTES
- TYPING UP NOTES
- LEARNING FROM PAST PAPERS
Hopefully one of these methods will work for you, and if you discover something not mentioned that has worked for you, please leave a comment down below.You never know it may just help Tom, Dick and Harry.
5. STOP PROCRASTINATING - GET MOTIVATED
Sometimes we can be our own enemies of progress. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand that it is difficult to get yourself motivated but it is just something you need to do. Just get yourself in gear and remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing. Think about the end goal! Stop procrastination and get some motivation.
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