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
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