Which Uni?

englishpremier said:
As for qualifying in law it used to be you'd do an LLB 3 year degree, then a 12 month legal practice course (LPC) for solicitors
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Two of the Solicitors who worked in our Hospital Legal Department said they did their courses on the Open University (or similar), they were both crap though :)
 
Freefaller said:
This is why chartership is growing, certainly in the engineering space to add a bit of gravitas to your degree. You have to prove vocational and technical knowledge. What's good about charterships is that even apprenticeships can count towards it as you "learn as you earn".

Is there an equivalent of chartership in law? Or is it passing your Bar?

It is true though that it still seems to depend on the degree and whether it's a bachelor's or master's and what university and what grade you get. Not always but to a certain amount. There's a lot of snobbishness around MBAs.
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I'm relatively new into the world of engineering with ~5 years in industry. Similar to job spec creep and devalueing of degrees, I also feel Chartership is going through a similar process. It feels like soon all jobs will require CEng as a minimum, whereas a couple of decades ago, CEng was a much more prestigious recognition of experience and knowledge and not held by a majority of engineers. Interested to hear your experience of how Chartership has changed over the years, if at all.
 
ivrytwr3 said:
Anyone been to any of the above? Any comments or advice? I never did the Uni thing first time around and ended up with a degree later on in life - so no idea what's good and what isn't.
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If he wants to become a solicitor or a barrister eventually then ensure he goes to Warwick rather than either of the others. Law is really hard to get into in the UK nowadays. There is so much competition for trainee solicitors' posts and pupillages at chambers that his best chance is to get his law degree from a Russell Group university with a solid international reputation, like Warwick.

Warwick comes up with Leeds and Nottingham as joint 93rd in the world for law and legal studies:
QS World University Rankings for Law and Legal Studies 2021 | Top Universities

It's also a modern self-contained campus university, so easier for an inexperienced 18-year-old to get his footing in.

I know a couple of people, now in their 30s, who are stuck as paralegals because they went to less well respected universities for their initial law degrees. There is a lot of snobbery in law and although there are plenty of new universities with very good law degree courses and student mentoring programs, unfortunately, their graduates struggle nowadays to get a look in.
 
ivrytwr3 said:
Damn, that's grim :(

Just wondering what would be available with a law degree if solicitor etc wasn't to be :(
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b0rn2sk8 said:
Nearly all professional service sectors look out for people with Law degrees, including tax/accountancy/audit and the wider financial services and the insurance sector. A law degree translates very well to all of those, more so than any other degree that isn't in that particular subject IMO.

Loads of places you wouldn't think of also have graduate jobs in the law profession which sit outside the traditional law firms like the public sector, they have armies of solicitors at their disposal for obvious reasons.

In terms of the specific uni, target the ones you like with the highest ranking in a particular subject or the overall ranking/prestige it has. Like it or not, there is a lot of snobbery when it comes to institutions still.
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This. I can easily imagine many senior leadership / management roles where having a good understanding of law would be useful.

Antidotally, a few years ago, we hired someone, with a law degree, for an IT development role. The software streamlined high volume legal case work. We needed someone who understood the legal area, with some IT skills, supported by snr developers, to ensure the software met the clients needs.
 
Macky said:
I'm relatively new into the world of engineering with ~5 years in industry. Similar to job spec creep and devalueing of degrees, I also feel Chartership is going through a similar process. It feels like soon all jobs will require CEng as a minimum, whereas a couple of decades ago, CEng was a much more prestigious recognition of experience and knowledge and not held by a majority of engineers. Interested to hear your experience of how Chartership has changed over the years, if at all.
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Part of your suspicions are right. However, there's still good reason to become chartered. It's something you have to "maintain" i.e. they can strike you off the register if you don't display / show CPD and show that you're working to the codes of conduct. More importantly, a lot of firms who deliver projects want accountable, professional engineers from a liability viewpoint if anything else. Grenfell accelerated this, but think about it, if you were a client would you rather your consulting engineers, or project engineers to be chartered or not? i.e. ones that have proven to have not only the competence but accountability and leadership requirements?

Some say it's a tick boxing exercise, I had to write a paper, have a structured interview and display years of CPD before I was eligible. Some you have to pass an exam (iStructE) others you need to amass years of experience in technical fields. Happy to have a chat offline if you want to send me a message :)
 
Here’s my 2p worth as (a) a law graduate and now family lawyer; and (b) someone now employing law graduates and training them.

Warwick is by far the best option from those listed. It’s well respected, a decent course and there’s a good structure in place for pushing students in the right direction for job applications.

UEA is bottom of the list for me.

Hope this helps and good luck to your son with his exams.
 
Dolly said:
Here’s my 2p worth as (a) a law graduate and now family lawyer; and (b) someone now employing law graduates and training them.

Warwick is by far the best option from those listed. It’s well respected, a decent course and there’s a good structure in place for pushing students in the right direction for job applications.

UEA is bottom of the list for me.

Hope this helps and good luck to your son with his exams.
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Thanks for posting, my son may be in touch in a few years time :D
 
Out of that group Warwick would be my personal choice. It has a great reputation, is a lovely town and has lots of transport links.
 
If he wants to work in the corporate legal sector at a top London/international firm then he should choose Warwick. If that is not his ambition (and that's perfectly fine by the way as working in those types of firms is relentless) then UEA is perfectly decent.

There is no wrong answer. I am sure he will do well in life whichever university he chooses. If he’s a sensitive lad then the city may not be for him and he may be better in a quieter legal role e.g. in-house or public service.

FYI – I’m a solicitor and if it was my choice, it would be Warwick. Even though it is a relatively modern university it has a worldwide reputation and the calibre of the students will probably be a notch higher. This can lead to more opportunities and life experiences even if he didn’t then go on to qualify as a solicitor or barrister.

UEA, from my understanding, tends to be more of a creative writing mecca.
 
Nottingham Trent has an excellent law school. My wife went there and is now very high up in the CPS having cut her teeth doing crime for around a decade and then moving over to prosecution.
 
englishpremier said:
It does seem like Warwick is the one, but which town are you referring to? The university isn't anywhere near Warwick or in a town itself.
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Warwick itself, but closer to the university all the towns are nice. Kenilworth, Leamington Spa. Coventry Town centre has just undergone a huge regeneration project and isn't too bad at all now, for a student at least.
 
panthro said:
Warwick itself, but closer to the university all the towns are nice. Kenilworth, Leamington Spa. Coventry Town centre has just undergone a huge regeneration project and isn't too bad at all now, for a student at least.
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Coventry is the closest but the city centre is still some 4 miles aways. Warwick is nearly double that.

That means getting late busses and taxis for nights out.

Could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing. Don't under-estimate the laziness of a student though.
 
englishpremier said:
Coventry is the closest but the city centre is still some 4 miles aways. Warwick is nearly double that.

That means getting late busses and taxis for nights out.

Could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing. Don't under-estimate the laziness of a student though.
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By the sound of it, the OP's son is not going to be making his university selection based on how long it will take to get back from the pub. The campus is pretty much self contained if you're in halls, and as Russell Group university it's their best choice.
 
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