This page includes information about law courses. Other pages in this section are Learning the law and Careers in law.
BPP Law School is a leading provider of professional legal education in the UK with over 4,000 students based nationally across 4 sites based in Leeds, London (Holborn and Waterloo) and Manchester. Both full time and part time courses as well as distance learning courses. The courses use a unique mix of academic and practitioner lecturers, course materials prepared in partnership with numerous law firms, and innovative pro bono projects. In 2009, BPP became part of Apollo Global and In July 2010 BPP became the first private sector organisation in the UK in over three decades to become a university college.
The College of Law is the largest provider of postgraduate legal training in the UK and has trained more than half of all UK solicitors. They specialise in courses for law and non-law graduates and also provide a comprehensive range of training and professional development programmes for trainees and qualified lawyers. They provide a nationwide coverage, with full-time courses available at six branches in Birmingham, Bristol, Central London (Bloomsbury & Moorgate), Chester, Guildford, Manchester and York.
The University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education – Legal Studies, provides a varied programme of courses for legal professionals of which some are aimed at students and prospective students:
Summer School in English Legal Methods – 4-week course for lawyers and law students from countries whose legal systems are not based on the English Common Law
Annual Revision course for students of the London (External) LLB (Both the above courses are offered with the Faculty of Law and details are already on our website)
Diploma in Notarial Practice by distance learning – the compulsory training for graduates and qualified lawyers wishing to become notaries.
City Law School is one of London’s major law schools and offers an impressive range of academic and professional courses. Located in the very heart of legal London, they are the first law school in London to educate students and practitioners at all stages of legal education. With four levels of study, they offer courses suitable for everyone interested in following a career in law: Undergraduate (LLB), Postgraduate (GDL/GE LLB /LLM), Professional (BPTC/LPC), Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Research Degrees. They offer particularly good online resources (mostly available to all law students rather than “just” their own students).
CoursesOnline is a comparison site for those interested in learning more about various aspects of the legal world can examine courses from providers across the UK. These courses can be done entirely online and are suitable for both newcomers to law and more experienced practitioners.
English Language Centre, Oxford provide courses in legal English. Students are located across the world, receiving customised distance-learning courses for the Cambridge English examinations. The Cambridge Legal-English certificate (ILEC) is an advanced qualification that is valid for life and corresponds to Level 4 of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) and Level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL).
ILAWS, the Institute for Law and the Web at Southampton University, was established to work on the legal issues, problems and opportunities associated with the Internet, the Web and digital technology. It is a unique interdisciplinary research centre that combines legal expertise in key domains such as information technology law, e-commerce, IT law and public policy, and intellectual property law. The Institute combines a brief to look at the crucial current issues for commerce and government, alongside cutting-edge “future-gazing” to discover what the legal issues of the future will be. There is also a blog from Lilian Edwards, Professor of Internet Law, called Pangloss, at http://blogscript.blogspot.com. This covers topics such as online privacy and security law, cybercrime, online intermediary law (including eBay and Google law), e-commerce, digital property and filesharing .
Open Study College offers online courses covering various aspects of law. The majority of courses are aimed at those looking to take their first steps into the legal sector but there are a number of options as well for those looking to develop their knowledge further.
QLTS School offers preparation courses and consulting services for international lawyers who wish to qualify as English solicitors via the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme – QLTS. The Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS) is a fast-track route that provides an opportunity for international lawyers to become solicitors in England and Wales
The International Center for Legal Studies (“ICLS”) is a USA body which specializes in teaching the core LL.B subjects for the University of London’s External Programme in Laws. It presents online lectures, subject bulletin boards, essay assignments, year long tuition using an e-learning platform and scheduling flexibility. ICLS was founded by George Pappas B.Sc(Econ)Hon, LL.B(Hon), LL.M – Graduate of the University of London External Programme in laws and founder of The Malet Street Gazette.
University of Manchester Law School, established in 1872, is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the country. The School is a centre of excellence for the study of law, criminology and bioethics with an academic staff of around 70. There are also many research units housed within the Law School including Centre for Law and Business; Centre for Criminology and Socio-Legal Studies; Institute for Law, Economy and Global Governance; Regulation, Security and Justice Research Centre; Sustainability Policy and Regulation Research Centre; and the Centre for Social Ethics and Policy, in collaboration with the Institute of Medicine, Law and Bioethics.
University of Northumbria Legal Services Unit organises short courses for solicitors and arranges conferences covering all aspects of the legal profession. The Unit has recently expanded and now runs a full programme of courses in Leeds and Newcastle. As well as undergradualte, postgraduate and professional courses, the School of Law is also validated to run the Bar Vocational Courses.
Salford Law School offers a brand new purpose built facility in the Lady Hale Building designed specifically to accommodate the needs of law students. Courses offered include single honours Law, Law with Criminology and Law with Finance at undergraduate level. The School currently offers three distinctive distance learning postgraduate programme, leading to the MA and LLM Degrees in Health and Safety Law and Environmental Law, the MA Degree in Health Care Law and LLM Degree in Health Law and to the MSc/LLM/PgDip/PgCert Construction Law & Practice. Additionally the School runs regular seminars on current legal issues where addresses and presentations are given by prominent speakers. The seminars are very useful for those who wish to update their knowledge on topical issues. The seminars are usually attended by present and former students, industrialists, government lawyers, barristers, solicitors and civil servants.
The Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) is the professional body representing around 22,000 qualified and trainee Legal Executives, and is recognised by the Ministry of Justice as one of the three core routes to becoming a qualified lawyer. Its associated body ILEX Tutorial College (ITC) is a major provider of legal education through a series of local colleges and also through distance learning, with courses designed to allow students to study while continuing in their full-time employment.
elawstudent.com is a small company developing law courses and in particular, so far, an ‘A’ Level Law software programme (GCSE law and the core subjects for the first year of the LLB degree will follow later in the year). In the meantime, barrister Richard Priestley is making his database of significant edited transcripts of case judgments available to anyone interested. The user should click on the Quick Search button on the hame page and then search by keyword (e.g. negligence) or by name or part of name.
Ten percent Legal Recruitment are specialist recruitment consultants and also offer Legal Career Coaching. The company has a specialist Legal Careers Service available to Law Schools across the UK offering CV Workshops, Interview Workshops, Practice Assessment Days and One-to-One Career Coaching to Law Schools in Universities & Colleges in any Commonwealth jurisdiction. The Careers Centre also offers over 100 pages of guidance to law students and graduates on finding training contracts, pupillage and work experience, and they offer both free and paid careers services, including CV Writing and Careers Coaching. There is a Legal Recruitment Blog covering legal recruitment topics, legal job markets and the legal profession generally.
Advice for foreign students (and potential foreign students) on immigration to the UK
UK Visa and Immigration are OISC accredited to the highest level and can assist with every type of immigration case including (and particularly) student visas through to more complex cases such as appeals. There is a great deal of information on the site about the many types of visa and the processes involved. There is also visa and immigration news on the site.
Two USA sites for affordable online education
Frugal Dad provides a database of USA colleges offering online education. It allows the viewer (the Frugal Dad or the potential student) to search for affordable colleges throughout the USA. It lists the Institutions across the USA together with the fees for in-state and out-of-state students. Currently, many universities, such the University of Washington, Maryland and Houston have themselves listed this resource as useful for people who are not only looking to further their education but also have to finance it. There are also some interesting facts about online education. According to the Sloan Consortium (a well respected USA institute), there were over 6 million people in the USA enrolled in at least one online course in 2010 – and doubtless the numbers have gone up considerably since then. The site is not specifically related to legal education and you cannot use it to select legal courses online, but since it links to the Colleges and Universities themselves, you could research this further for any particular institution in which you were interested.
Affordable Colleges Online is a new guide for students and parents seeking quality online programs at an affordable price. It discusses how (and why) to assess “quality” when researching low-cost colleges, and how certain institutions today offer great online programs and courses without breaking the tuition bank. Key elements of the guide include:
* A detailed breakdown of accreditation. What it is and why it’s important
* Not-for-profit vs for-profit schools – what’s the difference?
* What graduation rates mean
* The importance of reputation with employers
* Profiles of ten not-for-profit U.S. colleges with quality, affordable online programs.
