training (ie, SQE or Bar course). A number of UK universities offer senior-status degrees. To check whether your preferred university offers a senior status degree, contact the SRA, as above. There are a number of other conversion and SQE preparation course options available for non-law students. Head to the SQE or Non-law hub on LawCareers.Net for the latest information. For those pursuing a career at the Bar, the GDL/PGDL will still be required for non-law students before moving onto a Bar course. LPC The LPC is the old vocational stage of training to be a solicitor. Aspiring lawyers who started a law degree by September 2021 can still qualify via this route. The LPC aims to provide students with sufficient knowledge and skills to ensure that they’re well equipped to undertake the work of a solicitor. It’s a one-year, full-time (or two- year, part-time) course designed to bridge the academic degree and training contract. It’s also possible to split the course into core and elective stages, enabling you to start your training contract sooner (ie, after having completed the core stage only) although in reality most students complete the LPC before their training contracts commence. Course content The LPC focuses on practical skills and the instilling of professional conduct and ethical standards. Teaching methods are no longer just academic: the emphasis is on workshops, continuous assessment, independent research and group discussions. The course also permits some specialisation through a range of optional subjects.
Applications for part-time courses must be made directly to the provider.
To be eligible for the GDL, students must hold a degree from a UK university or an overseas institution recognised by the SRA. Alternatively, a student can hold academic and vocational qualifications that the SRA deems equivalent to a degree. Subject to various criteria, the following people may be eligible for exemption: mature students; chartered legal executives; assistant justices’ clerks; and those with professional qualifications equivalent to a degree (eg, obtained through the Institute of Chartered Accountants). If you think you fall within one of these categories, you should contact the SRA (www.sra.org.uk/contactus or 0370 606 2555). Course content The GDL is an intensive, demanding programme focusing on the seven foundations of legal knowledge, which are: • contract; • tort; • criminal;
• equity and trusts; • European Union; • property/land; and • public.
Be aware that this stage of training is widely regarded as difficult. Specific course content is set internally by individual institutions. However, for full-time students, the final examination will normally comprise a three-hour paper in each of the seven core areas. Although you have up to three years to complete the GDL, you’ll not be allowed to attempt any paper more than three times. Part-time and distance-learning GDL students must complete the course in no more than four years. As an alternative to the GDL, a two-year, senior-status law degree can be studied. After this degree, students go straight onto the appropriate vocational stage of legal
In Stage One, the core subjects cover litigation, property, business, professional
87
Sign up to
POSTGRADUATE TRAINING
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online