The Law School not only has an excellent reputation for teaching and research, it also has a vibrant international community of staff and students.

Full entry requirements

Law at Leicester

The wide range of interests within the School of Law is reflected in the flexibility of our law degree and the broad range of courses available. A law degree equips you with the academic skills required for a career as a solicitor or barrister and also opens the door to a number of other career options. You will find that we offer a cosmopolitan, friendly and supportive environment in which to study this fascinating subject.

The School of Law provides the opportunity to explore a wide range of legal subjects, as well as the foundation subjects recognised by the Law Society and Bar Council as satisfying the academic stage in legal education. In addition, the Law School employs a variety of approaches to law, including both the analysis of cases and statutes and the role of law within its social, economic and political context.

We do not require applicants to have taken the LNAT. We have, as a law school, given careful consideration to the efficacy of the LNAT in providing information additional to that available from results in public examinations and reports from schools. We remain to be convinced that scores in LNAT provide additional information which we need in order to determine who are excellent candidates for admission to this Law School.

We pride ourselves on our friendliness and approachability. Students are encouraged both to give feedback and to participate in decisions through their elected representatives.

This is reflected in the fact that our Student Law Society has an office (and a voice!) in the Law School and is one of the largest student bodies in the University.

Why Choose to Study Law at Leicester?

National Student Survey: 93% of students satisfied with their course.
Research rating: 75%
Places: 206
Applications: 1652
Example Jobs: Social Policy Co-ordinator; Communications and Marketing Executive; Corporate Finance Executive; Fundraiser; Legal Case Handler; Legal Secretary; Legal Trainee; Paralegal; Practice Manager; Property Clerk; Sales Director; Senior Legal Officer.
Example Employers: Business Development Midlands; Citizens Advice Bureau; Capital One; Cogent Law Firm; Defence Law; Department of Justice, State Government of Victoria; Dodds and Partners Solicitors; Emery-Johnson Solicitors; Goughs Solicitors; Lloyds Banking Group; Mantins Solicitors; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Quality Solicitors.
Example jobs and employers information comes from the University’s ‘Where Did They Go?’ survey, and shows destinations of 2009/10 graduates 6 months after graduation.

The Law School at the University of Leicester is consistently highly ranked, reflecting our strong research and teaching profile. You will benefit from inspiring and engaging courses, taught by people working at the forefront of their discipline. Being taught by active researchers means that the content of your course deals with cutting-edge, contemporary legal developments. Your lecturers will be up-to-date with recent cases and new legislation and your courses will often examine cases that are actually in progress at the time of study.

Our good standing also positively affects student employability as employers will know and appreciate that Leicester graduates have been taught by experts. At the University of Leicester we give our students lots of responsibility so that you are fully involved in the running of the School of Law. This benefits you greatly, helping to prepare you for the challenges of later life.

Thus, the Student Law Society is a large and dynamic body, which organises a wide range of social and voluntary activities related to law. Involvement in the Society allows you to exercise responsibility whilst making friends. Examples of the regular activities organised by the Society are illustrated below.

For instance, the Pro Bono Scheme is a free service run by students that allows Second and Final Year students to use their legal skills (with support from local lawyers) to advise fellow students. We also have good links with voluntary advice centres within Leicester that have come to us for various law-related projects.

You will have the opportunity to work on our ‘Innocence Project’, part of a national initiative whereby students research real-life cases where there is a suspicion that the conviction is unsafe. If new evidence is unearthed, these cases may ultimately be referred back to the Court of Appeal.

Further, the Leicester Law Careers Fair is an event that is held annually and attended by all top law firms. It is one of the only careers fairs to be organised both by and for students.

The Law Ball and other social and sports events are also important features of the experience of Leicester students; again, these activities are organised by students.

Many students have chosen to participate in the different competitions available: debating, mooting, client interviewing and negotiating. Staff act as judges in internal competitions and the winners go on to compete nationally and internationally. Leicester students have been successful in both national and international competitions. We maintain close ties with Leicester and London law firms in terms of sponsorship for student activities and awards, ensuring their awareness of our best students. Involvement in such competitions hones your personal and practical skills, alongside helping you to prepare for your future career.

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Teaching consists mainly of lectures and small group tutorials, with introductory subjects being workshop based. You will also engage in independent study. There are typically two lectures per week in each course and this provides you with a very clear foundation of knowledge. After completing the required reading, you have an opportunity to discuss the subject in more depth within a tutorial. Here you can debate the issues raised in the lectures with your tutor and other students. The tutorial is a good way to deepen understanding of the subject, as well as bringing it to life through critical reflection on the content of the law.

We are committed to having a maximum of eight students in each tutorial so you will benefit from having the opportunity to participate fully and to have your voice heard. You will have the chance to discuss your courses in depth with your tutor and to raise any questions that you might have. As the groups are small, you will get to know your tutors well during your studies. A variety of styles of tutorial are adopted, involving such activities as pair and group work, student presentations and debates. These approaches help you to develop your oral skills and hone your arguments with invaluable input from your peers. With two lectures in each subject per week and a tutorial once a fortnight, you will have approximately 12 contact hours a week whilst studying with us. The Law Degree is research based, so you will spend lots of time engaged in self study or, perhaps, working in study groups.

Assessment is by a variety of means, including assessed essays, unseen examinations and MCQs.

Web-based and electronic course materials are used to supplement traditional teaching methods and support student learning. There is easy access to computers both in the Law School and in the well-stocked library next to the School. You will be able to access information about your courses and tutorials electronically.

Course Opportunities

Study Abroad

During your LLB degree it is possible to apply in the First Year for a transfer to a four-year LLB degree with the Third Year studying at a university abroad.

At present we have exchanges with top universities in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Australia, Finland, South Africa, Cyprus and Malta. If you study at a university in Europe under the Erasmus scheme, you will receive an Erasmus grant (€378 per month for 2010/11) and language training. Law firms are increasingly international in scope, just one of the reasons why it might benefit you to study in the context of a different legal system.

Graduate Opportunities

We ensure that the Leicester Law degree is recognised as one of the best.
Law graduates have one of the highest levels of graduate recruitment of all disciplines – either into work or, as is usual, further study. Leicester’s figures are slightly better than average and graduates have secured places in premier solicitors’ firms and barristers’ chambers. In studies carried out within six months of graduating, graduates had moved into the vocational courses for solicitors and barristers, further education and employment.

There is no need to decide upon a particular career at age 18. Whilst our law degree does qualify you academically to become a lawyer, it also provides many other transferable skills that interest other professions.

Careers advice is taken very seriously at Leicester. Two lecturers within the Law School are on hand to give advice about different firms, provide careers handouts and website updates. Every year a number of speakers visit, representing a range of the legal profession from international commercial firms, local solicitors, local government lawyers and barristers – from both the London and Leicester Bar. They discuss their chosen careers and the best ways of getting a rewarding job. Firms and legal education providers also attend the Careers Fair. The Barristers’ Evening is the main careers event for those wanting to go to the Bar, and it involves chambers and Bar Professional Training Course providers. Further, we have a central careers service to assist more generally with applications and CVs.

LLB (Senior Status)

An innovative two year programme for non-law graduates, the Senior Status LLB was designed for those who would like to gain a law degree and benefit from legal study as a whole. Entry requirements are a good 2:2 degree in any area of study or equivalent. The degree allows graduates to qualify for further legal professional qualifications and covers the core modules required by the Law Society and Bar Council. It will give you a more in depth legal education than a one year graduate course in law.

The first year is identical to the first year for the 3 year LLB; in the second year you must complete the core courses of Criminal law, European Union Law, Equity and Trusts and Land Law. The course allows graduates to develop critical reasoning and an understanding of the principles of English Law through the various areas of law covered. The Senior Status LLB has grown in recent years to have an average of 80 students per year. Many graduates use the Senior Status as a starting point for their professional studies and it has attracted a number of overseas students.

If you have an undergraduate degree but you do not qualify for entry onto the Senior Status LLB you can take the 3 year LLB and if you attain a 2:1 average in the first year of LLB studies you are able to request a transfer onto the Senior Status LLB for the second and final year. Senior Status LLB graduates not only go on to professional qualification but further advanced Masters level studies and higher.

Law with French Law and Language

Leicester was one of the pioneering universities in establishing a Law with French Law and Language degree in 1981. The four year degree programme provides a thorough grounding in English law, French law and French language and culture.

Your Third Year is spent studying French law at one of the following leading universities: Strasbourg, Lyon or Paris-Sud. There is a tradition that many students who choose to study in Strasbourg find a work placement with a Member of the European Parliament. As you will be studying in France under the Erasmus scheme, you will receive an Erasmus grant. As well as the skills developed on the LLB programme you will become fluent in oral and written French, develop considerable knowledge of French law and learn how to use French legal materials.

Graduates receive exemption from the academic stage of the professional law examinations provided they choose appropriate options. All our graduates who achieve at least a lower second class honours degree and who opt for the College of Law as the first choice, are guaranteed a place at their preferred location. The language skills and knowledge of another legal system have led graduates to careers in European or international institutions such as the European Commission and Parliament, management in European-wide firms and in teaching positions abroad. Our graduates have also gone on to study at postgraduate level in the UK, France or elsewhere.

LLB/Maîtrise in English and French Law

Our Our Double Degree in English and French Law is designed for bilingual students. It is run jointly by the University of Leicester and the Université de Strasbourg and consists of a four-year course structured as follows: the first two years are to be spent at the School of Law at the University of Leicester and lead to the award of the LLB degree in law; the last two years are to be spent at the Faculty of Law at the Université de Strasbourg and lead to the award of a maîtrise en droit mention “droits français et anglais” with a specialisation in either private, corporate or public European law.

The Double Degree is a natural choice for students whose linguistic competence enables them to opt for such a high profile academic trajectory, and one which will open up many national and international opportunities in either the private or the public sector. It leads to the award of two qualifying law degrees for the purposes of professional examination in four years and provides students with equal competence in English, French and European law.

The Double Degree:

• Is designed to train lawyers with equal competence in English, French and European law.
• Qualifies our students for the professional examinations of both France and England and Wales.
• Develops the linguistic, methodological and legal skills required in legal research and practice in both France and England and Wales.
• Allows for individual specialisation through an extensive range of optional modules in years three and four.
• Gives you the perfect foundation to work either for a European body or in a law firm with transnational interests.
• Provides you with highly transferable skills in linguistic, methodological and legal terms, which are found attractive by a wide range of employers in both the public and private sector.
• Offers you the possibility of finding unpaid work placements in one of the European institutions (or private practices) situated in Strasbourg. The Law Faculty of the Université de Strasbourg will do its best to help you find such work placements.

Full entry requirements

Opportunities to Visit and Further Information

We encourage anyone thinking of coming to the School of Law to visit us on one of our Open Days. For details of these Open Days, a Law School prospectus or for more information please contact:

Admissions Administrator School of Law,
Fielding Johnson Building
University of Leicester,
University Road
Leicester. LE1 7RH

Fax: 0116 252 5023
law@le.ac.uk
www.le.ac.uk/law

The Admissions Tutor is Christopher Bisping.

Request a prospectus

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