Postgraduate study is an increasingly popular way of extending higher education. In a job market where degrees are becoming more and more common, driven by government campaigns to get everyone through university, a postgraduate certificate, diploma or full Masters can be a way of distinguishing yourself from other candidates. Although it’s not strictly necessary, many pursue an MA before taking on a PHD – just to increase the chances of receiving funding. For some, postgraduate study represents a chance to specialise in a particular area, gaining experience, and the chance to forge a career in a particular niche.
Practicing law
Postgraduate study in law can take many forms. For those coming to law from another field there are several graduate courses available.
The Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) is one year course which allows graduates from other subjects to go on to train and practice law. It will cover many aspects of law from contract law to constitutional and administrative law, from criminal law to Tort Law. Some courses may also include a legal ethics module.
Further qualifications are needed for those intending to train as either solicitors or barristers. The LPC is the essential requirement for prospective solicitors, while the BPTC is the equivalent for barristers
The LLM
There are many postgraduate courses on offer for the law gradate seeking to continue their studies. An LLM, or Master of laws, can open up a field of study you may have only touched briefly touched upon in your degree. LLMs can allow students to specialise in emerging areas of law such as climate change law, in courses that encompass both theory and practice. In this way LLMs can be of a great use to a student that knows the area of law in which he or she wants to work. If considering one of these specialised courses, it’s important to realise that their value will be limited with law firms outside of this speciality – i.e if you specialise in maritime law you want to be confident that you can secure work in a law firm with a similar focus.
More traditional LLMs like the sort offered by Cambridge and Oxford are intellectually rigorous courses focusing on the theory – case law in different legal areas like banking and finance. Some students take these courses partially for the prestige of Oxbridge, particularly if their law degree was taken at a middle-tier institution.
Other options
LLM is not the only option. Law intersects with many other disciplines, particularly areas of philosophy like ethics but also politics and history. An MA in something like bioethics and medical law, while not as perhaps directly useful for a law career as an LLM, can make for an interesting inter-disciplinary study, merging philosophy, ethics and biology in a course which would encourage a broad intake of students from different academic backgrounds. Furthering a career is not the only reason to pursue postgraduate study; an MA can round out an academic career.
Research, research, research
As with any academic decision, research usually leads to the best results. Talk with an academic advisor or trusted tutor and think carefully about the kind of career you want to cultivate. If you are deadest on a particular area of law and you think an LLM is needed to secure the job, then find a specialised LLM course with a practical focus – many will leave room for you to pursue, at the same time, other essential qualifications, like the GDL or LPC.