DIT Diploma Law Postgrad Course - 2012

lablab

Am thinking of doing a 2012 DIT Postgrad Law Diploma.
Is the diploma well regarded?
Would it be worth the money?
Is the reputation ok?

Any help much appreciated.

Tks

jOHNGERARD50

Finishing the LLB there, depends what you want to do in law, the Dip. is worth nothing if you want to be a Barrister, only the LLB is. A big fall off in numbers in Dip. I have found out talking to people there..

johnfás

It is highly regarded, particularly in the commercial firms. Most recent non law graduates who I know in large firms have passed through the DIT diploma.

jOHNGERARD50

Well to make up some revenue they are going to bring in an LLM , I think at end of the year. As regards the Dip. you do the very same classes as LLB, so far have not met any Dip. students in any classes I have taken. When I did Family law in 2011 they had separate
paper for Dip. students. Depends on what you want to do at the end of the day..as I said it is no use for Kings Inn but is ok I believe for Blackhall ..

johnfás

jOHNGERARD50 wrote: »

Well to make up some revenue they are going to bring in an LLM , I think at end of the year. As regards the Dip. you do the very same classes as LLB, so far have not met any Dip. students in any classes I have taken. When I did Family law in 2011 they had separate
paper for Dip. students. Depends on what you want to do at the end of the day..as I said it is no use for Kings Inn but is ok I believe for Blackhall ..

Correct, it is still necessary to sit the 2 year evening diploma if one wishes to become a barrister. There is no requirement other than having a degree in something (anything) and an ability to pass the FE1s in order to enter Blackhall.

If one wishes to become a solicitor, particularly if they want to become a commercial solicitor (I don't know one way or the other what the OP intends), the issue is therefore how best do I get myself a job. From that perspective I can state with certainty that the course is both very highly regarded by the large firms and also it does provide you with an introduction to legal research methods etc which are very relevant to your life as a solicitor but not taught simply by doing the FE1s.

jOHNGERARD50

Yes, the course if fine and cheaper than the private colleges. I wish you well in your studies.. by the by, most of the lecturers put their study notes up on blackboard web courses, books change but the DIT library has a good stock of all the necessary course books as law texts are very expensive.

kickhamsking

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice. I'm a final year Arts student and I see my future in Law, and I would hope to specialise in Corporate Law. I was thinking of doing the PgDip in DIT then doing my masters in law and international commerce or law and corporate governance in QUB. Would this be a good way of going about it? Also do I need to do the FE 1's to stand any cgance of getting a job?
Really confused and apologies if my questions are a little stupid but any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

Farcear

I assume you want to be a Solicitor as opposed to a Barrister?

The FE-1s are 8 mandatory exams to being the process of qualifying as a solicitor. There are various prep courses run that focus on passing these exams. You should be looking to sit and pass these exams as soon as possible. Probably the April 2013 sitting for at least 4 of the 8...

If you want to focus on corporate law, you are likely looking at trying to work for a larger Dublin-based law firm. The most difficult part of this process will be securing a training contract. Diplomas, other qualifications, etc. should be taken only with an eye to making your CV better (and certainly I would worry about the FE-1s before other qualifications) - they are not required as you do most of your training on the job.


Note: You're going to get _lots_ of replies noting that it is an incredibly difficult environment in law at the moment. You need to bear this in mind.

Right 2B a liar

kickhamsking wrote: »

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice. I'm a final year Arts student and I see my future in Law, and I would hope to specialise in Corporate Law. I was thinking of doing the PgDip in DIT then doing my masters in law and international commerce or law and corporate governance in QUB. Would this be a good way of going about it? Also do I need to do the FE 1's to stand any cgance of getting a job?
Really confused and apologies if my questions are a little stupid but any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

English and Sociology ex student here I have completed my FE1 and have a training contract too for this September. I also have a LLM in corporate governance and financial regulation, despite what I read, that a LLM wouldn't make much of a difference I felt it was the main selling point for me as a non primary degree law student. If you get a 1st in your BA you could still have a shot with the larger commercial law firms in Dublin. My advice would be to do the two at once of course if you have the money, ie FE1 exams and postgrad in some law discipline. Good luck

Strawberry Fields

I did it a couple of years ago and am half way through the fe1s, as a non law grad it was a very good introduction to studying law for fe1 purposes, jobs wise it would open the door for financial services type stuff, difficult to get law related work with it.

Hippo

Having done both the DIT and KI Diplomas, there's no comparison in terms of depth or difficulty, KI is miles ahead. I think godeas has it right, difficult to get law related work with just the DIT dip.

The_Minister

Hippo wrote: »

Having done both the DIT and KI Diplomas, there's no comparison in terms of depth or difficulty, KI is miles ahead. I think godeas has it right, difficult to get law related work with just the DIT dip.

Seconded

Procrastastudy

homeless student wrote: »

hi, just wondering is the dit postgrad in law hard? and is there any presentations to be done during the year?

Law isn't hard - some subjects need a bit of pencil and paper and little diagrams, privity for example, but none of it is hard. The challenge is the reading can be huge and sometimes things don't make logical sense.

I would suggest if you want to steer clear of public speaking / presentations then perhaps Law isn't for you but then I suppose there are plenty of applications that wouldn't require those skills. I just wonder if a more directed course might be better. That said maybe you're asking as you love presentations.

homeless student

Procrastastudy wrote: »

Law isn't hard - some subjects need a bit of pencil and paper and little diagrams, privity for example, but none of it is hard. The challenge is the reading can be huge and sometimes things don't make logical sense.

I would suggest if you want to steer clear of public speaking / presentations then perhaps Law isn't for you but then I suppose there are plenty of applications that wouldn't require those skills. I just wonder if a more directed course might be better. That said maybe you're asking as you love presentations.

i dont want a career in law but i feel this postgrad would help add to my degree. i dont like presentations, who does? HAVE YOU DONE THIS COURSE? WAS THERE ANY PRESENTATIONS TO BE DONE? SORRY FOR THE CAPS, HIT IT BY MISTAKE.

Procrastastudy

homeless student wrote: »

i dont want a career in law but i feel this postgrad would help add to my degree. i dont like presentations, who does? HAVE YOU DONE THIS COURSE? WAS THERE ANY PRESENTATIONS TO BE DONE? SORRY FOR THE CAPS, HIT IT BY MISTAKE.

Nope general comments only. I'm currently doing my undergrad in Law at GCD. I know we get a fair amount of emphasis on public speaking (a mandatory requirement in first year) but I cant comment on DIT postgrad sorry. I love presentations

homeless student

Procrastastudy wrote: »

Nope general comments only. I'm currently doing my undergrad in Law at GCD. I know we get a fair amount of emphasis on public speaking (a mandatory requirement in first year) but I cant comment on DIT postgrad sorry. I love presentations

THATS OK, THANK YOU.

Strawberry Fields

homeless student wrote: »

i dont want a career in law but i feel this postgrad would help add to my degree. i dont like presentations, who does? HAVE YOU DONE THIS COURSE? WAS THERE ANY PRESENTATIONS TO BE DONE? SORRY FOR THE CAPS, HIT IT BY MISTAKE.

No presentations in it dude. It's level 9 so as hard as any other academic postgrad but nowhere near fe1 professional career law hard.

randomchild

Hey mate I did this course a few years ago, so presuming the course has not changed much it should remain valid. There is a diverse range of subjects to choose from, so you can pick and choose from the FE1 subjects to more diverse subjects such as employment and human rights. The lecturers are top notch, Fergus Ryan (constitutional) and Ruth Cannon (property) in particular are excellent and any student would be lucky to have them. It can be a little intense at times but if your up for it, it should not be anything you cannot manage. Anymore questions let me know

homeless student

thanks for the info guys, much appreciated.think i will probably do the course.

homeless student

randomchild wrote: »

Hey mate I did this course a few years ago, so presuming the course has not changed much it should remain valid. There is a diverse range of subjects to choose from, so you can pick and choose from the FE1 subjects to more diverse subjects such as employment and human rights. The lecturers are top notch, Fergus Ryan (constitutional) and Ruth Cannon (property) in particular are excellent and any student would be lucky to have them. It can be a little intense at times but if your up for it, it should not be anything you cannot manage. Anymore questions let me know

hi, any advise for me on what subjects to pick, i am doing criminal law and property law but what other 3 subjects would you advise me to pick?which ones did you find interesting or even just the easiest ones.i probably wont do the fe1s but will use the pg dip as an extra qualification to add to my degrees.

homeless student

HI, I am doing the pg dip in law in dit, part time, this year i am doing core legal skills, criminal law and property law, just wondering from past students experience of this course, do I need to buy many books for the 3 subjects I am doing?or is there usually enough books in the library so as I dont need to buy all the books.I think there was 3 different books recomended for criminal law alone.

Procrastastudy

homeless student wrote: »

HI, I am doing the pg dip in law in dit, part time, this year i am doing core legal skills, criminal law and property law, just wondering from past students experience of this course, do I need to buy many books for the 3 subjects I am doing?or is there usually enough books in the library so as I dont need to buy all the books.I think there was 3 different books recommended for criminal law alone.

Unless you can't commit the time to the library its a waste of time buying books. Get some FE1 or KI manuals off adverts.ie. There might be the odd core text (e.g. a really good student book) or a bang up to date practice book you might want to get to keep (e.g. Whyle (sp?) - Land Law lastest ed) but realistically you'd need to be made of money to start buying all the recommended reading for any law qual.

homeless student

Procrastastudy wrote: »

Unless you can't commit the time to the library its a waste of time buying books. Get some FE1 or KI manuals off adverts.ie. There might be the odd core text (e.g. a really good student book) or a bang up to date practice book you might want to get to keep (e.g. Whyle (sp?) - Land Law lastest ed) but realistically you'd need to be made of money to start buying all the recommended reading for any law qual.

Hi, thanks for the info:)
I dont tend to spend time in the library, I just have 6 hours a week so dont spend much time in the college to be honest, I prefer reading at home, never been one for college libraries. the reason I was thinking of buying the books is, I dont want to be going in looking for a book in the library when its constantly out.money isnt really an issue but on the other hand theres no point buying a book that I will hardly ever be used.

NoQuarter

homeless student wrote: »

money isnt really an issue

I hope you are aware of the price of law books before you say that.

homeless student

NoQuarter wrote: »

I hope you are aware of the price of law books before you say that.

iv been told they range from 30 to over 200?

NoQuarter

homeless student wrote: »

iv been told they range from 30 to over 200?

Well, my Circuit Court Rules and my Rules of the Superior Courts cost around 600 each :eek:

But you wont need them just yet. (not to mention they are online!)

But yeah, some are very, very expensive. My advice would be not to bother buying any but then again, if you are not going to use the library you have little choice. MMaybe just buy the FE1 manuals, you will easily pass your exams with those.

homeless student

NoQuarter wrote: »

Well, my Circuit Court Rules and my Rules of the Superior Courts cost around 600 each :eek:

But you wont need them just yet. (not to mention they are online!)

But yeah, some are very, very expensive. My advice would be not to bother buying any but then again, if you are not going to use the library you have little choice. MMaybe just buy the FE1 manuals, you will easily pass your exams with those.

:eek:600. wont be buying them books.
would the FE 1 manuals not be too much info for me doing the postgrad?
if not, I will get them.

NoQuarter

homeless student wrote: »

:eek:600. wont be buying them books.
would the FE 1 manuals not be too much info for me doing the postgrad?
if not, I will get them.

No not at all. They will be just the right amount of info. If you learn them inside out (or only the topics they tell you are going to show up on the exams) you will pass with flying colours. However, you wont get a first with them because they contain little or no academic commentary so if you are shooting high, you had better look up a few articles online too.

homeless student

NoQuarter wrote: »

No not at all. They will be just the right amount of info. If you learn them inside out (or only the topics they tell you are going to show up on the exams) you will pass with flying colours. However, you wont get a first with them because they contain little or no academic commentary so if you are shooting high, you had better look up a few articles online too.

ok, cheers for the advice, Ill try to get those manuals asap.
would the academic commentary be in the books or do you know any sites that are good for this?

Procrastastudy

At GCD it works like this (this is undergrad LLB though)

Notes - Spoon fed handouts from each lecture - just add a few lines on stuff you don't understand and gets explained in lectures.

FE1 / KI Manuals - great as a condensed set of notes in a book you (hopefully) wont lose and a fantastic 'quick reference'. Usually goes beyond what you need so you don't need to read them cover to cover just the relevant chapters.

Text Books - usually one core text for each subject sometimes two (Land Law is a good example De Londras for the read on the bog easy to take in and Wylie for the heavier stuff). Sometimes a book will also have case materials in - an example being that Big white thing for Criminal Law by three authors I can remember the names of. There are numerous other books but sometimes you just need a few pages / a chapter - this is what photocopying is for.

Online - You will get articles of Westlaw and various other sources as well as cases in their entirety. You don't really need to be reading full cases unless they are a seminal case for example - Campus Oil or particularly funny - anything by Denning.

If you need more reading after that lot...

In short I wouldn't buy books beyond manuals - there are plenty of articles for academic commentary. You can just use your time at college to read the books when you can.

homeless student

Procrastastudy wrote: »

At GCD it works like this (this is undergrad LLB though)

Notes - Spoon fed handouts from each lecture - just add a few lines on stuff you don't understand and gets explained in lectures.

FE1 / KI Manuals - great as a condensed set of notes in a book you (hopefully) wont lose and a fantastic 'quick reference'. Usually goes beyond what you need so you don't need to read them cover to cover just the relevant chapters.

Text Books - usually one core text for each subject sometimes two (Land Law is a good example De Londras for the read on the bog easy to take in and Wylie for the heavier stuff). Sometimes a book will also have case materials in - an example being that Big white thing for Criminal Law by three authors I can remember the names of. There are numerous other books but sometimes you just need a few pages / a chapter - this is what photocopying is for.

Online - You will get articles of Westlaw and various other sources as well as cases in their entirety. You don't really need to be reading full cases unless they are a seminal case for example - Campus Oil or particularly funny - anything by Denning.

If you need more reading after that lot...

In short I wouldn't buy books beyond manuals - there are plenty of articles for academic commentary. You can just use your time at college to read the books when you can.

Thanks for the detailed info, its very helpful.
any thoughts on this question I asked before on here but got no reply.

hi, any advise for me on what subjects to pick, i am doing criminal law and property law but what other 3 subjects would you advise me to pick?which ones did you find interesting or even just the easiest ones.i probably wont do the fe1s but will use the pg dip as an extra qualification to add to my
degree.

contract law
company law
constitutional law
law and society
torts
equity
Eu law

Procrastastudy

contract law - easy peasey - quite interesting
company law - not done
constitutional law - very interesting but heavy going.
law and society - what now?
torts - interesting but can get complicated
equity - very very interesting in my view. Completely different side to the law
Eu law - not done.

homeless student

Procrastastudy wrote: »

contract law - easy peasey - quite interesting
company law - not done
constitutional law - very interesting but heavy going.
law and society - what now?
torts - interesting but can get complicated
equity - very very interesting in my view. Completely different side to the law
Eu law - not done.

cool, think I will do contract and company, touched on them before with my undergrad and equity.
not sure what law and society is like, its on fridays at like 4 and I think there is only 2 people doing it.

Procrastastudy

homeless student wrote: »

cool, think I will do contract and company, touched on them before with my undergrad and equity.
not sure what law and society is like, its on fridays at like 4 and I think there is only 2 people doing it.

Equity is injunctions, trusts and the law that comes from the old chancery courts. Do that imho.

homeless student

Procrastastudy wrote: »

Equity is injunctions, trusts and the law that comes from the old chancery courts. Do that imho.

will do. sounds like something id be into.

Procrastastudy

homeless student wrote: »

will do. sounds like something id be into.

Oh and if you're doing property law they will overlap which means less work

homeless student

Procrastastudy wrote: »

Oh and if you're doing property law they will overlap which means less work

sounds like something id also be into;)

chops018

Procrastastudy wrote: »

Oh and if you're doing property law they will overlap which means less work

More of an overlap of Equity with Contract I would say, especially the remedies (probably mostly the remedies).

Procrastastudy wrote: »

contract law - easy peasey - quite interesting

Not so easy in the professional exams. Probably seen as one of the harder ones now I think. But I suppose during my undergrad I did find it fairly easily. A lot of it seems straightforward but there is some complicated parts to it - privity being one, but you should be able to get your head around these things.

Procrastastudy wrote: »

equity - very very interesting in my view. Completely different side to the law

I'd also recommend Equity. Brilliant subject.

homeless student

do you think contract law would be ok in the postgrad exams?

looking forward to doing equity now.

chops018

homeless student wrote: »

do you think contract law would be ok in the postgrad exams?

looking forward to doing equity now.

I can't be sure to be honest. My LL.M wasn't on Contract Law so I can only go on my undergrad and the professional exams. It was a straightforward subject in undergrad, and I can't see the PG Dip being too bad either as it seems more so like a course for those who didn't do law during their undergrad, I'll stand corrected if I'm wrong as that is only speculation. The professional Contract exam can be a nightmare though, huge difference to the undergrad exams.

Don't be scared at the start of Equity, it may seem extremely confusing but take it all in and go over things a few times if you have to. Once you get your head around it you will love it.

homeless student

chops018 wrote: »

I can't be sure to be honest. My LL.M wasn't on Contract Law so I can only go on my undergrad and the professional exams. It was a straightforward subject in undergrad, and I can't see the PG Dip being too bad either as it seems more so like a course for those who didn't do law during their undergrad, I'll stand corrected if I'm wrong as that is only speculation. The professional Contract exam can be a nightmare though, huge difference to the undergrad exams.

Don't be scared at the start of Equity, it may seem extremely confusing but take it all in and go over things a few times if you have to. Once you get your head around it you will love it.

ya id say your right that the pg dip is similar to law undergrad, iv done a bit of law in my undergrad and it seems similar so it should be ok hopefully.
Torts is a subject iv heard a lot of people saying they have no idea what its about yet.

Procrastastudy

homeless student wrote: »

ya id say your right that the pg dip is similar to law undergrad, iv done a bit of law in my undergrad and it seems similar so it should be ok hopefully.
Torts is a subject iv heard a lot of people saying they have no idea what its about yet.

Tort is negligence, nuisance etc. It's a body of law that regulates our interaction between people we have no existing relationship with. So if you fail to pay for the car you have bought - that's contract and you have a relationship with the dealer. The Granny crossing the pedestrian crossing you mow down, you most likely have never met before - that's Tort.

I quite liked Tort - especially when you get to passing off and you do the Debbie does Dallas case :P (Dallas Cowboys v Pussycat Cinema IIRC)

homeless student

Procrastastudy wrote: »

Tort is negligence, nuisance etc. It's a body of law that regulates our interaction between people we have no existing relationship with. So if you fail to pay for the car you have bought - that's contract and you have a relationship with the dealer. The Granny crossing the pedestrian crossing you mow down, you most likely have never met before - that's Tort.

I quite liked Tort - especially when you get to passing off and you do the Debbie does Dallas case :P (Dallas Cowboys v Pussycat Cinema IIRC)

sounds like a part of law iv done before, might do law and society instead.

homeless student

Anyone got any opinions on law tutorials? are they necessary or could they be given a miss? think there is only 6 a year but iv often gone to lectures before that I later realised was a waste of time, I tend to learn beter on my own like I have often attended lectures for a year and may aswel of been at a gig or something because I wasnt paying attention, just took the notes and learned it then 2 or 3 weeksbefore the exams myself at home.

Procrastastudy

homeless student wrote: »

Anyone got any opinions on law tutorials? are they necessary or could they be given a miss? think there is only 6 a year but iv often gone to lectures before that I later realised was a waste of time, I tend to learn beter on my own like I have often attended lectures for a year and may aswel of been at a gig or something because I wasnt paying attention, just took the notes and learned it then 2 or 3 weeksbefore the exams myself at home.

People say that a lot about tutorials - I've found many benefits for people that can read between the lines at GCD but maybe its different at DIT. Personally if I get bored I just open the book and start reading. A bit rude? Well yes but then I'm paying €6200 a year to be here so I think I'm allowed a bit of slack!