Legal Studies undergraduate course

SdoowSirhc

Hey guys I won't be off to uni for at least 3 years but I'm always looking at courses... Yeah, I don't know why either :rolleyes:

Anyway, I was thinking that a career in law was a good way to go in life and it would be an interesting career maybe. So I was checking out the various law courses in the universities on their own websites and I spotted this one on NUIG's site (it's probably on other sites too.. )

It says a minimum of 340 points was needed and that it could lead to studying at the Law Society to qualify as a solicitor. To me it seems a bit too good to be true really. So I was hoping if somebody involved in the course or somebody doing it could explain what the content of the course is. Is it a run of the mill BA course or what? I didn't think an Arts course was what is needed for law training. And.. (last question ) after you receive a BA in this (and another subject(?)) are you able to go straight to the Law Society to qualify as a solicitor?

Hope somebody can enlighten me Thanks

BhoscaCapall

Points only indicate how popular the course is compared to the number of places available, it's a ridiculous system for entry IMO. Plenty of people who do Business Information System for example are only on it because they didn't get the points for Commerce, even though it is a harder and much more valuable degree.

The rate of employment for Law graduates is criminally (whayy) low. Also, the few lawyers I do know (one of them a high ranking one) didn't do anything Law related at all for undergrad.

Of course these shouldn't be the only things that you consider, if you're interested then go for it. You'll probably change your mind before crunch time anyway. Three years? I dunno what I'm doing next weekend.

SdoowSirhc

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

Points only indicate how popular the course is compared to the number of places available, it's a ridiculous system for entry IMO. Plenty of people who do Business Information System for example are only on it because they didn't get the points for Commerce, even though it is a harder and much more valuable degree.

The rate of employment for Law graduates is criminally (whayy) low. Also, the few lawyers I do know (one of them a high ranking one) didn't do anything Law related at all for undergrad.

Of course these shouldn't be the only things that you consider, if you're interested then go for it. You'll probably change your mind before crunch time anyway. Three years? I dunno what I'm doing next weekend.

I agree about the points system, it's a bit ridiculous IMO. I heard that you don't really need a law undergrad for your postgrad but I think I would rather have it anyway so I would be better educated in that field.

Lol, I know it's ages away but when I get bored the internet pulls me onto the weirdest places and one of them was NUIG :P Heard it was a good college and nice people and all that too. But the reason I asked the OP was that 340 points for legal studies and french/history or whatever seems really low points compared to a law undergrad Personally I'd like to be able to study two areas. I probably shouldn't be even thinking about this yet..

Lockstep

Points don't really come into it too much: I got more than enough points for law and went into legal studies as I wanted to do history :pac:

Legal studies is a great option for going into law if you're worried about points or want to combine with an arts subject like politics, economics or philosophy. It's quite common for someone to have scraped through their leaving cert with 350 points or so only to find they are really good at legal studies. Although legal studies is still law so you'll be expected to read a lot: it's hard work.

Basically, you spend 3 years doing law subjects that are the same as those studying law: I did contract, constitutional, tort, company, EU and criminal law as compulsory subjects during my B.A. There's also optional subjects like MEdia Law, human rights, law of the sea and health law.
You don't strictly need a law degree to become a solicitor (any degree will do) but you'd have a tough time doing the exams without any legal training so it's a good degree to do.

If you pass the BA, you are automatically eligible for NUIG's LLB course which is a proper law qualification. Normally this takes 3 years to complete but as a Legal Studies graduate, you can complete it in 1 year.
This basically allows you to finish off your legal education with subjects like land, equity, Admin etc along with more exotic subjects like International Law, Jurisprudence and IT law. You can also do a research project on any area you choose which is really handy. I loved military law so did a great one with the Human Rights Centre. The LLB covers all the subjects you need to become either a solicitor or barrister.

You can also study abroad in your 3rd year (turning it into a 4 year degree) giving you a BA International. Where you go depends on your interests. I've a huge interest in European law so I went to Leuven in Belgium but there's a lot of other options across Europe and some places in the USA and Canada (although law students were ineligible for them when I did my BA, it might have changed since then)


I completed the BA in 2011 and am just after completing the LLB so I can answer any questions you have.

SdoowSirhc

Lockstep wrote: »

Points don't really come into it too much: I got more than enough points for law and went into legal studies as I wanted to do history :pac:

Legal studies is a great option for going into law if you're worried about points or want to combine with an arts subject like politics, economics or philosophy. It's quite common for someone to have scraped through their leaving cert with 350 points or so only to find they are really good at legal studies. Although legal studies is still law so you'll be expected to read a lot: it's hard work.

Basically, you spend 3 years doing law subjects that are the same as those studying law: I did contract, constitutional, tort, company, EU and criminal law as compulsory subjects during my B.A. There's also optional subjects like MEdia Law, human rights, law of the sea and health law.
You don't strictly need a law degree to become a solicitor (any degree will do) but you'd have a tough time doing the exams without any legal training so it's a good degree to do.

If you pass the BA, you are automatically eligible for NUIG's LLB course which is a proper law qualification. Normally this takes 3 years to complete but as a Legal Studies graduate, you can complete it in 1 year.
This basically allows you to finish off your legal education with subjects like land, equity, Admin etc along with more exotic subjects like International Law, Jurisprudence and IT law. You can also do a research project on any area you choose which is really handy. I loved military law so did a great one with the Human Rights Centre. The LLB covers all the subjects you need to become either a solicitor or barrister.

You can also study abroad in your 3rd year (turning it into a 4 year degree) giving you a BA International. Where you go depends on your interests. I've a huge interest in European law so I went to Leuven in Belgium but there's a lot of other options across Europe and some places in the USA and Canada (although law students were ineligible for them when I did my BA, it might have changed since then)


I completed the BA in 2011 and am just after completing the LLB so I can answer any questions you have.

Wow, thanks for such a great reply. I honestly believe that I will be getting enough points for law but I want to do history or french as well, I love those subjects in school :P I looked at the LLB too and I would look into doing that too. What was the year in Belgium like? Whats the story with that? :P Was it thought or research work? I hadn't heard of doing Erasmus law, I was thinking I could go to France for French if I chose it.

You mentioned you did work with the Human Rights Centre. What was that like? I know it's not exactly a practical idea but I would love to get work with a NGO in a developing country for a year are so(not law related), even if it was voluntary after college so I think doing something with Human Rights would be great.

How was the course and LLB for you? Di you find it difficult or easy enough. TBH I would like a course that was challenging and required lots of work/research but not exactly over powering..

Thanks

Lockstep

I definitely recommend the BA/LLB. Different approaches suit different people, but for me, studying law alongside history was ideal. In Arts, you basically pick 4 subjects in first year (including legal studies) and keep on 2: history and legal studies in my case. Only the top 100 students are kept on in Legal Studies after first year but if you pass the BA, progression to the LLB is automatic unless you opt out.

NUIM also offer a Law with arts combo if it interests you.

Law with French is a very good mix, you can do it pretty much anywhere, and don't need to do it through Arts: Law with French is available in NUIG as a BCL (no need to do the LLB year)
Regardless of whether you a BA or BCL, if you're doing French, you'll be doing Erasmus where you study in France or Belgium for a year to get some practical experience. I went to the Dutch speaking part of Belgium as I could study through English (I didn't do it with a language) so I studied European law at a Belgian university. It's all taught and through English but it'd be different if you're studying French and you'd be expected to do a fair amount through French.

The LLB allows you to do an independent research project. Basically this is where you voluntarily do an extended essay (5000 words and upwards) on any area that you're interested in. The HRC at NUIG has an excellent ex army international lawyer there so I asked him to be my supervisor. It was pretty awesome and he invited me to sit in on his masters classses and brought me to the UN Training School in the Curragh with his class for a seminar. You basically pick an area you want to write on and ask a staff member to supervise it: you get the same credits for it as you would any normal class so if you like writing and dislike exams it's a great option.


LLB was brilliant, as you can choose your own subjects I really enjoyed it as I could study stuff I was interested in like International Law and IT law. You still have to do boring stuff like land law and equity (you need a good legal grounding, including in these areas) but you can supplement it with your own interests.

I'm currently working for an NGO in Washington DC, focussing on the Middle East but I'll be heading to the UK in a month to start a masters in International Law. There's definetly work in human rights (one of my coworkers spent 10 years working for the EU in Palestine as a human rights advisor) but it can be harder as you get older and want to move around less.

SdoowSirhc

Thanks for all the info Lockstep, you explained it waaay better than any website I have seen