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Interior of a legal court with two long curved desks facing each other

Law Conversion LLM

  • Intro
  • Course
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  • Careers
  • Entry
    criteria
  • Fees
  • Location and
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Intro

Our postgraduate qualifying law courses expand the knowledge of those working in the justice, social and consumer sectors, as well as supporting a move to a career as a barrister or solicitor.

Recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the bar Standards Board, this course enables graduates in non-law related studies to convert to a career in law.

Experienced lecturers will support you through this practice-led, skills-based course, integrating guest talks from local practitioners and judges.

Extracurricular activities, such as mooting, client interviewing and pro bono work, allow you to develop practical skills in legal research, problem-solving, critical analysis and communication.

The SRA have introduced the new Solicitors Qualification Examination (SQE), which replaced the existing Legal Practice Course from 1 September 2021. There's more information on this change in the Solicitors Qualification Exam section below.

Find out about postgraduate events

Key facts

Location Brighton: Moulsecoomb

Full-time 1 year
Part-time 2 years

This course is recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board

Both part-time and full-time routes are eligible for the UK Government's postgraduate loan

Applying for this course – full-time
Full-time students apply through the Central Applications Board. Find out more in the entry criteria section further down this page

Applying for this course – part-time
Part-time students can apply direct to the university. See link below to apply

Apply online

Please review the entry requirements carefully and if you have any questions do get in touch with us.

Apply now for your place

Course content

Course structure

This course is taught full-time (two days a week)  or part-time (one day a week).

Teaching methods include lectures, seminars and workshops. You will be assessed through coursework and exams.

Students applying for this course should be aware that teaching starts second week in September with the module the Legal System, Method and Skills which will provide you with the knowledge and skills needed to embark on the remainder of your legal studies.

Students talking in the front of a lecture room

Syllabus 

You will compete the following core modules on your course:

Contract Law
The rules relating to the formation, operation and termination of contracts, including the remedies available to the parties and the doctrine of privity of contract; an outline of the law of restitution. 

Criminal Law
The general foundations of criminal liability and defences; the major criminal offences (eg homicide, non-fatal offences against the person, theft) and their constituent elements. 

Equity and Trusts
The relationship between equity and the common law; types of trust, the role of trustees and consequences of a breach of trust; nature and scope of equitable rights and equitable remedies. 

Land Law
The foundation concepts of land law; the relationship between the common law and equitable rights; the scope, nature and effect of estates and interests in land; registered and unregistered conveyancing; co-ownership; the essentials of landlord and tenant. 

Law of Torts
The foundations of tortious liability, including vicarious and joint liability and remedies in respect of torts; the principal torts (eg negligence, trespass, nuisance, defamation) and their constituent elements. 

Legal System, Method and Skills
Sources, personnel and structure of the English legal system; civil and criminal process; access to justice; the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the English legal system. 

Public Law
Constitutional legal principles; the basic features and characteristics of the UK's constitution; civil liberties; administrative law, including judicial review.

Dissertation
The final project involves researching for and writing a 15,000-word dissertation on an area of law that you are particularly interested in. Recent topics have included:

  • ancillary relief
  • assisted suicide
  • breach of duty in medical negligence
  • commercial surrogacy
  • domestic violence
  • European copyright in relation to online copyright protection 
  • legal issues in biomedicine - human embryo research and gene therapy
  • repossession orders and
  • the duty of care owed to mentally ill prisoners.

And a choice of one of the following:

European Union Law
The constitutional framework of the EU; the implementation and enforcement of EU law (including the free movement of workers, competition law, consumer protection law); the relationship between EU law and national law. 

SQE1 Prep
Delivered in partnership with BARBRI, this online module will help to prepare you to take the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam 1. The SQE1 computer-based exam is required if you wish to progress to becoming a qualified solicitor, and has been designed to test your legal knowledge using multiple-choice questions – a specific skill that requires practice and expertise.

Law books on a book shelf

Practical legal experience

Essentially learning by doing, our clinical legal education programme will provide you with many opportunities to apply the law in practical situations through projects and working within our pro-bono University of Brighton Legal Clinic.

Many of our initiatives also fulfil SQE qualifying work experience requirements.

CLOCK Legal Companion Scheme
The university is part of the CLOCK Time for Justice scheme. Students volunteer in the Brighton Family and County courts and assist litigants in person by accompanying them into hearings; helping them to fill in court forms and signposting to our legal and charitable partners.

As well as enabling you to gain unique court experience, you will develop essential skills through assisting clients on many issues and build on links with local law firms.

Negotiating
Negotiation is a key lawyer skill – many legal disputes do not end up in the courts, but instead are resolved by some form of negotiated agreement. Our negotiation programme is an opportunity to prepare for a negotiation, and to apply and practise your negotiation skills.

The programme is sponsored by solicitors’ firms who judge the final competition and the top teams go on to represent the University of Brighton at the national negotiation competition sponsored by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution.

Client interviewing
Our client interviewing skills programme enables students to develop the essential skill of interviewing clients, a key component of legal work. The programme culminates in an internal competition, sponsored by a local law firm, and the winning students proceed to represent the university in the national Law Society competition.

In 2016, two of our Law with Business students, Fionnuala Richardson and Chloe Chatton, won the national competition and went on to represent England and Wales in the international competition in Canada, finishing third in the world.

University of Brighton Legal Clinic
Participate in the client-facing commercial and employment law pro bono law clinic offering free legal advice to small businesses and employees and assisting charities and not-for-profit organisations with their legal matters.

Learning support 

Our supportive learning environment includes an induction programme and specialist diagnostic tools to assess your learning strengths and needs. You will also be assigned an academic supervisor to support you in your project work. We also provide free language and support services throughout for international students.

Online learning tools and libraries also ensure academic journals, e-books, business articles and other resources are available to you 24/7, both for use at the university and at home.

You will also have access to our Careers Service, including CV checking, mock interviews and advice on setting up your own business. Read more on our careers service website.

Facilities

You will have access to online legal research services, such as Westlaw, Lawtel, LexisNexis Butterworths and HeinOnline. These online resources can be accessed on and off campus.

We also have an outstanding library which houses the tools of the lawyers' trade: primary sources of law such as statutes and cases, and secondary sources such as books, periodicals and journals.

Other student support services include the university's careers centre, welfare service, a counselling service and chaplaincy.

Magazines on a table

Student Law Society

The Student Law Society is a thriving community of over 150 law students. With support from the Students’ Union, it organises an exciting schedule of social and educational events.

Members have recently enjoyed visits to Lewes Crown Court, Brighton Magistrates Court and the Houses of Parliament. Social events have included paintballing, go-karting, surfing, a Christmas Ball at the Brighton Hilton Metropole, and a trip with law students from other universities to Amsterdam.

Through initiatives such as these, the society provides excellent opportunities for personal development and for networking with other students interested in a career in law.

Law students giving a group presentation

Careers

Career prospects

You will be in a good position to embark on a legal career upon graduating, but good communication, problem-solving, analytical and research skills developed during your law degree are also relevant to many careers such as banking, insurance and Civil Service.

The good communication, problem-solving, analytical and research skills developed during your law degree are needed not only by the legal profession but also are relevant to many alternative careers. Graduates may seek careers in areas such as banking, insurance and Civil Service.

This course is recognised as a qualifying law course, you will be able to progress directly to the vocational stage of training to become a barrister. If you want to become a solicitor, this course also offer you many opportunities to contribute to the necessary Qualifying Work Experience requirements needed to qualify as a solicitor on the new SQE route, as well as preparation for the SQE1 exam.

The School of Business and Law has strong links with the local legal profession and encourages you to complete vacation placements with solicitors’ firms, mini pupillages with barristers’ chambers and internships with other institutions.

Recent Law graduates have joined companies in roles such as:

  • Alpha Shindara Legal, Legal Secretary
  • Aston Bond, Solicitor
  • Bennett Griffin, Trainee Solicitor
  • Bernard Chill & Axtell Solicitors, Trainee Solicitor
  • Blake Morgan LLP, Litigation Paralegal
  • BlueBay Asset Management, Compliance Intern
  • Carmelite Chambers, Barrister
  • Financial Ombudsman Service, Adjudicator
  • Fox William, Trainee Solicitor
  • G2 Legal, Junior Consultant
  • Howlett Clarke, Legal Assistant
  • Mayo Wynne Baxter, Paralegal
  • Nationwide, Fraud Analyst
  • Turpin Miller, Solicitor

Other successful graduates can also pursue careers in occupations within the justice sector, the prosecution service, the police and social services.

Bar Standards Board logo

Solicitors Regulation Authority logo

Careers advice

Our careers service provides help and advice from the very start of your studies, on subjects including careers counselling sessions, CV checking, mock interviews and advice on setting up your own business. 

Mentoring – Momentum is our award-winning mentoring scheme. It pairs students with professionals who wish to share their experience. Students and their mentors meet regularly to exchange ideas. The scheme helps students to develop new skills and enhance their career prospects.

Students at Placement Fair

Starting your own business

Beepurple is the university’s entrepreneurship support network. They offer free support for any student or graduate with their business ideas, freelance plan or social enterprise project.

Beepurple run events throughout the academic year, designed to equip you with skills that will improve your employability and help you grow a successful business.

By taking part in beepurple activities, you will meet like-minded people, hear how other recent graduates have set up their own businesses and gain key enterprise skills that will help you stand out from the crowd.

Beepurple logo

Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE)

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has changed the way in which you qualify to become a solicitor.

Under the new route, from September 2021, students need to pass the SQE and complete a minimum of two years’ qualifying work experience at a maximum of four organisations (paid or voluntary) before they can qualify as a solicitor. If you accepted your offer before 31 August 2021, you will be able to choose which qualifying route you would like to take.

The SQE will be computer-based multiple choice exams consisting of two parts; part one assessing legal knowledge, research and writing and the second part testing practical skills gained after completing a recognised period of training.

The SRA will be providing information and guidance about how to qualify in the new system so keep checking the SRA website. We continually review the curriculum of our law courses and make changes as necessary to provide an integrated approach to preparing students for the SQE.

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Entry criteria

Entry requirements

Degree and experience
Students applying for this course must fall into one of the following two categories:

  • You must have obtained a good honours degree awarded by a recognised UK or Republic of Ireland institution (at least 2:2 standard if you want to qualify as a barrister).
  • Applicants with non-standard UK degrees or qualifications obtained overseas may need to obtain a Certificate of Academic Standing. Prospective barristers should obtain the certificate from the Bar Standards Board.

English language requirements
IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each element. Find out more about the other English qualifications that we accept.

International students whose language skills do not match the IELTS scores set out here should consider applying for this course through our Extended Masters programme.

International requirements and visas

International requirements by country
Country name
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Bermuda
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burma (Myanmar)
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guyana
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malawi
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian National Authority
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Syria
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visit our language centre

For English language preparation courses.

Visit our International College

For degree preparation courses.

Visas and immigration advice

Applying for a student visa

Check out our step-by-step guidance.

How to apply 

Applying for the full-time course

You should apply for the full-time course through the Central Applications Board. For details, see www.lawcabs.ac.uk. Note that the Central Applications Board refer to this course as the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL). If you have any queries regarding applications for the full-time course, please call 01273 642135/ 642599 or contact the Central Applications Board at applications@lawcabs.ac.uk.

Students chatting around a table

Fees

Course fees

UK (full-time)9,700 GBP

International (full-time)14,700 GBP

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

Our LLM Law Conversion course, full-time and part-time, is eligible for the government’s Postgraduate Master’s Loan Scheme.

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included, while studying a course in the School of Business and Law in the 2022–23 academic year are listed here.

  • Students who choose to take an optional placement will have travel and living expenses. The cost of this depends on where and how long your placement is.
  • Textbooks are available from the university library (many as e-books) but you may wish to budget up to £200 to buy your own copies.
  • For the International Tourism Management BSc, International Tourism Management with Marketing BSc, International Event Management BSc, and International Event Management with Marketing BSc, field trips are an optional activity, but we do strongly advise participation as they contribute to the overall experience of studying this degree. The cost for field trips is not included in the tuition fee and must be paid for by students, however please be assured we do try to keep field trip costs to a minimum and don't anticipate the total cost of a few field trips each year to exceed £30. If you would struggle to meet this cost, there is a hardship fund that you may be able to access.

You can chat with our enquiries team if you have a question or need more information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2023–24.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

Location and student life

Campus where this course is taught

Moulsecoomb campus

Two miles north of Brighton seafront, Moulsecoomb is our largest campus and student village. Moulsecoomb has been transformed by a recent development of our estate. On campus you'll find new Students' Union, events venue, and sports and fitness facilities, alongside the library and student centre.

Over 900 students live here in our halls, Moulsecoomb Place and the new Mithras halls – Brunswick, Goldstone, Hanover, Preston and Regency.

Moulsecoomb has easy access to buses and trains and to all the exciting things happening in our home city.

Two people walking past Mithras halls

Accommodation

Brighton: Moulsecoomb

We guarantee an offer of a place in halls of residence to all eligible students.

Halls of residence
We have self-catered halls on all our campuses, within minutes of your classes, and other options that are very nearby.

You can apply for any of our halls, but the options closest to your study location are:

  • Mithras Halls are stylish new high-rises in the heart of the student village at our revitalised Moulsecoomb campus with ensuite rooms for more than 800 students.
  • Varley Park is a popular dedicated halls site, offering a mix of rooms and bathroom options at different prices.

Want to live independently? We can help – find out more about private renting.

Relaxing in halls

Modern accommodation at Moulsecoomb

Mithras halls room with a view

Relaxing in halls near the campus

Student Union social space

Student Union social space at Moulsecoomb

Local area

About Brighton

The city of Brighton & Hove is a forward-thinking place which leads the way in the arts, technology, sustainability and creativity. You'll find living here plays a key role in your learning experience.

Brighton is a leading centre for creative media technology, recently named the startup capital of the UK.

The city is home to a national 5G testbed and over 1,000 tech businesses. The digital sector is worth over £1bn a year to the local economy - as much as tourism.

All of our full-time undergraduate courses involve work-based learning - this could be through placements, live briefs and guest lectures. Many of these opportunities are provided by local businesses and organisations.

It's only 50 minutes by train from Brighton to central London and less than 40 minutes to Eastbourne. There are also daily direct trains to Bristol, Bedford, Cambridge, Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth and Southampton.

Map showing distance to London from Brighton
Brighton Beach sunset

Maps

Moulsecoomb campus map

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Support and wellbeing

Your course team

Your personal academic tutor, course leader and other tutors are all there to help you with your personal and academic progress. You'll also have a student support and guidance tutor (SSGT) who can help with everything from homesickness, managing stress or accommodation issues.

Your academic skills

Our Brighton Student Skills Hub gives you extra support and resources to develop the skills you'll need for university study, whatever your level of experience so far.

Your mental health and wellbeing

As well as being supported to succeed, we want you to feel good too. You'll be part of a community that builds you up, with lots of ways to connect with one another, as well having access to dedicated experts if you need them. Find out more.

Students talking in a social area

Sport at Brighton

Sport Brighton

Sport Brighton brings together our sport and recreation services. As a Brighton student you'll have use of sport and fitness facilities across all our campuses and there are opportunities to play for fun, fitness or take part in serious competition. 

Find out more about Sport Brighton.

Sports scholarships

Our sports scholarship scheme is designed to help students develop their full sporting potential to train and compete at the highest level. We offer scholarships for elite athletes, elite disabled athletes and talented sports performers.

Find out more about sport scholarships.

Students playing frisbee

Stay in touch

Find out about postgraduate events

School of Business and Law
01273 642162
SBL-office@brighton.ac.uk

Find out more about what students do at School of Business and Law by subscribing to our blog.

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