Law Conversion LLM

Course in brief

Our Law Conversion LLM is recognised as a qualifying law masters-level degree. It will 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.

Our one-year Masters in Law satisfies all the Common Professional Exam (CPE) requirements of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board, enabling 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.

Classes are taught in small groups of exclusively postgraduate law students by enthusiastic, expert lecturers who are committed to research and teaching excellence.

Key facts

Location Brighton: Moulsecoomb

Full-time 1 year

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

Applying for this course
Students apply through the Central Applications Board. Find out more in the entry criteria section further down this page.

Book your open day place

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course if you wish to begin studying with us in 2018. They should be used as a general guide.

We operate a flexible admissions policy – this means that you could receive a lower conditional offer than the typical offer, informed by our assessment of your complementary non-academic achievements and experiences. For courses that require interview or portfolio review, this may also be considered in the level of any conditional offer that follows if your application is successful.

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

1. 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).

2. 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.

For non-native speakers of English
If English is not your first language, you will need English language proficiency equivalent to IELTS minimum 6.5 overall with 6.0 in the written test and a minimum of 5.5 in the other elements.

International students whose language skills do not match the IELTS scores set out here should consider applying for this course through the Extended Masters programme at the university's Language Institute.

International equivalencies

International equivalencies by country

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 institute

For English language preparation courses.

Visit our International College

For academic preparation courses.

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 642162 or contact the Central Applications Board at GDL@lawcabs.ac.uk.

Course in detail

Course structure

This course is taught full-time with two days a week on campus. Students are expected to devote 20 hours a week to study outside class time.

Before you start this course, you need to complete a programme of preliminary reading. The programme begins in September with a module on the English legal system, which provides you with the foundation needed to underpin your legal studies.

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

Syllabus

Contract Law
The rules relating to the formation, operation a Savend 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.

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.

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.

Claire-Michelle Smyth

Dr Claire-Michelle Smyth, LLM, is your course leader. Claire-Michelle graduated with a PhD from Queens University Belfast where her research centred on social and economic rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Claire-Michelle’s main interests are in equity and trusts, and human rights law. She has published extensively in this area and regularly attends national and international conferences discussing her research.

Find out more about Claire

Careers and employability

On successful completion of the LLM Law Conversion, you will be awarded a postgraduate diploma in Law and a Masters in Law. The diploma satisfies all the requirements of the Joint Academic Stage Board for completing the academic stage of professional legal training. You can progress onto the Legal Practice Course to become a solicitor, or the Bar Professional Training Course to become a barrister.

The course is also highly relevant to other occupations within the justice sector and those with a significant law aspect, such as consumer, housing and welfare advice work, social work, the prosecution service and the police.

Close links with industry
Brighton Business School has strong links with the local legal profession. You will benefit from guest lectures by local practitioners and judges, as well as sponsorship and placement opportunities. Many of our students now work for local firms.

Career planning from day one
We realise that careful career planning is crucial from the outset of your course, especially for students who wish to practise as a lawyer, where competition can be fierce. You will be able to attend workshops on qualifying as a lawyer and we hold an annual legal careers forum.

Entrepreneurship network
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.

For more information visit beepurple

Mentoring scheme
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.

Solicitors Qualifying Exam

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has announced it will be introducing the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). The earliest date for introduction is September 2020.

The SRA will be providing information and guidance about how to qualify in the new system so keep checking the SRA website.

At the moment, to become a solicitor you need to complete a qualifying law degree (or another degree followed by a Law Common Professional Examination/Postgraduate Diploma in Law) moving on to do the Legal Practice Course (LPC), and then a two-year period of recognised training, usually called a training contract.

The new proposal is that the SQE will consist 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 have confirmed that the SQE will not be in place until 2020 and have proposed that students who begin a qualifying law degree before 2020 will be able to use the old route to qualification.

We’re reviewing the curriculum of our qualifying law courses and will make changes as necessary to provide an integrated approach to preparing students for the SQE.

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Fees and funding

Your fees

UK/Europe (full-time)8,925

International (full-time)13,440 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.

The fees listed here are for the academic year 2018–19.

Location and living here

Location

About Brighton

Forward-thinking and welcoming, the city of Brighton & Hove is a community of creative and diverse people who share values like sustainability and inclusivity – just like its university.

Miles of pebble beaches, hundreds of bars, restaurants and clubs, a packed calendar of culture, music and sport and great independent and high street shopping attract visitors from all over the world. By the end of your course you’ll still be finding new things to enjoy about the city.

The Brighton Festival, England’s largest arts festival, takes place every May – as does the Great Escape Europe’s leading industry showcase for new music, 300 bands perform over three days at venues across the city. Major events celebrate Pride, digital culture, cinema, photography, food and the winter solstice. Our own Brighton Graduate show is a highlight, turning the university into the largest exhibition space in the south east as we celebrate the outstanding creativity of our students.

As a student here you’ll have a unique opportunity to experience what the city has to offer. Volunteering and placement opportunities enable you to play your part in the events, organisations and communities that make Brighton such a compelling place to be.

Campus where this course is taught

Moulsecoomb campus

Two miles north of Brighton seafront, Moulsecoomb is our largest campus. Subjects taught here include architecture, business, computing, construction, engineering, geography, product design, law and pharmacy.

On campus you will find professional-standard facilities including a flight simulator, trading room, design and digital media suites and specialist research laboratories, alongside the library, student centre, a nursery, fitness facilities and Students’ Union. There are excellent public transport links.

The Big Build
A major transformation of our Moulsecoomb campus begins in summer 2018. By summer 2020 there’ll be 400 student bedrooms in new halls of residence (with another 400 by summer 2021), a new academic building and a new Students’ Union and fitness facilities – all created with sustainability, inclusivity and community in mind.

As the development grows it will provide many exciting learning opportunities for our students, ranging from live projects, placements and internships with the companies involved to guest lectures and site visits.

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Accommodation

Brighton

Our Brighton halls of residence are located across the city in Grand Parade, Moulsecoomb, Varley Park and Falmer.

Grand Parade is in central Brighton and has one hall of residence, Phoenix Brewery, within walking distance.
Moulsecoomb is two miles from the city centre and also has one hall of residence, Moulsecoomb Place, on campus.
Varley Park offers the biggest choice of student accommodation with ten halls of residence.
Falmer campus has two halls of residence: Great Wilkins and Paddock Field.
Varley Park and Falmer are around four miles from Brighton centre; there are good public transport services nearby.

Aside from halls, you have the option of Unihomes, which we let out to our students on behalf of private landlords. We recommend Unihomes and House Share when you’re balancing learning with placements, shifts and other commitments, because they give you more choice and flexibility.

You can also choose to join the many students who live away from campus in private rented accommodation. We have a list of high-quality, university-endorsed private sector accommodation and can help you find housemates to move in with.

Find out more on our accommodation webpages and if you have any questions, our accommodation team will be happy to help. You can contact them by email at accommodation@brighton.ac.uk or by telephone on 01273 644100.

Paddock Field