Law

Law is an integral part of politics, economics, business and civil obedience, making a postgraduate course in law the perfect avenue to a career in numerous disciplines. The path to practising law, however, can be a long and arduous one with many years training before you become established.

Many who take a postgraduate course in Law do it as a preparatory course for the Law Society examinations (or the FE1s as they are commonly known). However, a postgraduate qualification can not only be used to facilitate a career as a solicitor or barrister, but will also compliment your degree to give you an edge in your particular field

All universities and many colleges offer comprehensive postgraduate law programmes for people with both, law and non-law degrees. Many law graduates look to extend their knowledge into a specific area of law which interests them, while gaining further qualifications.

University of Limerick’s School of Law offers several LLM’s (Masters in Law) programmes such as a the LLM in International Commercial Law, Human Rights in Criminal justice and a LLM in General Law.

One course of topical interest, considering the continuing controversy around the Lisbon Treaty, is Limericks LLM in European and Comparative Law.

Course Director, Professor Dermot Walsh, describes it as ‘one of the most distinctive law masters programmes offered in these islands at the moment.’

‘It offers a study of core law subjects in common law jurisdictions and civil law jurisdictions from a comparative perspective,’ Mr Walsh explained.

With case studies focusing mainly on France, Germany and the those of the UK, the students acquire a substantive knowledge of the history, development and functioning of the common law and civil law methods and how they compare and contrast. Areas covered include public law, property law, contract/tort law, criminal law and competition law. It also examines the extent the laws and legal systems in these jurisdictions are converging under the influence of the EU.

‘A distinctive feature of the programme is that it was designed as a cohesive package in the sense that the individual modules all relate to and build on each other. So the whole is greater than the sum total of its individual parts,’ Mr Walsh says.
 
It is an intensive programme encompassing eight modules and a dissertation, which can be taken over one year (full-time) or two years (part-time).
  
NUI Galway also has a vibrant law school with postgraduate courses ranging from a LLM in Public Law to a LLM in International Criminal Law. These courses provide postgraduates who already have a primary degree in law with more expertise in a specialised area.

NUIG also offer a postgraduate LLB Degree which gives an excellent basis in general law for those with a non-law degree and for those whose primary degree is in a specialised area of law.

The course contains all the subjects required for the FE1s, while also setting the platform for careers in a wide variety of areas such as business, the media and social work.

Veronica Walsh, who graduated in 2006, says she is happy she did the LLB because it ‘generalised’ her initial law degree and prepared her for The Law Society exams.

‘I already had a degree in Corporate Law so had covered many of the subjects already in the LLB,’ Veronica explained. ‘I picked subjects relative to the Blackhall entrance exams and other subjects that were interesting, there is a huge range of subjects you can pick from.’

‘There are always going to be core legal subjects you’ll  need to know for practice but there are other subjects that are way more interesting and are a bit more specific,’ says Veronica.

The basic requirement for entry to the LLB programme is a university degree or equivalent. For those with a non-law degree the course takes three to four years, while those with a law degree proceed directly into the final year.

‘It’s a good degree and was definitely worthwhile for me because it only took a year and there weren’t many hours of classes a week, and now means I’ve two law degrees,’ Veronica concluded.

If your sole interest is in taking the FE1s then there is the option of preparatory courses, such as those provided at Griffith College, which take students through the core subjects required. These are specifically designed to prepare students for the FE1’s and ideal if you want a quicker route with a more intense approach in a shorter timeframe.

Equally, a route through one of the numerous colleges offering postgraduate courses around the country will prepare you too, but with the added bonus of an academic qualification.

DIT in Dublin is a prime example, offering a one year postgraduate Diploma in Law for people with a degree in another discipline but wish to convert to law.
 
Course Director, Dr Fergus Ryan says, ‘We specialise on preparing people for the Law Society exams and although that’s many students intentions, we also provide a sufficient amount of law to accompany your primary degree.’

‘We generally focus on human rights, family law, immigration and refugee law rather than business, so it’s ideally suited for people with a social science background,’ Mr Ryan continued.

‘If you have an economics degree a postgraduate in law gives you a very significant edge in what is a very difficult market,’ says Mr Ryan. ‘A legal qualification gives you a certain level of gravitas and shows people that additional to the skills you bring with you from your degree, you also have your legal skills that are transferable to a wide range of disciplines.’

Mr Ryan sums up by saying that a postgraduate is an ideal qualification to have for any walk of life because having a knowledge of how the legal regulatory system works will stand to you in any context, and will give you an edge in the market that is very necessary in these more straitened times. He also recommends students should think carefully at their own learning style and what suits them.
‘Different courses suit different people, some may want the very intense learning experience and some may want the more college based and academic slightly deeper learning process.’