LAW DEGREES

Overview

Law has always been one of the sought-after and widely respected degrees to study at university. Our guide has everything you need to know before you apply for entry to this competitive field.
For many, an undergraduate law degree will be the first step along the path to a career in the legal sector, followed by the further study and training needed to become a practicing solicitor or barrister.
However, this is certainly not the only reason to study law at university. For many, the attraction lies in the combination of human interest and intellectual stimulation a law degree will provide.
Choose an undergraduate law degree, and you’ll discover just how wide-ranging the reach of the law is.
Legal studies come into contact with almost every area of human life, touching upon issues relating to business, economics, the environment, human rights, international relations, politics and trade.
As you get further along your course, you should have more opportunities to select your own areas of interest. For example, you could specialize in criminal law, property law or maritime law.
The study of law also provides a framework through which to examine and understand different societies and cultures. For instance, you may be able to focus on Islamic law, or on the laws of the European Union.
As a law student, you should also be prepared to come up against some of the most problematic – indeed often seemingly irresolvable – conflicts and issues in modern society and morality. An interest in philosophy could be helpful here!
Studying at graduate level? See our guide to continuing your legal studies >
Find the world's best universities for law with the QS Rankings by Subject >

Specialization

As you get further along your course, you should have opportunities to select your own areas of interest. Possible law specializations include:

• Criminal
• Property
• Business
• Patent
• Employment
• Insurance
• Tax
• Civil
• Family

You may also have the option to specialize in particular cultures or regions. So, for example, you might focus on Islamic law, or the laws of the European Union.

Career Options

As you’d expect, many law graduates go on to pursue careers in the legal sector. This usually requires further study and training, which varies in different countries. Popular roles for law graduates include:

• Barristers – specialize in representing clients in court
• Solicitors – provide legal advice on a wide range of subjects, including property transactions, wills, divorce and child custody, compensation claims and business contracts

Company secretaries – employed by a business to ensure the company complies with relevant legislation

As with medicine, the path to becoming a legal professional varies in different parts of the world, and qualifications are not always immediately transferable between different countries.

In England and Wales, those who wish to become solicitors must take the one-year Legal Practice Course (LPC), and then complete a two-year placement as a trainee solicitor.

In the US, law is – like medicine – taught mainly as a postgraduate subject. This means it’s necessary to complete a four-year undergraduate degree first – not necessarily majoring in law – and then apply for a place at a graduate law school.

This usually means taking the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).

However, you certainly don’t have to become a lawyer after studying law at university. Like other social science subjects, a law degree can be good preparation for a range of different career paths.

This could include roles in business and management, journalism, think tanks, politics and the civil service.

It can be helpful, when choosing a degree, to have an idea of the kind of career sector you’re interested in – but don’t worry if you’re still not sure.

If you’re considering studying law, it’s more important to ensure you have a genuine interest in the subject, and that you’re prepared for the academic challenges ahead.

Career benefits of a Masters in Law >

Key Skills

As well as preparing you for a professional career in law, a degree in this subject should provide the following transferable skills:

• General IT skills

• General research skills

• Interpersonal skills

• Self-management, including planning and meeting deadlines

• Professional communication, spoken and written

• Ability to understand complex issues from multiple perspectives

• Professional expertise and knowledge, including command of technical language

• Ability to construct and defend an argument persuasively

Find the world's best universities for law with the QS Rankings by Subject >

Law Degree Graduate Careers

Career opportunities for those with a graduate law degree are both prestigious and diverse – and certainly not limited to the courtroom or solicitor's office.

Comedian John Cleese studied for a Cambridge University law degree before creating Monty Python, while US president Barack Obama is now using his Harvard law degree to negotiate international policy.

"To become a lawyer is to take part in shaping the life of a nation and its people," says Wendy Margolis, Director of Communications for the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC).

The role of a lawyer is varied from shaping a nation's future to the slightly more mundane, according to Margolis. "Lawyers may deal with major courtroom cases or minor traffic disputes, complex corporate mergers or straightforward real estate transactions.

"Lawyers work for giant industries, small businesses, government agencies, international organizations, public interest and public policy groups, legal aid offices, and universities - or they work for themselves. They represent the impoverished and the wealthy, the helpless and the powerful."

Graduate study increasingly important

Justin Swinsick, Director of the LLM in International Legal Practice at IE Law School in Madrid, explains the difference between undergraduate and graduate study of law.

"Studying law at a graduate level has become an important step for future attorneys, especially given current market conditions. When most students leave their law faculties with a first degree in law, they leave with only a theoretical understanding. The application and practice of the law are two facets of the profession which are not focused on during the initial study."

Swinsick says that at the graduate level students begin to put statutes, judicial sentences, and code into context. Not only that but they also begin to envisage how the law works at a professional level, rather than just a theoretical one.

"Upon graduation students are much more prepared to enter the practice of law. As such, the learning curve of a young attorney is reduced, thus making him or her much more marketable."

Hands-on approach

IE's LLM in International Legal Practice requires students to take a wide variety of core courses to increase their knowledge of international legal and business concepts as well as their ability to apply this knowledge in solving real-life problems.

Within this program, students can choose between two tracks: English or bilingual (English-Spanish).

The English track combines European law with an MBA module, provides hands-on experience through an internship at a law firm or company legal department and adds the challenge of writing a 30-page LLM thesis under faculty supervision. The bilingual track gives students a more extensive study of Spanish business law.

"We believe in a hands-on approach to legal problems, through a clinical method of active learning," says Swinsick. "At IE, real-life situations and decision-making opportunities are replicated in an academic environment in every class, enabling students to learn from their own experience."

More than 500 practical cases are covered during the program, requiring students to solve a broad range of legal issues and situations, both individually and as part of a team.

Preparing for an international career

Almost 70% of IE's International Legal Practice students come from abroad, representing countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, France, Guatemala, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Salvador, Singapore, Slovakia, United States and Venezuela.

Alejandro Botero from Colombia, studied at IE and is now an Associate Attorney for Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. "While regular LLM degrees are exclusively oriented towards academics, IE's LLM is aimed at training students for their future as practicing corporate lawyers.

"As a securities and corporate associate in a top New York firm, mostly involved in transactions with Latin American clients, the LLM from IE gave me a head start by giving me the necessary tools to understand how multi-cultural legal environments intertwine with business."

Careers in law are varied, but as Margolis says, the job opportunities of someone armed with a Masters in Law are also wide. "A law school education is a good, solid background for many professions. In fact, many teachers, business people, politicians, and writers obtained a legal education before pursuing their respective careers."

She says that in today's global environment, the postgraduate law degree enables lawyers to obtain an advanced degree that has global credibility, taking their careers to a new level.

"A graduate law degree is desirable for enhancing credentials after the first law degree; for enhancing one's skill set for a current employer; to assist in becoming a judge or government official; or to advance as a law professor. There are several states in the US that will allow graduates with advanced degrees to sit for the bar examination for that state."

Most of IE's students go on to be an attorney in a law firm according to Swinsick. "A very large percentage of students pursue this track, working in firms of many different sizes and specialities. Students join firms as associates and eventually work their way up to partner, which provides them not only with more economic benefits but also greater responsibility and challenges."

However, he agrees with Margolis that a graduate law degree opens many other doors as well.

ABA

The ABA, in cooperation with the Law School Admissions Council, publishes an annual volume called the Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law schools in the US.

LSAC

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) is a non-profit corporation whose goal is to provide the highest quality admission-related services for legal education institutions and their applicants worldwide.

More than 200 law schools in the United States, Canada, and Australia benefit from LSAC's services, which include the Law School Admission Test (LSAT); credential assembly services encompassing letters of recommendation, electronic applications, and domestic and international transcript processing for JD and graduate law degrees; the Candidate Referral Service (CRS); admission office systems and software; research and statistical reports; websites; testing and admission-related consultations with legal educators worldwide; and various publications, videos, and LSAT preparation tools for candidates.

Over 150,000 LSAT tests are administered each year. With the guidance and support of volunteers representing its member schools, LSAC provides a growing number of important services and programs for law schools and their applicants throughout the world. LSAC does not engage in assessing an applicant's chances for admission to any law school; all admission decisions are made by individual law schools.

Career benefits of a Master of Laws (LLM) >

Master of Laws Programs: Career Benefits

Masters of Laws (LLM) programs are growing in popularity. We look at the career benefits the qualification provides. 

Numbers of applicants for Masters of Laws (LLM) courses continue to rise, year in, year out. So why is the degree proving so popular?

"An LLM is an additional attractive credential for your resumé," says Caryn Voland, Senior Associate Director of Admissions at Georgetown University Law Center. 

"Depending on your country of origin, you may choose to do an LLM immediately after completing your first law degree, or you may wait for a few years until you have some practice experience.

"As the law profession becomes more internationalized, lawyers who can demonstrate a familiarity with legal systems outside their own country will have an advantage."

Elizabeth Dalferes, Assistant Director at Tulane Law School agrees that an LLM gives graduates an international advantage. She says, "Students pursuing an LLM will find that the degree program provides an opportunity to gain more knowledge of the international market, focus on a specific course of study, and advance in their professional endeavors."

An opportunity to specialize

The chance to focus on a particular aspect of the law is a great advantage of the LLM, says Justin Ryan Swinsick, director of the LLM programme at IE in Madrid.

"Studying for an LLM is an opportunity for a student to specialize. Most LLM programs require a first degree in law, so students have already learned many basic legal principles, concepts, and theories but in a broad and general sense.

"An LLM allows students to focus on specific areas of the law in much more detail, thus better preparing them for a career in a particular speciality. This specialty can be something as narrow in scope as arbitration or tax law or as broad as international business law.

"The general principle is that students graduate from an LLM program with detailed knowledge, prepared to begin a career in their chosen field."

The skills that they learn whilst doing this will make them attractive to potential employers, continues Swinsick.

"International law firms and company legal departments increasingly demand lawyers with a global perspective, able to add value in complex international transactions by providing top-quality legal advice and services, with an in-depth understanding of business issues and the highest standards of professional ethics.

"Studying an LLM which focuses on the practical skills necessary to carry out these transactions gives a lawyer a distinct advantage."

Dalferes agrees: "Today's lawyers often seek out additional training through an LLM program so that they can expand their professional activities and gain mobility in the international market.

"The LLM allows lawyers to further specialize in fields such as health law, or environmental law. Some lawyers might chose to pursue an LLM degree in order to teach in their home countries, or to be eligible for appointments to the judiciary."

Stepping stone to work in the US

Another advantage of doing an LLM is that it is a good stepping stone to working in the United States, says Dalferes: "Many lawyers choose to complete an LLM in order to be able to practice in the United States since foreign lawyers are sometimes eligible to apply for a bar exam in certain states upon completion of an LLM degree from an ABA-approved law school."

Voland says that the course at Georgetown opens up the US legal system to international students: "Many students have been practicing law in their home countries, and find that they are interacting with US lawyers or US laws as part of their work. Our LLM program can give lawyers trained outside the US a better understanding of the US legal system."

However, Voland says the LLM is not just important for future work in the US. "Earning an LLM degree from a US law school is becoming increasingly advantageous in today's global environment.

"A lawyer with an international practice must be familiar with multiple legal systems, and especially with the common law. The common law method of analysis is intellectually challenging, with an emphasis on detailed analysis and practical solutions to complex legal issues.

"Spending a year in the US getting an LLM offers an opportunity to reflect on one's own system and traditions while becoming familiar with US law and culture."

A rigorous application process

With the increased demand for places, the application process becomes more and more vigorous each year. Dalferes says, "Our admission process relies on a full and in-depth reading of each file, so there is not one key factor of the application that guarantees admission.

"Our faculty insist on significant interaction in the classroom, so the admissions committee is looking at all pieces of the application to seek students who will be contributors to our academic community. Students should demonstrate strong English skills, dedication to the field of law, and superior scholarship when applying to our LLM program."

For Georgetown, the application is handled by the Graduate Admissions Committee, which Voland says "focuses on the entire application, so all pieces are important; but the two most important pieces are probably a strong academic record and strong English language speaking skills. Without these it will be difficult for the student to be successful in our LLM program."

She goes on to advise international students, "The LLM degree is a significant long-term investment that is repaid in more challenging assignments and varied career opportunities, as well as in financial benefits. You should make your decision to study for an LLM based on the school that will provide you with the best opportunities over your entire career."

More about studying law at graduate level >