Leicester Law School | llb course | llb degree

Leicester is in the top 20 universities in the country and in the top 200 universities worldwide. The law school has a brilliant reputation, recently ranked 8th in the country by The Times and 12th overall in the guardian. The Law Department has an excellent reputation with the majority of lecturers being research active.

The university as a whole has a brilliant reputation amongst UK universities and has one of the highest completion rates in the UK, which is consistently above 90%. The university was short-listed by the Sunday Times for University of the Year in 2007 and was unlucky to miss out. This year they faired better and The University of Leicester has claimed the title of University of the Year in the higher education sector’s most prestigious and keenly contested awards.

The law building was an asylum prior to World War 1 and during the First World War was a hospital for soldiers. The law department has its own library called the Harry Peach library, used in addition to the main library on campus. As such, even during exam times when certain books are heavily in demand, there is rarely a problem finding the book you need.

The law library in particular has a generous selection on law reports and books. All tutorials and seminars happen in the law building but lectures take place in lecture theatres located in different buildings near to the main centre.

The law building has its own computer room consisting of about twenty computers, all of which have Internet access. There is also a common area for students, which has a wi-fi connection available for students who wish to use their laptops.

The sizes of the lectures vary but they mainly take place with the whole year or around 300 to 400 students. The seminars and tutorials are much smaller however, varying between 8 to 10 people. This allows students to get a better grasp of a subject and to participate in discussions. Seminars are slightly larger and vary between 15 to 20 people.

The quality of teaching is exceptional, the lecturers and tutors being able to convey each subject very well. Moreover, if you have difficulties with a subject you can arrange a time to speak to the lecturer one on one to gain a better grasp of any issues the course raises.

Each subject has roughly three hours of lectures per week with an accompanying tutorial or seminar, which occurs once every fortnight for each subject. These normally range from one hour to two hours. Although law has quite a lot of contact time compared to other courses, private study and research is essential to a law student.

The university is located about a 10-15 minute walk from Leicester city centre so students are never far from local shops and restaurants. Leicester is one of the country’s ten largest cities so it has a lot to offer from clubs and bars to major sporting venues (Leicester City Football Club and Leicester Tigers Rugby Stadium is not far from the university at all).

Leicester is definitely a student city, with 12% of its population being made up of students during term time. The university is situated right next to Victoria Park, which hosts a variety of events such as Party in the Park, Leicester’s equivalent to the Notting Hill carnival, and so on. The university is all based on one campus, which makes the university very safe as students do not need to travel across the city to get to another lecture.

The city centre is currently under going extensive renovations, which includes a major extension to the indoor shopping centre ‘The Shires’. The new shopping centre is set to open in September 2008 and will be full of high street shops.

The halls of residences are located about 3 miles away in Oadby. They are situated in Leicester’s botanical gardens. Near to the halls is a 24hour Asda and a few minutes walk into the town of Oadby are a variety of takeaways and restaurants, a bank and a variety of shops.

The course fees for 2008/09 are £3145. The course books for the first year vary between £100 to £150 as you will be required to buy at least one core book for each subject taken. All other books are readily available from the library.

The law society membership is a must have as the law society will inform you about any events happening, any guest speakers coming to the university and any relevant information regarding law firms and trips to various firms and chambers. The cost of a lifetime membership is £35 or an annual membership is £15.

The accommodation costs vary depending on the type of room you have and the halls you choose to stay in, but there is an option of catered or self-catered halls of residence. A single self-catered room starts from around £62 per week and can vary up to £126 per week for a single, catered room with en-suite. Catered halls provide 14 meals a week (breakfast and dinner).

The Arriva Bus Company provides transport from the halls of residence to the university during term time only. Purchasing a bus pass for the year would be advisable and varies between £200 to £250. Even though it is an expensive initial lay-out, it will save you money in the long run as paying for the bus daily will become pricey. Alternatively, the halls are about a 30-45 minute walk away or a 20-30 minute cycle away from the university.

The university has a variety of events and social activities on offer for everyone. There is a large choice of sporting teams to join, such as football, rugby, hockey etc. The law society also has its own football, rugby and hockey teams, which compete against other university law society teams.

The law society is very active with regard to the events that take place. There is an annual law ball that takes place in the summer term and an annual law fair that takes place in the autumn term. Throughout the year there are guest speakers from law firms and barristers chambers.

The law department also offers a variety of competitions such as mooting, client interviewing, client negotiation and debates. They also complete against other universities, with Leicester Law School recently winning the client negotiation competition held in Singapore (2007).

Leicester University has its own careers advice centre that assists with applications to law firms and gaining a pupillage. The law society also has two dedicated students who specialise in giving advice and helping other students find out about becoming a solicitor or barrister.

The law society is structured around helping students gain training contracts and pupillages and will give relevant advice and support to all that seek it.