Legal Education in Uk and Us
Traditionally, the best in the legal field are the universities of California and the East Coast as well as Boston. In universities and higher law schools, students begin a bachelor`s program: the Juris Doctor degree allows you to begin advocacy (family, criminal, civil or corporate law). Then follows the master`s program – the LLM. You can apply for a master`s degree right after you graduate from high school or with another degree – but after special education and passing the LSAT exam (if you`ve previously studied in a neighboring but non-specialized field). While there are many differences between UK and US law degrees, it is clear that aspiring lawyers from both countries need to dedicate years of training, hard work, and practical experience before they can practice as a lawyer. Unlike Darwin`s finches, the legal industry has little room for bird brains, no matter which side of the ocean they are on. SMAPSE experts have already mentioned the best law schools in the world in this article. But the list of prestigious, popular, and high-quality educational institutions isn`t limited to these high-profile names – SMASE specialists will give you a few more examples from the UK and the US. 2. Postgraduate training At the end of their LLB, UK students take a BPTC (Bar Professional Training Course) or LPC (Legal Practice Course) for one year. For students who want to become lawyers, BPTCs are those who represent their clients before a judge and are generally specialists in their respective fields.
CPLs are for those who want to become lawyers, lawyers who spend their time behind a desk providing legal advice to their clients and hiring lawyers if they need extra help in court. For those who have foreign law degrees but want to practise in the UK, the situation is complicated. The UK actually has three jurisdictions, with separate laws for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. US-trained lawyers can generally practice in the UK without additional qualifications or training, provided they only advise on US law – usually in a financial capacity. 1. Undergraduate education In the UK, a future lawyer can obtain an LLB (Bachelor of Laws) after three years of basic training. If you decide not to study law, you can opt for the GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law), which essentially takes three years of material from an LLB and condenses it into one year. Large law firms are becoming more and more international. Many large American companies have offices in London or have merged with British companies, as in the recent merger of Hogan & Hartson and Lovells to form Hogan Lovells. Similarly, a large number of UK companies – including four of the five renowned companies in the „Magic Circle” – have expanded into other countries.
For US lawyers who want to work in the UK, the best way is to work in a US office of a multinational firm and then request a transfer to a UK office. Similarly, some lawyers who began their legal careers in England now practice in the United States, particularly in New York. The possible fields of education in the field of law are very diverse: bachelor`s, master`s, doctoral and short-term courses and continuing education, as well as preparatory pre-university courses. An important advantage – practically in any program, theoretical training continues without interruption of practice: real cases, life cases and precedents are constantly dissected, renowned experts, lecturers, judges and lawyers are invited, thematic master classes, conferences and seminars are organized. In addition, the study of a large number of related specialties allows graduates to be highly cited in the international labor market – there is practically no problem in finding a job. If you want to become a sought-after and well-paid lawyer, it`s worth considering the possibility of training in both the US and the UK. The educational traditions of these countries are very strong, proven: it is the educational systems of these countries that serve as an example and reference for educational institutions around the world. In addition, the foundations of British and American law are widely used, and judicial systems around the world are largely working on these systems. In the United Kingdom, legal education is divided between the common law system of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and that of Scotland, which uses a mixture of common law and civil law. If you have opted for higher legal education in the United States and have dealt with this topic in advance, it makes sense to complete one of the so-called law schools. Similar schools are part of large developed universities and prepare high school students in the main disciplines of the legal system.
A big advantage – you can enter such a school with a diploma or certificate of any specialty, you just need to pass a special course of preparation for law. The subject of pre-law may be different: for example, the University of South Florida has options for international, judicial, constitutional, environmental legislation. In the United States, jurisprudence is considered one of the strongest and most sought-after areas of specialization: it has been influenced by the long tradition of American law, a large number of legal societies and specialists, high educational standards, and generally a high legal competence of the population.