Learning law in England and Wales

Part of our Directory of legal education in the UK, this page includes an overview of the stages involved in qualifying as a lawyer – for law school links see the law degrees page

For information on the practice of legal education in Wales and support for learning and teaching see our Wales mini-site.

Qualifying as a lawyer

The legal profession in England and Wales is divided into the two branches of solicitors and barristers. The Law Society is the representative body for solicitors, while legal education (as well as regulatory and disciplinary matters) is dealt with by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The Bar Council represents the interests of barristers, with training and regulatory matters dealt with by the Bar Standards Board.

For comprehensive information on qualification procedures see the students section of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s website and the education and training section of the Bar Standard Board’s website, or one of the many law careers sites, such as AllAboutLaw or LawCareers.net.

All students must complete both the academic and vocational stages of training.

Academic stage

Most non-graduates complete the academic stage of training by obtaining a law degree (LLB).

Two conversion courses are available for non-law graduates:

• Common Professional Examination (CPE)/Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) – see the conversion courses page on the Solicitors Regulation Authority website or the Law Careers.net course search page for further information and details of providers
• Senior Status law degrees – see the academic stage page of the Solicitors Regulation Authority website or the Law Careers.net course search page for further information and details of providers

AllAboutLaw’s GDL section includes a range of articles plus profiles of the providers, while QED Law publishes information about GDL pass rates at each of the providers.

Four law schools offer ‘exempting’ law degrees, which combine the academic and vocational stages of training:

• University of Huddersfield (solicitors only)
• Northumbria University (both solicitors and barristers)
• Nottingham Trent University (solicitors only)
• University of Westminster (solicitors only)

Vocational stage

The vocational stage is made up of two courses:

• Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC – formerly Bar Vocational Course) – for students intending to become barristers
• Legal Practice Course (LPC) – for students intending to become solicitors

Postgraduate study

See the LLM Guide for details of masters level courses in England and Wales and AllAboutLaw’s LLM section for a range of articles and profiles of LLM providers.

Warwick offers an LLM/Diploma/Cerfticate in Legal Education

Last Modified: 4 June 2010