Law

Explore the latest developments in legal practice with this comprehensive degree encompassing the core areas of the English legal system while offering a fascinating choice of optional subjects. This allows you to follow your interests in areas such as medical law and ethics; family and child law; immigration and asylum law; aviation law; and international human rights law. You also develop essential, transferable skills including the ability to ‘think on your feet’ and present your views in a reasoned, convincing manner.

Course accreditations/endorsements

Law LLB (Hons) students study a Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) qualification that gives you examination exemptions; once you have completed the course, you can apply for employment as a legal executive in areas such as conveyancing and contract drafting.

This course is mapped to the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP) guidelines, offering a dual qualification: LLB (Hons) Law and Higher Diploma in Paralegal Studies. On graduating, you can become an NALP member and work as a paralegal.

All our LLB courses cover the Foundation of Legal Knowledge subjects and satisfy the requirements set by the Bar Standards Board for the academic component of Bar training. Upon successfully completing the LLB with a minimum grade of 2:ii, graduates who wish to qualify as barristers will be able to progress on to the Bar training course.

Facilities and specialist equipment

• Recently refurbished Moot Court, equipped with digital technology to ensure it reflects an actual court-room environment

• Leading legal research databases used by professionals, including LexisNexis, Westlaw and HeinOnline

• Oxford Law Trove, an online platform giving students access to the wealth of legal educational materials published by Oxford University Press

Career-powered links

Our Law students benefit from six months’ qualifying work experience at local law firms such as Macfarlanes, Machins, Greystone and Solomon as well as at Luton County Court and the Crown Prosecution Service.

This work experience counts towards your qualification as a solicitor, assisting in the SQE professional recognition (solicitors’ qualifying exam requirements).

We also offer hands-on experience of real legal work through our three community law clinics: family law, criminal law and law related to asylum seekers.

Your student experience

Gain professional supervised practice via our three law clinics: family law, criminal law and law related to asylum seekers.

Widen your experience through field trips to the Inns of Court in London, the Houses of Parliament, the UK Supreme Court and Luton Crown Court; you also have opportunities to take part in mooting competitions.

Attend research events organised by our Centre for Research in Law (CRiL) and guest talks by prestigious speakers including arbitrators, judges, renowned academics, Members of Parliament and leading legal practitioners from City law firms.

Course modules

Year 1
Criminal law – Overview of the criminal process in England and Wales, and the governing principles of individual and corporate criminal liability. Public law – Study key constitutional and administrative principles in UK public law. Contract law – Apply statute law and case law to contemporary contract issues using real-world scenarios. English legal system – Learn to use sources of legal information to support a sound and well-reasoned legal argument. Academic and legal skills – Understand client management, problem–solving, negotiation, and advanced oral and written communication skills.

Year 2
Land law – Explore property and ownership rights in relation to land, and the impact these rights have on third parties. Law of tort – Understand civil rights and liabilities and/or other civil law matters.

You also choose from a range of optional modules:

• Commercial law

• Employment law

• Public international law

• Probate and wills

• Immigration and asylum law

• Civil litigation and advocacy

• Legal practice.

Year 3
Equity and trusts – Introduction to equitable jurisdiction with a focus on creation, purpose and enforcement of trusts. Fundamentals of EU law – Understand the main legal principles in the European Union. Dissertation – Identify a current issue of public interest for in-depth legal analysis and produce a critical report on the topic.

You also choose from a range of optional modules:

• International human rights law

• Aviation law

• Company law

• Medical law and ethics

• Intellectual property law

• Family and child law

• Criminal litigation and evidence

• Conveyancing

Every effort is made to ensure this information is accurate at the point of publication on the UCAS website. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to our website.

The course has been carefully designed to develop a wide range of academic, legal and practical skills, including by giving you the opportunity to engage with a varied range of assessment methods. A developing range of assessments will enable you to grow in confidence and demonstrate your acquisition of knowledge and skills.

The assessment methods used across the course include:

• Written assignments: These may vary from short essays and reports to more in-depth research work on broader topics, to problem questions and case studies which will require you to apply your legal knowledge to a 'real life' scenario. These assessments will test your ability to analyse an issue, to conduct research, to collect relevant materials, to assess the quality of the materials and to synthesise them into a scholarly answer.

• Examinations: Designed to test your ability to convey your knowledge and understanding of a topic and to demonstrate your skills of analysis and evaluation in a time-sensitive manner.

• Oral presentations: Aimed at developing your public-speaking skills and testing your verbal and presentational skills in communicating information in a professional setting. Mooting activities will test your ability to carry out research and present your findings in a persuasive and authoritative manner. They will also introduce the practical skills of court etiquette and procedure.

In the final year of your course, the dissertation unit will allow you to undertake a complex research project in a subject area of your choosing. With the support of your supervisor, you will be expected to formulate a relevant and viable research question. The project will allow you to further develop your legal research skills and the ability to communicate knowledge, findings and recommendations.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Solicitors Regulation Authority
• Bar Standards Board