I accepted my offer from the School of Orient and African studies to study law a while back. I initially applied to SOAS due to its strong emphasis on international law and the added option of exploring alternate jurisdictions from different countries, and because my strong focus happens to be the Middle East. Any ways, while i have accepted my offer and if all the finances come together, will probably be leaving to commence in September of 2010, i can't help but wonder if law school is a good investment in such fragile economic times??? do graduates from top law schools have a better chance of securing a training contract, is the UK legal market too saturated to make bank? what are your thoughts on the matter? of course the competition within the legal market has always been fierce, but with so many law firms downsizing and cutting employment, is going to law school a good idea, will the market look drastically different in the next 3-4 years?.

obviously no investment is 1000% secure, but i would imagine going to law school and investing in your human capital to be a very good investment. SOAS is excellent, especially when it comes to the social sciences and the middle east. if you do well there your odds of getting a training contract will undoubtedly be more favourable. good luck with your decision.

I think it all depends on what you expect to get in return and what level of returns from taking the course. If you can get in and perform well, the top city law firms are known to pay well and by this I mean, much higher than the high street firms. In addition, some of the solicitors from such firms move on to better things in well-paying reputable organisations.

These top law firms are known to recruit overwhelmingly from the top universities - often recruiting at campuses. If you are charismatic, articulate and perform well in the interviews you would have a good chance of getting in. You should be able to pay off your university fees in a few short years.

Thus whether a law school is a good or bad investment would depend on your own abilities and how highly-ranked the university is.