Dear All,

I am currently working in Asia in the area of Marketing. I am happy with my current job, but since an early age I had always had a strong interest in Law. Due to the situation of Law in Spain (you´ll probably have heard -not sure of it´s actual numbers of a rough calculation- that there are more lawyers in Madrid than in all of France), and seeing the poor prospects of many of my acquaintances that had a law degree, I decided to go for business instead of studying Spanish law. However, in recent years, the thought of studying English law has crossed my mind.
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As for my academic background, it is... complicated (skip this part if you don´t need to know that much).

A) 4-Year Degree in International Business (Taken at a public university but not legally recognised, it is one of the so-called spanish own-degrees, they are granted by the university but the gov´t won´t recognise them.), Grades equivalent to a 2:1
B) 3-Year Degree in Business (Taken in just 1 year, it is some sort of a top-up degree, taken mostly due to some legal requirements) grade equivalent to a 2:1
C) 2-year Master´s Degree in Chinese Studies, grade equivalent to a First.
D) 4-Year degree, business and marketing (top-up, obtained in 1 year, taken for the extra courses and to qualify for some things such as being a Spanish public servant, should I want to)

So, in brief, A was my original degree, but for different purposes I had to take B and D in 1 year each to qualify for some specific things. As for the grades, all undergrad qualifications a 2:1 and the MA a first.

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Now, the problems:

1. I'm close to 30 years old. I´m not that young anymore.

2. I am a Spanish native speaker and also fluent (as in being able to read -not yet write- contracts without problem, speaking fluently, etc) in Chinese. My English is supposed to be good (I got an A at Cambridge´s CPE; which is deemed by Oxford among others to be equivalent to a high level of English) but I´m not sure how English law firms look at non-native English speakers?

3. I am not sure of whether a GDL (distance), a graduate entry LLB (distance, such as open), or taking it a bit more slowly and going for a LLB is the best option. The GDL is undoubtedly the fastest and most expensive (I can still pay for it with my current income, though, so I wouldn't be getting in debt), but to my knowledge it is also seen as giving you a less in-depth knowledge of the law, and limiting your chances for applications for graduate studies. On the other hand the graduate LLB and the standard LLB would take both either a bit or a lot longer, but would probably give me a far deeper understanding of Law. Which route should I go?

4. Does somebody know if a lawyer in English law qualified through a GDL has the same chances of working as a European Lawyer (i.e. later practising Spanish law) and in 3 years obtaining the local Abogado professional title? Or is it restricted to people with a LLB?

5- Specialization: I have a personal interest in several areas:
- Intellectual Property Law
- Commercial Law
- Public Law (constitutional, international law, intl. institutions...)

6- While my academic credentials at university level, I have a feeling that my A-level equivalents (selectividad and bachillerato, in which I performed terribly and got the equivalent of a BCC or CCC) are going to be a big problem. Do this kind of qualifications totally disqualify you from a serious career in law? Should I just forget about it?


So, in the end, and seeing what I´ve been up to, do you think I should just forget about this whole law thing, or opt instead for a Spanish distance law degree and qualify there? Apart from the practice thing, I am honestly interested in Law as a personal academic interest, but the price of a legal education for the UK means that It´d only make sense to go for it if it was for practising.

Thanks to everybody!

Forget about it.

Thank you. Could you elaborate on why? Is there anything I could to do improve my prospects?

My own perspective is law is a profession in decline. You have so many degrees already (which is such a good thing) and you would be looking at another 3 to 4 years of studies, debt and all for a profession that these days is becoming a document review mess.

Save your money and do something interesting with all the knowledge you have. You may even try doing a one year masters in law (business law) since you have a background in business as well.

My own perspective is law is a profession in decline. [...] for a profession that these days is becoming a document review mess.