Amongst the courses I am taking are Secured Transactions and Legal Aspects of International Law.
...sorry, that should read - Secured Transactions and Legal aspects of International Finance.

Hi James,
thanks a lot for your advice.

My Norwegian degree is recognized as a Master-degree (it's actually higher than a master), it's just that they had not adapted the BA - master system yet when I finished in 2004 (now you may obtain a masters degree in law after five years of studying, and as I said I did six years, including a 20,000 word thesis). Therefore I think I`m formally qualified for a PhD.
The reason why I still want to do an LLM is that I want to specialize on IP, and have a degree from abroad on this subject. I would also like to improve my chances of getting a good job abroad. Are holders of PhDs in the UK attractive on the job-market (as in house lawyers or in law firms) or are they more considered theroretics (working with research, teaching etc.)?

Hey Norwegian,

I don't know much about the virtues of possessing a Ph.D., but one would suspect that they are more revered in the academic community than in the legal profession. A PhD, after all, is a research degree and not a practical qualification like the BVC or LPC. I doubt therefore whether it would SIGNIFICANTLY increase your chances of being employed by a reputable law firm (although I could be wrong). I say significantly because I am not suggesting a PhD would hinder your chances of employment, only that it would be more useful if you were applying for a job as a university lecturer. None of the solicitors at the law firm I work part-time at - including the partners - possess PhDs.

Good luck,

James

Is there a common understanding that one of the to rankings, Times and Guardian, is more regarded than the other one? There are some differences between the two. It would be nice to know which to relay on.

In the UK - the Times league table for law carries with it the most weight.

Hope this helps,

James

Thank you James. It made it a bit easier for me to decide. I'm going to apply for an LLM in London for 2007/2008. I'm thinking of KCL, UCL and LSE, but it's hard to decide which is the first choice. But of course, if I am denied admission for one or two if them, it would make my choice much easier... Which of them is the most difficult to get in to? I am under the impression that LSE is the hardest. Is that true?

OKM

The preoccupation with 'top schools' and the pointless comparisons with mangoes and apples is a recipe for disaster. While I understand the age -old reputation of 'oxbridge' and 'london' and their US ivy league equivalents, it is important to remember three things:

1. Having graduated you WILL have to prove yourself...and so wherever you graduated from becomes less important as you go on

2. Universities are not meant to be carbon copies of each other. These comparisons are therefore pointless. Queen Mary has a different focus in its devotion to legal scholarship, not found at UCL or LSE and vice versa. Ultimately you all end up with the same degree ( from the University of London ). In short, follow the expertise whereever it is. And in doing that get the best grades you can and network until they day you leave! These will count for much much more than attending as a misfit for the sake of something that in the long run will not really make a difference.

3. Top tier is not what will make you into the brightest thing ever, or the best lawyer to walk the earth. The domination of Oxbridge/London on the Bench for example is an accident of history. In 10-20 years time it will be comprehensively diversified. Brilliance comes well prior to attending any university and will shine virtually anywhere.

Factual Inaccuracies on this thread
I have spotted two factual inaccuracies in this thread
1. it is not true that you need a LLM to do a PhD. It is often the case that PhD students have LLMs but that is not necessarily the case-but most British University Law Schools will take a student either from practice; direct from a LLB or from a foreign first degree.
2. The Times listing does not have much more special weight than the Guardian. My understanding is that they are measuring different things-I would check what they are measuring in making any assessment of a school's position in any list.

And more generally on PhDs in practice-they are not uncommon-but they exist in some areas-eg in my area-competition law, where the law is very complex and there is very little difference between practical and theoretical approaches quite a few practitioners have PhD's.

Dr. Alan Riley
Director of LLM Programmes
City Law School

I would like to disagree with the comment about the times not having more weight that the Guardian ranks. I have said before that the Guardian has ranked Bradford as 10th in law and yet Bradford does not have a law faculty! It does not do the law degree!!!! How can they claim to be accurate and give a correct view of the ranks yet they have made such a big mistake! I think the Times ranking is certainly more credible!

The point I made is that they measure different things-so it is important to look at what they are measuring.

In fact Bradford does have a Law School
see
http://www.bradfordlaw-school.org.uk/

Dr. Alan Riley
Director LLM Programme
City Law School
Electronic Mail: alan.riley.1@city.ac.uk

Yes...Bradford has a law school, but it is not under University of Bradford which is what the Guardian Ranks claim. It is a school run between Bradford College and Leeds Met. It remains, Bradford University does not have a law degree and this is contrary to what the Guardian Tables claim.

The Guardian, like The Times has sub-editors!
and that bit of information clearly got lost.

Identifying that there is a Law School at Bradford is about as far as you can expect any newspaper to go!

A newspaper is not drafted like an Act of Parliament!

I am sure if you had a look down The Times lists you would find similar style and institutional name mistakes on their list as well.

And incidentally there is now a Law School at Bradford University
See
http://www.brad.ac.uk/university/ugpros/law.php

Dr. Alan Riley
Director LLM Programme
City Law School
Electronic Mail: alan.riley.1@city.ac.uk