Hello everyone..

I am an international student, currently in the last year of a BA (Hons) in Business Law in Scotland, I am expected to obtain a 1st Class Honours degree.
I wish to either do an LLB for two years, or to do an LLM in International Public Law in 2007/08
I am seeking you advise before contacting Universities..
Do you think a good University (Oxford, Cambridge) will consider me if i don't have a LLB for a Master degree..
And do you think doing a LLB with my BA will be better for my future career, and hence do you suggest doing it in England of Scotland (where the legal systems are not the same).
Bearing in mind that i am looking to practice law at home, where there is a strong need for lawyer with experience in the UK's legal system..

My advice would be to apply to do the Law BA Tripos in Cam. Because you have a degree already you can do it in 2 years. I actually had a similar dilemma myself and chose to do the LLB first (not in Cam) and then apply for LLM's. The reason I think you should do this is firstly it's not so clear why you should be given a place to study for Int'l law if essentially all you've done is Commercial. Secondly the LLB broadens your horizons, it will give you the chance to do subjects that you know nothing about yet and you may really like them! Finally if what you need at home is experience in the UK system you won't get that in an LLM which is as you know essentially an academic qualification. An LLM will assume alot of knowledge not attempt to give you a good basis in law. Having said all of that there are at least 2 people in Cam this year doing the LLM who don't have u/g law qualifications. However both already have advanced degrees in different fields. One to PhD level and have done interesting and related work. So I'm not sure that they really indicate that Cam is willing to take many people without law.

Thanks Yellow for responding..

Do you suggest doing it in Scotland or England. Bearing in mind that in Scotland its a two year LLB but in England its two year LLB(Hons)..
Do you recommend any law schools for me?

Many thanks again..

I would recommend England mainly because it's a common law system and if you are looking to work internationally at a later stage it is probably going to be easier to do so however I come from a common law background so am abviously biased. It would also give you exposure to the English system which will really broaden your knowledge base. I think in terms of colleges to apply to start at Oxbridge and work your way down.

Scots law may suit you equally as well, depending on where you want to practice law at a later stage. Don't forget that Scots criminal law relies heavily on the common law. Scottish law also combines elements of Civil Law.

This pluralistic legal system will give you a very good overview of both Civil and common law systems!

I'm sure you will have covered these fundamentals about our the differences in legal systems between England and Scotland on your BA.

Have a look for fast-track graduate LL.B programmes in Scotland such as the two year options from:

Strathclyde
http://www.law.strath.ac.uk/courses/llb.htm
Edinburgh
http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/ug/graduate.asp
Glasgow
http://www.law.gla.ac.uk/Law/GenericPage.aspx?ID=180&TabID=2&MenuID=25&SubMenuID=89

Good luck, wherever you decide to study.

Thanks C.Miller for you response..
I am really confused..
The main thing is in England its an LLB (Hons) while in Scotland its an LLB..

Do you think this has any importance?
And what is your presonal opinion on this issue, bearing in mind i want to practice in my country not the UK?

Many thanks again,,