Kazaf, nice post !

Well, of course this debate is emotionnal, we all defend our colours, fair enough.
In my contribution (french ranking), I tried to be objective, so I would like to answer to sayaks as regards UCL objectively, if I can.

Of course, some students in UCL are disapointed by their subject, some of those subjects being not very good it seems.

However, most students I know have found their happiness in commercial law subjects at UCL.
Anyway It is objectively difficult not to be impressed by the quality of teaching of Graham Penn or Basil Markesinis for eg, or Jan Dalhuisen at KCL.

To say the truth, I was a litlle worried when I came to LLM regarding the quality of teaching, being from a top ranking university in France with awesome academics (honest!) and having worked during a year (which made me more demanding).

But classes I took at UCL, after carefully selected them, are really good and I am happy and proud to be from such University.

Cheers,
Ronin

UCL is a world class school. Law firms seem to love it. Nuff said.

They must be doing something right.

Kazaf, nice post. Would have been perfect but for your erroneous calssification of UCL's LLM as being poorly taught. Nothing could be farther from the truth and you do great lecturers like Michael Bridge, Ronald Dworking, Ian Fletcher and Philippe Sands such injustice by so putting down a programme which they teach!

Hello Everyone,

Am very new in this discussion group, so if this has been discussed and trashed out before- forgive the ignorance.

Thank you for everyone's perceptions on the top 5, though what i would relly like to know is that with regard to placements, which of these institutions really help. This includes both internships during the course and final placements as well.

I ask because after the LLM, I would ideally like to work in the UK.

Any inputs?

Mercury

Hey Mercury,

I think we need more information before we can help you. What field do you want to go into? What area of law do you want to work in?

Guys, the hare which Sorcerer started running a while ago has run its full course! We have read views from almost every continent - from the ridiculous to the sublime.
We may not have reached any consensus on which schools are in the top 5, but we all have learnt one or two little things about the different English Law schools and their reputations in diverse places.
That said, I suggest we turn our compass to another side of the equation. Since we could not by any means agree on which English schools are the best for a prospective LLM, let us pursue this inquiry from the standpoint of which schools are a no-go area for prospective LLMs in terms of the overall (poor) quality of their LLM programmes.
I will go first - I am from Hong kong and I would say that Nottingham Trent (mind you - NOT the University of Nottingham) has a really shabby reputation around here. Any other views?
Please let us know your academic background and which country you are from.

Yawn.....

Hello James007,

I'm most interested in a corporate and commercial LLM. I want to understand if UK placement s work the same way as they do in most places in India, where the college gives little help, and you're mostly on your own to get a good placement. A good college name goes a long way.

What Sayaks - you afraid some is going to name Warwick amongst the tail end of the league? Just kidding! I do agree with the first part of Bruce Lee's post - Sorcerer's hare has run its FULL course. Lets drop this whole issue and leave the rating of Educational institutions in the UK to the RAE. The entire debate is becoming boring!

Mercury - to understand if UK placements work the same was as they do in India, we need to understand the Indian system. Apart from Sayaks (maybe) most of us dont know the way things work in India so u may wish to volunteer more info. Having said that, I wish to point out that the UK LL.M is (to the best of my knowledge) a mostly classroom based course. LL.M students do not get posted to Law Firms or Corporate Organisations as part of the programme. I say this because you mentioned something about the College helping people get placements.
If however you mean get jobs AFTER the LL.M, then I can confirm that the career offices of most UK Universities offer a useful free service to LL.M students regarding Career planning and job hunting. Hope this is a bit useful. Please feel free to expound on your question if you need further advice.

Well...as James has exteded the baton to me, I take it upon myself to shed some dazzling light on your(Jame's) specific query.

I think you should know that an Indian LLB degree holds no water in this land and even after doing your LLM you are not considered as a qualified lawyer in UK.
Thus,at the end of the day all you are qualified to do is a para-legal job and majority of the firms DO NOT even consider non-EU International students.

If you wish to practice in UK as a solicitor/barrister there are 3 different ways of doing the same and none of them require an LLM degree.

Most good unis(career services) will actively assist students in chiselling their qualities and brushing up their CVs but they would not arrange interviews for you.
The application procedure in this country is 95% online and students are expected to apply directly in the firms of their choice.

I hope this helps you in forming a rough about the subject of your query.

I think the majority of people have agreed that the best schools in the UK are Oxford and Cambridge. Then, a mixture of the prestigious schools in UK - notably, the ancient and red brick uni's and London colleges.

It goes without saying that the glass plate and newly developed universities have the worst reputation.

Oh and Sayaks - we Aussies dont drink fosters, we just export the stuff. Ironically, i'd prefer a heineken on the beach mate!. Also, I had a look and The Times ranks Warwick at number 14 in law the Guardian number 12 - what rankings were you talking about, i'd like to see them. Although, this is interesting: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/displayPopup/0,,69987,00.html

It just says Warwick is ranked 3rd behind Oxbridge and equal to LSE.

hmmm...not again. This topic is becoming boring

James and Sayaks,

Thanks so much for the input....is that really the case though, cause i know of scores of Indian students with LLMs in UK and subsequent jobs as well. In any event, as you said, a lot depends on the university one studies in.

I already mentioned I was interested in Corporate and commercial LLM. In the top 5 that were listed (I can hear the "not agains"!!), can I please know which ones cater to this specific course. I'm coming from the fact that universities and institutions are better known for only selected courses. There may be other schools, not specifically discussed as the top 5, which also offer great corporate and commercial courses.

Correction - keep reading. ;)

Well i wholly agree that kazarf did justice to the ongoing thread but allow me to add the following;i was under the assumption that all the members are in one way or the other connected to the legal proffesion which would make the aspects of perception,prestige and reputation rather common to all.This cleary isn't the case.
Why for example are firms like Baker & Mackenzie, Jonesday ,white and case,sullivan and cromwell,Allen &Overy and many more around the world considered better than others?The answer is simple,Over the years these firms have worked hard to give the best services to their clients which in turn has allowed the public to percieve them as the best hence reputaion.This analogy is reflective of the law schools as well.
Lastly and more importantly, not all of us stay or live in these cities so most of the information on this site is all we have to guide our decisions.To some of you out there some question may sound stupid but to most LLM candidates around the world its priceless info.So please this is a round table set aside for the learned,let our discussions reflect the same.
Am sure if all these universities were in Africa,questions about housing,perception and more wouldn't seem so stupid afterall coz then you would all be strangers.
Greetings from Uganda

Capa

Seeing the general mood prevailing in this thread at this point of time, I would not like to invoke widespread ire from all the other contributors, even though I would have been more than happy to cross swords with you regarding your last post.

Sayaks, good decision.

Looooorrrrrrrrddddddddd!!!!!!!!!!!....U guys are great!!... loving the whole debate thing going on!!!!!!!:-)

I already mentioned I was interested in Corporate and commercial LLM. In the top 5 that were listed (I can hear the "not agains"!!), can I please know which ones cater to this specific course. I'm coming from the fact that universities and institutions are better known for only selected courses. There may be other schools, not specifically discussed as the top 5, which also offer great corporate and commercial courses.

An Australian perspective:

Tier 1
Oxford
Cambridge

Tier 2
LSE

Tier 3
UCL
KCL

As for the others, Warwick, Durham, Manchester and the ilk have almost no mind share here. I would rather go to the US and do a LLM at Chicago than waste my time going to the UK to attend Warwick or Durham.