Hi. I am interested in what the consensus is in regards to UK LLM's (or BCL), purely in terms of future career opportunities - i.e. commercial, not academic - in London/and the world. Assuming I got could go to any of: Oxford/Cambridge, or KCL, UCL, LSE and do an LLM, which would be look best to potential employers?

Also on a secondary note: would it be better career wise to take a year off and do LLM/BCL at Oxbridge, then get back into work, or work in London and do a two year LLM from one of the London schools?

Financial and academic entry considerations are not needed, let us assume I can afford to study anywhere, as well as get in.

Thanks

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I have done my degree from South Africa

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Personally, I'd say that all are much of a muchness. Really, it depends if you want a general qualification or you particularly want to specialise in a subject area.

Either pt or ft study would be equally well thought of. Perhaps it is easier to remain on an academic path and get it all done at once ft but if you can find a supportive employer then pt study shows you can manage your time well.

no comments from the author of the post???

I wouldn't worry about the employability of the different LLM degrees. It is mainly about getting to an interview stage. If you have a LLM from a prestigious University on your CV then it will get you an interview, but certainly will not get you a job on its own (nor will it be down to any institutional hierarchy). It is a foot in the door to then impress in interview (or whatever other means of assessment they will use). On that basis, I wouldn't suggest that there is much difference between the top end Universities in that regard.

I'm not clear about the reference to two years in London. Are you hypothesising doing a two year masters programme (i.e. Bologna compliant), or working part-time and doing the LLM part-time. If the latter, I'm not convinced that's a good idea because neither 'half' of your life is likely to fit in to 50% of your time, whether you are working as a barrista or baby barrister. If you can afford it, devote your energies to the academic programme - you will enjoy it more, are likely to learn more and end up with better grades and thus more likely to impress. If you are looking at a Bologna compliant masters, I'm guessing that has the advantage of taking you further through any recession/depression in a useful sort of way.