Following up on Kazaf's post which was very informative (good luck with that decision) - it seems, from the postings, that the Oxford BCL has the better reputation than the Cambridge LL.M. On the other hand, Cambridge seems to be better in international law, which I am interested in. I'd be interested in opinions on whether the greater prestige of an Oxford BCL should be the determinative factor, or whether it is recognized that Cambridge is better in intl. law?? I am struggling with this and need to make a decision very soon . . . .

Really no contest at all. If international law is your thing it has to be Cambridge. The prestige is better for Int'l law at Cambridge as well.

Following up on Kazaf's post which was very informative (good luck with that decision) - it seems, from the postings, that the Oxford BCL has the better reputation than the Cambridge LL.M. On the other hand, Cambridge seems to be better in international law, which I am interested in. I'd be interested in opinions on whether the greater prestige of an Oxford BCL should be the determinative factor, or whether it is recognized that Cambridge is better in intl. law?? I am struggling with this and need to make a decision very soon . . . .

I faced the same decision two years ago and I think I made the right choice. It really depends on what your objectives are. Prestige-wise Oxford and Cambridge are the same. But Cambridge is better known for some specialities (like Corporate and Commercial Law) and Oxford for others (Jurisprudence and European Studies). If its Corporate Law you are after, your after Cambridge is the better choice (this is by and large the prevalent view amongst City lawyers). If you prefer academics, Oxford would be better.

I faced the same decision two years ago and I think I made the right choice.

Cambridge

There is very little to chose from between Ox and Cam. But i agree with LondonBridge that Cam is better for Commercial Law (Prof. Cheffins), while Ox is better for Legal Philosophy.

Corporate & Commercial law generally - a fine distinction perhaps but my feeling is Cambridge has the edge for corporate and Oxford for more general commercial law.

Cheffins is a great academic but I have heard that the directors duties course is not that incredible.

Oxford is not offering insolvency this year but commercial finance (Prentice & maybe Goode) is hard to beat. Eilis Ferran is also good however and the Cheffins/Ferran/Deakin combination means there is a lot of good corporate law scholarship being done at Cambridge.

Restitution - Oxford is stronger (Burrows/Swadling/Getzler) but Virgo (Cam) is said to be excellent as well.

Conflict of laws - Cambridge isn't offering International Commercial Litigation this year, Briggs/Peel (Ox) said to be amazing.

Comparative financial law - Someone here said that Wood is much more involved at Oxford than Cambridge and that the course there is better.

European/Trade law - Cambridge looks to have the edge although Oxford has several good subjects.

International Settlement of Disputes - Cambridge all the way - Crawford said to be amazing, the Oxford course is apparently a bit drab.

Private law & political theory - A Cambridge course that sounds like fun. The equivalent course at Oxford is probably something like Philosophical Foundations of Property Rights, which is not being offered (again) this year.

So those are my hard-researched thoughts. Does Oxford have the edge? Probably. By much? No. And if you want to do International/Trade/Corporate subjects there are good reasons to look at Cambridge as superior.

Great analysis. However, if you are interested in insolvency, Cambridge is probably the right place this year. (Though many say that Ian Fletcher of UCl is the best in this subject - and he has written the leading book). In my opinion Cambridge as the Commercial Law with Ferran. From what I hear from students at London University (Queen Mary's - Goode was based there last year), Goode is close to 80 years old and doesn't participate much in classes.

sorry.... Cambridge has the edge with Commercial Law

I would agree about Ian Fletcher. I studied under him for half a term during the final year of my undergraduate degree at UCL. He is really THE expert on insolvency!! And bear in mind that he had to tone down the material for us, because we were undergraduates. I can imagine that the course would be very intelletually stimulating if he went full blast!

Kazaf, what are your thoughts on the LLM v the BCL generally?

I hear that the BCL has a lot more credibility in England, especially at the Bar. Is that the case?

I'm surprised by a lot of the posts favouring the Cambrige LLM over the BCL at Oxford.

I would certainly say that the BCL has a reputation of being the best (and most difficult) postgraduate law degree in the world. Their seems to be a good deal of competition between that and the Harvard LLM.

Certainly if you look at the top chambers in England there are very few Cambridge LLMs and quite a few BCLs.

For me, it might come down to cost - the Oxford BCL is a lot more expensive than the Cambridge LLM.

Joseph1,

Having studied and tutored law at UCL, I can say with absolute certainty that in England, the Oxford BCL is considered the better degree by some margin, both in terms of intellectual rigour and prestige. Selection for entry is also stricter. This is the view taken by ALL the people I have spoken to - law professors, QCs, law firm partners and judges.

BUt I do agree with Orion about the cost. For overseas students like myself, the Oxford BCL is about 4500 pounds more - which is an awful lot! The BCL tuition fee was substantially increased this year, as part of Oxford University's financial plan to deal with its huge losses incurred by subsidising home students. This is something I object very strongly to.

However, do remember that the Oxford BCL offers small group supervisions (2-4 students to a tutor) similar to the undergraduate programme. Cambridge does not offer this. You may want to factor this in when considering the relative costs.

An LLM degree may help in getting a training contract. After you join work, performance and projects are key. So there is little to chose from between Oxford and Cambridge (though I would chose Cambridge, especially for Corporate), considering that people from both universities get training contracts of their choice.

Hi,

I was thinking that maybe you could give me tips regarding the application process for the BA (Law). I will graduate from McGill Univ. (Canada) with the great distinction (i.e. sth like a 3.5 GPA). What do you think are my chances? Can you tell me more about your background (if of course it does not bother you)?

I not only think of applying to Cambridge, but also Oxford, and LSE. What about Nottingham? I heard they have a good reputation too. I got accepted there, but I think I should at least take a chance with the British Ivy League.

well what about european studies and political sciences? which one is better in those?
oh yes, and which one of them accepts easier foreign students?
it's not that i'm not in for competition -- i love competition, it's just that if i can win this struggle i want the best.