The Legal Cheek View
The University of Law is the largest law-only university in the UK, with eight centres, two of which are in London. London Bloomsbury, the law school’s oldest foothold in the capital, is located a few streets away from Tottenham Court Road on a leafy road that runs in the other direction towards the University of London’s Birkbeck campus and the British museum.
Formerly the College of Law, ULaw is known for having some of the better teaching around, with all tutors qualified solicitors, barristers and judges. Students tell us that the course is “expensive, but very good”. Another highlights the teaching in Tort, Land and Contract as “particularly good”. The quality of feedback, meanwhile, is “mixed” and depends on the lecturer – so make sure you’re keeping up with the course material. The materials themselves are “decent”, but “you’d expect so for the fees”.
A ULaw strength is its links with the profession, and many GDLers studying there seek to use it as a jumping off point to City training contracts. The law school has exclusive legal education deals with, among others, magic circle firm Linklaters and City giant Pinsent Masons, but note that those firms’ future trainees will usually be based at the Moorgate campus across town.
At Bloomsbury the focus is on helping GDL students without training contracts secure one before the end of the course. A well-regarded careers service does this by putting on regular events, often involving ULaw-linked City law firms, which recent graduates tell us were “generally good” and helpful”.
With the challenge of processing vast amount of legal knowledge, and applying for jobs, don’t expect too much of a social life. Still, there are fairly frequent get togethers at the nearby College Arms pub on a Friday afternoon where ULaw GDLers can be found easing their pain over a few drinks.
Scholarships
Key Info
ULaw offers a total of 2,280 GDL places, full and part-time, across its centres nationally; part-time fees are per year.