LLM advantageous for pupillage?

[Rhianna93]

My son got a high 2:1 in Law from Bristol last year. 0.6 mark off a 1st😨 working now but intends to apply to UCL 2019 intake to study for an LLM. He wants to be a Barrister. Fees are £1600. He's packed his CV with mini pupillages, got a reference from a high Court judge etc. Should he stay in work, get more life experience,etc or will a LLM improve his chances? Anyone got experience of the LLM at UCL?

Fees are way more surely!

What is his work at the moment? Law related or not?

Yes, without a first, a LLM is certainly advisable for the London Bar and UCL is very good for the LLM. He'll get an offer for sure with his mark, so the offer bit won't be a problem.

Other relevant bits of info would be: where did he do his mini pupillages (in the sense of were they in the types of law he'd like to pursue and in chambers he'd like to apply to?) And how many has he done?

Of course that advice above will also depend on which type of law he wants to do - I was assuming the more competitive end. He might prefer the less competitive end.

Lastly, the application cycle is well under way at UCL so he should hurry a bit - he can always decline the offer.

Yes. Do the LLM. It’s a fairly traditional route. What area of law does he want? Be careful that some Chambers are Oxbridge only and firsts only! So he needs to be realistic. Mini Ps give young people a chance to make a decision about which area of law suits them and where they might actually apply to for pupillage. DD got pupillage at one of her mini pupillages. They do look at you! So if he needs to get a few more to get his face through the door, then do it.

He will also need to look at the scholarship
dates for the BPTC and get those ducks in a row too. I think DDs boyfriend did his LLM after the BPTC. Then did pupillage after that. It’s a whirl of applications, I do know that!