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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

Law conversion course, location advice

27 replies

granadpom · 02/03/2021 20:22

Hi all,

DD has a training contract to train as a solicitor. They will pay her law conversion course, and have said they don't mind which centre she studies it at. Currently she studies in York and really likes the city. She says it's a shame she can't stay there another year as most of her friends will still be about. York don't have a law conversion course campus. She can study the course completely online as that is an option.

I'm tempted to tell her to stay there and do it all online. Her uni has been online for a year now anyway, and who knows what will happen. I don't see much point moving to a cramped and expensive place in London and then be told her course will be online anyway.

What would people advise? Would it be better to stay in a city she knows and has friends in and study remotely, or would it be better to move to a new city for a year?

OP posts:

Delphigirl · 02/03/2021 20:37

Has she got a training contract/pupillage? If not does she hope to work in London? If so better to go to London now and access all the events etc etc which will be starting up again in the autumn. There is a much more vibrant legal community in London and lots more opportunities. Only stay in York if she wants to work in Leeds or otherwise stay provincial IMO.

chopc · 02/03/2021 20:51

OP already stated her DD has a training contract.

No idea about the question you are asking OP but interested to know how your daughter went about getting her training contract and what her first degree is in. If she did a straight law degree could she have started in Sept?

Sorry I know this is not why you came on the thread

GU24Mum · 02/03/2021 21:02

Could she do the course at Leeds
but live in York?

Myneighboursdomyheadin · 02/03/2021 21:29

London is very expensive if you aren’t working but your old friends are.

Delphigirl · 03/03/2021 00:06

Sorry I missed that she had a training contract, silly of me! Where will she be training? If she will be in London she should go to London and make friends on her course who will likely mostly also stay in London, and access her new firms events and things. If she is training up in York or Leeds or somewhere then law school there is not a bad idea as she will start making friends with people she may be in professional contact with up there for the next few decades or so. If she is training in eg Bristol or Birmingham there is no real point in staying in York and she should either go to the city in which she will be training, or London if she wants a taste of London legal life while at law school

Delphigirl · 03/03/2021 00:10

I wouldn’t do it totally online and removed from a peer group as a lot of law is about making contacts and having ad hoc discussions etc and I think it would be a real shame and a wasted opportunity to lose that through choice, rather than because it is forced on her with the pandemic

minipie · 03/03/2021 01:11

She’ll need to do the LPC as well, so another year after the conversion course. By then I imagine most of her uni mates will have moved on, so she’d want to go elsewhere for that.

Personally I think she’d be best off doing both the GDL and the LPC somewhere new and making a new cohort of (future lawyer) friends.

I didn’t need the conversion course but did my LPC in my uni town. I carried on hanging out with my uni mates and didn’t bother making friends with my LPC cohort. I regret that now. I think especially as your DD has two years to do it would be worth starting afresh. It doesn’t have to be London - eg Nottingham was a popular choice for doing the GDL/LPC back in my day, the same people did both back to back so it was like a 2 year course.

poppycat10 · 03/03/2021 09:06

I did the LPC in York, it is such a shame they moved to Leeds (Leeds is a great city, but York is particularly nice).

If she wants to stay in York she could do it in Leeds.

I wouldn't recommend moving to London or Guildford to do it as they are so expensive - even if she is going to train in London there will be plenty of people on the courses in other parts of the country who are also going to London, so she will definitely know people. Nottingham is a good option as a pp said. Or she could look at Cardiff, which is a fantastic city to live in for a year.

Myneighboursdomyheadin · 03/03/2021 09:15

the york-leeds train is easy.

PresentingPercy · 03/03/2021 12:45

Where is her company based? Are they not involved in where she studies? They usually have nominated providers.

Dd converted in London with the now defunct Kaplan.

@chopc
I would start another thread if you need to know the info about applying for law after a non law degree. My DD did it some time ago but it’s all change now. Few barristers get Pupillage before conversion. In fact virtually none. During conversion is possible but few manage it!

chopc · 03/03/2021 13:28

Thanks @PresentingPercy I was just thinking OP would face fresh knowledge and may not mind sharing. Have time to look into it

SeasonFinale · 03/03/2021 17:16

OP - do you mean law conversion course or do you mean her Legal Practice course as they are different things. If Law conversion she will have more than one more year of study.

PresentingPercy · 03/03/2021 18:32

No. The GDL or its replacements are one year. Same as now. However some firms do dictate where you do it if they are paying. So I’m surprised there is any choice.

It is 100% better to do it with other students. Some law firms negotiate condensed GDLs too. What has her firm suggested? If it’s a London firm they probably expect a London provider. If not, they still might want a local one, eg Manchester, Nottingham etc. What does her contract actually say regarding law conversion? I would doubt she has free choice.

HasaDigaEebowai · 03/03/2021 18:42

Isn’t the college of law in York anymore? When did that happen!

HasaDigaEebowai · 03/03/2021 18:44

As others have pointed out though, she has two years left if she’s doing a law conversion so it’s time to settle and make friends somewhere new

Bluntness100 · 03/03/2021 18:51

Isn’t the gdl really hard work? Like 40-50 hours a week of lectures? Then she’d have the lpc after? So two years study?

I’d go close to where her training contract would be, but I’d not be doing it remotely. That’s going to be tough.

poppycat10 · 03/03/2021 19:07

@HasaDigaEebowai

Isn’t the college of law in York anymore? When did that happen!

a few years ago now

poppycat10 · 03/03/2021 19:08

Just checked, it was 2014. More than a few!

HelloViroids · 03/03/2021 19:14

When I did it around 10 years ago I did conversion course in my Uni town as wanted to stay with friends, and the firm offering TC didn’t specify - but they mandated going to London for LPC, and that was on a semi bespoke course with other trainees from same and similar firms, so that was the year I really got to know London and my peers before starting. I’d absolutely recommend doing it that way if that doesn’t conflict with guidance from firm.

goodbyestranger · 03/03/2021 19:22

I'm a little surprised about the free choice too. My DC have been told which provider they need to use, not simply the geographical location.

randomsabreuse · 03/03/2021 19:31

I'd do wherever she's supposed to do her LPC (equivalent). My intake it the city had a choice of 3 - my choices were in order of cost of living...

Xenia · 03/03/2021 19:39

My twins are doing the GDL. One is living at home in London and one is living in his university city (Bristol) as a lot of friends are on year 4 of their degrees or doing a masters. Even though the course is 100% online (in his case and that of his twin ) he is glad he is in Bristol.

I would recommend your child does the GDL online from York where the friends are (if the rent can be afforded from the law firm allowance - whereas if the child were living at home no rent). However do check if that course will be online or not. My sons started not knowing and not knowing if it would move to face to face mid year (it has not).

I think you can do the GDL in Leeds and live in York so that if the course became face to face you could go there as needed 2 days a week perhaps or may be your child can simply register to do it 100% online

The Bristol one will be doing the LPC in London by the way from Sept (living at home as will his twin).

PamDemic · 03/03/2021 19:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Gwegowygwiggs · 03/03/2021 19:59

You want advice? Tell her to run away as fast as she possibly can.

With love from Gwegowygwiggs, an ex partner in a silver circle law firm

PresentingPercy · 03/03/2021 20:43

GDL was typically 3 full days when DD did it. Obviously the other days were for a mix of work and enhancing cv.

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