Philosophy BA a way into Law?

[Wornoutlady]

So my kid will be applying thru UCAS next Autumn. He's currently very interested in History BA but also possibly Philosophy BA (or a combination of the two) and has a thought he might eventually want to pursue Law.

Can anyone tell me if a Law BA is going to do him any good? It's been years since I was at Uni and back then (early 90s) it was commonly considered better to have an undergrad degree in something traditionally academic like History and then do a 2 yr Law Conversion. Has this changed?

Sorry so many questions.

I'm not sure why you wouldn't consider an LLB traditionally academic?
I did straight LLB but know people who did, say, geography and then did the conversion course afterwards. I know they found it very intense and I think, although may be wrong, they only study core subjects and not the options that may be of particular interest. This was going on 15 years ago though so may have changed.
In terms of employment, I don't know many who did the conversion course so can't speak to that but I doubt it would impact their employment prospects. But it's additional time (and then expense), considering they'd need to do the LPC also.
Just make sure if they want to pursue a career in law they're getting work experience at any available opportunity as that'll help when trying to secure a TC.
If they're not entirely sure they want to pursue a career in law then they might as well study what they're most interested in and go from there. A law degree is a good general degree to have but it needs a certain interest in the law I'd say.

I did classics and then the law conversion course part time while working. It was hard. Worth it as I was aiming for the bar so had money saved up for the BVC and pupillage through work. I don't regret it at all but it is hard work.

If he's most interested in history and/or philosophy then I'd encourage him to choose a degree in those areas. He might end up wanting to pursue a career in law eventually, or he might not. But doing a BA in history/philosophy will not hurt his prospects.

That said, if he were most interested in law as an academic subject then it would make sense for him to do an LLB. It's a very broad and fascinating subject and covers a lot of history and philosophical issues too.

As a person who did Joint Honours Law and History, I'd say that doing the LLB will be 'more academic' than doing history. My law modules were more intensive and more challenging than my history modules by far.

I'm now doing a PhD in law. In one subject, I have both an undergrad tutor group and an accelerated tutor group. In terms of ability, they're not different. The accelerated group is chattier and more relaxed in the tutorials. That's it. In terms of course material, they're doing less law as part of their degree overall, since they're only doing the necessary subjects and don't do Honours options.

I did English and am now a lawyer in the city. Our trainees are about 50-50 law/non-law. Philosophy, history and law are all good choices. He should pick the one he’ll enjoy most and thinks he can do best in.

I did English and then a conversion over 20 years ago. It was a popular route into law at the time. The fees were so much lower then though. I worry now that it is a very expensive route. If my DC wanted to qualify in the law I think I'd encourage them to do the LLB on the grounds of cost.

Thank you all so much, for your responses. You've brought me into the modern world because yes, of course, when my friends and I were at Uni the tuition was free, so doing that and then a law conversion was not a burden. I know this has changed considerably and the cost does definitely affect us. Thank you again.

@Wornoutlady My DD did MFL degree and then law conversion. Not everyone wants three years of law and History/Philosophy is great prep for law conversion. Yes, conversion is necessary but many do this route.

Cost doesn’t have to be a huge factor as companies sponsor law conversion as you get the job whilst at uni and the Inns of Court have scholarships. My DD got all her Bar Course paid with a scholarship too. You need to consider living costs but the Inns have residential scholarships too.

I would say he needs to do the degree that interests him at the best uni possible. A first or high 2:1 is a must. Don’t choose based on some module that interests him at a lower tariff uni. Choose Durham, Warwick , Bristol, UCL l, KCL and the obvious Oxbridge and you will find other dc who will convert to law. Not an exclusive list of course but DDs friends mostly attended these. It’s a competitive career so worth planning to succeed. He will need to understand he will really need to want this career to stand out and have the ability to succeed against fierce competition.

I am a lawyer in London with 4 lawyer children (2 qualified last month). I did an LLB. About 50% of trainee solicitors do an LLB first rather than a different degree. the LLB is a really interesting and quite hard degree to get on to so ios very well respected. However other people do a different subject first . The difficulty in the days now when it is hard to get a sponsored training place sometimes with people doing a year or two as a para legal first is that the conversion year which in theory is no longer required but just about every law firm wants is that that uses up your one chance for a masters loan which you might instead use on your SQE post grad (what was the LPC year and in my day the Finals year).

I agree with Tizer that the hardest to get into university he can manage the better as law is very competitive.

Whatever degree he does he will have to start working towards law early on as marks in every module go on your application forms even from first year and there are first year scheme and then vac schemes to be done and law firms recruit years ahead.

It’s changed to SQE1 and 2 exams for solicitors.
Where you go definitely matters more for law than other subjects - I’d focus on Oxbridge and RG.
Kings does a PPL degree which is a qualifying law degree (Philosophy/Politics/Law)
Just in case you aren’t aware lots of the top universities require them to sit lnat (law aptitude exam) if they are applying for LLB.

Thank you @TizerorFizz @Xenia and @Dixiechickonhols
All really helpful information.
I had just discovered the PPL course at Kings last week so hopefully we're going in the right direction.