Course summary
Our LLM Legal Practice (SQE1&2) course will offer you the best possible preparation to practise law. This course incorporates preparation for both SQE1 and SQE2, as well as additional content, called SQE Plus, considered highly desirable by law firms, including key practice areas (KPAs) and further additional modules in the business of law or research of a specialist practice area. It is professionally-focused, and will equip you with the key legal knowledge and skills required to pass SQE and will prepare you for practice before your qualifying work experience (QWE). On successful completion of this course, including passing all the University of Law’s assessments, you will gain an internationally recognised Master’s qualification. Why choose our LLM Legal Practice course?
- Develop the knowledge and skills required for a career as a solicitor by studying three KPAs, along with additional modules in the Business of Law or a Research project.
- With one of the largest legal careers services in the UK, ULaw gives you the support and the Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) opportunities you need to make the best start in your legal career.
- Experience of working in legal practice. You’ll learn in the context of our virtual law firm, ULaw LLP. ULaw LLP replicates the working environment of a law firm and students perform real world tasks on simulated cases, deals and transactions, as if they were in the office.
- Confidence for the assessments, we will prepare you for all the SQE assessments, giving you the best preparation for success.
- Brand new resources, developed specifically for SQE by our expert lecturers. You’ll be provided with all course materials, including:
- an extensive bank of practice SQE exam questions
- ULaw SQE – Our intelligent revision app provides practice tests and feedback. Students have found this app, together with the data it generates about their individual performance and likelihood of passing SQE1, to be extremely useful. The bank contains an extensive number of practice questions aligned with the SRA’s SQE1 assessment specification and each practice question, once answered, provides our students with detailed feedback as to why an answer is correct or not.
- brand new online study manuals.
- In depth guidance and support from our experienced lecturers, who will monitor your progress and give feedback using predictive analytics, so you’ll know how you are performing and where to focus.
- Taught by qualified lawyers, with practical workshops to develop your legal knowledge and skills, so you’ll know what to expect in a real-life work environment.
- Flexible study – We understand that everyone’s circumstances are different. That’s why we offer a wide range of study modes (full-time, part-time, on campus, online) across our courses to provide you with the greatest choice and flexibility you need to succeed in your studies.
- We have a vast network in the legal industry and deliver training to 91 of the top 100 law firms, with exclusive relationships with 61 of the top UK law firms and many of the most prestigious US firms in the UK.
- Receive four weeks of guaranteed Qualifying Work Experience (QWE). Get hands-on legal work experience working with real clients in our Legal Advice Clinics. You’ll get to see how a case progresses in practice and how the skills that you will learn are relevant in a practical context.
- Our Employment Promise - get a job in nine months or your fees back, up to 50% as cashback and 50% as credit towards another course**.
- 95% of postgraduate students in employment were in Highly Skilled Occupations 15 months after graduating***.
Modules
Required pre-course study We recommend students take a pre-study online diagnostic test to check their understanding of the key foundation law subjects. This quiz is called the Academic Law Knowledge Quiz and is made up of question sets which cover the seven academic law subjects assessed on SQE1 which students should have studied prior to joining this course. We use this diagnostic testing to assess each student’s knowledge in these subjects for SQE1. Based on your results, we may recommend extra revision aids or a law conversion course. Modules This course is divided into three parts: SQE1 Preparation (60 credits) Functioning Legal Knowledge (FLK)1 (Business Law and Practice, Legal Services, Dispute Resolution and ethics) (30 credits) Functioning Legal Knowledge (FLK)2 (Property Practice, Wills, Solicitors’ Accounts, Criminal Practice and ethics) (30 credits) SQE2 Preparation (30 credits) Interviewing Advocacy Case and Matter Analysis Legal Research Legal Writing Legal Drafting SQE Plus (90 credits) 3 Key Practice Areas (KPAs) (15 credits each) from one of two pathways: Corporate/Commercial or Commercial/Private Client Preparation for Practice module (15 credits) Either the Business of Law module (30 credits) or The Professional Practice Report Module (30 credits) KPAs for the Corporate/Commercial pathway include: Mergers and Acquisitions Debt Finance Equity and capital markets Advanced Dispute Resolution Advanced Real Estate Commercial and International Trade Competition Employment Intellectual Property KPAs for the Commercial/Private Client pathway include: Advanced Dispute Resolution Advanced Real Estate Commercial and International Trade Competition Employment Intellectual Property Advanced Criminal Practice Family Immigration Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Private Wealth All KPAs are available on-campus and online (subject to demand). The Preparation for Practice module (which is a compulsory module underpinning the three KPAs) includes commercial and well-rounded lawyer skills content taught within the delivery of the KPAs. These additional skills were developed in conjunction with law firms to provide our students with the required 21st century practice skills. You may then choose between studying either the Business of Law module or the Professional Practice Report module. The Business of Law module consists of one compulsory module: Business of Law 1 which has content on professional effectiveness, and law firms and their clients. Plus a choice from one of the following additional modules known as Business of Law 2 options: Commercial Law Competition Law Employment Law Innovation, Technology and Legal Project Management Intellectual Property International Trade It is not possible to select a Business of Law 2 option in the same subject as one of your KPA choices. The Professional Practice Report module consists of: research method induction, individual tutor supervision and the completion of an extended research report based on one of your chosen KPAs. On successful completion of this course, including passing all the University’s assessments in SQE1, SQE2 and SQE Plus , you will gain an internationally recognised Master’s qualification. Passing the SRA’s centralised assessments is not necessary in order to gain our master’s award although it is required in order to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales. The course prepares students for these centralised assessments and creates spaces within the academic calendar for students to be able to sit them. Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) As part of the new SQE route to practice, you must complete two years of Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) which can be completed with up to four employers. Find more information here https://www.law.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/sqe/support/
Assessment method
The University assesses its master’s students in the following ways: Functioning Legal Knowledge is assessed internally through the following final assessments: FLK1 Students will sit a Multiple Choice Question paper using Single Best Answer style questions (SBAQs) covering the topics in Functioning Legal Knowledge 1. The assessment will consist of 90 SBAQs and will be delivered online using the University’s Virtual Learning Platform Elite. The SBAQs will mimic the SRA’s SQE1 assessments in terms of syllabus coverage and timings to best prepare students for these external assessments. FLK2 Students will sit a Multiple Choice Question paper using Single Best Answer style questions (SBAQs) covering the topics in Functioning Legal Knowledge 2. The assessment will consist of 90 SBAQs and will be delivered online using the University’s Virtual Learning Platform Elite. The SBAQs will mimic the SRA’s SQE1 assessments in terms of syllabus coverage and timings to best prepare students for these external assessments. Ethics will be assessed pervasively across FLK 1 and 2 including unflagged ethical questions. Once successfully passed, the assessments will contribute 60 credits towards the student’s master’s award. The SQE2 skills are assessed internally through the following final assessments: Written skills Students will receive one composite 48 hour takeaway coursework assessing the four skills of writing, drafting, legal research and case and matter analysis. This will be marked on a competent/not yet competent basis. Oral skills Advocacy: Students will watch media clips covering advocacy and be asked to complete a number of MCQs on that oral skill, under time restrictions. Interviewing: Students will watch media clips covering interviewing and be asked to complete a number of MCQs on that oral skill, under time restrictions. In addition, there will be internal assessments for the SQE Plus modules, including: For each KPA a 2,000 word technical black letter law coursework based on problem solving questions. For the Preparation for Practice module a 3,000 word research report (plus a 500 word reflective statement) on the development of the well-rounded lawyer skills and the commercial/legal practice/client contexts relating to the practice of law. The report is based on a title selected by each student linked to a KPA that they are studying. Students will also be required to produce and submit a slide deck and complete an oral assessment based on their report and slide deck. For the Business of Law module, a 4,000 word coursework and a 500 word reflective statement on Business of Law 1 topics relating to professional effectiveness and law firms and their clients and a 2,000 word coursework on their Business of Law 2 option. For the Professional Practice Report a 7,500 word research report (plus a 500 word reflective statement). The report is based on a title selected by each student linked to a KPA that they are studying. External assessments SQE1 and SQE2 are assessed by centralised assessments introduced by the SRA. These assessments are an essential requirement to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales (but do not need to be passed in order to gain our master’s award). The SRA assessments for SQE1 and SQE2 are under the control of the SRA’s chosen assessment provider Kaplan. For details on how to book, pay and receive your results for your SQE assessments, as well as request any reasonable adjustments, please visit the SRA website https://sqe.sra.org.uk/
Entry requirements
Students are required to possess an undergraduate degree in any subject at 2:2 or above or equivalent qualifications. In addition students require knowledge of the seven foundation subjects of English Legal System, Constitutional and Administrative Law including retained EU Law, Contract, Tort, Land Law, Equity and Trusts and Crime, which they can evidence through the successful completion of these modules on an LLB or equivalent; or a law conversion course or equivalent. If you are missing only one, two or three of these modules, we offer study of individual modules without having to complete the entire SQE Law Essentials course. Note: If you're looking to book more than 3 standalone modules, we recommend the full SQE Law Essentials course. English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English An English Language level equivalent to IELTS 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each component.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
No fee information has been provided for this course
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Provider information
The University of Law
2 Bunhil Row
London
EC1Y 8HQ