The Rough Guide to Going to College

The Rough Guide to Going to College - Law

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Many students equate a law degree with becoming a solicitor or barrister. In fact, a law degree is an academic rather than a professional qualification, and many law graduates will never work as a barrister or solicitor. UCD's careers and appointments officer, Mr Colm Tobin, says law graduates are becoming involved in a greater variety of careers. Postgraduate study is also becoming more common as graduates specialise in a particular field of law. A survey of UCDs 1997 law graduates showed 40 per cent went on to research or further academic study while almost a quarter progressed to vocational and professional training and 28 per cent went directly into a job. "Postgraduate degrees and the good economic climate have allowed law graduates to spread their wings, and get involved in things that might be more interesting for them than the traditional roles. Not everyone intends to practise as a barrister or a solicitor because of the difficulty people can have in establishing themselves in those professions. Some people just don't want to take that risk. "There's also a growing awareness among employers that law students make good candidates for management-type positions," says Mr Tobin. Along with specialised law degrees, law students have also gone on to secondary studies as diverse as arts administration and computer science. Accountancy, tax and banking are more traditional alternative areas of employment. It is possible to combine the study of law with other subjects, such as languages or business, in an undergraduate degree. For instance, UL offers courses in law and accounting and law with European studies. These courses are particularly suited to students who would like to make a career beyond the law courts or solicitors' rooms. Remember legal science is available through NUI Galway's common-entry arts programme.

Becoming a barrister
UNTIL now, admission to The Honourable Society of the King's Inns degree programme was determined by whether you had a sufficiently good honours law degree from an approved institution.. However, the King's Inns has given notice to students intending to apply for their barrister-at-law degree from 2002 en programme will be determined by an entrance exam. The 120 students who hold an approved degree and perform best in the entry exam, which will cover jurisprudence (the theory of law) and-the law of evidence as well as criminal, company and constitutional law, will be admitted to the degree programme. That means anyone beginning a law degree in September of this year will also have to sit the will also have to sit the Kings Inns entrance exam the summer after they graduate if they wish to train as a barrister. If you're not sure yet whether to study law and believe you might prefer to study in another faculty first, the King's Inns offers a diploma in legal studies course, which is open to graduates in degrees other than the approved law degrees. Lectures are in the afternoon, so many students combine their diploma studies with a day job.

Becoming a solicitor
THE Law Society is responsible for the training of solicitors. Non-degree-holders must first pass the preliminary exam; however, very few people follow this route. All graduates must sit the Law Society's entrance exams. Everyone who passes the entrance exam is entitled to train as a solicitor. There is a waiting list for the professional training-course.

Institutes of technology and la
LAW is not just offered at degree level. For instance Waterford IT offer a certificate in legal studies. Students at WIT can also pursue an add-on diploma in legal studies or legal studies in international trade. Graduates of either diploma may be eligible to continue their studies to the college's add-on BA in legal and business studies. Letterkenny IT also offers legal studies at certificate and diploma level. The DIT run a popular two year part-time course in legal studies which prepares students for the King's Inns and Blackball Place.

Law and private colleges
2 Dublin colleges, Griffith College and Portobello, have law courses on offer through the CAO.