Why study this course?

The LLM in Legal Practice aims to prepare you for employment as a trainee solicitor and to provide you with a solid foundation for subsequent practice as a solicitor. In addition, this course offers you an opportunity to extend your research in an area of interest within legal practice, through a research module and a dissertation. This course can be studied full-time or part-time (in the day or in the evening).

Our law courses are ranked ninth in the UK for teaching quality in the Guardian University Guide 2023.

More about this course

This course provides graduates who have completed the academic stage of legal training with the professional stage of training required to qualify as a solicitor. We have a long-standing reputation for training solicitors and were one of the first universities to be validated to run the Legal Practice Course.

The course imitates the nature of the work you would encounter in legal practice and follows clients through various legal transactions and court hearings. It builds on the substantive law that you will have already learnt and includes the study of both law and procedure in the major areas of practice.

You’ll also learn the everyday skills of legal research, interviewing, writing, drafting and advocacy to prepare you for your subsequent professional training and for practice as a solicitor.

In addition, we aim to help you apply academic understanding and research techniques to the analysis of law, policy and practice within your chosen area for the final LLM qualification. You’ll also learn how to produce analytical, creative and original research that demonstrates the relationships between substantive law, policy, socio-economic context and legal practice.

The combined qualifications of the Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC) and the LLM in Legal Practice are designed to enhance your career prospects, demonstrate your research capabilities and knowledge of a particular legal area, whatever branch of law you intend to follow.

The course has dedicated facilities. These include an LPC resource room (with its practitioner library and IT resources) and teaching rooms with audio-visual recording facilities. Materials and case studies are provided within the course fee.

Assessment

Assessment methods for the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC) are designed to reflect how solicitors work today, and include skills assessments and open book examinations.

You will also complete coursework and a dissertation to obtain your final LLM in Legal Practice.

Professional accreditation

London Metropolitan University is an SRA (Solicitor Regulation Authority) approved LPC provider.

Fees and key information

Course type
Postgraduate
Entry requirements View
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Entry requirements

You will be required to have:

  • a qualifying law degree (awarded by a Solicitor Regulation Authority (SRA) approved provider), with at least second class honours. This must include having adequately passed assessments in the seven Foundations of Legal Knowledge: Public Law, Obligations I (Contract), Obligations II (Tort), Criminal Law, Land Law, Equity and Trusts, and Law of the European Union. Further guidance on what amounts to a Qualifying Law Degree is available on the SRA website.
  • (if you’re a non-law graduate) a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or Common Professional Examination (CPE) with an average of at least 50%.

Prior to joining the course applicants will also need to provide evidence of Completion of the Academic Stage of Training in the form of:

  • a letter or email from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) (obtained prior to July 2014) or
  • a letter from the awarding University to state that your Undergraduate Degree is a Qualifying Law Degree (to be issued on completion of your award) or that you have completed and passed all seven core GDL/CPE subjects within the maximum number of attempts allowed (not more than three)

Other factors will be taken into account, in particular the need to study part time, in London, evidence of ability to pursue successfully the skills components of the course and your motivation to become a solicitor, evidence for example by relevant unpaid or paid work experience.

Accelerated study

Completed the BVC or BPTC in the last five years?

If you have, you can apply for prior learning credit on our course, providing you with an opportunity to qualify as a solicitor (subject to obtaining a training contract) by undertaking a portion of the regular LLM in Legal Practice. In this way you can complete our LLM within one year (part-time), with a degree of flexibility regarding class times.

Students who have successfully completed the BVC/BPTC are eligible to apply for exemption from attendance and assessment in the following subjects and skills which are part of the LLM: Litigation; advocacy; drafting; practical legal research (BVC graduates only) and two of the three vocational electives.

Accreditation of Prior Learning

Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course at London Met. Find out more about applying for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).

English language requirements

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet our higher requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.

Modular structure

The modules listed below are for the academic year 2023/24 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.

Year 1 modules include:

This module currently runs:
  • autumn semester

This module focuses on the development of the skills of a presenting advocate including the ability to formulate and present a submission and to conduct or respond to cross-examination.

The module aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop or improve their advocacy skills.

This module currently runs:
  • autumn semester - Monday morning
  • autumn semester - Monday evening
  • autumn semester - Monday afternoon
  • autumn semester - Tuesday afternoon
  • autumn semester - Wednesday evening
  • autumn semester - Thursday afternoon
  • autumn semester - Thursday afternoon

This module focuses on the law and practice of starting, running and winding-up businesses, including sole traders, partnerships and private limited companies. A proportion of the module is devoted to the study of the construction and interpretation of business accounts.

The module aims to equip students with the knowledge and confidence required to work on transactions on the first day of their training contract as a solicitor.

This module currently runs:
  • autumn semester

This module focuses on the skill of drafting legal documents. It aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop or improve their legal drafting skills.

This module currently runs:
  • spring semester
  • summer studies

This module focuses on writing a project/ dissertation on a specialist area of legal practice of between 12,000 and 15,000 words at M level.

The module aims:

1. to develop an awareness and understanding of developments within a specialist area of legal practice;
2. to apply academic understanding and research techniques to the analysis of law, policy and practice within the area of legal specialism;
3. to bring to such analysis originality, creativity and an awareness of the complexities of the inter-relationship between the academic principles of law, the wider policy and socio-economic context of the law and the implications for legal practice.

This module currently runs:
  • spring semester - Wednesday morning
  • autumn semester - Thursday evening

To provide students with a critical and historically grounded introduction ot contemporary legal research;
To introduce students to diverse and problematic conceptual and formative issues in current legal research;
To provide students with the research tools and skills necessary to undertake and engage successfully in independent legal research study at M level;
To enable students to present legal issues, disputes and attendant intellectual argument in a structured and comprehensible manner sufficient to embark upon preparation for an M level dissertation.

This module currently runs:
  • autumn semester

The module aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop or improve their legal writing skills.

This module currently runs:
  • autumn semester - Tuesday morning
  • autumn semester - Tuesday evening
  • autumn semester - Tuesday afternoon
  • autumn semester - Thursday morning
  • autumn semester - Thursday evening
  • autumn semester - Thursday afternoon
  • autumn semester - Friday morning
  • autumn semester - Friday afternoon

This module focuses on the law and practice of criminal and civil litigation procedure, evidence and advocacy. The module aims to equip students with the knowledge and confidence required to work on transactions on their first day of their training contract as a solicitor.

This module currently runs:
  • autumn semester

The module addresses main aspects of professional conduct and regulation, including in relation to client care as well as aspects of money laundering and financial services relevant to legal practice.

The module aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop or improve their knowledge of the rules of professional conduct governing solicitors and the regulation of money laundering and financial service provisions.

This module currently runs:
  • autumn semester - Monday morning
  • autumn semester - Monday evening
  • autumn semester - Monday afternoon
  • autumn semester - Monday afternoon
  • autumn semester - Tuesday morning
  • autumn semester - Wednesday evening
  • autumn semester - Thursday morning

This module focuses on the law and practice of buying and selling residential and commercial freehold property and leasehold property. A proportion of the module is devoted to the study of the construction and interpretation of solicitors' accounts, which is taught and assessed as a separate module, but based on the mechanics of freehold residential property transactions.

The module aims to equip students with the knowledge and confidence required to work on property transactions on the first day of their training contract as a solicitor. On completion of this module students should have a clear understanding of the various stages in a conveyancing transaction and of the legal and practical issues which are relevant to each stage. Students should have sufficient knowledge of the law and sufficient experience through practical exercises to deal confidently and effectively with a straightforward transaction from the taking of instructions through to registration and to be able to find solutions to any difficulties which may arise.

This module currently runs:
  • autumn semester

This module teaches the skill of practical legal research.

The module aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop or improve their practical legal research skills to the standard required of a trainee solicitor.

This module currently runs:
  • autumn semester

This module focuses on the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules and the accounting principles used by solicitors in practice. The module aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop or improve their understanding of accounting principles and the rules that apply to solicitors.

This module currently runs:
  • autumn semester - Tuesday evening
  • autumn semester - Tuesday afternoon
  • autumn semester - Tuesday afternoon
  • autumn semester - Thursday evening
  • autumn semester - Thursday afternoon
  • autumn semester - Friday morning
  • autumn semester - Friday afternoon

This module focuses on the law and practice of probate and intestacy. It is assessed through the skill of interviewing.

The module aims to equip students with the knowledge and confidence required to work on transactions on the first day of their training contract as a solicitor.

This module currently runs:
  • spring semester - Thursday afternoon
  • spring semester - Friday afternoon

This module offers a balance between the teaching of substantive law, practice and practical skills and focuses on common types of cases dealt with by child law lawyers.

The aims of the Child Law and Practice elective are to prepare students for work-based learning in a child law department; and provide a foundation for practice generally and child law work in particular.

This module focuses on identifying the overall nature of the various methods of ADR, progressing that ADR method through a series of steps and decisions including, where appropriate, drafting documentation.

This module currently runs:
  • spring semester - Monday afternoon
  • spring semester - Tuesday morning
  • spring semester - Thursday evening

This module focuses on advising the commercial client in relation to commercial contracts.

This module aims to equip students to act as a trainee solicitor for commercial clients in order to negotiate and advise upon commercial contracts.

This module currently runs:
  • spring semester - Friday morning
  • spring semester - Thursday morning
  • spring semester - Monday evening
  • spring semester - Monday evening

The Employment Law and Practice Module covers most aspects of contentious employment law including unfair dismissal, redundancy and equality law. It also includes the procedural steps to bring or defend proceedings in the Employment Tribunal.

The module aims to teach students how to act for clients who want to bring or defend proceedings in the Employment Tribunal.

This module currently runs:
  • spring semester - Friday morning
  • spring semester - Wednesday evening
  • spring semester - Tuesday evening
  • spring semester - Thursday morning

This module offers a balance between the teaching of substantive law, practice and practical skills and focuses on common types of cases dealt with by family lawyers.

The aims of the Family Law and Practice elective are to prepare students for work-based learning in a Family Law department; and to provide a foundation for practice generally and Family Law work in particular.

This module currently runs:
  • spring semester - Thursday afternoon
  • spring semester - Thursday evening

This module aims to equip students to act as a trainee solicitor for landlords and tenants in the process of litigious housing law matters.

This module currently runs:
  • spring semester - Friday afternoon
  • spring semester - Wednesday evening
  • spring semester - Tuesday afternoon
  • spring semester - Tuesday evening

This module aims to equip students to act as a trainee solicitor for clients seeking immigration advice including on asylum law and practice and applicants for British nationality.

It focuses on advising the immigration law client on their rights and responsibilities and acting for them in the immigration courts.

This module currently runs:
  • spring semester - Tuesday evening

This module focuses on advising the commercial client on their intellectual property law rights and responsibilities. It enables students to effectively apply law to specific scenarios in relation to four main aspects of intellectual property, namely copyright, patents, trademarks and design rights

This module aims to equip students to act as a trainee solicitor for commercial clients in respect of their intellectual property law rights and responsibilities.

This module currently runs:
  • autumn semester

The module aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop or improve their interviewing and advising skills.

Where this course can take you

The Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC) qualifies you to enter into a training contract with a firm of solicitors or an in-house legal department. The LLM in Legal Practice further enhances your employment prospects. The course also provides a good grounding for practice as a paralegal, in local or health authorities, in local or central government, in commerce either in company secretarial/governance/ regulatory areas or if you aspire to being on a board of directors.

Additional costs

Please note, in addition to the tuition fee there may be additional costs for things like equipment, materials, printing, textbooks, trips or professional body fees.

Additionally, there may be other activities that are not formally part of your course and not required to complete your course, but which you may find helpful (for example, optional field trips). The costs of these are additional to your tuition fee and the fees set out above and will be notified when the activity is being arranged.

How to apply

If you are applying for a place on the one-year full-time course, you must do so through the Central Applications Board (LawCAB).

If you are applying for a place on the two-year part-time course, use the apply button to begin your application.

If you require a Student visa and wish to study a postgraduate course on a part-time basis, please read our how to apply information for international students to ensure you have all the details you need about the application process.



When to apply

You are advised to apply as early as possible as applications will only be considered if there are places available on the course.

To find out when teaching for this degree will begin, as well as welcome week and any induction activities, view our academic term dates.