Why Study Law in the UK?

Written by Nadia - 06/09/2023

Why should you, as a Canadian, study law in the UK? We'll give you three reasons!

1. You do NOT need to write the dreaded LSAT

There are different entry requirements for law school in Canada and in the UK. In Canada applicants are required to write the Law School Admission Test, which is also commonly referred to as the LSAT. Generally, the LSAT requires intense study and preparation including attending LSAT preparation courses which can cost around $1000. Add on the costs of the test ($175), the Credential Assembly Service fee ($100), and study materials, the LSAT is not only a financial burden but it can be psychologically straining, as it can take months to prepare for the test. If the applicant is in their final year of their undergraduate studies, the LSAT may not be a feasible option as thxe majority of time is already being devoted to final year studies.

In the UK, however, there is no need to write the LSAT. The application process to law school in the UK is straightforward: you need to submit your academic transcripts from high school and university, an academic reference letter, and a personal statement. The application fee for the University College Application Service (UCAS) in 2020-2021 was only Â£26 for applications to five laws schools.

2. Save your time and money

At first glance, tuition for law school in the UK may appear high compared to Canadian tuition. But it is important to remember that a UK law degree is normally shorter than a Canadian law degree. This means that not only do students spend less time getting their degree, but can save on tuition fees and living expenses. Overseas students pursuing an LLB in the UK can expect to pay between Â£15,000 to Â£21,000 per year. The price range is broad and dependent on each university.

In Canada, law school is a minimum of three years. At the University of Toronto, the tuition for the JD programme for the 2021-22 academic year is $34,633.51. This means that the JD would cost students around $104,000. By comparison, in the UK if a student opts to take the 2 year accelerated LLB programme the entire tuition for two years would be around $55,000 for the degree (Â£16,000 per year x 2 years = Â£32,000 which is the equivalent of $54,746.49).* For a 3 year programme, it would be $82,117.87, which is still more affordable than a JD in Canada. Add on the time and cost of four years of undergraduate studies required before being admitted to law school in Canada, studying law in the UK can be the fastest and most cost efficient route to becoming a lawyer.

*OANDA Currency Converter utilized for conversion on May 11, 2021

3. Gain international experience

The UK attracts top students from around the world because studying law in the UK is a wonderful opportunity to gain international experience. Not only is it the motherland of Common Law, but it is just a short train ride away to the continent where civil law reigns supreme. Moreover, future employers find individuals with experience studying and working in a different country than the one they originated from attractive, as it demonstrates initiative and a willingness to adapt to changing situations.

Want to learn more about studying law in the UK? Speak to one of our Personal Advisors, for all the information you need to take your first step to studying abroad.

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Tips for Canadian Students Living in the UK

Written by Merika - 06/09/2023

Your first weeks in the UK!

So you have decided to study Law in the UK, a country known for its exceptional education! This is an exciting time for you, youll be getting your student visa, your plane tickets, and starting to pack. Of course, youre also probably feeling the nerves kick in. Not only will you be travelling to a new country, youll be in a new education system. But not to worry, Canada Law From Abroad is still here to help! Here are some ideas of what to expect when you arrive in the UK.

Arrival

Most universities offer an airport pick-up service for international students. This is a great option, as you will not have to worry about travelling to the school with all your luggage! Its also a great way to meet other new international students. If you are living on campus, you will have a welcome crew to help you move in, these are students who can give you details about your accommodation and the school that you wont find online. There are also Welcome Events, International Student Events/Orientation, and Freshers Week. Try to go to all of the events that you can! This is how you will meet people, including you classmates, and get more comfortable with where you are. Make sure to join your local Canadian Student Law Society. Does your university not have one? Maybe you should think about starting one! This would show great initiative, and there are bound to be other Canadians looking for a law society to join. Also remember to collect your Biometric Resident Permit (BRP) from your university or local post office within 10 days of arriving in the UK.

Classes

Use your first week of classes to organize your calendar, get your syllabus, and know your due dates! You should know all of the dates for your exams and coursework deadlines. Do not book tickets home for holidays until you know the exact dates for everything, in order to avoid any flight cancellations later on. Ask your professor if you need to know early. Also be sure to get to know your classmates. With organized group projects, debates, and mooting, you will want to know who you are working with. Your classes in the UK will be more professionally focused, and in your first year you will mostly be taking core law modules. Classes in the UK are a little different than in Canada. In the UK, you might have one or two big lectures a week, but mostly you will have seminars or tutorials with small group discussions. The majority of study is self-lead, so be self-motivated! To give you an idea about UK law class hours, here is an example from a Contract Law course at Exeter Law School: hours with scheduled teaching and learning activities = 55, hours with guided independent study = 245.

Grades

In the UK they use a different grading scale. Although there is no exact conversion, here is a table to give you an idea of what your grades are equal to, but keep in mind that all the schools are different both in the UK and in Canada.

UK Degrees	UK Percentage Grades	Canadian Percentage Grades	Letter Grades CAN/UK
First (1:1)	90-100 80-89 70-79	90-100 85-89 80-84	A+ A A-
Upper Second (2:1)	60-69	77-79 73-76	B+ B
Lower Second (2:2)	50-59	70-72 67-69 63-66	B- C+ C
Ordinary Pass	40-49	60-62 57-59 53-56	C- D+ D D-
Fail	30-39 20-29 10-19 0-9	50-52 0-39 0-34.9	D- / E F F- / G H

Fun

Make sure you look up what else your university offers! Sometimes they have free language classes you can take, they might offer study abroad (if youre not doing a 2-year LLB), or have places for students to work at a Law Clinic or Pro Bono Clinic. Some universities also offer guaranteed places in LLM programmes once youve finished your LLB in good standing. These are all things that you might be interested in. Also, Quiz Nights at your local pubs are a great way to get to know where you are living and the people who you are living with! Remember that you are in the UK. While you may be going to law school, you dont want to burn out by studying for your whole time overseas. Make sure to take holidays when you can. Travel around the UK, go explore Europe, and experience new things! These will all help you grow in your personal life which in turn will help you grow in your professional life as well. If you find you have free time, why not read what some of our students have to say about their UK study experience.

Reach out today to get started on your UK law journey now, our advisors will help you every step of the way.

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London's Top Law Destinations for Students

Written by Nadia - 06/09/2023

All but one of the Canadian provinces uses the Common Law legal system, the same system used by one third of the worlds population today. Therefore, if you are a future Canadian lawyer you will likely be practicing and living under Common Law. So, why not study where it all began?

Common Law began in England during the Middle Ages under King Henry the II. When you attend one of CLFAs preferred UK Law Schools not only do you get the opportunity to study law from world class experts, but you get to do so while surrounded by centuries of legal history.

When you need a study break during your academic adventures, you wont want to miss these top law destinations found in Englands capital.

1. The Old Bailey

With the golden Lady Justice standing on guard atop of this iconic London building, the Old Bailey, known as The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, is a place no future lawyer should skip. Inside the Old Bailey all major criminal cases from the Greater London area are tried and these trials are open to viewing from the public galleries. The building received its name as it was built along Londons original fortified walls and has a long history dating back to 1674. Here, many of Englands most notorious and violent criminals were sentenced to hanging in the public square between the Court and the Newgate Prison. Entry is free and privately booked guided tours run as cheap as 6.

2. Temple, London and The Inns of Court

There are four historic Inns of Court: Lincolns Inn, Inner Temple, Middle Temple and Grays Inn, where barristers in training traditionally received their legal education. If you are a City Law School student you will become very familiar with the Inns of Court as they are now a part of the campus. The Inns of Court were the first providers of legal education in England and each society dates to Middle Ages. The Inner and Middle Temple are named after the Knights Templar, whereas Lincolns Inn is named after the Third Earl of Lincoln, and Grays Inn after the Baron Grey of Wilton. The Inner and Middle Temple are located in-between the Dickson Poon School of Law at Kings College London and the Royal Courts of Justice, and Grays and Lincolns Inn are located in the nearby London Borough of Camden. Some of their famous alumni include Francis Bacon, Margaret Thatcher, and William Osgoode the first Chief Justice of Ontario. Private and group visits can be booked at the individual Inns of Court and range from complimentary to 25 for guided tours.

3. Royal Courts of Justice

A place no law student should miss while in London! The Royal Courts of Justice is one of the largest courts in all of Europe. In 1882 the impressive Victorian Gothic building was opened by Queen Victoria herself. The Royal Courts of Justice still contain the High Court and the Court of Appeal for England and Wales. The Royal Courts are just a stones throw from the Old Bailey, the Inns of Court, and Kings College Londons Dickson Poon School of Law. Entry is free but their two hour guided tours are 12. You may briefly watch a High Court Case from the public gallery, view exhibits on historical legal costumes throughout history, famous works of art, learn about of the Courts most famous cases, and see firsthand the original court documents from the Guy Fawkes trials.

4. Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster should top the site-seeing list for anyone lucky enough to make a visit to London. While this place likely needs no introduction, Westminster is the UKs current parliament building and was formerly used as a private Royal residence. Rebuilt after the great fire of 1834, the palace holds both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons, like in Canada, is where elected Members of Parliament meet to discuss and implement laws and legislation. The House of Lords acts much like our Canadian Senate with appointed membership. You can have a guided tour of the Palace and visit the Lords Chamber, Princes Chamber, Commons Chamber, Westminster Hall, St. Stephens Hall, the Royal Gallery, the Queens Robing Room, and more. The student price for a guided tour is 20, and its well worth each penny. For an additional 27.50 you can enjoy a high tea in the Terrace Pavilion.

5. The Supreme Court

Not every legal hotspot in London is historical. You might be surprised to know that Canadas Supreme Court outdates the one in England by a whopping 134 years. However, that doesnt mean that the UKs Supreme Court, created in 2009, isnt a must see for students. The Supreme Court is the highest court for legal matters in the country and took over the judicial functions of the historic House of Lords housed in the Palace of Westminster. The Supreme Court can be found just around the corner from Westminster in the 1906 Grade II listed historic Middlesex Guidehall. With a caf, gift shop, and permanent exhibits, you can join one of the Courts hour long guided tours (3.50 for students), opt to do a self-guided tour for 1, or get in on the legal action by observing real cases while the court is sitting.

Travel opportunities are just one of the many perks to studying law with one of our preferred law schools. Studying in the UK isnt just all about the degree; its also about living the international experience. CLFA encourages you to craft your law education inside and outside of the classroom in ways you simply cant by studying at home.

Sources Referenced

1). The Old Bailey:
https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/about-us/buildings-we-manage/Pages/central-criminal-court.aspx
http://old-bailey.com/old-bailey-insight/
http://old-bailey.com/legal-london-tour/

2). Inns of Court:
http://www.middletemplehall.org.uk/tours-of-middle-temple-hall.html

http://www.innertemple.org.uk/index/guided-tours

https://www.graysinn.org.uk/joining/tours

http://www.lincolnsinn.org.uk/index.php/tours-and-visits

3). The Royal Courts of Justice
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/rcj-rolls-building/rcj/tours

4). Palace of Westminster
http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/tours-of-parliament/guided-tours-of-parliament/

5). The Supreme Court
https://www.supremecourt.uk/visiting/guided-tours.html

Bonus: Magna Carta
http://www.bl.uk/magna-carta

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What You Need to Know About the Accreditation Process in Canada

Written by Katie - 06/09/2023

One of the questions we most often get asked by prospective Canadian Law students is What is the process like coming back to Canada to get licensed as a lawyer? This question tends to be one of the deciding factors in your decision to study law abroad (or at least it was in my case!). Truth be told, the accreditation process is not as scary as it might sound. In this blog, we discuss how the accreditation process works and what your options are after completing your course, and returning to Canada. Youve Graduated Law School in the UKNow What? The accreditation process in Canada is regulated by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. The National Committee on Accreditation (or NCA, for short) is a standing committee for the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, and it is through the NCA that you will have to apply for an assessment report of your law-related credentials. You can apply to the NCA at any time but your file will not be assessed until the NCA receives your final law school transcripts. The application process involves an application fee of approximately $450CDN, a resume, pre-law school transcripts, final law school transcript, and a completed application form. We suggest applying to the NCA after you finish your final law school exams. Then, once you receive your final transcript after graduation, have your UK University send your transcript to the NCA directly. It takes approximately 4-6 weeks for the NCA to assess your file and respond to you with a report detailing the requirements you must meet in order to obtain a Certificate of Qualification. After The NCA Assesses Your File If you studied the 2-year accelerated LL.B Degree in the UK, youll most likely be required to complete 7 challenge exams in order to obtain a Certificate of Qualification. If you completed a 3 year LLB you will be required to write between 5 to 7 exams. The number of exams assigned are determined on an individual basis. Here is a list of the core exams:

Foundations of Canadian law
Canadian Constitutional law
Canadian Administrative law
Canadian Professional Responsibility
Canadian Criminal law

If you are assigned 7 exams, the remaining two exams can consist of a range of exams including, but not limited to:

Ø Contracts Ø Property Torts Ø Business Organizations Ø Evidence Ø Tax Law

Ø Commercial Law Ø Civil Procedure Ø Family Law Ø Remedies Ø Trusts

Details of these exams can be found in the NCA Policies and Guidelines, section 1.3.2.2.2. Final Suggestions It is important to note that this process is not always straightforward, with many bumps along the way. but the important thing to remember is that you are not alone in this process. Would you like some extra advice on studying Law in the UK? Why not contact one of our Personal Advisors, who are here for your support and guidance.

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