Studying Law in England; The JD/LLB Option Part II: The Good, the Debatable and the Ugly!

The Good:

The potential opportunities while studying in England are endless. I am sure there are equivalent opportunities in any country you choose to study. In England, there are many opportunities to improve your language skills, which have become increasingly important to employers. You are almost expected to be fluent in more than one language. Universities in England operate Erasmus schemes where students from the U.K. do part of their degree in a European country. There are a variety of choices, for example you can do the European LLB and do half of the last year in France and the other half in Germany.

Living in England affords you the opportunity to travel to anywhere in Europe for prices well below £100. There are always student specials and you can experience the rich culture and language of Europe while getting a first class education.

Tuition expenses are considerably lower in comparison to that of U.S. schools. The fees for Universities in England can be anywhere from £6,200- £7,800. If you are an International student in Canada, the fees are almost the same, depending on the province in which you choose to live. For example, your fees for the University of New Foundland will be much cheaper than your fees for a school in Ontario. Living in Hall in Exeter cost around £88-£97 per week for catered accommodation (this includes three meals a day, seven days a week) and £48- £80 for self catered accommodation. These prices reflect all of England although the popular cities have higher living expenses. I lived in Toronto for a year and I find that the overall expenses for food and accommodation are cheaper in Exeter than in Toronto.

The Debatable:

It is debatable as to whether doing your LLB and JD is smart decision. One needs only look at the countless articles from lawyers who have pursued this path to see that it may not be as clear cut a path to success as it seems (then again, nothing ever is).

The issues get increasingly complicated as you progress into your course. I am technically in the second year of my LLB program and students studying law around the world are at this very moment applying to law firms for internships during the summer 2001. My opportunity for gaining an internship seems to be a bit precarious to say the least. Where do I apply for internships? Do I apply in Canada, England or the United States? If your answer to this question would be Canada, you should at least be aware of the difficulty of obtaining an internship in Canada. Firstly, law firms in Canada have very little places in relation to the number of students who apply every year. Secondly, the firms want to know that you are going to practice in Canada when you complete your studies. If you plan on doing this, your best bet would be to attend law school in Canada, rather than face the uphill battle to obtain not only internships for your summers, but, admission to the bar when your studies are completed.

You will also face some difficulties if your answer to this question was the United States. There will undoubtedly be U.S. law firms who will be greatly interested in you because of your potential fluency in both jurisdictions. However, you will still have to deal with the fact that you are in second year, but are only equipped with one year of law school and that year, is one year of English Law with no knowledge as yet of U.S. law. You will most certainly have grave competition for law firm internships in the United States, at least during your second year.

That leaves England! The choices become even more complex with the split in the legal profession between Barristers and Solicitors. Should I do a pupillage (internships for Barristers) or should I enrol on a vacation scheme (internships for Solicitors)? You will still be faced with the difficulty of having only one year of law, however, you may be able to overcome this because you would have a Bachelors degree and perhaps some work experience and not many English students will be able to compete with that.

Suffice it to say, the path to your legal career armed with your JD/LLB, although exciting and filled with opportunities, is also filled with an incredible amount of trepidation. With the globalisation of legal services, it is hard to see why there are restrictions on foreign attorneys and foreign-trained law graduates, particularly in the United States. It may not be as important to understand this as it is to acknowledge that these restrictions exist and make your decision with all the relevant facts.

The Ugly:

If you study law in England you will undoubtedly be surrounded by teenagers 18-20 years of age. You are sometimes faced with the occasional barbs and comments intended to be facetious but are unpleasant nevertheless. These comments are in regards to your age and the amazement of these students that you can still be studying after age 24! If you live in hall, you may also face the problem of loud music, students getting wasted and in tears the following morning because they were not able to do their assignment. They also tend to get upset at the most trivial of things, like you not being able to accompany them to the mall. This may be related to immaturity rather than physical age.

You crave the friendship of someone your own age who can relate to your experiences and understand the things you say and rates for international calling in England are very high and therefore you cannot call your friends or family at home too often. The food in England is bland and I eat a lot more salt as a result! The weather is depressing because it rains almost all the time and when it is not raining it is overcast.

How do you deal with these issues? The comments do not bother me for more than a mere second or two until I come to the realisation that firstly, any vituperative epithets are frequently insulting to pride rather than disparaging your reputation. Secondly, these issues are mere peccadilloes in the grand scheme of things. Thirdly they are too young too know any better and hence can be exculpated as a result. If the truth were told, it also feels good to know that, not only do you know the meaning of the word ‘vituperative’, you also know how to handle your work much better than an 18 year old can.

Conclusion:

I really believe that in life there will always be negative and positive aspects to whatever decisions you make, whether it be choosing a law school or choosing where to eat for dinner. It is not always certain what choices will yield the greatest benefit but I am a consequentialist and believe that there must be a way to achieve the things you want in life, you must however accept the good with the bad. That being said, I will take my chances on the JD/LLB option. I trust that with the globalisation and rapidly increasing cross-border legal services required to help clients achieve their objectives across a wide range of jurisdictions, my fluency in both jurisdictions will appeal to at least some international law firms. Any potential problems along the way are merely challenges that must be overcome. I am doing well in my course and enjoying studying law in England, I do about 5-8 hours of work per day not including class time. The required hours of study are about 3 hours per day. Classes are usually 8 hours per week with 2 hours per week of workshop. I will be enrolling in a three-week intensive course in Strasbourg, France in March to attend lectures on comparative legal systems. I feel confident about my decision to pursue the LLB/JD and I do not have any regrets.

Shelly Mohammed
B.A. Honours