Legal Practice LLM University of Westminster

Wednesday 7th June 2023 - On campus - 5:30-7PM (BST)

If you want to practise as a solicitor in England and Wales, the Legal Practice Course (LPC) remains a great choice if you have a Qualifying Law Degree or a Graduate Diploma in Law. After graduating from the course, you may qualify as a solicitor through the traditional route of a training contract. You now also have the option to qualify through the Solicitors Qualifying Examination pathway by claiming exemption from SQE1 and substituting qualifying work experience for a training contract.

Westminster Law School has a well-established reputation for the delivery of solicitors' vocational training, and our Legal Practice LLM (which incorporates Stages 1 and 2 of the LPC) equips you with the skills and knowledge needed to be a successful 21st-century lawyer.

Top reasons to study with us

• Our highly experienced and approachable lecturers are all solicitors, barristers or experienced legal professionals.
• Small, interactive group work allows you to benefit from individual guidance and help.
• You can choose from a broad range of Stage 2 electives which reflect areas of practice from high-street to city firms.
• All sessions are set within a balanced timetable to replicate the tasks undertaken in practice.
• You'll have the opportunity to enhance your CV through undertaking real client legal work at our Legal Advice Clinic, working under the supervision of tutors and practising specialist lawyers.
• Our mentoring scheme pairs you with mentors working in your area of interest who can help you develop your professional outlook. Our mentors are predominantly former Westminster LPC students who now work in an area of legal practice.
• You'll be supported by our experienced personal tutoring team and wellbeing advisers.
• You'll study at our dedicated Westminster Law School premises in the heart of London's West End, in the vicinity of many top employers.

Why study this course?

• Fantastic central London location
  You'll be studying in the centre of one of the world’s greatest cities, within easy reach of London's unrivalled legal, business and cultural resources.
• Enhance your career prospects
  Our course (which incorporates Stages 1 and 2 of the LPC) equips you with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed as a modern-day lawyer and enables you to progress onto a training contract or the Solicitor's Qualifying Exam (SQE).
• Be supported
  You'll benefit from guidance and support from our teaching team, your personal tutor and our wellbeing advisers, and you have the option to take part in our mentoring scheme and be matched with a practising lawyer.

Solicitors Regulation Authority

The Legal Practice Course is awarded by the University of Westminster and is accredited by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). All providers of the Legal Practice Course are governed by the rules and regulations as set out by the SRA.

On graduation, you'll unlock two pathways to qualification – you can go on to do a training contract or the Solicitor's Qualifying Exam (SQE).

• Supporting your career
  We offer 1-2-1 appointments with careers advisors, advice on your CV and job applications, and mock assessment centres and interviews. We also run a law vacancy jobs bulletin.
• Industry links
  You'll have access to events and workshops with law firms, alumni, and career professionals to help you to get started in your law career through our Legal Skills Academy.
• Employers around the world
  The University’s Careers and Employability Service has built up a network of over 3,000 employers around the world, helping all our students explore and connect with exciting opportunities and careers.

Mentoring scheme

We run a mentoring scheme which is open to all students on the course. All of our mentors are practising lawyers, and many are University of Westminster alumni. We have links to various solicitors firms through our mentoring scheme, eg Lewis Silkin, Russell Cooke and New Media Law.

Work experience

You'll have the opportunity to volunteer in our Student Law Clinic, where you can interview and advise clients in the following area of law: family, housing, employment, immigration and Windrush compensation claims. You'll be supervised by qualified solicitors and barristers with expertise in the relevant area of law.

Guest speakers

In previous years, guest speakers for students on this course have included:

• Ali Vaziri, Legal Director at Lewis Silkin
• Shaheen Mamun, Solicitor and Head of Finance and Administration at Black Antelope Law, who also sits on the Law Society’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Job roles

This course will prepare you for roles in a variety of areas, including:

• Solicitor
• Paralegal
• Compliance and Due Diligence Officer
• Asset Manager
• Tax Planning Adviser

Graduate employers

Graduates from this course have found employment at organisations including:

• Bindmans
• Duncan Lewis
• Financial Conduct Authority
• Osbornes Law
• Reach PLC

The following modules are indicative of what you'll study in this course.

Westminster's LPC assessments meet SRA expectations. They're designed to be realistic and constructive by genuinely testing you and enabling you to demonstrate acquired knowledge and skills through a mixture of written examinations and practical assessments. Assessment takes place throughout Stage 1 of the LPC and at the end of Stage 2 electives. Generally, the assessments are 'open book', and you're allowed to use both textbooks and your own written notes. You are timetabled to allow sufficient revision and preparation time for examinations and assessments.

Following successful completion of Stage 1 of the LPC, you'll progress to the Research and Dissertation modules. In the research modules, you'll be introduced to research methods and design, literature reviews, research ethics and analysis. Having identified a suitable area of research pertinent to legal practice, you'll then justify the research project and your proposed methodology and produce your literature review. The final stage is to carry out your research and produce an 8,000-word dissertation. Throughout these stages, you'll be allocated a supervisor to advise on your progress.

Semester 1

• Core Practice Areas of Business Law and Practice, Criminal and Civil Litigation and Property Law and Practice
• Professional Conduct and Regulation, Wills and Administration of Estates, Solicitors Accounts and Taxation
• Skills – Practical Legal Research, Interviewing and Advising, Writing, Drafting and Advocacy

Semester 2: Elective Subjects

Private client electives

• Family Law
• Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence
• Immigration Law
• Housing Law
• Employment Law

Commercial electives

• Commercial Litigation
• Private Acquisitions
• Entertainment and Media
• Commercial Property
• Commercial Law

Dissertation and Research Modules

• Social Research Methods (2 x 1,000 word assignments)
• 8,000 word Legal Practice dissertation