What Can I Do With An LLM?

As your undergraduate days draw to a saddening close, you need to start making decisions about your law career. Solicitor or barrister? Training contract or pupillage? LPC or BPTC? You should be considering your answers to these questions or you may have even reached your decision already. You may also have heard about the ol’ LLM, but it’s not been made entirely clear to you why you should take this route. Allow us?

First things first, don’t do an LLM because you want to postpone the nightmare scenario of not having a training contract or pupillage secured. The LLM shouldn’t be a stop gap, but rather a course you’re passionate about, that will have clear benefits for your career. Not to mention the fact that it would be a very expensive stop gap, particularly as the trusty Student Loans Company won’t be around to cough up for your tuition fees.

You Want To Become a Barrister

A little birdy told AllAboutLLMs.com that a master’s degree is pretty handy when it comes to pursuing a career as a barrister. It’s by no means a requirement but it could strengthen your application and there’s a tendency for future barristers to undertake a Human Rights or International Law LLM. Sound appealing? Head over to our LLM course search to check out the courses available.

Therefore, embarking upon an LLM course before you do the BPTC and seek out a pupillage could be a wise move, particularly due to the problems associated with finding a pupillage (read: it’s bloomin’ competitive).

You Want To Become a Solicitor

LLMs are by no means a requirement for a training contract, but law firms are obviously aware they exist, so we spoke to a graduate recruiter about LLMs to get the verdict. In short, if you study an LLM specialising in an area of law that relates to a firm’s core practice area, this will sit favourably with the firm if you also send in a top-notch application. You’ll still have to undergo the ordeal of an interview and assessment centre and having an LLM under your belt is by no means a shortcut to getting a training contract.

You Want To Teach Law

Don’t fancy the ultra-competitive world of hunting for training contracts and pupillages? Rather teach the up and coming solicitors and barristers of the world. An LLM is a must for those wishing to pursue a legal academic career. Alternatively, if you want to work in the legal department of organisations such as the UN or EU, an LLM is a necessity.

Make sure you consider all the benefits and limitations of an LLM before you invest in one. It’s quite a bit of money and you want to make sure it’s going to be worth the investment.