CoL undergoes rebrand to become University of Law

The College of Law (CoL) has been granted full university status and will now be rebranded as the University of Law (UoL).

The granting of the "university" title recognises both the institution's many years of growth and its prominent role in legal education. The news has also been welcomed by a wide range of law firms and organisations, including the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, the Bar Association and the Law Society. The announcement follows the sale of the old CoL, which has held degree awarding powers since 2006, to investment company Montagu Private Equity for approximately £200 million.

Professor Nigel Savage, chief executive of UoL, said: "As a specialised 'University of Law', we are a new type of institution, focused on teaching and learning, working alongside the research intensive universities which continue to provide leadership in research and our existing partners such as the Open University."

Desmond Hudson, the chief executive of the Law Society, said: "In the Society's view, the creation of the University of Law will facilitate the further development of specialized know-how and education, which will be of great strategic value to the whole legal services sector [and] encourage investment from the private and not-for-profit sectors into legal education during a period when support from public funding will necessarily be highly restricted."