Law degrees are too similar across the university sector, says academic

updated on 11 November 2019

Universities and law schools are providing similar law degree courses instead of making the most of their freedom to design a range of options for students to choose from, a new report has claimed.

As Legal Futures reports, new research by Professor Steven Vaughan of University College London has found that the strict syllabus requirements for a law programme to be a qualifying law degree (QLD) mean that undergraduate law degrees across the UK are very similar in structure and content.

Speaking at a roundtable organised by CILEx Regulation, Vaughan pointed out that only 20% of law graduates become solicitors two years later, according to recent statistics. He said: “This may make us ask the question – if only a small minority of law students become solicitors, why make them do a qualifying law degree?”

However, it remains to be seen whether students would be interested in a law degree that does not provide the option to become a solicitor or barrister, while the analysis appears not to take into account the number of law graduates taking up legal support roles or training as chartered legal executives due to the highly competitive nature of legal graduate recruitment.