The Legal Cheek View
Having offered a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate law courses since its formation by Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in 1964, Nottingham Law School (NLS) is one of the more recognisable names on the legal education scene. Housed in the Chaucer Building and celebrating its 60th year in 2024, the law school is located in the heart of Nottingham at NTU’s city campus.
On offer for undergrads, along with the classic Law LLB, are a staggering number of interesting LLB variations, including a Business Law LLB, International Law LLB, Law with Psychology LLB, Law with Criminology LLB and Law with Business LLB to name a few.
Popular postgrad offerings for those eager to specialise even further, which include LLMs covering technology, sport, health, environmental, corporate and international law.
A number of professional courses are on offer including the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDip), a recently revamped Barristers Training Course (BTC) and a collection of prep courses for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) – which will ultimately replace the LPC. These SQE preparation courses at NLS are available on a full-time or part-time basis.
Solicitor hopefuls will have a number of options depending on whether they have completed a law or non-law undergrad. For example, law graduates can complete a SQE1 prep course before moving on to the SQE2 prep course. NLS is also offering a range of master’s programmes for law graduates that incorporate SQE prep and are eligible for postgraduate funding. Its most comprehensive LLM covers both SQE1 and SQE2 prep.
Non-law grads, meanwhile, are required to complete a longer SQE LLM which incorporates SQE1 prep, before the option of moving on to the SQE2 prep course. Luckily for both law and non-law grads, the SQE2 prep course on the SQE1 exam – a real saving grace considering the current pass rates!
All NLS law students can volunteer at NLS Legal, an award-winning, in-house teaching law firm. Established in 2006, NLS Legal is a regulated teaching law firm, advising real clients on a wide range of legal issues under the supervision of qualified solicitors. The firm is headed up by Laura Pinkney, previous partner at national law firm Cartwright King Solicitors. One student volunteer with NLS Legal tells us that she has “helped out on five NLS Legal cases, three criminal law cases and two family law matters”. She remarks that “it was such hands-on experience that I would be unlikely to get anywhere else.” NLS have partnered up with Support Through Court (STC) and host it’s Nottingham office. Support Through Court is a charity that provides practical and emotional assistance to people who are going through court without representation. All law students will have the opportunity to volunteer at Support Through Court, online and in-person.
Outside of studying, there are a plethora of opportunities to get involved with local communities at the university. “I joined the Feminist Society and Women’s Welfare” one student says, “which has inspired me to volunteer with the Safer Living Foundation in conjunction with the law school.” She emphasises that “there are so many opportunities at
NTU to gain work experience and to volunteer internally, that you don’t even need to look externally for these roles.”
For those destined for the wig and gown, NLS’s Bar Training Course (BTC) is an attractive offering. One hopeful barrister at NTU labels the course as “undeniably challenging”. But, she says, the support from tutors at the law school means that “you’re never alone and you always feel supported”.
With small tutor groups, students on the BTC can expect to become “very close”, with peers on hand to “read through your pupillage applications” and “grab a coffee together in the library’s own Starbucks branch”. The BTC at NTU comes in a one-year LLM variety or hopeful barristers eager to qualify sooner can choose the slightly shorter BTC (PGDip) over the course of seven months.
One beauty of NLS’ law programmes undeniably lies in its mock courtroom facilities, which are integrated into its law courses through emphasis on practical learning. NLS has a mock criminal courtroom and civil courtroom for criminal, family and civil mock trials which are exact replicas of working courtrooms. These are “really helpful”, according to one interviewee, “because it prepares you really well for qualification”. “When you’re doing advocacy training”, be that at undergrad, on an SQE prep course or undertaking the BTC, “it feels like you’re practising in a real courtroom, without the pressure of handling a real-life case”. These are also used for NLS’s various mooting competitions and the Mooter’s Guild to help students build on their presentation skills and confidence.
Based at NTU’s City centre campus, the NLS location is “really great” for accessibility. The law school is just a short 20-minute walk from the train station, and there’s a tram stop just outside of the Chaucer Building. It also stands directly opposite the NTU’s Boots library which is open 24/7, so there’s “no excuse not to study!” And, the school is just a stone’s throw from the stunning Nottingham Arboretum, Nottingham’s oldest public park which provides a “great place to rest and relax”.
One NLS student interviewee cites the support at the law school, as one of the key attractions of studying there. “The pastoral support on my course has been amazing. Throughout the course, the tutors regularly check-in to see how you’re doing, and to provide occasional hints and tips to get you through your studies.” “It really feels as if they do care”, she tells us, “and they’re not just there to deliver content.”
Courses
Law conversion courses
Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDip)
This course is designed for non-law graduates interested in becoming a solicitor or barrister. The Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) provides you with the foundation of legal knowledge and skills required for your legal training. For aspiring barristers, it satisfies the Bar Standards Board’s academic requirements to permit you to commence the vocational stage of training (e.g. the Barristers Training Course). For aspiring solicitors, it provides a solid grounding in the fundamental legal knowledge and skills required for key parts of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination.
• Full-time: 1 academic year (9 months)
• Distance learning: 2 academic years
• Cost: Full time – £9,500, Distance learning – Year 1: £4,750, Year 2: £4,750
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page
Law and Legal Practice LLM: SQE 1 Preparation Course
This course is designed for non-law graduates interested in becoming a solicitor. The LLM Law and Legal Practice course provides you with the legal knowledge and skills required to prepare you for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) 1 assessment, the first step in your route to qualifying as a solicitor.
• Full-time: 18 months
• Distance learning: 36 months
• Cost: £12,850
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page
Law and Legal Practice LLM: Barristers Training Course
This course provides an opportunity for a non-law graduate to study the seven law foundation subjects and then proceed onto the Barristers Training Course (BTC) with the aim of becoming a Barrister, in a cost effective and time efficient manner. Successful completion will enable you to obtain an internationally recognised Masters qualification by completing compulsory taught modules – all taught at Masters Level, and to be called to the Bar.
• Full-time: 18 months
• Cost: £19,250
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page
SQE courses
SQE 1 Preparation Course (PGDip)
Passing the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) 1 is the first step in your route to qualifying as a solicitor, and the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Practice is designed to prepare you for this.
• Full-time: 12 months
• Distance learning: 24 months
• Cost: £8,500
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page
Law and Legal Practice LLM: SQE 1 Preparation Course
This course is designed for non-law graduates interested in becoming a solicitor. The LLM Law and Legal Practice course provides you with the legal knowledge and skills required to prepare you for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) 1 assessment, the first step in your route to qualifying as a solicitor.
• Full-time: 18 months
• Distance learning: 36 months
• Cost: £12,850
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page
SQE 1 Preparation Course LLM
Passing the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) 1 is the first step in your route to qualifying as a solicitor, and the LLM Professional Legal Practice is designed to prepare you for this. You should choose the LLM Professional Legal Practice if you want a course that prepares you for SQE1.
• Full-time: 12 months
• Distance learning: 24 months
• Cost: £8,500
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page
SQE 2 Preparation Course (PGCert)
Passing the second Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE 2) is an essential step in your route to qualifying as a solicitor, and the Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Legal Skills: SQE 2 Preparation Course is designed to prepare you for this.
• Full-time: February-May
• Part-time: August-January
• Cost: £3,300
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page
SQE 1 and SQE 2 Preparation Course LLM
Passing the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) 1 and SQE 2 are essential steps in your route to qualifying as a solicitor. The LLM Advanced Professional Legal Practice: SQE 1 and SQE 2 Preparation Course is designed to prepare you for both SQE assessments.
• Full-time: 12 months
• Distance learning: 24 months
• Cost: £11,600
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page
Legal Practice Course (LPC)
Legal Practice Course LLM
The course is approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and allows you to progress to qualifying work experience to become a solicitor.
• Full-time: 1 year
• Part-time: 2 years
• Cost: £12,450 (£6,225 per year of study if part time)
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page for full time students, and the course page for part time students.
part time)
Bar Training Courses (BTC)
Law and Legal Practice LLM: Barristers Training Course
This course provides an opportunity for a non-law graduate to study the seven law foundation subjects and then proceed onto the Barristers Training Course (BTC) with the aim of becoming a Barrister, in a cost effective and time efficient manner. Successful completion will enable you to obtain an internationally recognised Masters qualification by completing compulsory taught modules – all taught at Masters Level, and to be called to the Bar.
• Full-time: 18 months
• Cost: £19,250
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page
Barristers Training Course (PGDip)
For students who wish to study the BSB’s compulsory modules in a cost effective and time efficient manner, our Barristers Training Course (BTC) provides the necessary vocational training for the Bar in just six months. Successful completion of this course will enable you to achieve a Postgraduate Diploma and be called to the Bar. Perhaps you have already secured pupillage, are worried about taking too much time out of paid work or are concerned about accommodation costs? The BTC may be ideal for you.
• Full-time: 6 months
• Cost: £12,650
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page
Barristers Training Course LLM
Successful completion of this course enables you to be called to the Bar, and proceed to pupillage. Our nine-month LLM BTC gives you the opportunity to gain the award of a Masters (LLM), assuming successful completion of the BTC and an additional module, Advanced Advocacy, Advice and ADR, which has been created to give you experience of issues that are at the cutting-edge of practice, such as vulnerable witnesses and expert evidence. The LLM qualification is internationally recognised and is eligible for the UK postgraduate government loan. Our LLM incorporates a number of unique, practical elements which are at the forefront of legal practice and which will aid you in your future career.
• Full-time: 9 months
• Cost: £15,200
For information on the course including fees and funding information, visit the course page
Locations
Nottingham Law School’s only location is its University campus in Nottingham. Although it does allow distance learning, you are required to attend in-person teaching weekends on its campus.
Scholarships
Nottingham Law School offers a range of scholarships options which can help fund your studies. Please visit the scholarships page for more information.