Cardiff Law School

Cardiff Law School is the leading provider of legal training in Wales and is validated to offer both the Legal Practice Course and the Bar Professional Training Course. You will be taught by experienced solicitors and barristers who have been specifically recruited for this purpose. Both courses have strong links with the legal profession and offer work experience placements during the course. There is also the Cardiff Pro Bono Scheme which has two distinct elements to it: The Cardiff Law School Innocence Project, which deals with cases of long-term prisoners maintaining their innocence, and the general Pro Bono Scheme, which assists members of the community and vulnerable groups where legal aid is not available. The scheme gives students the opportunity to experience the law in action, work alongside volunteer legal professionals and develop transferable skills to add to their CVs.

Postgraduate study

LPC (full-time and part-time)

Cardiff has delivered the LPC since it was first introduced in 1993 and has established a national reputation for a demanding and high quality course. The Cardiff LPC continues to hold the Solicitors' Regulation Authority's highest rating in all aspects of the course - "Commendable Practice" in all six assessment areas. We offer the LPC full-time over one year and part-time over two years. In addition, the elements of the LPC can be studied separately on a full-time basis - Stage 1 (the core subjects), Stage 2 (the elective subjects), and individual elective subjects can all be studied separately at Cardiff. We provide broad-based courses that are suitable for most students entering the profession.

BPTC

Cardiff has delivered a high quality and highly regarded Bar Professional Training Course since it was first introduced by the Bar Council in 1997. There is a relatively small student cohort and the course provides a highly supportive learning environment with high levels of individual tutor feedback on all live skills performances. Students are offered 2 weeks of placements giving them the opportunity to marshall with both a Circuit Judge and District Judge in addition to undertaking a mini-pupillage.

GDL

Subject to SRA validation, from September 2012 Cardiff will offer the Graduate Diploma in Law, a conversion course for students with a good law degree who aspire to practise as a solicitor or barrister. The Cardiff GDL will combine the best of undergraduate lectures with practical hands-on teaching from legal professionals. It will be tailored to lead you seamlessly to Cardiff's highly regarded LPC and BPTC. Please see our website for further details.

Research

Cardiff Law School is a thriving, high-quality institution committed to excellence in teaching and research. The results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise recognise Cardiff Law School as one of the UK's leading research bodies, placing it 7th in the UK. Cardiff offers opportunities for students to pursue postgraduate study by research leading to degrees of M.Phil and Ph.D. In addition, the Law School offers a broadly based Masters (LLM) programme, in full and part time mode. Students can choose to pursue an LLM that specialises in one of several routes or choose a mix of Modules from different areas.

Facilities

We have dedicated accommodation for both the Legal Practice Course and the Bar Professional Training Course which houses a practitioner library, fixed and moveable audio visual equipment for recording practitioner skills, inter-active teaching equipment and extensive computer facilities. In addition, the main law library contains one of the largest collections of primary and secondary material within the UK. The Law School is at the heart of the campus, itself located in one of the finest civic centres in Britain only a short walk from the main shopping area. The University has its own postgraduate centre and a full range of sports and social activities. Cardiff is a vibrant capital city with excellent cultural, sporting and leisure pursuits.