Bath Spa University’s business school is to launch a law degree course designed to take into account recent changes in the way students can qualify as a solicitor.
The course has been created in consultation with a number of local law firms which have highlighted that many institutions ‘churn out’ graduates who know the law but do not know how to be a lawyer in practice or about the law as a business and therefore don’t ‘hit the ground running’. 
Bath Business School, which has never before offered a law degree for its students, is hoping to challenge common perceptions about the legal profession by adopting what it is calling an engaging, teaching-led model which arms students with the real-world skills they will need to succeed in law, as well as other professions where legal training will give them a competitive advantage.
This recognises the fact that around 60% of law graduates do not pursue a career in law.
Previously, students must have obtained a qualifying law degree and taken a practical postgraduate course – the Legal Practice Course (LPC) – to qualify as a solicitor. The new changes mean students can now study a degree of their choice, then take the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) to qualify following a period of legal training. They must also have two years’ qualifying work experience in order to be eligible.
The new qualification process mean that Bath Spa has been able to create a course which aligns to these changes rather than retrofit its course, as it says other institutions have done.
Law course leader Mark Coombs said: “If we look at the number of applications submitted to UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) in 2018, law remains one of the most popular degree courses in the UK.
“However, there is a perception among young people that the legal profession is stuffy and unwelcoming, as well as a bit of an ‘old boys club’. We want to challenge this, so we’ve designed our course to help people on track for the SQE, but without being an exam factory where all paths lead to a career in the legal profession.
“Instead, it will be about giving students the skills and competencies to succeed in other careers by providing a more vocational and practical education.”
In response to this insight, Bath Spa University’s LLB (Hons) Law course will include an intensive programme of optional, practical, vocational placements, including a pro bono advisory clinic placement in collaboration with local organisation including, for instance, the city’s Citizen’s Advice Bureau, as well as other year-long and in-term placements to get students work ready.
For the 60% of students who do not want to pursue a career in law, there will be an added focus on career planning weaved into the course, reflecting the growing number of roles that require the same competency-based skill set such as governance, risk management, advocacy, public policy, finance, HR and more.
The first intake of Bath Spa’s law degree students is scheduled for this September. The UCAS deadline for this cohort is January 15.
The university is hosting an event with the Solicitors Regulation Authority on February 27 to discuss the new SQE and bring together the region’s legal community, FE colleges, law tutors and prospective students who have applied for a place at the university this year.
The LLB (Hons) Law course widens Bath Spa University’s range of modern courses across the arts, science, education, social science and business to its 7,000 students.
Pictured above: The Commons Building at Bath Spa University, home of Bath Business School
