About the course
Nottingham Law School's highly regarded Legal Practice Course (LPC) has been designed in conjunction with a range of practices, from high street firms to City corporates and the publicly funded sector. Undertaking the LPC over two years on a part-time basis has always been a good option for those students who choose to combine earning and learning. Studying part-time allows you to spend the minimum time away from home or office. Studying part-time reduces financial pressures, fees for the part-time LPC can be made more manageable by paying by instalments spread over each of the two years. It is even possible for you to complete part of your training contract whilst doing the part-time LPC.You can also study the Legal Practice Course (LPC) full-time.
Successful completion of the course enables you to proceed to a training contract and then be admitted as a solicitor.
Why choose this course?
- Nottingham Law School's highly regarded Legal Practice Course is accredited by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
- Study around work and family commitments
- Pay fees in stages, over two years to ease financial strain
- Flexible study options
- The number of graduates obtaining a training contract or paralegal work is consistently high
- We offer an award-winning pro bono programme, including a Legal Advice Clinic for the local community.
- Our dedicated careers team will provide guidance and support to help you secure a training contract.
- You will benefit from a supportive atmosphere. We are big enough to have top-quality materials but small enough to know our students.
- Opportunity to undertake part of your training contract while studying.
- Scholarships are available.
Open days
We hold open days in autumn and spring each year for anyone considering studying on the Nottingham Law School LPC. These events provides the opportunity for you to find out more about the course, meet tutors and current students, take a campus tour, view our facilities and take part in a careers workshop providing advice on how to gain a training contract. Further details and to book your place.
SRA Membership
The SRA have issued updated guidance for LPC students and providers on meeting SRA enrolment deadlines.
Legal Practice Course students can now register using the SRA's online enrolment system which opened on 16 April 2012 and will be available up to 1 September 2012 inclusive.
Applicants missing the deadline will have to use a paper-based method.
Enrolling online is designed to be quicker and simpler. After 1 September students will need to download the student enrolment application and submit it as a paper form by post, together with the appropriate fee and any supporting documents.
All potential Legal Practice Course (LPC) students should make sure they meet SRA enrolment deadlines.
Student enrolment is the process by which potential LPC students
- show they have satisfied the academic stage requirements and are therefore eligible and sufficiently qualified to continue to the vocational stage of training,
- show by passing the Suitability Test that they are of the appropriate character to continue to the next stage of training on the route to becoming a solicitor, and
- bring them within the regulatory regime of the SRA.
The SRA Training Regulations 2011 state that LPC applicants must have enrolled with the SRA before they begin the LPC. It is very important that students enrol in advance of their anticipated LPC start date to allow time for their applications to be processed.
If you have any queries about this course please contact us:
Contact details
Telephone: +44(0)115 848 4460
Email
Please note the following information for applicants
Course content
Pathways and choices
It may be that you know right from the start what sort of practice you are heading for; you might have a sponsoring firm that has made that clear for you! You might just be really certain what you want to do, or you might want to keep your options open as to what type of law you end up in. It may be that you can only decide when you've seen some really practical law in action.
Either way we have pathways to suit you, and we deliver the differences in the way we tailor the skills tuition. You don't have to decide in advance – you can start the course and then make the decision. So you can select skills pathways which advance your core knowledge in a way that is suited to you.
Our flexible LPC pathway (the blue route on the chart) allows for a cross section of skills training which advances your knowledge in a variety of legal environments, and gives you a sound basis for the widest variety of practices.
View the structure of Nottingham Law School's new LPC: your choice, your LPC
Electives
Most students prefer to move on to Stage Two of the LPC, the electives, immediately after completion of Stage One, but you don't have to and there is a variety of choices.
You can:
- stop for a while after Stage One and rejoin the course in a following year (although SRA rules impose time limits on how long you can wait)
- undertake the electives in full-time mode.
It is up to which way you choose; most students like to complete the LPC as soon as possible, but some like to undertake electives once they have a better idea of their intended practice area.
Further details about the elective options 
Nottingham Law School works closely with leading immigration and asylum law firm Paragon Law on the immigration content of the Social Welfare Law Elective.
Course skills
The course skills are advocacy, interviewing, research, and writing and drafting and these are often seen as providing the most demanding, and hopefully rewarding, elements of the course. We give particular attention to the written skills of research and writing and drafting; we take seriously the concerns of many firms about the capacity of trainees to handle this type of work in the early part of their training contracts.
At Nottingham Law School we use the skills to give you specialist teaching according to the pathway you have selected. So we integrate each skills exercise not only within the context of one of the LPC subject areas, but also to advance your knowledge within that pathway appropriately. Theoretical material is kept to a minimum, and the emphasis is normally on practice and feedback to develop the skills you will need on entering the profession.
How do you study?
You can choose whether to undertake the whole two years of the part-time course on a consecutive basis, (compulsory stage in Year One and elective stage in Year Two).
Year One comprises two five-day attendances and nine three-day weekends Fri-Sun. Please note that in order to provide students with increased freedom of choice and greater flexibility with regard to attendance, Fridays will be dedicated, wherever possible, to the delivery of lectures. These lectures will be recorded and online viewing facilities made available to students. Students will therefore be able to choose between live viewing, online viewing or both!
Year Two comprises six three-day weekends Friday until Sunday. Please see above for information on the Friday lectures. You also have the option to complete Year One, have a gap, and then commence Year Two at a later date (either on the full-time or part-time LPC).
Teaching dates 2012 entry
Year one
- 21 to 23 September 2012
- 19 to 21 October 2012
- 12 to 16 November 2012 - full week
- 7 to 9 December 2012
- 11 to 13 January 2013
- 8 to 10 February 2013
- 15 to 17 March 2013
- 12 to 14 April 2013
- 10 to 12 May 2013
- 3 to 7 June 2013 (full week).
You must attend all teaching days detailed above except:
- Friday 19 October
- Friday 8 February
- Friday 15 March
- Friday 12 April
- Friday 10 May.
These Fridays are dedicated to lectures so attendance is optional. If you do not attend you can watch the lectures online before the next teaching weekend.
Exams take place in August / September 2013. (All four compulsory assessments take place on separate weekdays.)
Your future career
Successful completion of this course enables you to proceed to a training contract and then be admitted as a solicitor. We have a dedicated careers team who will support you in your search for a training contract and the number of Nottingham Law School graduates gaining a training contract or paralegal work is consistently high.
Throughout the course you will develop an understanding of the commercial world that provides a true bridge into practice and enables you to engage with the business dynamics of a law firm. Individual students may pursue a career in different areas of practice and we maintain regular contact with firms specialising in all areas of law.
Continuing professional development
Nottingham Law School also offers a suite of practice-based practitioner programmes specifically designed to meet the personal development needs of legal practitioners. We offer courses that qualify for CPD with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, in-house training and bespoke programmes. These courses are highly flexible and can be delivered throughout the year both nationally and internationally.
This course offer the opportunity to get involved with pro bono projects.
How to apply
Click the apply now button at the top of the page to complete your application.
Full entry requirements
- A Qualifying Law degree (normally 2.1 or above). Applicants who have or are predicted a 2.2 will be considered if they can provide additional evidence of achievement in their personal statement e.g. awards, scholarships, work experience - paid or unpaid, or
- Graduate Diploma in Law/CPE with a good first degree (normally a 2.1 or above). Applicants whose first degree is a 2.2 will be considered if they can provide additional evidence of achievement in their personal statement e.g. awards, scholarships, work experience - paid or unpaid, or
- Institute of Legal Executives qualification
- All applicants should provide evidence in their personal statement of their commitment to a career in law.
Contact details
Telephone: +44 (0)115 848 4460
Email
Nottingham Law School website
