On behalf of our Nottingham Law School community, I am delighted to share the timeline of our 60-year history.
With 60 years’ experience nurturing students into exceptional legal professionals, we’re one of the UK’s largest and most established law schools, with an outstanding reputation for excellence in legal education. This 60-year milestone reflects our success to date and has been driven by our innovative approach to the teaching and practice of law, our world-class pioneering research and our commitment to social justice.
We give each student a unique opportunity to combine their legal studies with real-world experience, giving them the knowledge, skills, confidence and resilience they need to shape extraordinary careers.
Jenny Chapman LL.B. (Hons), LL.M., Solicitor, PFHEA
Executive Dean, Nottingham Law School
1960s and 1970s
In 1964, the first students graduated with an undergraduate law degree and Law Society Part II Examinations as part of Nottingham Regional College of Technology.
In 1968, Nottingham Law School launched the first Law sandwich degree in the UK.
In 1970, Trent Polytechnic was granted polytechnic status and Nottingham Law School began to teach its own BA Law degree in1973. The School continued to grow, and in 1974 moved from York House to the newly built Chaucer Building.
1980s and 1990s
By 1981, the School had launched their first LLB to replace the BA Law.
In 1992, Nottingham Trent was granted University status. The School continued to expand, and in 1993 moved to the newly opened Belgrave Building, tripling the intake in numbers.
The 90s saw the launch of many courses, diversifying the School's portfolio. These included the first Graduate Diploma in Law in 1993, the Legal Practice Course in 1993, the LLM Advanced Litigation in 1994, and the first LLMs in Health Law and Corporate Law in 1995. In 1997 the Inns of Court School of Law lost its monopoly on the Bar and Nottingham Law School launched the Bar Vocational Course.
2000s and 2010s
In 2006, the Legal Advice Clinic opened to provide free legal advice and a referral service to the local community.
In 2011, NLS moved back into the redeveloped Chaucer Building, boasting a suite of mock courtrooms and moot rooms.
Research has always been core to the School’s offering and in 2012, NLS launched specialist research centres in Legal Education; Business and Insolvency Law; and Rights and Justice.
In 2014, Attorney General Dominic Grieve opened the new NLS Legal Advice Centre 'formerly the Legal Advice Clinic'. By 2015 the Centre had become the first regulated teaching law firm in the UK. To date, such a model remains rare in the higher education sector.
In 2019, NLS launched a collaboration with Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law to deliver an LLM in International Legal Studies.
2020s
In 2021, NLS launched a new range of Solicitors Qualifying Examination preparation courses to reflect the new route to qualification for solicitors.
In the Research Excellence Framework 2021, 100% of NTU’s research submitted to the Law Unit of Assessment is assessed to be world-leading or internationally excellent in terms of research impact.
In 2022, the NLS Legal Advice Centre rebranded to NLS Legal and was subsequently named Law Firm of the Year at the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2022 for its commitment to supporting members of the local community. By 2023, the firm had reached £6 million in financial awards for their clients.
The School continued its commitment to providing support to the local community, and in 2022 partnered with national charity, Support Through Court, to host their Nottingham Service within the Chaucer Building. This partnership expanded and in 2023, the School started to also host their National Online Service.
2024
Nottingham Law School celebrates 60 years of excellence in legal education.
Looking ahead to the next stage of development for NLS – we will continue to give each student a unique opportunity to combine their legal studies with real-world experience, giving them the knowledge, skills, confidence and resilience they need to shape extraordinary careers.
Nottingham Law School
We are one of the UK's largest and most established law schools. Delivering first-class teaching, fantastic facilities and flexible courses, we support legal professionals at every stage of their careers.
Study at NLS
Our extensive links with the legal and other professions both at home and overseas, reflect and inform the design of our course portfolio and ensure that we continue to lead the way in legal education.
Research at NLS
Research is central to the School’s overall mission that enables our work to have an impact upon lives and society locally, nationally and globally.