Hi!- If you've not already done so, give this a quick read first-Law Shool Rulez Intro
This is my first post about my experiences on the LPC (Legal Practice Course). I probably should have thought about doing this as soon as I started the course, but never mind, I'll soon get you up to date.
Firstly, I'm studying at BPP law school. Why did I choose BPP? I'll write why, edit this post, and put the link here when I get chance.
It has been an unbelievably intense start to the year at BPP. There is certainly no easing you in. Before I'd even set foot in the place, I needed to have completed about 140 pages of pre-module reading and have sat an online test about business law (it doesn't actually count towards anything don't worry).
BPP has a variety of ways you can study the LPC, I am on the program that means I only have to attend class on Mondays and Wednesdays. This is great because it means I don't have to pay travel fairs every day of the week, can fit in lecturers (which are provided online) at any time of the day, and work twice a week as a Bar Associate. Don't get the wrong idea though, despite only being officially twice a week, the amount of preparation work beggars belief. I'm not exaggerating when I say I work every day I have 'off' and have to be incredibly efficient to meet deadlines. In fact, the last time I did absolutely no work was at the start of September....the day before the LPC started.
So what are my thoughts about the course generally?
Here's where I will get very truthful. I don't like it. I don't like it at all. Yes, learning about the various forms you have to fill in, procedures, techniques etc etc makes a change to sitting and learning solid legal theory, but really these are all skills that you could learn on the job, and probably get to grips with quicker that way too. I know I should be grateful that I'm not having to pay the extortionate £11,000 ish in tuition fees as my law firm has very kindly sponsored me, but that doesn't make spending a year of my life doing this course seem any easier to stomach.
What am I studying?
In the first half of your LPC year you study three core practice areas (CPEs); these being Business Law in Practice, Civil Litigation, and Property Law in Practice. Besides that you teach yourselves Wills and the Administration of Estates, have online sessions in Interviewing and Advising and Practical Legal Research, as well as monthly(ish) classroom sessions of Solicitor's Accounts and Professional Conduct and Regulations. There's so much all at once...I'm told the second half of the year when youc choose your own modules is a lot, lot better...
Yesterday I sat my Interviewing and Advising assessment. This entailed me entering a room containing an actor and my tutor. I had to interview the actor and basically play at being a solicitor. Armed with a pre-released sheet of A4 containing an area of law and a few case precedents, I questioned and advised my client as a camera recorded my every movement, and my tutor scribbled notes about my performance.....it's probably the most unnatural place you will ever sit an assessment. God I hope I passed it. You are marked as 'Competent' or 'Not Yet Competent' and put it this way, if I've got the latter, then I can kiss goodbye to my training contract....I'm not panicking...honest
Last week wasn't exactly relaxing either. With my notes spread right across the living room, I logged into my online BPP profile and sat the Wills assessment. 10 multiple choice questions in 90 minutes, open book. It was alright. The first two questions threw me as they were pretty complicated inheritance tax problems (thrilling stuff) but the rest were relatively straight forward.
Oh and did I mention I had a 1700 word formative (practice) legal research assignment due about whether or not an employer can be vicariously liable for the harassment by one employee to another?....In case you were wondering, the answer is....yes.
It's not all doom and gloom though....
One thing I love about doing the LPC is that I have made so many new friends and the tutors are great people. From day one you are put in a sort of form group, and that group becomes your LPC family. You spend every lesson with those people, and it really does feel like a 'we're in it together' kind of atmosphere. If one person is struggling, others always step in to help. I can't stress enough how thankful I am to be amongst such wonderful people. I'm not even kidding when I say it's keeping us all sane.
Also, a lot of my friends haven't got a training contract yet, and BPP are unbelievable at providing you with help and guidance to help you get one. Every week there seems to be another law firm visiting to give presentations, or another pro bono opportunity is brought to our attention in the weekly update. If your CV is looking a bit bare, it soon won't be!
OK OK OK-
Yes I've painted a pretty bleak picture on the LPC so far and I'll be the first to admit that I worry about things a little bit too much, panic and ultimately need to get a grip. The LPC is not as hard as the LLB. It's just a large quantity to manage. Time management is key (see my other post that I'll be writing soon)
If you're on the LPC, or are dreading the sound of it, just think like this. There is no other way. It's only one year and before you know it, it'll be the summer, and you'll be preparing for the big, wide, legal world. Then begins the real work.......along with the pay cheques of course ;)
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