Number of places: 4,750 FT, 2,000 PT
Fees (2011/12):£12,550 (London)
The College of Law has established itself as one of the biggest single providers of professional legal education in the UK. It has a network of eight centres criss-crossing the country from the City of London to the legal hubs of Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester, to the more rural locations of Guildford, Chester and York.
Flexibility and choice are key to the college’s ethos. A number of extra qualifications – and the chance to add a handful of letters after your name – are available to LPC students. Those who successfully complete the LPC have the opportunity to top up their qualification with an LLM in Professional Legal Practice or International Legal Practice, or even a JD (Juris Doctor, the standard post-grad legal qualification in the USA). Since September 2010, students will be eligible for a 22-week study programme leading to the JD. This will make them eligible for the New York Bar exam, although only if they possess an LLB (which COL has been able to award since 2006 to its GDL and LPC graduates) and only if their LPC incorporated enough face-to-face teaching to satisfy requirements for the NY Bar (ie not those on the accelerated course). While a double law degree without a doubt hands students another card to play when applying for training contracts, it should be noted that the US legal market is as depressed as that in the UK.
The College of Law has designed its LPC with enormous flexibility. Students can choose between the one year full-time LPC; a 16-month or two-year part-time course with day, evening or weekend study options; and a supervised self study programme ('S' mode), not to mention two special LPC programmes that the College runs for its partner law firms. Introduced in February 2011, students on the ‘S’ mode LPC access their work online instead of attending workshops and submit two tasks per fortnight to their supervisor, who then sends back one-on-one feedback. These students also attend a four-day induction and two skills weekends. Not all study modes will run in each location.
Like BPP and Kaplan, COL has been enormously successful in its bid to sign up exclusive LPC-provision deals with larger law firms. Future trainees of Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Linklaters, for example, take ‘firm-specific’ LPCs at the slick Moorgate branch in the heart of the City. From January 2011, Linklaters’ future starters have been fast-tracked on to a new accelerated course, which shortens the LPC to a mere seven months – mirroring a move by BPP in 2009. The College is looking to extend the seven-month programme to all students from 2012. Other partner firms such as Baker & McKenzie and Pannone have opted for the ‘LPC+’, where each firm’s students are mixed with others for Stage One tuition and then form discrete groups for the electives in Stage Two. All sponsored students are taught using materials tailored to their firms and using scenarios the students will confront as trainees. Aside from at the Moorgate centre where the focus is understandably corporate, the College of Law – far from turning out a multitude of 'City-types' each August – offers students three specialist routes through the LPC, depending on their careers aspirations. At Stage One students can select to pursue a corporate route, a commercial and private route, or a legal aid route. These are complemented by a wide range of electives, from advanced criminal practice to banking and debt finance, with a dozen others in between.
COL claims to be focusing on doing its own thing and not thinking about the competition, sources said. “Keeping at the forefront of legal education is reflected in student numbers.” One area the College has certainly pioneered is the provision of online teaching. All lecture-format teaching is delivered via ‘i-tutorials’, which students stream directly from ELITE (an online resource page which carries all the course materials as well as links to online resources such as LexisNexis and Westlaw). I-tutorials contain “extra learning resources and activities embedded in them” to enable an interactive experience and are used in conjunction with textbook study and online multiple-choice ‘Test & Feedback’ exercises as compulsory preparation for small group workshops. Students seem to like i-tutorials and feel that the added responsibility of managing their own study is a good thing. “The emphasis is on the individual, which is good because it’s more like the training contract – nobody’s there to hold your hand.” Another commented: "I thought the combination of e-learning and face-to-face tuition was a really good mix. With the online tutorials you could do the learning at your own time, at your own pace."
Workshops take up around ten hours a week and are usually spread over four days. Students can opt for concentrated timetabling, however, packing four workshops into two days instead of four. This is popular at the Birmingham, York and Chester centres, where a number of students travel some distance to attend. Underlying COL’s teaching philosophy is the pervasion of skills throughout the course: "It's very much based on 'learning by doing'; the i-tutorials are created because we want the students to be working actively from the start and not spending learning-time passively taking notes."
COL is also introducing a 'business of law' programme which will be integrated into the LPC classes delivered by tutors; it covers professional skills such as commerciality and client relationships. The programme was developed following consultations with COL's partner firms concerning what they expect trainees to know about how law firms actually work. There are around 25 careers advisers nationally, and students have access to all the same information and opportunities, regardless of which centre they study at. Local firms will come in and give talks about careers, and students on the legal aid route receive a special series of talks. Students are able to log into a database containing a list of up-to-date UK-wide training contract and paralegal vacancies as well as hints and tips for applications. For students hoping to boost their CV, COL has ample opportunities in the form of mooting, debating and pro bono activities.
College of Law, Birmingham
The location in Birmingham's historic Jewellery Quarter means students can take full advantage of the City's vibrant social scene and many amenities in between or after classes. Students speak favourably of the “supportive and accommodating staff,” adding that “certain teachers were born to teach and they go the extra mile.” The school's relatively small size means “you generally get to know everyone,” either through classes or the many pro bono schemes or social activities at the centre. The Brum pro bono centre was shortlisted for a Birmingham Law Society Award in 2010, and one of COL’s partner programmes – the Birmingham Legal Advice Clinic – won a LawWorks Award 2010 for Best Partnership. Other extra-curricular activities include BERAL (the Birmingham Employment Rights Advice Line) and the Refugee Council. There is also a legal French exchange with the Ecole d'Avocats in Lyon. On the careers front COL has excellent links with the local Law Society and students can take advantage of a mentoring scheme with local firms as well as 'speed networking' events with trainees.
College of Law, Bristol
COL established a base in Bristol in 2010 alongside rival BPP to compete for a share in the Bristol market, already dominated by BILP. The city is a fashionable location for students and the business heart of the South West. COL has made exclusive tie-ups with Bristol-based solicitors Beachcroft and Osborne Clarke, and a non-exclusive relationship with TLT Solicitors. The school is located just ten minutes from Temple Meads station and is a 20-minute walk from the student-heavy Clifton area. Students can get involved in the centre's Legal Advice Clinic and Streetlaw programme, and can benefit from a mentoring scheme with local firms.
College of Law, Chester
The cathedral city of Chester is one of COL’s more rural sites, so if you’re looking for urban buzz, this isn’t for you. Still, it’s a fantastic place to study. Students comment that “the place itself is pretty,” with lots of parkland near the campus. They also liked the “almost collegiate environment” at the school – “it felt more like being at college than university because you get to know everyone.” Many students commute into Chester from the surrounding area and therefore opt to concentrate their face-to-face teaching over two days. Timetable flexibility is highly valued among the students here but they caution “it's still a one-year course, so it means it's quite intensive on the days you're in.” Students praise the “good teaching.” There’s also the chance to get involved in plenty of extra-curricular activities, such as training as a McKenzie Friend to support victims of domestic violence or participation in a witness support scheme. The school has several sports teams and even a choir.
College of Law, Guildford
COL Guildford is located in a “really beautiful setting,” say students. “It's an old manor house with fountains, so a very relaxed setting for quite an intense course,” and you might even “spot some deer while coming out of the library in the evening.” The location is incredibly popular with those who want to avoid London living but still have relatively easy access to the capital. It is a firm favourite for southern county locals who like the “campus feel,” but “students come from all over.” COL has numerous sports teams, including rowing and horse riding as well as many student societies. The social scene off-campus also has much to offer. The teaching is “very high quality and very helpful – if you had any worries you just had to e-mail a lecturer and they'd meet with you.” The location attracts individuals with a range of legal aspirations, both those clinging to their final year out of the fast lane and those preparing for a career in the Home Counties.
College of Law, London (Bloomsbury & Moorgate)
“COL is a big name in London,” and many students come here without having really thought too much about their options, or have had the decision made for them by a law firm sponsor. Those that do weigh up their choices are often attracted to COL's open-book exam policy. Few who end up here are greatly disappointed by their experience, whether they are stationed at the “more studenty” Bloomsbury branch or in the “quite swanky and corporate” premises opposite Slaughter and May’s offices in Moorgate.
The Bloomsbury branch operates out of two buildings on Store Street, just off Tottenham Court Road, and is the largest of COL's centres. The location is popular thanks to its proximity to Covent Garden and Soho, and the cool bars and restaurants of nearby Charlotte Street. Despite the best of London night-life on the school's doorstep, students commonly stray no further than the College Arms next door, which frequently tempts them in with student discounts and other irresistible offers. COL has an in-house cyber café, in which students can while away the hours between classes. It has to be said that the layout of this branch is far from perfect, with regular complaints concerning the “lack of windows” in several classrooms. Get past niggles regarding the “run-down” facilities and the teaching is great, with students full of praise for tutors. The teachers are also on call to deal with any last-minute panics, thanks to a hotline that operates in the run-up to exams. Bloomsbury students can choose any one of the commercial, private or legal aid routes, resulting in “probably a wider mix of students, unlike Moorgate where people tend to go to magic circle and City firms.”
Moorgate
College of Law, Manchester
The Manchester centre is making its mark since opening its doors in September 2009. The glass-fronted school building has an extremely open and airy feel to it that is matched by the “impressive” teaching that “prepares you quite well for the training contract.” Students have their eyes set on a variety of legal careers, and links with the larger firms in the area, the judiciary, the Coroners Court and the Employment Tribunal all help bring them closer to practice. Pro bono opportunities range from a human rights project to employment law and personal injury advice lines, where students can apply the skills learnt on the LPC while enhancing their CV at the same time. Students can also participate in mooting. Towering above Piccadilly Gardens, the centre has a tempting Kro Bar and Krispy Kreme on its doorstep, while the lure of the trendy Northern Quarter is just a few minutes away.
College of Law, York
York is another of the COL’s campus-based locations. Students speak positively of the teaching, with one commenting that “our tutor had practised in the City, so the training was relevant to working there.” Students also like the fact that it's “slightly smaller than some law schools, so you get a lot more personalised help.” York's rugby pitches and tennis courts mean there’s a good range of sporting activities. A social committee organises everything from charity quiz evenings to ski trips. There’s an abundance of CV-enhancing activities on offer, including shadowing advocates and advising asylum seekers, plus mooting competitions and an Environmental Law Group.