Wannabe lawyers will still receive a 50% rebate on LPC fees if they have failed to secure employment within nine months of graduating
The University of Law (ULaw) has revealed that out-of-work wannabe lawyers will be able to study for a further postgraduate course at a discounted rate under a new “employment promise” launched today.
Students — who commence their Legal Practice Course (LPC) in July or September of this year — will now receive an additional discount, equal to half their LPC tuition fees, on a further postgraduate course if they fail to secure “employment” within nine months of graduating.
But there is a catch. According to the small print, employment is defined as “full-time” or “part-time” with the fields of law or commerce. This means graduates who have found work as a paralegal, but are unable to land a training contract, would not qualify under the terms of ULaw’s deal.
Aspiring lawyers who are struggling to find any work will still be eligible for the 50% rebate on LPC fees which was first introduced by ULaw last summer. This was extended to Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) course soon after.
With the LPC setting students back as much as £15,000 at ULaw’s London branches, graduates could receive a rebate of as much as £7,500 and then go on to do a postgrad course — such as the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) or an LLM — at a discounted rate.
Dr Stelios Platis — who was appointed ULaw’s new chief executive back in May — said:
At ULaw our students are at the heart of everything we do and we focus our efforts into ensuring their long term success. When our students succeed we succeed which is why we pledge 100% support, 100% excellence and 100% commitment. We were the first university to offer a money back Employment Promise and this year we are backing our students with an even bigger commitment with this new initiative.
Back in 2013, ULaw’s main rival BPP Law School launched a similar scheme for its BPTC grads. Aspiring barristers — who were unable to land a pupillage within six months of leaving uni — were offered a free place on BPP’s LPC.