Law

Course detail Description

Our LLB Law course focuses on the study of law as an intellectual discipline. It can form the first major step towards qualifying for practice as a solicitor or barrister, but also represents appropriate preliminary training for a range of other careers in which legal knowledge is an asset. The degree is suitable for students who have a general interest in law but want to find out more about it before deciding on a particular vocation.

After your first year of the Law LLB you have the option of applying to study one of the following dual degree or study abroad pathway options. If you are successful in gaining a place on a pathway the duration of your degree would be four years with the exception of English Law with Hong Kong Law (three years). The LLB pathways currently include:

• Law with American Legal Studies LLB
• Law with Transnational Legal Studies LLB
• Law with European Legal Studies LLB
• English Law with Australian Law LLB
• English Law & American Law LLB and JD
• English Law with Hong Kong Law LLB and LLM

There is also an opportunity to apply to spend your third year studying an LLM at National University of Singapore (NUS), which will be credited towards your LLB award at King’s. The opportunity to study on the LLM at NUS arises from an official student exchange programme agreed between King’s and NUS. Applications for this and the courses above run internally and commence early in the second year of study.

More information on our international links and partner universities can be found here.

We have a strong tradition of excellence in teaching, with consistently high student satisfaction ratings for Law in the National Student Survey. All required modules are taught through lectures, small group tutorials and seminars. These tutorials and seminars will give you the opportunity to apply the general legal principles you have learnt to specific problems, and allow you to engage with our academics and explore issues further in depth.

You will be assigned a personal tutor, who will provide academic and pastoral support during your studies. We attach great importance to maintaining good relations between staff and students and our Staff-Student Liaison Committee meets regularly to discuss how we can collectively enhance the student experience.

Assessment of required modules will typically consist of an examination supplemented by written coursework, such as a written essay, where applicable. Assessment in optional modules varies and may encompass, for example, examinations, essays, moots, or a negotiation exercise.

King’s College London is regulated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

This programme is further regulated by the:

• Law Benchmark Statement (2015)
• Criteria for degrees (University of London)
• Joint Statement of the Law Society and the General Council of the Bar (1999)
• H-level descriptors of the framework for higher education qualifications (2001)

This course is primarily taught at the Strand and Waterloo campuses.

Please note that locations are determined by where each module is taught and may vary depending on the optional modules you select.

Students can engage in real client work through the School’s Legal Clinic established in April 2017. Students who spend their final year of their degree at King's can select the Student Law Clinic module, while students of all years can apply to volunteer with the clinic during the academic year or over the summer holiday. Supervised by the Clinic's in-house solicitor as well as solicitors from high street and corporate/commercial law firms (e.g. Duncan Lewis and Farrer), students learn transferable skills such as effective communication and teamwork and see the law in a practical context. Through the Clinic students can also engage with third sector partners such as the Personal Support Unit at the Royal Courts of Justice or participate in its Mediation project or public legal education activity).

We have many highly active student-run societies as well as King's award-winning students’ union, KCLSU, who organises a wide variety of social, sporting and cultural activities.

Both the King’s College London Law Society and Bar & Mooting Society organise a number of social and career-oriented functions such as: internal and external mooting competitions; skills workshops; mock interview sessions; lecture series with prestigious barristers and other legal practitioners; as well as the Inaugural Welcome Party at the start of the academic year and the Annual Black-Tie Dinner. The KCL Law Society supports students who wish to pursue careers as solicitors while the Bar & Mooting Society help students understand the path to qualification as a barrister.

The Pro Bono Society supports and promotes legally-related volunteer work and education to the community, and runs many exciting projects, including the Amicus Chapter, Human Rights Project, Junior Lawyers Against Poverty; Law Mentoring; and Legal Outreach. Involvement with the society is a great way to contribute to the community as well as looking great on your CV due to the skills gained in the process.

There are various other societies within the Law School which students can get involved in, such as Lawyers Without Borders, King’s Women in the Law, Intellectual Property and Information Law Society and Criminology Society.

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Structure

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3

Year 1

Currently, students study the modules shown below. King's reviews its modules on a regular basis, in order to continue to offer innovative and exciting programmes and this list is therefore subject to change. Please check here for updates, or contact the School for further advice.

Courses are divided into modules. Each year you will normally take modules totalling 120 credits.

You are required to take the following modules for this course:

• Criminal Law (30 credits)
• Elements of the Law of Contract (30 credits)
• European Law (30 credits)
• Public Law (30 credits)
• Legal Reasoning and Legal Services (noncredit bearing)

Year 2 Required Modules

You are required to take the following modules for this course:

• Law of Property (30 credits)
• Law of Tort (30 credits)
• Law of Trusts (30 credits)

In addition, you will take 30 credits from optional modules, which may typically include:

• Advanced Constitutional Law (30 credits)
• Anti-Discrimination Law (30 credits)
• Consumer Protection: advising global business and their customers (30 credits)
• Criminal Law Theory (15 credits)
• Criminology and Criminal Justice (30 credits)
• Environmental Law (30 credits)
• Family Law (30 credits)
• Finance, Credit and Security (15 credits)
• Human Rights Law (30 credits)
• Intellectual Property Law (30 credits)
• Labour Law (30 credits)
• Law of Personal Taxation (30 credits)
• Moral Philosophy (15 credits)
• Principles of Enterprise Governance (30 credits)
• Public International Law (30 credits)
• Russian Legal System (30 credits)
• Transnational Company Law (15 credits)

Year 3 Required Modules

You are required to take the following module for this course:

• Jurisprudence and Legal Theory (30 credits)

In addition, you are required to take 90 credits from a range of optional modules. These may typically include the optional modules listed in Year 2, along with the following modules:

• Advanced Topics in Intellectual Property (30 credits)
• Company Law (30 credits)
• Competition Law (30 credits)
• British Legal History (30 credits)
• Comparative Private Law (15 credits)
• French Legal System and Laws (30 credits)
• International Arbitration (30 credits)
• Unjust Enrichment (30 credits)
• Student Law Clinic (30 credits)