LPC Online – Part-time

To be eligible to take up your place on the ULAW LPC, you must comply with the requirements for commencing a Legal Practice Course (LPC) set out by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) – see below. Failure to comply with these eligibility requirements means that the University will have no option but to cancel your place on the course.

If you are a non-EEA student you will also require a visa covering the full duration of your course – see Visa requirements below.
University of Law LPC selection criteria

Academic profile and achievement, generally a minimum of an actual or predicted second class honours law degree or GDL/CPE/MA Law*
A sufficient command of the English language to successfully complete the course – see English language requirements below
Any special circumstances revealed in your application

Academic or other references

*This requirement is met by either: A) The award of a Qualifying Law Degree. Your law degree must meet certain academic standards in order to qualify. This must include having adequately passed assessments in the seven Foundations of Legal Knowledge – Public Law, Obligations I (Contract), Obligations II (Tort), Criminal Law, Land Law, Equity & Trusts and Law of the European Union. Further guidance on what is a Qualifying Law Degree; or B) Passing a Common Professional Examination (CPE)/Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/MA Law and being awarded a Graduate Diploma in Law, MA Law, or similar such as CILEX.

Future trainee Solicitors

The SRA has recently consulted on a number of proposed changes to its regulations, including removing the requirement for students to apply for student enrolment and approval of their academic stage of training prior to commencing the LPC.
If you have been offered a training contract, you need to make sure the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has checked your “character and suitability” to be a solicitor.
This may take at least six months to complete if you have:

Committed certain criminal offences
Been found guilty of an academic offence
Had serious financial issues (such as bankruptcy, Individual Voluntary Arrangements or County Court Judgments)
Been subject to adverse regulatory findings
Demonstrated any other behaviour that we would not expect of a solicitor (for example behaviour that was dishonest, violent or discriminatory)

Please take a look the SRA Suitability Test 2011 for more information and fill in the eligibility application if you need to tell them about any issues.
If you have nothing to tell the SRA, you can inform them of this when you and your employer let them know your training is due to start.

Should the SRA’s decision not be confirmed prior to the LPC start date, you can continue with the course but do so at your own financial risk. If you have any concerns about a character and suitability issue, please contact the SRA on 0370 6062555 or http://www.sra.org.uk/contact-us/

Accreditation of prior learning

If you have previously studied a BVC or BPTC, you may be exempt from certain elements of the LPC. For more information, please visit the SRA website and contact The ULaw Admissions team by completing the form on this page.

English language requirements
If you have completed a degree outside the UK and you do not come from a majority English-speaking country’, please provide a certified copy of one of the approved English Language Tests.