Law LLB (Hons)

The Derby LLB offers an exciting combination of high quality teaching, specialist facilities and real-world learning opportunities. You’ll gain all the skills and hands-on experience you need to take your first steps into a rewarding legal career.

• Benefit from tuition which meets the highest professional standards: this is a qualifying law degree which meets the criteria set by the Bar Standards Board and Solicitors Regulation Authority, so is your first step towards qualifying as a solicitor or barrister 
• Develop all the key lawyer skills - drafting, advocacy, interviewing and negotiation - to manage a case load 
• Broaden your horizons with opportunities for work placements, judicial shadowing, professional mentoring and pro bono projects
• Learn from an experienced and enthusiastic teaching team with an international profile, many of whom have practised as solicitors or barristers themselves.

This inspirational and challenging LLB course has excellence in legal practice at its core. The Derby LLB meets criteria set by the Bar Standards Board and Solicitors Regulation Authority, which means it offers exemptions from the academic stage of study if you want to progress to qualify as a barrister or solicitor.

Educating tomorrow’s legal professionals

We deliver a comprehensive all-round undergraduate legal education. You'll develop your knowledge of every aspect of legal services and engage with all the core professional skills. Selecting from a broad choice of optional LLB (Hons) degree modules, you could also specialise in areas such as company law, commercial and consumer law, international human rights law, child protection and domestic abuse.

Build the key lawyering skills

You'll gain practical experience at every stage of the LLB (Hons), with training in drafting, advocacy, interviewing and negotiation. You could also take part in pro bono activities, providing vital legal services to those who might otherwise find it difficult to access justice. Our students have contributed to organisations working in fields such as immigration and asylum, employment law, domestic violence and miscarriages of justice.

Networked into the profession

We work in close partnership with the legal profession, locally and nationally which opens up exciting opportunities for work placements and internships, with the Right Legal Group alone providing more than 100 placements for our students. You could take part in our judicial shadowing scheme in the local courts, which allows you to observe the legal process from behind-the-scenes. You could also benefit from our mentoring scheme, where professional lawyers share vital insights into practice and help you develop your skills, networks and employability.

Expertise and inspiration

You'll be taught by a team of legal and criminology experts, including barristers, solicitors, criminal psychologists, sociologists and experienced police officers. Several are still actively engaged with practice, which helps you keep up to date with contemporary issues in the criminal justice system.

The LLB (Hons) course is also supported by visiting professors and guest lecturers who are leading authorities in their fields. Our celebrated Public Lecture Series brings influential figures to the University to shed new light on changes and challenges at the heart of the legal system.

Our teaching is enriched by research covering some of the most pressing issues confronting society today, from slavery to digital privacy.

First-rate facilities

We offer some of the country’s most impressive facilities for the study of law. Described as “exceptional” by Skills for Justice and including brand new crown and family courts, they replicate environments you will encounter in real-life legal situations. As part of your course, you will also be provided with all the leading essential texts from top publishers and unique content from Oxford University Press and Pearson.

A chance to study abroad

We have strong links with universities in Italy and the Czech Republic. Through the Go Places, Go Further programme, you could even spend a year studying abroad - an excellent way to improve your academic experience and enhance your job prospects while enjoying a different culture.

An outstanding learning experience

We offer a rich programme of extra-curricular events, including study trips and the chance to take part in mooting competitions. A highlight of our calendar is the prestigious black tie law dinner where you can network with members of the local judiciary and legal profession. You can also join our active student Law Society which runs educational, social and careers advice events.

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

Teaching and learning

The Derby LLB offers a variety of methods of learning and teaching. Engaging in real or simulated legal practice, you will practise a range of lawyering skills at every stage of the course, including case preparation, mooting, interviewing and negotiation. You will also develop key skills in legal scholarship, with the opportunity to undertake problem-based research and to specialise through original academic enquiry.

Assessment

You may be assessed through a mixture of group work, oral presentations, written coursework and examinations, enabling you to develop and demonstrate your legal knowledge and skills effectively.

Who you will meet

Joel Klaff - Programme Leader for the LLB Law/LLB Law with Criminology programmes and Lecturer in Law. His subject areas include contractual obligations, commercial law, international trade, international business and commercial theory. His research interests centre on learning, teaching and assessment within the context of international and personal development.

Tim Marangon - Senior Lecturer in Law, Tim specialises in teaching tort law and has a keen interest in medical law. Indeed, he is currently working on Chapters in a book on Medical Law, to be published by Routledge.

Lisa Cherkassky - Senior Lecturer in Law with research interests in medical law, medical ethics, the law surrounding organ transplantation and saviour siblings, and criminal law. Lisa is Chief Editor of The Journal of Medical Law and Ethics.

Christie Eaton - Lecturer in Law and solicitor teaching in areas such as legal skills and ethics as well as EU law.

George Ellison - Lecturer in Law and the link tutor for Joint Honours students who study law modules. George is a former police officer and Senior Lecturer in Law who specialises in teaching public law, human rights and crime.

Rachael Ita - Lecturer in Law who previously practised as a barrister and solicitor in Nigeria. Her research interests centre on international law, administrative law and human rights law.

Sue Jennings - Head of Derby Law School who specialises in teaching employment law and practises as a solicitor in Derby. Sue co-ordinates the hugely popular and successful Annual Skills Triathlon organised by the University of Derby and Derby & District Law Society.

Larry Mead - Senior Lecturer in Law specialising in company law and evidence. Larry has combined his academic career with practice as a criminal law barrister and has published in the areas of company and business law.

September 2019 typical entry requirements

 Alternative entry qualifications:

• BTEC - DDM
• Access to HE Diploma - 60 credits: 45 at level 3 with a minimum of Dist: 15 Merit: 24 Pass: 6

We usually consider an A-level in General Studies as a supplementary qualification. A good application/performance will be taken into account if you do not meet the criteria/offer conditions.

Our entry requirements for this course should be read together with the University's general entry requirements, which details subjects we accept, alternative qualifications and what we're looking for at Derby.

2019/20 Fees

Further information about our fees and support you may be entitled to.

Additional costs and optional extras

An edge in your career

You could enjoy a successful career at home or abroad. Our LLB (Hons) graduates go on to take up roles in private practice, the Crown Prosecution Service, the courts, law centres, the police service, local and national government.

Completion of the LLB represents the end of the academic stage of your training. To become a solicitor or barrister, you must then continue to complete the vocational stage of your training.

Even if you do not want to become a legal practitioner, you will find that an LLB is a valuable qualification and will act as a stepping stone to careers in broader areas such as banking, commerce, industry, publishing or education.

Want to become a solicitor?

If you wish to become a solicitor, you will need to complete the Legal Practice Course (LPC). Our graduates are highly sought after by solicitors’ firms because of their practical skills underpinned by academic rigour.

Want to become a barrister?

If you wish to become a barrister, you must take a one-year full-time or two-year part-time Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). Our students are particularly successful at winning substantial scholarships for the BPTC, which says something of our teaching calibre. In 2014, for example, three graduates were awarded a total of £42,000 in scholarships from Middle Temple and Lincoln’s Inn, and one student was awarded a Middle Temple Major Award, the Sir Robert Micklethwaite Memorial Prize.

Ensuring you’re ‘work-ready’

Our Careers and Employment Service will provide you with support from day one of your LLB (Hons) course to ensure that you leave Derby as a ‘work-ready’ graduate - industry aware, motivated and enterprising. Throughout your LLB (Hons) studies, you will also benefit from our Personal Development Planning scheme which enables you to reflect on your learning and develop your career ambitions. The support continues once you’ve completed your course too: you are entitled to further help and guidance from the Careers and Employment Service for up to three years after leaving the University.

Programme leader

Joel Klaff

Contact us

If you need any more information from us, eg on courses, accommodation, applying, car parking, fees or funding, please contact us and we will do everything we can to help you.

† Additional information about your studies

Download programme specification

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

Additional costs and optional extras

We’re committed to providing you with an outstanding learning experience. Our expert teaching, state-of-the-art facilities and great employability prepare you for your future career. As part of our commitment to you we aim to keep any additional study costs to a minimum. However, there are occasions where students may incur some additional costs.

Included in your fees

• Text books 
• Home and International trips if applicable (e.g. The Hague, Dublin and London

Mandatory costs not included in your fees

• Purchasing formal business attire for mooting assessments (Costs can vary between £75 - £300 depending on source of purchase)
• Printing of trial bundles for mooting assessment - around 80 pages (approx. cost £4)

Optional costs not included in your fees

• Membership of the Students Union Law Society (£7 for a societies card plus £3 society subscription)
• Students will be invited to black tie events which will require the wearing of formal attire (£50-100 depending on source of purchase)

Please note: Our courses are refreshed and updated on a regular basis. If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.

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• Law (Joint Honours)
• Criminology BSc (Hons)