By Kenneth Henry
With the Leaving Cert results only around the corner, a big decision on the mind of so many students will be their third level course choice, if indeed third level is their preferred choice. With so many courses, such a choice can be challenging, particularly if you did not study your course prefrence in school. Law, in particular, is one of those subjects that students rarely get a chance to study in school. Therefore, for those considering studying the subject, we will look at the degree, its entry requirements, what you will be explicitly studying, and its career options.
Course entry requirements:
Unfortunately, as places on law courses are in high demand, the points for these courses are generally very high. Although it depends on the college, the points typically range from 450 to 560 points; some colleges, such as ATU Letterkenny, have lower entry requirements, around the 360-point mark. The leaving cert is undoubtedly a difficult time, and if you feel the high points will be a barrier from your preferred course or university, don’t worry; there are several other choices for you. Firstly, you can choose a college with a lower point range and then transfer to your preferred college in second year, provided you reach a particular grade in first year; however, the specific transfer criteria would depend on the college you attend.
Even if you think the courses with the lower points are out of reach, you should not give up; for someone who struggled with dyslexia, getting anywhere near a reasonable leaving cert result was out of the question for me. I did a one-year post-leaving certificate course in legal studies and was offered a place on a law degree. Not every college will take PLC students, and those that do will have only a limited number of places reserved; the number of places reserved will depend on the college itself.
What will you be studying?
Not every law course is the same. Some courses teach languages alongside law, and others relate to law and business. However, for courses solely associated with law, students study eight mandatory areas of law, which the FE1 exams focus on (we will talk about the FE1s later).
These areas are:
Contract law.
Criminal Law
Tort Law.
Company Law.
EU Law.
Constitutional Law.
The Law of Equity.
Property law.
Alongside these core modules, students can choose what modules to take; they are usually related to law, but sometimes they are not.
Careers:
Law graduates have many career options, including in many areas outside law, such as the civil service or business. The most common careers for those wanting to work in the legal industry are solicitor or barrister. A Barrister is a guy who wears a wig and is in court full time, while a solicitor does all the legal work outside court.
To qualify as either, you must complete a certain amount of exams when you finish college; for solicitors, the exams are called the FE1s; as we mentioned earlier, the barristers must complete the bar entrance exams. After completing FE1exams, students must go on to the professional practice course and a two-year apprenticeship in a law firm. To become a Barrister, on the other hand, you complete the Bar entrance exams, and a full-time Barrister of Law degree at Kings Inns College. Following this, students do one year of unpaid work with an experienced Barrister before qualifying.
Although studying law can be challenging, and the path to qualifying as a legal practitioner is very long, it is a hugely rewarding field that offers excellent opportunities to those who study it.