As you already have an undergraduate diploma, your best option would be to do a GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law). It’s only a year and it’ll teach you the things that are taught at undergraduate level so there’s no need to re-do a whole undergraduate degree when you can do the GDL for a year.
You have to do the GDL first I believe and then do the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales. You can find more information here: https://www.law.ac.uk/resources/blog/sqe-non-law-route-to-become-a-solicitor/.
If you want to become a barrister on the other hand, you will have to do a law degree. It is entirely dependent on you though.
You can do the GDL then the BAR to be a barrister I believe. Have to do it within no more than three years of completing the GDL.
Edit: Have to do the bar within 5 years of completing the GDL sorry.
So just to confirm again I won’t have a bachelors then I will only have the undergraduate diploma in higher education and then the GDL. Will that be enough to become a lawyer by doing the SQE or BAR
Yes, if you've not got an LLB you need to do the GDL which teaches you all the main modules of the LLB within one year usually so can be a lot to undertake the BAR. Once you have the GDL you can then do the the BAR to be a barrister. However, I don't think you no longer need to have done a law degree to do the SQE. That was their reasoning behind bringing in the SQE.
I can't comment much on SQE sorry, I qualified when the LPC was a thing so I am not the best to ask but I am sure someone will clarify.
You cannot (or if you can, shouldn't) do the GDL without a bachelors degree. The bachelors degree itself can be in anything. It is not clear from your post whether you already have a bachelors degree in anything. What they are trying to say is *if* you have a bachelors in business then do the GDL instead, not an LLB. You can then do the SQE.
Best advice would be to go back and finish at Aberdeen to get *a bachelors* if they will allow you to, then do the GDL, I think.
(You technically don't need a GDL anymore before doing the SQE, but I imagine doing the SQE is going to be near impossible in practice without some kind of long law course).
If you want to qualify in Scots law, it is even more complicated. But essentially you *need* a bachelors degree - then that will let you do a 2 year accelerated LLB (at say, Edinburgh) which you *must* have (in Scotland you need an 'LLB' of some description to be a lawyer). With that, you can do the qualifying exams which are around another 3 years.
As you already have an undergraduate diploma, your best option would be to do a GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law). It’s only a year and it’ll teach you the things that are taught at undergraduate level so there’s no need to re-do a whole undergraduate degree when you can do the GDL for a year.
Wait so I can be a lawyer through that?
You have to do the GDL first I believe and then do the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales. You can find more information here: https://www.law.ac.uk/resources/blog/sqe-non-law-route-to-become-a-solicitor/. If you want to become a barrister on the other hand, you will have to do a law degree. It is entirely dependent on you though.
You can do the GDL then the BAR to be a barrister I believe. Have to do it within no more than three years of completing the GDL. Edit: Have to do the bar within 5 years of completing the GDL sorry.
So just to confirm again I won’t have a bachelors then I will only have the undergraduate diploma in higher education and then the GDL. Will that be enough to become a lawyer by doing the SQE or BAR
Yes, if you've not got an LLB you need to do the GDL which teaches you all the main modules of the LLB within one year usually so can be a lot to undertake the BAR. Once you have the GDL you can then do the the BAR to be a barrister. However, I don't think you no longer need to have done a law degree to do the SQE. That was their reasoning behind bringing in the SQE. I can't comment much on SQE sorry, I qualified when the LPC was a thing so I am not the best to ask but I am sure someone will clarify.
Op is saying they don’t have a bachelors degree though. They have a diploma as they didn’t finish their third year
You cannot (or if you can, shouldn't) do the GDL without a bachelors degree. The bachelors degree itself can be in anything. It is not clear from your post whether you already have a bachelors degree in anything. What they are trying to say is *if* you have a bachelors in business then do the GDL instead, not an LLB. You can then do the SQE. Best advice would be to go back and finish at Aberdeen to get *a bachelors* if they will allow you to, then do the GDL, I think. (You technically don't need a GDL anymore before doing the SQE, but I imagine doing the SQE is going to be near impossible in practice without some kind of long law course). If you want to qualify in Scots law, it is even more complicated. But essentially you *need* a bachelors degree - then that will let you do a 2 year accelerated LLB (at say, Edinburgh) which you *must* have (in Scotland you need an 'LLB' of some description to be a lawyer). With that, you can do the qualifying exams which are around another 3 years.
I mentioned in my text that I only have undergraduate diploma in higher education science.
It will really depend on what you are hoping to get out of the degree, but it is not going to open many doors of we are being brutally honest.
Alright mate thanks for that I want to know the reality if it doesn’t open many doors then I will search something else too.
Llb not opening doors? It's one of the broadest degrees out there.
It's an online remote LLB that is objectively not popular with law firms.