Understand Law Degrees

Law

For most people, a career in law is a great achievement and a bachelor of law is the first step towards fulfilling this dream. It is very exciting to watch a lawyer arguing a case in a court room and the many high profile cases across the globe and gripping law court dramas you witness on various television channels makes a law career seem even more appealing. This is an undergraduate degree that students who wish to pursue a career in law undertake as their primary law degree. It gives you the legal skills and ethics that apply to law and an understanding of how law relates to the various aspects of human life.

The bachelor of law has its origin in England but has now spread to various countries across the globe. It started out as one of the degrees in liberal arts but over time, this degree has become more specialized professionally. Law students were expected to study both common law and civil law in the past but this has changed with time. There are still some institutions that offer their students alternatives of the common law in their bachelor of law courses.

Students generally join a bachelor of law after completing high school in majority of the common law countries apart from the United States and Canada. The degree is also offered as a second entry program in Britain for students who have done another undergraduate degree. The bachelor of law degree is appropriate for those who want to become solicitors or barristers and legal officers.

Once you have attained a law degree, it doe not mean that you are now qualified to be lawyer. Attaining of a law degree merely qualifies you to become a member of a law society. In most countries once you are a member of a law society, you are expected to undergo further training after which you will sit exams. Law students are also expected to work in legal fields either in the public or the private sector to acquire the necessary skills learnt in lectures.

It is important to note that the bachelor of law degree usually varies from one country to another. In Australia for example, students

take the degree at an entry level if they have attained another bachelor’s degree and it takes three years to complete. If you decide to take it after high school, it will take four years. The bachelor of law can be taken with another degree like Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Arts, or Bachelor of Science and will take 5 to 7 years.

In Canada there are two systems that are followed. One of them follows civil law while the other one follows common law. This means that in Canada there are two types of law degrees. The common law degree takes three years plus a year of articling to qualify as a lawyer. The civil law degree is an entry level one that requires you to have at least a diploma and will take three years.