Application information

The closing date for applications is Friday 21 September 2018. Uniquely the LLM provides you with the opportunity of using your solicitor qualification as a building block to achieve recognised academic qualifications. Watch our short video

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Programme overview

The Diploma Centre of the Law Society of Ireland is pleased to offer this innovative LLM Advanced Legal Practice. The Masters is offered in association with the Northumbria Law School and is specifically designed for those who are qualified solicitors. Uniquely the LLM provides you with the opportunity of using your solicitor qualification as a building block to achieve recognised academic qualifications. In summary, the award requires 180 credits and your solicitor qualification already provides 120 points towards this. A research based dissertation then makes up the remaining 60 points required.

Programme structure

Building upon your solicitor qualification, the programme provides the ideal opportunity for professional development in a specialised area of law. Candidates undertake in-depth study of an agreed legal topic under individual tutor supervision. The programme will start with an Induction day and is taught primarily through distance learning, with supervisors predominantly based in the Law Society. The programme lasts for up to two years, a timescale designed to allow students flexibility to complete the LLM in keeping with their work commitments.

The programme focuses on legal research and coherent presentation of legal research in a written form. You will begin by attending a course induction day onsite in the Law Society, during which the Legal Research and Study Skills unit of the programme will be introduced. This unit is not assessed but is designed to update your writing and research skills. For the remainder of the programme, you will complete a dissertation of between 15,000-17,000 words. The project is the sole assessed element of the programme. The topic of study is of your choosing, but generally must relate to an area of Irish law and there must be an appropriate tutor available to support you. The possibility also exists of you choosing a topic relating to international jurisdictions if there is internal expertise to supervise the topic.

Apart from the personal satisfaction of gaining a Masters, the programme provides career benefits through focus on skills that are directly relevant to the needs of modern legal practice, including

• The development of existing expertise and knowledge;
• The opportunity to gain expertise in a new area;
• Enhancement of skills in research and legal analysis; and
• Enhanced understanding of the wider context in which the law is developed and is implemented.

Fee

Please note: If the programme is not completed within the 2 year timeframe an extension fee will apply. Note: No discounts apply to the LLM Advanced Legal Practice.

Audience

Applicants must either be

• qualified as a solicitor in this jurisdiction, or
• enrolled on the PPC at the same time as they enrol to the LLM Advanced Legal Practice and be expected to complete their training within the academic year. Any student enrolled on the PPC at the same time as the LLM must satisfactorily complete the PPC before they can be awarded the LLM.

Thank you for your interest in the LLM. The selection criteria will be based on a combination of when the application was received and whether or not there is sufficient capacity within the Law Society at this time to supervise the proposed topic. Please note the course is in high demand and if your application is not successful for this offering, you will be added to a waiting list for the next offering.

For further information please contact the Programme Co-ordinator (Ireland), Rory O’Boyle - Tel: +353 (0)1 8815774 or Email: r.oboyle@lawsociety.ie .