Funding Your Law Career

Feb 09, 2018

Written By Maudie Powell-Tuck, All About Law

It’s no secret, you might be well paid as a barrister or solicitor, but it costs a lot to get there. With the rising cost of tuition fees, just how expensive is it to become a barrister or solicitor?

It’s a long (educational) road to becoming a solicitor or barrister. Think of it like a layer cake: you start off with the plain Victoria sponge of an undergraduate degree. Then you’ll have to fill it with a buttercream of the Graduate Diploma in Law (if you do a non-law degree) smothered with a strawberry jam layer of student enrolment with the SRA or Inns of Court.

Finish it off with a luxurious sponge of the Legal Practice Course (LPC) or the Barristers Professional Training Course (BPTC), decorate it with the cost of study materials, living costs and other expenses and you have one expensive cake. The good thing though, is that there is financial support to help you cut that cake into more manageable slices.

Ok enough with the baked goods analogy; we’re getting a bit peckish.

Long story short, a legal education is expensive. But you don’t have to shoulder it alone. There are financial support schemes, such as scholarships, government grants, bank loans, and sponsorships provided by law firms and chambers, to help ease the financial load.

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What to expect at university

You’ve seen the headlines: higher education is expensive. Universities are charging up to £9,000 a year in tuition fees for undergraduate degree courses. Add on living costs, such as accommodation, travel and food, and it all adds up to a rather lot. Not many forget just how much legal course books cost.

Tuition fees shouldn’t put you off though. Most UK and EU students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover tuition fees and a Maintenance Loan to help with living costs. Your Tuition Fee Loan is paid directly into your university or college’s pocket, whereas the Maintenance Loan will be paid in termly instalments directly into your bank account. Remember though, it isn’t free money; you will be subject to interest rates!

Paying your student loans back

You then start paying back the loans once you have left university and are earning over £21,000. The likelihood is that many people will never pay the full amount back. After 30 years the debt is cancelled, so really you could view it as a graduate tax rather than a debt. You can find out more about student loans and grants here.

If you are from a low income household, there are numerous non-repayable grants, awards, and scholarships that you can take advantage of. It’s worth taking the time to find out what level of financial support is available at the university to intend to attend.

If university doesn’t seem like the right option for you, you might want to look at the legal executive route or explore legal apprenticeships.

What happens after my law undergraduate degree?

The problem with a law career is that your undergraduate degree isn’t the only expense. If you’ve done a non-law degree, you’ll need to take the GDL (e.g. the law conversion course) or the senior status LLB. Studying the GDL full-time could cost anywhere between £7,250 and £10,200 depending on where you study it, and that’s not including living expenses. You can find out more about law conversion courses here.

The next step in your legal training will be the Legal Practice Course (LPC) or the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC), formerly the Bar Vocational Course (BVC). The LPC which is the solicitor vocational course, can cost anywhere between £7,500 and £14,765 for a student studying full-time. The BPTC can cost between £12,965 and £18,175.

Funding for postgraduate law degrees

Before you give up all hope of becoming a barrister or solicitor, there are some funding options available. Chief amongst these is sponsorship from the law firm offering you a training contract or the chambers offering you a pupillage. Many City law firms will fund their trainees through their GDL and LPC, as well as offering some maintenance support. Some chambers will sponsor those offered a pupillage through their BPTC.

Some GDL, LPC and BPTC providers offer scholarships and bursaries. The Law Society has a bursary scheme and Inns of Court also have a scholarship scheme for those on the BPTC or pupillage. Finally, there is the option to take out a career development loan.

You should think very carefully about doing the LPC or BPTC without a training contract or pupillage. Most would recommend, due to the cost of the courses, that you secure a training contract or pupillage first.

University Funding