Why LLB
The idea of studying law arose when I was working as a consultant at BCG, a place where all kinds of smart people work together to solve real life business challenges in creative ways. I had the chance to work with a few consultants with legal background and was impressed by their intelligence, their ability to frame problems, and the way they articulate ideas in a precise and concise manner.
Due to time constrains in managing work and other part-time studies, I dropped that idea and the plan didn’t come to fruition, until a few years later when my work progressed to a level that involves more handling of legal documents and working with lawyers. I felt like it was time to be serious about it. So I enrolled myself in UoL’s part-time LLB programme and got on with it.
Oh boy. That was excruciating.
What It Takes (And Gives)
Memorisation is not my strongest suit. I was interested in understanding the principles when analysing legal issues, rather than being able to quote the exact name and spelling of some historical court cases. The memorisation part was a major putoff, but I was well aware of what I was signing up for so I had no complaint. Shortly after I finished my final exam, I have already written off most of the case names from memory, save for those really landmark cases which stuck with me.
The time required for studying and exam preparation also exceeded my expectation. I ended up joining the “5am club” and became an early riser to spend time study before I head off to work, I also dedicated at least half a day each weekend for that. Altogether I spend 2.5 years to finish all 9 subjects (the normal duration would be 3 years, but I joined my first year half-way through, another mistake…).
The exam preparation part was no fun, but I did enjoy the learning experience. Now that it is over, it’s a good time to look back and summarise my thoughts and takeaways of each subject.
Public Law: The understanding of the UK’s constitution and the concept of the rule of law is a good point of reference when assessing the validity and effectiveness of legal structures in other countries, or the lack thereof.
Contract Law: If you sign on a contract, you will be bound by its terms, whether or not you read them and understood them. Also, I wonder why we are still learning the “postal rule” in the 21st century when instant communication is ubiquitous. How many people are still using physical post for their communication of offer and acceptance?
Criminal Law: In the subject of homicide, mens rea makes all the difference when it comes to murder vs manslaughter; the defence of insanity/automatism/intoxication involve interesting applications of legal definitions and principles.
Tort Law: The Neighbour Principle – you must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour.
Land Law: Legal rights bind the world; equitable interests require registration and the doctrine of notice.
Commercial Law: If you do deals as a business, the general principle is “caveat emptor” – let the buyer beware; you are on your own unless you are a consumer with lower bargaining power.
Company Law: Who wants to be a Board of Director?
Equity and Trusts: Equity does not assist an volunteer. For setting up an expressed trust, how you can own something legally but not beneficially (or vice versa) involves the three certainties, formalities and constitution; but the concepts of resulting/constructive/secret trusts complicate the matter. Even so, the rationale for the existence of implied trusts is intriguing and worth an in-depth discussion.
Jurisprudence: I am just glad that I passed and can put this behind me.
Describe Law School in Three Words
Recently Bloomberg on Twitter initiated a thread and asked people to describe law school in three words. Below are some of the entries that resonate with me the most:
- Not like television.
- Define “three words”.
- Everyone got divorced
- Challenging, humbling, exhilarating.
- Glad I’m done.
- Maybe. It depends.
- Teaching people to use too many words (I see what you did there).
- Read, read again.
- Res ipsa loquitur (let the thing speaks for itself).
- Snail in bottle (Donoghue v Stevenson).
Final Self-Q&A
🗨 “Is getting a law degree useful for your career?”
SMK: Not directly. The study of the various subjects provide basic knowledge of legal framework only, many of them are not directly related to my work. However, the learning of legal principles has been interesting and the application of such is intellectually stimulating. It also help you think in a more structured way when you are presented with a problem.
🗨 “Do you act and think like a lawyer after getting the LLB?”
SMK: Absolutely not. Don’t ask me for legal advice. Being a qualified lawyer requires proper training and practice, and I am nowhere near that.
🗨 “What do LLB stand for?”
SMK: I still don’t know after I finished the whole programme. Having consulted Google, it appears to represents an abbreviation of Latin ‘Legum Baccalaureus’ which translates to a Bachelor of Law degree. I had no idea, thanks for asking.
🗨 “If you could choose again, would you still choose to study LLB?”
SMK: Yes.