Hi
I am asking this question for a friend who is at his final year doing University of London external degree programme.
He did not do very well for his exams in his first and second years and he is worried that he might not be able to get a Second Lower (2:2) which is a prerequistie for taking the CLP exam.

What option does a UOL graduate have if he fails to get a 2:2 and and cannot be accepted for the CLP? Continue with LLM? Do a full-time degree at another uni?


This post has been edited by tehtmc: Aug 4 2010, 05:54 PM

alsree
Thanks for the reply. So, you are saying that a UOL external graduate without at least a 2:2 honours has no chance of taking the CLP and go into legal practice? Not even after getting an LLM? No second chance at all? What about re-doing LLB at another university?

Is it true that the min. 2:2 requirement applies to UOL external graduates only and not graduates from other universities?

This post has been edited by tehtmc: Aug 5 2010, 04:14 PM

alsree - Care to reply to my last question? Will appreciate it very much, thanks.

Further to my earlier post on the question of 'other options' for an external UOL student who is not confident of getting a 2:2, I've found out that students do transfer to universities in UK to further their studies. This is one way to circumvent the 2:2 requirement for CLP as I understand students only need a pass from a full-time uni to be eligible for the CLP, am I right?

Some of the unis that would accept UOL students into the third year are - West England, Northumbria, Abertyswyth and Hertfordshire, the same ones which are twinned with the private law schools like BAC.

I guess all the unis are recognized by the Bar Council? Any comments about these options? Which of the unis are better?

alsree

My friend sat and passed his Part I in 2009. He studied for his II two but decided to defer registering and sitting for his exam. He encountered some problems getting his thesis topic approved. He was taking tuition privately and the tutor passed away half way through the course.
For his Intermediate, his average mark was above 50 whereas for his Part I, his average was below 50. He would need to do much better in his Part II to get a 2:2.

The other question is : if he were to go ahead and sit for his Part 2 and fail to qualify for 2:2, can he also transfer to do his final year again at one of the unis in UK as mentioned.

Thanks alsree again for the advice. Yes, Mr Anand. He may be a great lecturer but I don't believe one lecturer can be master of all subjects. I am also not in favour of idea of attending private evening tuitions which is really meant for working people.

If he were to carry on with Part 2, there is the risk of not making it to 2:2. The risk is higher judging from his past performance. He has only been scraping through his previous exams.

If he were to transfer to study for final year in UK uni, he is more or less assured of being eligible for CLP as long as he passes the internal uni exams, which should be easier than external UOL.

The 2nd option, though more expensive, is safer. Unless there is the other 'fail-safe measure' of doing the final year again at the UK uni after completing the UOL with less than a 2:2 - an option he is trying to find out.

My advice to him is: better be safe/play safe than to be sorry later.

This post has been edited by tehtmc: Aug 11 2010, 12:01 PM

Do you mean sitting for the UK Bar? I understand the requirement for doing that is quite high, higher than the requirement for sitting for the Malaysian CLP. The reason for him considering going to UK for final year is to get round the CLP requirement in the first place. Of course, if he can do well there in the final year to meet the Bar requirements, that would be added bonus.

---

Added on August 11, 2010, 4:30 pmHi Daphe
Sorry about the unhappy state of affairs you are in. It's like being thrown into deep water and learning to swim. Well, try to look at it from the positive side, you'll be on a steep learning curve.
I am sure you can change to another job since you are not happy with your present job. I am from a different profession but also based in Ipoh. I have always thought that it is advisable for fresh graduates to get their experience and exposure in bigger cities. I understand that most of the firms in Ipoh are sole-proprietor setups - lean and mean, more business-orientated that being professional. Good luck.

---

Added on August 11, 2010, 4:42 pmalsree

I have another question to ask.

You seem to be more in favour of my friend completing his Part 2 UOL.

In professional practice, what degrees are more highly regarded - an external LLB from UOL or a LLB from any of the universities in UK? Or does it not matter unless you are from one of those top-rated universities? From the point of view of the employers i.e. the legal firms? From the point of view of the clients?

I would have thought that once you are out in the working world, it's not what qualification you have or what you know but who you know that makes the difference in whether you get the job or not. More so, in the legal profession. As for litigation cases, you establish your reputation through your track record of your practice, the cases won?

This post has been edited by tehtmc: Aug 11 2010, 04:55 PM

That's the question I was asking previously - whether there are other options for UOL graduates to go into legal practice without a 2:2.
Apparently, the answer is NO, whether locally or abroad.
Malaysia only recognizes the UK Bar. To be eligible to do UK Bar, you still need a 2:2 minimum.

By recognition, I mean 'being able to practise law in Malaysia without sitting for the CLP' or 'being exempted from sitting for the CLP.

Does the Qualifying Board recognizes other qualifications (eg. from Australia) besides that from the UK Bar?

I think communication skills are important to be a good lawyer- both written and verbal. But then again, in real life, not all lawyers are great communicators. Like the guy who acted for MACC to cross examine Dr Pornthip?

By, the way, should be title of the thread be 'guide to become a lawyer' or 'guide to becoming a lawyer'?

It's more difficult for 3rd year than for 2nd year to get into the better known unis.
UWE and Hertfordshire accept transfers to 3rd year.



It is recognized, in fact there are many practising lawyers who went through LLB external.
Thing is, you need to get min. 2nd class honours to be eligible to sit for the CLP. This requirement only applies to LLB UOL External grads.

This post has been edited by tehtmc: Jul 26 2012, 01:21 PM

Also, it is possible for UOL students to transfer to unis in UK for 2nd and 3rd year.
But it is not possible to transfer from UK Transfer Programme to UOL external.

UOL external exams are relatively more difficult compared to UK Transfers.

You check with the uni which accepts the transfers, not UOL.
I know of people who have done so.

I know someone who did UOL locally for the first two years. She scraped through most of  the papers.
She transfered to UK for the 3rd year and ended up getting a 2nd Upper Honours.
Had she continued with UOL and failed to get a 2nd class honours, she would not be eligible to sit for her CLP. That's the risk she would have taken.



This post has been edited by tehtmc: Jul 30 2012, 05:03 PM