Boris Ignachkov A law degree is an important first step into a career in the legal sector. Here are some suggestions for you about how to prepare for your law degree at undergraduate level and support you throughout your studies.
Media
There is no doubt that a good law student will have a broad awareness of current affairs and legal issues. One of the best ways to prepare for your law degree is to regularly keep up to date with what is going on in the world. This can easily be achieved simply by reading a good quality newspaper, either hard copy or online.
Many popular newspapers also have a dedicated section for legal news, making these easily accessible.
Books
These titles can help you get off to a good start when preparing to study law at degree level and gain a deeper insight into the legal sector.
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- Winning Arguments by Jay Heinrichs is filled with examples of persuasion and helpful advice to ace your arguments.
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- Learning the Law by Glanville Williams helps you to understand the legal system and the discipline of studying law.
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- Using a Law Library by Peter Clinch provides the reader with advice on using a law library and how to make effective use of catalogues and indexes.
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- Letters to a Law Student by Nicholas McBride is a practical guide to Studying Law at University level.
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- Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi is centred around building lasting professional relationships and effective networking.
Resources
Accessing online resources is a cost-friendly way to keep up to date with legal news. Many of these online resources also offer great advice and useful tips from legal professionals themselves.
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- careerinlaw.net is an educational and careers website dedicated to helping law students with law school education and legal careers.
Podcasts
Podcasts are highly beneficial, as they encourage you to maximise your spare time. You can continue with your daily tasks, whilst tuning into a podcast and learning at the same time.
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- Serial is a series which re-examines a historic murder conviction. It considers a wide range of the legal aspects concerning the case, interviewing people involved and presenting a in-depth compelling narrative.
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- Talking Law is a podcast where award winning barrister Sally Penni MBE interviews leading figures in the legal sector, discussing their own challenges, successes and also their personal routes into the legal profession.
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- Law Pod UK is a podcast that discusses all aspects of UK civil and public law with legal professionals, professors and specialists.
Blogs
Legal blogs often demystify complex legal topics for the average reader, providing readers with engaging content and information.
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- The Law Society is a blog showcasing work from around the organisation and views from across the legal sector.
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- Pupillage and How to Get It is blog of a Leeds-based barrister who writes about the realities of entering the legal profession.
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- Law Actually follows slightly humorous and modern areas of the law, which are picked up on and cleverly analysed.
Netflix
We all love a bit of unwinding down and watching the latest shows on Netflix. But did you know you could learn quite a lot from these well-known titles?
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- Suits is an American legal drama television series. Mike Ross, a talented young college dropout, is hired as an associate by Harvey Specter, one of New York’s best lawyers. They must handle cases while keeping Mike’s qualifications a secret.
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- How to Get Away with Murder is based on Annalise Keating, a criminal defence lawyer and professor and a group of aspiring law students, who’s lives change when they end up entangled in an aberrant murder.
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- The Innocent Files is a series of untold personal stories behind eight cases of wrongful conviction, that the Innocence Project has uncovered and worked to overturn.
Spend some time building up your LinkedIn profile, updating all your information and adding a friendly, but professional profile picture. LinkedIn is a great way to connect with course-mates, those in similar industries and employers of interest.
Look out for legal groups to join and follow law firms you are particularly interested in. This will help you to keep up to date with important information, such as training contract deadlines, internship opportunities and general updates popping up onto your feed.