**This is a Connected Degree**

Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

**Overview**

This LLB (Hons) Law with Legal Practice degree offers a practical way to enter the legal profession. You'll graduate ready to work as a trainee legal executive and have the option to start your career with completed industry qualifications, thanks to our CILEX accredited modules.

This course is designed around the outcomes you’ll need to study for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), so you'll cover all the foundations of legal knowledge and have plenty of opportunities to build your practical skills. You’ll be able to demonstrate more practical experience of dispute resolution, legal drafting and legal practice than on our other law courses.

With professional skills modules included in all levels of study, you’ll develop key solicitor skills such as negotiating, client interviewing and legal writing. And by working with real clients in our Legal Advice Clinic you'll also gain three months of work experience that can count towards your qualifying work experience for the SQE.

If you choose to complete an optional paid placement year before or after your third year, you’ll graduate with a year of industry experience too.

**Course highlights**

- Gain real-world legal practice skills in legal writing, litigation, advocacy and applied law such as business or property practice

- Help local people solve their legal issues by working in our Legal Advice Clinic, or taking our Community Lawyer module, where you'll work with partners such as the British Red Cross or Citizens Advice

- Get a head start on studying for your SQE exams after graduation through teaching and assessment that's designed with these exams in mind — as well as through our partnership with Barbri, the world’s largest legal exam preparation experts

- Develop professional skills for the legal workplace in our dedicated skills module

- Benefit from teaching that's shaped by expert staff who have been practising lawyers and who understand how the legal landscape is changing

- Take a 1-year optional paid placement in a business or local law firm before or after your final year of study, with support from our Placement Team throughout the application and placement process

**Careers and opportunities**

This course is specifically designed to maximise your employability as a future solicitor or chartered legal executive. When you graduate you'll be ready to apply for work immediately as a paralegal or trainee legal executive, or go on to study for your SQE exams. You'll have lots of practical experience to talk about at job interviews.

It's worth noting that chartered legal executives can now become judges, coroners, advocates and partners in law firms.

**Non-legal careers**

If you decide that you don't want to become a lawyer, you'll still have plenty of experience and skills to boost your future career. Law degrees are in the top 10 degrees for employability, as you'll graduate with a wide range of transferable skills that will make you very employable across a range of other sectors.