UCL Faculty of Laws

History

The Faculty was established in 1826 and is one of the oldest law schools in England. It was the first law school in England to offer a systematic university education to men and women, irrespective of religious beliefs and social backgrounds. The Faculty’s first professor was the noted legal philosopher, John Austin (Professor of Jurisprudence). Andrew Amos, a successful barrister, became the first Professor of English Law (and later Professor of Medical Jurisprudence).

Hazel Genn was appointed as dean of the Faculty in September 2008.

In November 2010 the Faculty launched the UCL Judicial Institute, the first specialist academic centre for research and teaching about the judiciary to be established in the UK.

Building

The Faculty is based at Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens, a few minutes’ walk from the main UCL campus. The building is named after philosopher, jurist and reformer Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), who is closely associated with UCL. The main building was originally constructed in 1954–8 as a headquarters for the National Union of General and Municipal Workers: the exterior decoration includes at fifth-floor level five relief sculptures of industrial workers by Esmond Burton. It was acquired by UCL and occupied by the Faculty in 1965. In the mid-2000s, the Faculty expanded into the adjacent 1970s building in Endsleigh Street, formerly the B'nai B'rith Hillel House (a social and residential centre for Jewish students), now renamed the Gideon Schreier Wing.

Facilities at Bentham House include teaching rooms, lecture halls, a courtroom for moots, a student lounge, a coffee bar and two computer cluster rooms.

In November 2014 an £18.5 million redevelopment of Bentham House received planning permission. Levitt Bernstein are the architects for the project.

Research

The Faculty was placed joint first in the UK for the proportion of its research activity in the top two star categories (75% 4*/3*) in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. It is home to a number of associated research centres and institutes:

Undergraduate

The Faculty receives an average of around 2,500 applications for approximately 140 undergraduate places each year. The minimum entry requirements are A*AA grades at A-level, plus a pass in a fourth subject at AS level and a high LNAT score. All candidates to whom an offer is contemplated being made who are identified as requiring particular consideration are interviewed. There are no places available through the UCAS clearing process.

Graduate

The Faculty admits approximately 350 students to its graduate LLM course each year.

The minimum entry requirements for the MPhil and PhD are a bachelor's degree with a first or high upper second honours together with an LLM with an average grade of 65% (ideally with evidence of first class ability).

Publications

The Faculty publishes a number of journals, including Current Legal Problems, Current Legal Issues, and the UCL Jurisprudence Review.

Public lectures

The Faculty hosts a number of free public lectures each week (including the Current Legal Problems series) on a wide range of legal topics. These lectures are delivered by eminent academics from major universities around the world, senior members of the judiciary and leading legal practitioners.

Rankings

The Faculty is regarded by many to be "the best law faculty in the UK". In 2009 the Independent University Guide ranked the quality of teaching at the Faculty joint first in the UK alongside the University of Oxford. During a recent peer-review assessment conducted by The Sunday Times, the Faculty recorded perfect scores for teaching and research quality, confirming its reputation as one of UCL’s most outstanding departments.

In 2009, the Faculty enjoyed a 100% graduate employment rate, compared to 99.7% at the University of Oxford, 98% at the University of Cambridge and 97% at the London School of Economics. Many graduates go on to pursue legal careers at 'Magic Circle' law firms and leading barristers’ chambers.

In the 2017 QS World University Rankings by Subject UCL is ranked 12th in the world (and 4th in Europe) for Law. In domestic rankings UCL is ranked first for Law in the 2014 Guardian University Guide, third in the 2014 and 2017 Complete University Guide and 6th in the Times and Sunday Times League Table.

UCL Law Society

The UCL Law Society has existed for more than 70 years and is regarded as one of the most prestigious student law societies in the UK. The vast majority of LLB students become members of the Law Society upon matriculation. LLM and non-law students are able to join as affiliate members.

The Law Society is led by the President and 17 other officers who are (apart from the First Year Representative) elected in March towards the end of the academic year. Election into the UCL Law Society is highly competitive and only LLB students are allowed to be nominated for positions. LLM and non-law students are not allowed to run for elections or vote. The campaigning period lasts for five days, and the voting period lasts for three days. Following a year of service, the President's name is engraved on a board in the Law Faculty.

The Law Society holds around one activity per day during the academic year and regularly hosts top judges, academics and lawyers around the world. The Law Society organises a wide range of competitions in mooting, debating, negotiation and client interviewing, and has multiple legal publications including Silk v Brief. The Law Society also provides the most comprehensive legal careers programme at UCL and is supported by a range of barristers' chambers, City and national law firms, and overseas law firms.

There is a separate LLM Society which caters solely to LLM students. The UCL Law Society and the LLM Society are independent of each other.

Notable academic staff

The Faculty has more than 50 full-time academic staff, including 29 professors, many visiting professors and distinguished judicial and other visiting academic staff. The current list of professors include:

Visiting Professors

Judiciary

Other