Postgraduate Courses in Law

As a postgraduate subject, law will provide you with a rich landscape of prospective jobs as a potential career. Alongside general business studies, law opens up access to a wider range of jobs than any other subject.

Additionally, there are many specialisations with the legal field, offering plenty of scope for further focus once you have your postgraduate degree.

Postgraduate Courses in Law Trends

In 2015-2016, just over 450 people enrolled in law courses in Ireland. This made Law the 2 nd most popular subject for postgraduate studies in Ireland in 2015-2016

Research Subjects for Postgraduate Courses in Law

Depending upon the curriculum, you will be able to choose a research topic. This will eventually lead to your thesis. Typical research subjects for postgraduate law students would be:

• Compliance and corporate governance – study of the legislation that companies must work within, and how the compliance with legislation is managed.
• Health law and policy – the study of the laws that apply to companies and government institutions working within the health care sector.
• Technology law and ethics – the study of laws that apply to the use of new and emerging technology, and how integration of new technology into society should be ethically controlled.

Specialisations in Postgraduate Courses in Law

Many students who are studying for a postgraduate qualification in Law choose a more focused specialisation to concentrate on. The subjects below would typically have corresponding specializations available, there are more:

• Directors’ duties – commercial law pertaining the responsibilities and fiduciary duties of company directors.
• Immigration law – law regarding both incoming and outgoing immigrants, included work-related law and rights.
• Patent law – specialising in law related to patents, copyright and intellectual property.

These are just a few of the potential specialisations that may be available as a more focused postgraduate qualification in law.

Studying Postgraduate Courses in Law for Professional Reasons

Law as a study subject offers a wide diversification of potential career choices. Firstly, there are the purely legal jobs, such as a solicitor or barrister. Secondly, there are many jobs for which law is a useful prerequisite, such as a financial advisor or court usher.

Job Roles Which Completing Postgraduate Courses in Law Can Open Up

All of the jobs below require a professional qualification in law:

• Solicitor – the first line of legal advice and representation for both individuals and companies.
• Barrister – providing legal representation in court, for individuals and companies.
• Barristers’ clerk – assisting barristers in preparing and presenting their case.
• Paralegal – offering legal advice in an unregulated form.
• Tax adviser – an understanding of financial and tax law is crucial in this job role.
• Licensed conveyancer – dealing with the legal transfer of ownership for both residential and commercial properties.
• Legal secretary – creating legal documents, for which an understanding of law and legal terms is required.
• Patent attorney – dealing with the registering and protection of patents, copyrights and intellectual property.
• Trademark attorney – dealing with the registration and protection of registered commercial trademarks.
• Company secretary – responsible for ensuring that a company is operating within its legal requirements.
• Judge – making the final decision in complex legal cases where a case has been presented by both parties.
• Usher – handling the operational aspects of a courtroom, to keep legal proceedings running smoothly.

This is just a short list of the actual legal careers that will be, or could eventually be open to you based on further qualifications and experience. There are many more, as well as a huge range of jobs for which law is a useful prerequisite.

In Conclusion

Law is a fascinating and complex subject. This complexity means that if you are studying a postgraduate degree in law, you probably intend to specialise. However, regardless of the specialisation you choose, you must have a solid grounding the
basics of law. A postgraduate in law provides such a grounding.