What does a typical day of studying law at Teddy look like?
Law is one of the most independent subjects that you can study, and this independence means that you have the freedom to structure your day in a way that works best for you! For me, this means no early morning starts at all! Pre-covid, our lectures were all in the afternoon which was a bonus. Now, since our lectures are all online, I use lectures to complement my reading - you can pause as many times as you need. Your main source of information will be from your reading lists. Law is a content-heavy subjects and reading lists will appear overwhelming at first, but with experience, you’ll be able to navigate through them quicker! You’ll be reading cases, journal articles and textbooks, but your main focus should be on the primary sources. Typically, you write between 1.5 essays or problem questions a week (1 essay for one week and 2 for the next.) After you submit your work, you’ll have a tutorial on that topic. A tutorial is a focused discussion between yourselves and your tutor where you can debate topics and ask questions about the material. They’re challenging, but tutors encourage you to find out answers for yourself, whilst supporting your thought process.
Because law is so independent, I find it important to take lots of breaks! I usually start my work at 10:30 and try to finish before dinner, so that I can enjoy my evening with friends. Teddy has a great library which enables you to separate your workspace from your room and the Law Faculty library is only a ten-minute walk away from college. Sometimes, the workload can be intense, but if you structure your day and make sure you’re getting out for some exercise and make time for yourself, it’s definitely manageable. It takes a bit of time to find out what works best for you in terms of structuring your day and tackling the reading lists, so don’t worry if you find it overwhelming initially. The tutors are super supportive and approachable!
Why do you like studying law at teddy?
The main reason is definitely the community at Teddy Hall. I was afraid that my course mates would be competitive and that all I’d be doing is studying, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The lawyers are my closest friends; we have a ‘we’re all in this together’ attitude towards our learning. Students in the older years are always willing to help and share their expertise. In general, everyone at Teddy is so friendly and supportive – you’re always bumping into different people when you’re in college, from the JCR to the dining hall! Teddy Hall is quite laid back as Oxford colleges go, and the college facilitates lots of events to ensure that we can relax and enjoy our time. Teddy has tried to keep our university experience as ‘normal’ as possible by holding COVID-safe events, from a bonfire evening to having a Christmas dinner. There’s lots of extra-curricular activities from sports, creative writing to drama. We’re located just off the high street, which is convenient for everything!
Personal statement:
Writing a personal statement for law can appear quite overwhelming at first, especially as it’s a subject that isn’t studied by most during school. However, here are my main tips:
Write about what interests you. Remember, law tutors have seen thousands of personal statements and what will impress them the most is thinking that your statement is something different to the ones which they have seen. An easy way of doing this is writing about something that you find interesting, rather than what you think sounds interesting and looks impressive. Whether that’s art law, heritage, politics or an interesting case that you’ve heard about, showing your passion will enable your enthusiasm to shine through your personal statement. Remember that if you’re invited to interview, the tutors can ask about your personal statement, so it’s important that you can engage in a discussion – this is a great way to show your enthusiasm in interviews!
Work experience is not necessary. I did not have any work experience until after I handed in my personal statement, so definitely don’t think that it’s necessary to succeed! Obtaining work experience is useful, but remember it’s just one more way of showing how you’ve expanded upon your interests in the law. A fairly easy place to get work experience is at your local Magistrates or Crown Court – I shadowed legal advisers and witnessed how court proceedings worked. If you can’t get work experience but would like something similar to this, I would recommend observing a case at a Crown court – anyone can sit in the gallery. Alternatively, a lot of law firms have created a short, virtual internship such as Linklaters and Clifford Chance. It’s something that you can do in your own time, and provides you with a great introduction into commercial law and some of the jargon!
Avoid broad generalisations. Making your personal statement specific and focused is effective, it’s best to avoid broad statements such as ‘I want to fix the entire criminal justice system’ or ‘I am passionate about the law’ – are you really passionate about every single element? Don’t forget to bring in non-academic things, such as extracurricular activities – it’s suggested that the ratio should be 80% academic and 20% non-academic. I would recommend linking in your extracurricular activities with what you’ve learnt and how those skills are transferrable into being a good lawyer, such as leadership, listening and being a team player.
Book recommendations
Books are a great way to show that you’ve expanded upon your interest in the law. However, try to avoid including books such as Bingham’s ‘Rule of Law’ or ‘Letters To A Law Student’ on your personal statement, because so many people have wrote about them! Instead, it would be better to read a book that genuinely interests you – it could be about a niche topic or about the influence of law on society in general. Remember, if you read a book that interest you, your enthusiasm about the topic is more likely to show in interviews if asked about the book. I read ‘Eve Was Framed’ by Helena Kennedy and ‘The Secret Barrister,’ both of which are amazing reads in general.
Talking about books is a great springboard of talking about how you’ve explored parts of the law. For example:
“Reading ‘A Secret Barrister’ highlighted the injustices exacerbated in our legal system due to the cuts to legal aid. This made me question its implications on ensuring that everyone has a free and fair trial and I investigated this further by reading a Financial Times Article….” – This is just a simple example, but hopefully you can see how it lends itself nicely into other aspects of your statement.
Other recommendations:
Radio 4 ‘Law in Action’ Podcast – this podcast is great for hearing about current events!
News Articles- The Economist, Financial Times and The Guardian have some really interesting longform articles on various topics. Longform journalism articles in general are very insightful.
Documentaries – documentaries on Netflix or BBC iPlayer about the criminal justice system and the courts are super informative.
Watching lectures – there are lots of free, interesting lectures online. Also, some of your local universities may invite some students to listen to lectures, so do ask your school or contact universities for more information.
LNAT
You’ll be required to sit the LNAT as part of the admissions process. Its purpose is to test your aptitude skills required for studying law, not your knowledge on the law. The best way to prepare is by working through practice papers, which can be found on the LNAT website. I’d recommend buying a practice book to practice further questions, so you can familiarise yourself with the exam’s format and practice timing. The test is split into two parts, a multiple-choice section and an essay section. Your first step should be to look at the LNAT website, which will tell you about the important dates and about the exam: https://lnat.ac.uk/
I started preparing two months before my exam, but I didn’t prepare too intensely. I just set a few hours aside once every few days to practice questions and essays. For the LNAT, practice really does make perfect. The earlier that you can get started the better, but don’t let the LNAT phase you!
Interview
If you reach the interview stage, remember that it’s an achievement in itself! Tutors have identified that you’re a candidate with potential and have invited you to find out more about how you address challenging questions. You aren’t supposed to know the answers and often, there isn’t a right or wrong answer – difficult questions are asked so that tutors can assess your approach and whether you’re a teachable candidate. You will have two interviews, a case and a problem-question interview.
For the case interview, you’ll be sent pre-reading, typically the night before. Have a read through the case, highlighting the key facts and, more importantly, read the judgement. Think about why the judges have reached their specific conclusion and whether you agree with their reasoning.
For the problem-based interview, there’s not much that you can do to prepare! My main tip would be to think out loud, so that tutors can identify your thought process and how you’ve reached your answer. If you’re going off course, tutors will be able to identify where you went wrong and divert you onto the right path. Remember, tutors aren’t interrogating you and don’t want to catch you out – the interview replicates a tutorial discussion. If you treat the interview as an academic discussion, it’ll put you at ease, they aren’t looking for perfection! Make sure that you have a read through your personal statement before hand, in case they ask you about anything that you’ve mentioned.
More resources:
Q&A with an Oxford Law Student at St Edmund Hall:
Check out @sehaccess’ Instagram stories – we’ve posted what our day in the life looks like as law students and more top tips.