Professional legal vocational training involves the first stages of qualifying as a solicitor or as a barrister and the study of specific areas of law, as well as skills and procedures such as drafting, revising legal documentation and spoken advocacy on behalf of a client.
The Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) is a one-year diploma specifically for non-law students and provides the foundation for study of the barrister’s training course (Bar Professional Training Course or BPTC) and the solicitor’s training course (Legal Practice Course or LPC, or the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice/DPLP in Scotland). If you have an undergraduate degree in law you can study for an LPC or a BPTC without taking a GDL.
GDL course fees range from £6,000 to £10,000. Start dates are normally in September. Applications for the GDL are via Central Applications Board(link is external). The process starts in November and closes in February.
