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Dr Neil Jones
University Senior Lecturer in Law
ngj10@cam.ac.uk
www.law.cam.ac.uk
Dr Roger O'Keefe
University Senior Lecturer in Law
Dr Antje Du Bois-Pedain
University Lecturer in Law
Currently we have 33 students (26 undergraduates and 5 LLM students).
The number of applications per year is between 30 and 40 and the average number of offers made per year is 10.
Magdalene has a large, friendly, and active legal community, with three Fellows who are University Teaching Officers in Law, and approaching 10% of its undergraduates reading law at any one time. Since 2002 Magdalene law students have won fifteen University prizes in the Law Tripos (including three, in 2003, 2004 and 2008, for coming top of a Part of the Tripos across the University), and three in the LL.M. Examination, together with success in the University mooting competitions. The Wigglesworth Law Library has a strong core collection of legal materials, and the College Law Society runs an active programme of social and academic events.
The Cambridge law course aims not to be merely a pre-professional training: the mastery of detail is important, but important as a foundation upon which to build a firm understanding of the principles and concepts which are at the root of the legal system, to examine the policy behind rules of law, and to consider the effects of those rules in practice.
The course is divided into three parts: IA, IB, and II. Each part lasts for one year, and the subjects studied are examined in written exams at the end of each year.
Part IA covers four compulsory subjects: constitutional law, criminal law, the law of tort, and civil law. Constitutional law is a 'public law' subject, concerned not so much with interactions on the individual level, but with the legal structure of society as a whole, with such topics as parliament, the judiciary, freedom of speech, human rights, and the judicial review of administrative action. The idea of criminal law is probably fairly familiar already. The law of tort concerns the commission of wrongs which are not crimes, for example libel and negligence. Civil law is based upon Roman law, which has provided the foundation for most continental European legal systems. Study of Roman law allows an understanding of the principles which under-pin the laws of other countries, and provides a means of access to essential legal concepts which will re-appear in other areas of the course.
Parts IB and II both cover five subjects. Strictly speaking there are no compulsory subjects for either part IB or part II, but in practice almost everyone takes the law of contract, land law, European Union law, and equity. Together with constitutional law, criminal law, and the law of tort, studied in part IA, these make up the seven 'foundation subjects' which are required to gain exemption from the academic stage of professional training. It is usual to take the law of contract and land law in part IB, and European Union law and equity in part II. This leaves a choice of three additional subjects in each part, allowing candidates to take subjects suited to their own tastes and interests, including subjects concerned with the philosophy of law, the history of law, and the sociology of law. It is possible in part II to replace one full subject with two half-subjects, or to replace one examined paper with a research dissertation.
A course in legal research skills, with a particular emphasis upon information technology, is also available. It does not count towards the requirements for the degree, but provides a very valuable addition to legal education at Cambridge, and enables the Faculty of Law to certify the skills involved to the legal professional bodies.
There is also an opportunity to study law abroad for a year through the Erasmus Scheme.
There are two elements to law teaching at Cambridge: lectures and supervisions.
Lectures are provided by the university, and are attended by law students from all colleges. They usually last for an hour, and there are normally either two or three lectures a week in each subject during term.
Supervisions are provided by the College, and are central to teaching in Cambridge. Law supervisions are usually in groups of between two and five. They last for about an hour, and there will be a supervision in each subject every two weeks during term. Magdalene's own law fellows provide supervisions in six subjects, and the Director of Studies arranges supervisions with fellows of other colleges for those subjects not taught in Magdalene. A law student's work is very much directed towards preparation for supervisions. It is usual for each supervisor to provide 'supervision sheets' containing suggested reading in text-books, law reports, and academic journals, together with questions for discussion in the supervision. Supervisors will also from time to time ask for essays to be written, which will then be marked and handed back with written comments (it is not usual for essays to be discussed at length in supervisions). Supervisions provide a structure for students' work, and a forum for discussion, asking questions, and sorting out difficulties.
Time-tabled teaching occupies only about 12-15 hours a week during term, so it is essential for law students to develop the organisation and self-discipline necessary to make best use of the significant proportion of their time which is not time-tabled.
The College Law Society plays an important role in Magdalene's legal life. The officers of the society are undergraduates, and they take on a major role in organising events and obtaining sponsorship for them. There is at least one law society social event each term, together with a careers evening, a second-hand book sale, and a range of mooting.
A moot is a mock hearing in an appeal court (usually the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court), in which two pairs of students take the role of barristers arguing each side of points of law before a judge or judges (either a law fellow, or other students). There is a workshop on mooting each year, and an 'exhibition' moot in which experienced mooters demonstrate the art to new students. In the second term of each year the Law Society organises a college mooting competition, the winners of which usually moot against Downing College before a senior external judge. In recent years Magdalene law students have won the University Law Society's individual and team mooting competitions. The highlight of the Law Society's year is the annual Lawyers' dinner, held in college hall not long before the exams begin, an occasion for forgetting the pressures of revision for a few hours of fun and companionship.
Further details about the College's Law Society can be found at: http://www.magdalenelawsociety.com
We have no requirements or preferences as to subjects which candidates for law have studied at AS-level or at A-level. Those with science subjects are as welcome as those with art subjects. A-level law is regarded in the same light as any other A-level subject, though if you have not yet chosen your A-levels it may be worth remembering that the Cambridge law course expects no prior knowledge of law and that the majority of Cambridge law students have not taken A-level law. Ideally, your A/S choices might include at least one logic-based subject (e.g. Maths) and one essay-based subject.
Offers for candidates taking A-levels are generally A*AA assuming good A/S grades have already been obtained, though offers take into account candidates' circumstances, and we have asked for lower grades than these in some instances in the past. We also try to be flexible with candidates who have missed their offers, though we cannot guarantee to take them. Post-A level candidates are normally considered for an unconditional offer.
Candidates for deferred entry are considered on the same basis as other candidates. They should have well thought-out plans for their gap year, which need not involve law.
Re-applications are neither encouraged nor discouraged, although candidates holding an offer from another good university are advised to think carefully before giving it up to pursue a Cambridge re-application.
The Archie Leslie Travel Scholarship is available to undergraduates reading law at Magdalene. College scholarships are awarded on the basis of university examination results and there are several named College prizes, together with a prize sponsored by the solicitors' firm Hogan Lovells for distinction in Part IA.
Candidates attending for interview in Cambridge are required to take the Cambridge Law Test, which will be held in Cambridge at the time of the interview. The test will last for one hour, and will form one element within the selection process. Examples of each type of question (along with other information about the test) are available on the Faculty of Law website: http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/admissions/cambridge-law-test.php. Magdalene College will be using the essay question version of the Test for applicants applying for 2012 or 2013 entry in 2011.
Candidates are asked to submit an essay on any topic. The essay, which need have no legal element, should be about three sides of A4 paper in length, and will ideally be a piece of school or college work. The essay should present reasoned argument and not simply narrative or description.
Candidates may also be asked to read a short passage prior to one of the interviews, which will be discussed in the interview. No prior knowledge of law is expected or required at interview.
Candidates who are interviewed overseas will be asked to take the Cambridge Law Test at the interview centre. The test will last for two hours, and will require candidates to answer two questions. The test will be the same for applicants to all colleges, and will form one element within the selection process. Examples of each type of question (along with other information about the test) are available on the Faculty of Law website: http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/admissions/cambridge-law-test.php.
Candidates not attending interview in Cambridge or overseas will be asked to attempt a short written test set by Magdalene under school supervision. The test will ask candidates to construct a reasoned (but non-technical) response to legal questions raised by a given set of facts. No legal knowledge will be expected or assumed.
Candidates are asked to submit an essay on any topic. The essay, which need have no legal element, should be about three sides of A4 paper in length, and will ideally be either a piece of school or college work. The essay should present reasoned argument and not simply narrative or description.
Most of Magdalene's law graduates become practitioners, with the majority becoming solicitors, often in leading firms in the City of London, and a smaller but still substantial number becoming barristers. But a law degree is a sound preparation for a range of careers, so don't close your options too soon!
You should not attempt to undertake much legal reading before starting your law course: the course is designed for those who have not studied law before. But given your interest in the law you will want to take note of legal stories in the media, particularly in the broadsheet newspapers (The Times has a legal supplement on Tuesdays). Have a go also at reading the newspaper law reports (particularly in The Times). Many of them will be difficult to understand without technical knowledge, but some will be accessible and provide food for thought.
You should also read one or two introductory books on law. Of these the most famous is Glanville Williams, Learning the Law, 14th ed. by A.T.H. Smith (2010). Very similar to it are Phillip H Kenny, Studying Law, 5th ed. (2002), and Geoffrey Rivlin, Understanding the Law, 5th ed.(2009). More narrowly confined to legal study technique is Anthony Bradney and others, How to Study Law, 6th ed. (2010). Phil Harris, An Introduction to Law, 7th ed. (2007) is a larger work which provides an overview of law in society, and introduces most of the foundation subjects, including those studied in the first year at Cambridge. Sean Butler, ed., Discovering the Law (2006), and C. Barnard, J. O'Sullivan and G. Vigo, What About Law?: studying law at university (2007), provide an accessible taste of legal analysis and discussion through specific examples of the working of legal rules in a range or subject areas. Also useful is J.A. Holland and J.S. Webb, Learning Legal Rules, 6th ed. (2006). For broader writing about legal matters, and the relationship between society and the law see, for example, P.S. Atiyah, Law and Modern Society (1995), and Helena Kennedy, Eve Was Framed: women and British justice (1993).
July 2011
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©2012 Magdalene College, Cambridge, CB3 0AG
Registered Charity Number 1137542