Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice
London, United Kingdom
Postgraduate Diploma
DURATION
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Jan 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 11,000 **
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning, On-Campus
* next start date: July 2026
** outside London | London: £13,900
The SQE Plus component, which has been created in collaboration with law firms, will give you the option to choose modules from key practice areas including corporate, commercial and private client. In addition, our Preparation for Practice Module will help you become more commercially aware and a more well-rounded lawyer. You will then choose between two further modules, Business of Law or a self-study research module to complete your course.
Key Facts
- Locations: Birmingham, Bristol, Egham (Royal Holloway), Exeter, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, London Bloomsbury, London Moorgate, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford Brookes, Reading, Sheffield, Southampton and Online
- Study mode options: Full-time, Part-time, Part-time Day, Part-time Evening or Part-time Weekend
- Next start date: January 2026
Why choose the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (SQE2 and SQE Plus)?
- Adaptive and personalised learner journey, using our dynamic learning model: Prepare, Engage, Consolidate (PEC).
- Confidence for the assessments, with plenty of practise in the exact type of oral and written skills assessments you’ll face in the SRA’s SQE2 assessments. Our intelligent revision app, ULaw SQE, will help you revise functional legal knowledge practice contexts within which the SQE2 assessments are assessed, so you’ll feel prepared and know what to expect.
- Benefit from our extensive experience in helping students develop the skills that will be assessed in SQE2, and additional knowledge required for a career as a solicitor with our suite of modules in the SQE Plus.
- In depth lecturer guidance and support from our experienced lecturers, who are all practitioners. Your lecturer will monitor your progress and provide you with feedback, so you will know where to focus.
- Enjoy flexibility - We understand that everyone’s circumstances are different. That’s why we offer a full-time or part-time version of this course to provide you with the greatest choice and flexibility you need to succeed in your studies.
- Brand new resources, developed specifically for SQE2 and SQE Plus by our expert lecturers. You’ll be provided with all course materials, including SQE2 practice questions, our intelligent revision app to revise the practice areas in which the SQE2 assessments are assessed, and bespoke online study manuals.
- Experience of working in a virtual law firm. You’ll learn in the context of our virtual law firm, ULaw LLP. ULaw LLP replicates the working environment of a law firm and students perform real world tasks on simulated cases, deals and transactions, as if they were in the office.
- Support for your career. You’ll have access to our award-winning Employability Service, for information, advice, practical experience and links to the profession to help you to succeed in your career. Available at all of our campuses, the Employability Team will help you achieve your career and work experience goals.
- We have a vast network in the legal industry and deliver training to 91 of the top 100 law firms, with exclusive relationships with 61 of the top UK law firms and many of the most prestigious US firms.
This course is for those who wish to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales with the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) pathway and have already passed SQE1 (or are exempt from sitting it). This course combines our well respected SQE2 Preparation Course with our SQE Plus programme to equip you with the practical legal skills required to pass the SRA’s centralised SQE2 assessment and additional knowledge from studying the SQE Plus content.
The SQE Plus content contains a choice of three modules in key practice areas that law firms highly value, including elective modules in corporate and commercial or commercial and private client. In addition, you may choose to study our well regarded Business of Law module which focusses on the commercial realities of being a lawyer and developing relevant professional skills, or a Professional Research Report focussing in depth on one of your chosen key practice areas.
This course is designed for those who have completed SQE1 training, such as our SQE1 Preparation Course, and successfully passed the SRA's SQE1 assessments.
This course does not qualify for postgraduate funding. We have alternative courses with postgraduate funding
- There is an additional £250 SQE Prep Alumni Discount for ULaw graduates.
- Study manuals: eBooks are included in the course fee, and you’ll receive a 50% discount if you’d like to purchase print versions.
- You can pay with one upfront payment or with monthly instalments.
SQE2 Preparation
You will develop the six practical legal skills needed to sit SQE2 and be ready for practice.
- Interviewing
- Advocacy
Case and matter analysis
- Legal Research
- Legal Writing
- Legal Drafting
SQE Plus
- 3 Key Practice Areas (15 credits each) from one of the two pathways: Corporate/Commercial or Commercial/Private client
- Preparation for Practice module (15 credits)
- Plus the Business of Law module (30 credits) or the Professional Practice Report module (30 credits)
Key Practice Areas (KPAs) the Corporate/Commercial pathway include:
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Debt Finance
- Equity Capital Markets
- Advanced Dispute Resolution
- Advanced Real Estate
- Commercial and International Trade
- Employment
- Intellectual Property and Data
- Insurance
Key Practice Areas (KPAs) for the Commercial/Private Client pathway include:
- Family
- Personal Injury Clinical Negligence
- Private Wealth
- Advanced Criminal Practice
- Immigration
- Advanced Dispute Resolution
- Advanced Real Estate
- Commercial and International Trade
- Employment
- Intellectual Property and Data
- Insurance
The Preparation for Practice module (which is a compulsory module underpinning the 3 KPAs) includes commercial and well-rounded lawyer skills content taught within the delivery of the KPAs.
You may then choose between studying the Business of Law module or the Professional Practice Report module.
The Business of Law module consists of two compulsory modules: Business of Law 1 which covers Professional Effectiveness, and Law Firms and their Clients. And Business of Law 2 where you can choose one the following additional modules:
- Commercial Law
- Employment Law
- Innovation, Technology and Legal Project Management
- Intellectual Property
- International Trade
The Professional Practice Report module consists of: research method induction, individual tutor supervision and the completion of an extended research report based on one of your chosen KPAs.