Need help about Law!

[dozamate]

Hey guys,
Does anyone know what is the differences between commerce/law at monash as an undergraduate course, and commerce as undergraduate and then law postgraduate at melbourne uni. I got an atar of 98.25, does anyone have any advice on which path to take and which is better?

[sluu001]

If you want to practice as a lawyer, I suggest taking the LLB option at Monash. Melb JD is extremely tricky in terms of grades/marks needed for admission (LSAT, GPA, Personal Statement). If you are not sure if you really want to do law, or are only thinking of doing law due to the perceived prestige of the dicipline - then I suggest Melbourne's undergrad degree with breadths in Law subjects. Law is not everyone's cup of tea.

As for the reputation between the 2 degrees - not much difference except a JD has a better international reputation than a LLB (especially in North America where JDs are the only form of law degrees available). However, a law degree from Australia does not mean you can practice in other jurisdictions (countries); even with a Melb JD.

[Planck's constant]

If you want to practice as a lawyer, I suggest taking the LLB option at Monash. Melb JD is extremely tricky in terms of grades/marks needed for admission (LSAT, GPA, Personal Statement). If you are not sure if you really want to do law, or are only thinking of doing law due to the perceived prestige of the dicipline - then I suggest Melbourne's undergrad degree with breadths in Law subjects. Law is not everyone's cup of tea.

As for the reputation between the 2 degrees - not much difference except a JD has a better international reputation than a LLB (especially in North America where JDs are the only form of law degrees available). However, a law degree from Australia does not mean you can practice in other jurisdictions (countries); even with a Melb JD.

Interestingly, I was having a conversation with a couple of current JD students and they said that  if you are 100% certain that you will do the JD, it is better to NOT do those undergraduate Law subjects such as Business Law and Corporate Law because you can do them properly with more depth and analysis during the JD. They said that it is better to do your Commerce properly with more Commerce electives and worry about Law when you get there.

[ninwa]

Because there are a set number of subjects that a student MUST complete to qualify for a law degree, there is very little difference between the JD and the LLB. I have done a side-by-side comparison of the two degrees here.