Law degree (LLB) query

[AzureBlue]

Ok yeah, I'm not sure whether to do economics/finance as a double major or actuarial studies because I'm kind of doubting the kind of use law has on risk analysis and what job you would get combining both actuarial studies and law. Both great majors, but not sure how they link together. Of course, I have almost 3 years to decide, but I'm actually leaning towards eco/finance + law, just because I think they are more compatible.

So basically, if you do exceptional in your LLB, you get honours, without an extra year of study or anything like that? What standard do you need to be at to get awarded honours usually? H1A?

[tram]

Hey, like, with the whole act stud + law thing, it really depends what you want to do. If you wanna do more lawy stuff, so things like wokking for a big law firm in property takeovers, then act stud will not be as useful, but if you want to work more as an actuary, say in a bank, i would say that law would definitely help actuarial studies. Like, it all depends on which bit you want to emphasise in your career, the act stud bit, or the law bit.

[AzureBlue]

Okay, but what I don't see is how law helps actuarial work, which is basically risk modelling/analysis of insurance rates and premiums...

Whereas quoting Monash Uni's law faculty, "Postgraduate study in the area of banking and finance law provides students with a thorough grounding in the fundamental principles of security and financial services law, covering local and international developments from both practical and policy perspectives. From corporate insolvency to international transactions and electronic banking, students can choose units from a wide selection of units and design a course that best facilitates career enhancement and personal satisfaction." So I figure that finance does help if you want to do banking/financial law, and perhaps corporate law somewhat.

EDIT: Perhaps: Q: In your opinion, how does the law and actuarial science interrelate? Can you foresee someone with a legal background, who is also interested in pursuing actuarial science, be of benefit to a prospective employer?If so,which of the two( soa or cas) sets of exams will you advise that person to pursue? -- A.M. Felix, BSc., LLB.

A: I believe the law and actuarial science interrelate in many situations. One benefit of a legal background is understanding how the laws affect insurance coverage. For example, the law in several states allows some public entities to have their liabilities capped at a certain maximum amount. Another example is workers compensation, where the available benefits to injured workers are based upon the laws of that particular state. As a result, a legal background might help an actuary when estimating the ultimate cost of insurance claims.

As far as which track is better for people with a legal background (SOA vs CAS), I am not sure that one is better than the other. While I have less experience in health and pension, I know that each of these fields employs lawyers (who are not actuaries) to review benefit plans. I suspect that lawyers could assist with property and casualty issues as well. However, a career in which you function as both an actuary and a lawyer may not exist in either society. I would recommend contacting a consulting firm and an insurance company for their thoughts if you are interested in pursuing a dual career.

Source: http://www.beanactuary.org/onthejob/ask/ask01.cfm

[tram]

Extra knowlege of the law, and how to argue and the principles behind the justce system and the laws that are in place are going to to help you in any commery job. The field of commerce and buiness and banking is pinned down by a myriad of laws. Having a lw degree will dfinitely help you in my opinion. Heck, pretty much any profession could be bettered by having a law degree.

[AzureBlue]

Extra knowlege of the law, and how to argue and the principles behind the justce system and the laws that are in place are going to to help you in any commery job. The field of commerce and buiness and banking is pinned down by a myriad of laws. Having a lw degree will dfinitely help you in my opinion. Heck, pretty much any profession could be bettered by having a law degree.

Fair enough Lol ok so if I want to work at a law firm, an eco/finance degree would be better with law. If I want to work at an actuarial/business firm, clearly, I would do actuarial studies, then law if I wish to. That sounds about right... at least I have a decent amount of time to make my final decision

[ninwa]

So basically, if you do exceptional in your LLB, you get honours, without an extra year of study or anything like that? What standard do you need to be at to get awarded honours usually? H1A?

There's no such thing as doing an extra year for honours in law.
See here: http://www.law.monash.edu.au/undergraduate/honours/index.html
First class honours requires a 73 average (low distinction, I think it's called H2A or something at UoM).

[laynie]

close, but 70-74 = H2B and 75-79 = H2A