MA LPC with Business

Gain a competitive edge

The MA (LPC with Business) has been developed by BPP to offer you the opportunity to study the Legal Practice Course (LPC) alongside two business focused modules and a business intelligence project.  

The programme comprises two components:

• The LPC is delivered by BPP Law School which develops your knowledge and skills for practice as a lawyer;
• The business modules delivered by BPP Business School develop an advanced understanding of the business and strategic environment in which clients and law firms operate and the skills to use this knowledge within legal practice.

The business component of the programme is studied online alongside the core practice areas of the LPC (Business Law and Practice, Litigation and Property Law and Practice). It builds progressively on the content of the LPC to create a combined platform for developing you into a competent legal practitioner who can interpret your role as a lawyer ‘through the client’s eyes’ and frame your advice with a clear appreciation of the commercial context.

The two business modules are combined with a Business Intelligence Project that enables you to engage in substantial research and analysis. This project can be carried out as a purely paper based exercise or alternatively, you can complete a client placement^ and base your project on this experience.

The MA (LPC with Business) begins in September and finishes in July.

How the programme is structured

Our full-time LPC is designed to fit around your lifestyle. For example, you can select from the following schedules:

• Four days a week, classes between 9am and 6pm
• Four days a week, morning classes between 9am and 1.15pm
• Four days a week, afternoon classes between 1.30pm and 6pm
• Three days a week, classes between 9am and 6pm (with online lectures)
• Two days a week, classes between 9am and 6pm (with online lectures) 

The business modules are studied online at your convenience. 

Please note these timetables are subject to availability and vary between centres.

Part-time

Our part-time programme is designed to fit around your other commitments such as work and family. All lectures for the part time modes are online for maximum flexibility. For example, you can select from the following schedules:

• Two evenings a week, classes between 6.00pm and 8.00pm 
• Every other Saturday between 10.00am and 5.00pm 
• One day a week (Monday or Friday, morning or afternoon) depending on your chosen site 
• A full weekend Saturday and Sunday 10.00 to 5.00pm every three or four weekends (Holborn only)

Please note these modes are subject to availability and vary between centres.

The business modules on the part-time programme are undertaken at the end of your LPC. Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the LPC can be completed within a minimum of 18 months part-time and the business modules can be completed within four months or up to a maximum of five years from the date you commenced your LPC.

How I will be taught?

LPC modules

At the start of each module, you will be provided with a comprehensive ‘materials pack’ containing chapter (lecture) handouts and Small Group Session (SGS) descriptions. Each module is then delivered by way of lectures and SGSs. Lectures typically last 1 hour and SGSs are 2 hours.

The lectures are delivered face-to-face in Leeds, London and Manchester and online in all other centres.  The small group sessions are taught face-to-face in all centres. All LPC lectures and small group sessions are available online so you can consolidate and revise whenever and wherever you choose.

The structure of a small group session

In preparation for each SGS, you will be required to read the relevant chapter handout, listen to the accompanying lecture and undertake the preparation detailed in the SGS Description. This preparation might require you to research an area of law, prepare a presentation, draft a contractual clause, prepare a letter of advice, analyse a cause of action, for example. 

Small group sessions involve a wide range of different learning and teaching techniques. Activities combine individual and team work, and might involve:

• Presentations
• mock hearings
• negotiations
• drafting exercises or problem solving

 Classroom materials are drafted by our tutors, all of whom have worked in practice as either solicitors or barristers. This ensures that the practical activities undertaken in your SGSs are all in the context of realistic case studies which really prepare you for practice.

During your core practice areas (Business Law and Practice, Property Law and Practice, Civil Litigation and Criminal Litigation), you will undertake work for three key ‘clients’. By considering their businesses as a whole, you will appreciate how they operate and how decisions made in the context of a property or business transaction might impact upon ongoing litigation.

In the elective term, you will act for a broad range of clients reflecting the diversity of experience in practice. This will help to develop not only your legal acumen but also your commercial awareness.

Can I convert my LPC to the MA (LPC with Business)?

Yes, if you are about to commence, are in the process of studying, or are an LPC graduate (within the last five years), you can convert your LPC to the MA (LPC with Business) from September 2013. You will still complete the two business electives and Business Intelligence project, but this will be done after the LPC. You study the programme at your own pace and it can be completed within 4 months or up to a maximum of five years.

To apply please complete this application form.

The fee to convert your LPC to the MA (LPC with Business) is £3,650.

^Subject to availability.
*Subject to validation.