The University of Law

The University of Law is a private, for-profit university in the United Kingdom and is recognised as the country’s largest law school. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law, business, psychology, criminology, policing and computer science, alongside postgraduate education courses, professional legal training and continuing professional development for solicitors, barristers and legal trainees. The institution traces its origins to 1876 through the tutorial firm Gibson and Weldon and was formally created in 1962 when the Law Society of England and Wales merged its solicitors’ training school with Gibson and Weldon to form The College of Law. The college was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1975 as a charity dedicated to advancing legal education. It became a major provider of professional legal training, including the Common Professional Examination (later the Graduate Diploma in Law) and the Legal Practice Course, and developed innovative distance learning and pro bono initiatives. In 2006, the institution was granted degree-awarding powers, enabling it to introduce undergraduate and postgraduate law degrees. A major restructuring took place in 2012, when its educational and training activities were transferred to a private limited company, The College of Law Limited, while the charitable body became the Legal Education Foundation. In the same year, the institution was granted full university status and renamed The University of Law, becoming the UK’s first for-profit university. Shortly afterwards, it was acquired by Montagu Private Equity and, in 2015, sold to Global University Systems, its current owner. The university has since expanded its academic portfolio beyond law and operates sixteen campuses across the UK, including in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, as well as international branches in Berlin and Hong Kong and a substantial online campus. Over time, it has undergone governance changes, campus restructurings and programme reforms, while continuing to play a central role in professional legal education in the UK.