Top 3 Lawyers Who Have A UK Law Degree

A law degree from the UK is a highly respected credential around the globe and it is worth noting that one in ten current world leaders have studied in the UK! UK law schools also require LLB programmes to study modules in European Union Law which boosts your employability when looking for a job back in Canada.

Studying in the English legal system will give you an opportunity to improve your skills and gain a cross border intelligence of the legal system and laws within the UK, and that isn’t where the benefits of studying your law degree in the UK end. Choosing to study in the UK means:

• You don’t have to sit the LSAT
• You can earn a qualifying law degree in two years
• You have the opportunity to specialize with a 12 month LLM
• Your degree will be internationally recognized

And if that doesn’t already sound great, the costs of living and tuition are comparable to Canada!

Without further ado, here are 3 TOP lawyers who reaped the benefits of their UK law degree and have gone on to have extremely successful careers:

Helen Ward, Divorce lawyer

Background

After studying her law degree at the University of Birmingham, Helen Ward qualified as a solicitor in 1978. She has since had a very successful career making Star Partner at firm Manches and in 2015, was awarded the Spear’s Lifetime Achievement Award, for the contributions she has made to Family law throughout her career.

Famous for

Described as a ‘workaholic with a fierce reputation’, she is most famous for winning a £48 million pay-out for Beverley Charman in 2007 for her divorce from insurance magnate John Charman. This was a legal landmark as it was the first time that a judge recognized a wife’s equal contribution to a marriage!

Ward also guided British composer, theater director and businessman Andrew Lloyd Webber through his divorce from Sarah Brightman and tied up Madonna’s split from Guy Ritchie.

Graham Aaronson, Tax lawyer

Background

After studying for his law degree at the University of Oxford, Graham first practised in commercial law before specializing in tax law in the UK’s leading tax chambers, Pump Court. He is a founding partner in Joseph Hage Aaronson and leads all the firm’s tax disputes. In 2013, he won the Legal 500 ‘Tax Silk of the Year’ award and has won five similar major awards since 2003!

Famous for

Graham Aaronson represents nearly all multinationals operating in the UK, often in tax disputes. Last year, Legal 500 said he was “in a league of his own” shown through David Cameron asking him to take time off to recommend new rules to stamp out tax avoidance!

Aaronson said that his most lucrative case yet took up most of his time for four years and involved about 1.6 million documents — “Everyone earned a lot of money, but by God we worked hard,” he recalls. And what is the biggest tax sum he has saved a client? “Over a billion.”

John Kelsey-Fry, Criminal lawyer

Background

Described as a ‘megastar’ by Chambers and Partners, Kelsey-Fry has received unanimous praise from his peers who have called him ‘unquestionably the most prominent criminal defence advocate out there.’ Predominantly instructed for the defence, John is heavily sought after in areas of business and financial crime, as well as high-profile general crime.

Famous for

Being ‘a charismatic figure at the criminal bar’. Kelsey-Fry won English soccer manager Harry Redknapp’s tax-evasion case, after which he blasted the prosecution for pursuing the case and wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.

Champion horse rider Kieren Fallon and soccer player Steven Gerrard are among the others to have paid Kelsey-Fry’s reported £20,000-a-day fees and he acted as Chris Huhne’s defence counsel in the trial where the British politician was accused of perverting the course of justice over a speeding ticket.

Follow in their footsteps and study in the UK

Choosing where to study your law degree in the UK doesn’t have to be as scary as it sounds! It’s not uncommon to be unsure of what university to apply to, which is why we have put together a partner university guide. It explains the structure of UK law programmes, and an introduction to our law school partners.

In the guide you will receive an introduction to the courses by their professors, an overview of the university, testimonials from past universities, top facts and statistics and you will discover the opportunities available to you by attending each university. If you’d like to learn more, download your copy of Studying law in the UK: Partner university guide for Canadian students here.