Matthew Martin has recently graduated from LLB Law. We spoke to him in his final year about his route to Birmingham and future plans.
"In school I always preferred the literary-based subjects. I enjoyed studying English Literature and History, and enjoyed activities such as debating and public speaking, so I developed strong communication and writing skills. Law seemed like the natural choice, as it combined these abilities with my love of history and politics. I managed to find legal work experience in the summer of year 12 through a family friend which helped me to get an initial idea of what law was like as a field of study and as an occupation, and this somewhat helped to influence my decision to study law at university. By the autumn of year 13 I applied to study law at Birmingham.
"Birmingham initially appealed to me because of its high worldwide ranking and the reputation of its Law School. When I attended the university open day in 2015 I absolutely fell in love with the place. The campus is simply stunning and you instantly feel like you are setting foot in a truly special place. After immersing myself in the history of the university, most notably researching former Member of Parliament, Mayor of Birmingham and founder Joseph Chamberlain, there was simply nowhere else I wished to study.
"The variety of modules is absolutely incredible. Across the first two years of my course I studied the intricacies of Contract Law, discussed the relationship between British and European Union law in Public and EU Law, had interesting debates about the criminal justice system in Criminal Law, and that is only scratching the surface! For my final year options, I chose to study Regulation of the Legal Profession, Comparative Public Law, Counter Terrorism Law, Criminal Evidence and Commercial Law. I chose the first three modules because I very much enjoyed studying the 'Public' side of the law and these modules come under that umbrella whilst they incorporate elements of history and politics which I find most appealing. Criminal Evidence just looked so interesting as a standalone module, and I enjoyed studying Criminal Law in first year. I chose Commercial Law with some career plans in mind as I hope to enter the field of commercial law.
"I will be studying the Legal Practice Course in 2019, before beginning a training contract in September 2020 at George Green LLP Solicitors. By 2022 I will hopefully be fully qualified as a solicitor!"