Each year courses in law appear near the top of the CAO points league table. Last year was no exception, with every law degree topping 450 points and some reaching the dizzy heights of 570 points.
Despite the creation of new combinations such as law with French or German, all law courses tend to be grossly oversubscribed. So the first thing to be said about this area is be prepared for a little heartache.
The points required are unlikely to drop much this year and if you really want to get a law degree you need to score heavily in the Leaving Certificate, at least in the region of 450 points.
Law Degrees
Most of the law degrees available through the CAO are offered by the universities, although the private Griffith College in Dublin has a law with business degree (GC 402).
Most of the general law degree courses do not have special subject requirements, but courses with French or German require you to have at least a C1 in the language at ordinary level.
Most of the degree courses involve the same subjects: torts, criminal law, constitutional law, contract and European law. Most of the universities ask students to specialise in their third year or fourth year only.
Mr Gerard Whyte, head of Trinity College's law school, says the university offers 21 subjects in third and fourth year and students at this stage are usually considering whether to practise as a solicitor or barrister.
If you are not sure and want to study subjects apart from law, you could take a joint degree. For example UCD offers the highly regarded business and legal studies degree(DN 021), where students are essentially combining a business degree with a law degree. This leaves you the chance to enter the business world as somebody with a legal background.
In addition, because this course and a related one at the University of Limerick (law and accounting LM020) are approved by King's Inns and the Law Society, you can also become a barrister or solicitor via this route.
Mr Jack Anderson, law lecturer at the University of Limerick, said its law/accountancy course was geared towards the corporate sector.
"The idea is that graduates will have more in their armoury than just law. About 60 per cent of graduates go into accountancy, with the rest becoming solicitors," he said.
NUI Galway offers three separate three-year undergraduate law courses, Bachelor of Civil Law (GY251), Bachelor of Corporate Law (GY250) and Bachelor of Arts in legal science (GY101).
The civil law course is a traditional law degree, which began in autumn 2000 and is aimed specifically towards preparing people for a career in law.
The other two are mixed degrees. Corporate law requires a pass in maths. It offers law and business courses and has a language or information systems option.
The legal studies BA allows students to select another arts course and, according to Mr Des McSharry, administrator of the faculty, most students choose a language.
Waterford IT offers a legal studies programme which allows students to study to diploma, certificate or degree level.
The course is the certificate in legal studies (WD013). The first two years of the course are the certificate stage, which concentrates on office management and accountancy and trains people to be legal secretaries.
Those going on to the diploma stage specialise in either pure law or international trade and many go to work for the Competition Authority. The final year is a law and business studies degree.
Becoming a solicitor
THE organisation responsible for the professional training of solicitors is the Law Society based at Blackhall Place in Dublin.
There are several steps laid down by the society which graduates must complete before they can practise law. The whole process takes about 21/2 years to complete - and that is in addition to your original degree.
People with recognised law degrees from a university are exempt from the first part of the process - the society's preliminary examination.
However, they have to pass the society's Irish (written and oral) exam, although this can be taken before graduation when Irish is still fresh in your mind.
The next step is to sit and pass the final examination - part one (FE1) which is held twice a year. This examination is technically open to graduates of most disciplines, not just law graduates.
However, the director general of the society, Mr Ken Murphy, stressed that applicants without some law tuition would be unlikely to pass the exam.
"It's a fairly tough exam, you would need to have done a minimum of one year's preparation if your primary degree was not in law."
On passing the eight-subject FE1 exams, graduates must become apprenticed to a master - this means a fully qualified solicitor agreeing to take you on as a trainee for two years.
However, before you take up the apprenticeship, you must complete the professional practice course at Blackhall Place. This runs from October to April each year.
All apprentices must complete it regardless of whether their primary degree was in law.
The professional practice course involves continuous assessment and a final exam; on passing this the apprentice finally goes to work in the master's office.
Here they receive training in a variety of areas of legal practice, said Mr Murphy. Towards the end of the second year apprentices must return to Blackhall Place for three months to attend the professional practice course - part two.
When this is over, the apprentice applies to the President of the High Court and is put on the Roll of Solicitors. All of this can cost thousands of pounds in fees and students need deep pockets.
Becoming a barrister
If you want to become a barrister you have to go through King's Inns in Dublin.
If you have done a law degree in one of the universities you can apply for a place on the college's professional training course. You need to have done the following subjects as an undergraduate: 1, law (including the law of succession); 2, equity; 3, law of torts; 4, law of contracts; 5, criminal and constitutional law.
There were 100 places on this course last year and 229 applied. The college allocated places on the basis of the highest academic scores. You are entitled to apply for a second or third year, but Ms Marcella Higgins, education officer at King's Inns, says priority is given to the most recent graduates.
The big change in this area takes place from next year (2002/2003 academic year) when everybody will have to sit an entrance examination to get on to this course. Currently, those with law degrees can apply directly, but in future they will have to sit the entry exam too.
The other route into the main course is to take a two-year diploma in legal studies at King's Inns. You will have to study 12 subjects and it is quite demanding. Last year 210 people applied for 60 positions and allocations were made on academic merit. In future people who have done the diploma will also be able to sit the new entrance exam.