BPP graduates can get business master’s in 15 weeks

The overlap between the legal and commercial world continues to grow, as BPP Law School announces a 15-week programme for LPC and BPTC graduates to enter their training contracts and pupillages with a master's qualification in business, launching in January 2012.

The programme costs £3,650 and comprises three modules - one for independent research, with the remaining two teaching business strategy, finance, analysis and management. These elements are not specifically covered in traditional legal training, which the course aims to supplement by providing a well-rounded commercial understanding that will prove essential in the future jobs market. Finding a job in the legal profession is set to become even more competitive as a result of the deregulation of the legal sector presaged by the Legal Services Act, which will require wannabe lawyers to ensure that they are commercially proficient enough to keep up.

Peter Crisp, chief executive of BPP Law School, said: "New lawyers will have a distinct advantage if they can demonstrate real business acumen and grasp business practices and principles. For instance, I was recently speaking to a trainee who said he was called into a meeting and asked by a partner to give feedback on a business plan at short notice. Because he had learnt how to write a business plan at BPP, he had the confidence and understanding to know exactly what to say in the situation. It is just one way business skills are useful everyday to lawyers in practice."