Law at LMH

Law at LMH is a flourishing subject. With enthusiastic and highly qualified Law Tutors, an excellent Law Library, an active Law Society and a location near the Faculty of Law, LMH is the place to study law.

Our Law school consists of undergraduate and graduate students on taught and research courses from a wide variety of backgrounds. The undergraduate programme offers two courses: a 3-year degree in Law and a 4-year degree in Law with Law Studies in Europe (LSE). As well as being a stimulating and highly rewarding subject for study, the syllabus for Law and LSE combines traditional and cosmopolitan elements, such as comparative studies of other systems, as well as European Union Law, Human Rights Law and Public International Law, which permeate many subjects, as well as being taught independently.

LMH is a proud host to the very active College Law Society, which is student-run. The Society organises many social events, such as talks and dinners, as well as runs a welfare programme for undergraduate Law students.

The College provides superb infrastructure to study Law. Its Law Library is well-stacked and offers most resources Law undergraduates need for their studies. LMH is also proud that it offers housing to all of its undergraduates and first year graduate students, one of few Oxford Colleges that is able to do so.

Law at LMH has a long and prestigious history and former Law Fellows and Tutors at LMH include Prof Andrew BurrowsConor Quigley QC, Michael Barnes QC, Miss Ann Kennedy and Professor Sionaidh Douglas-Scott. In 2023 Owen Rees, a former Law Lecturer at LMH, was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Canada.

Admissions requirements and course information

AAA. More information on other requirements, how to apply, and a typical week at Oxford can be found here and here. Visit the website of the Faculty of Law.

Career prospects

LMH law students have gone on to lead successful careers in law as solicitors, barristers and High Court judges and leading academics in the field. Our students have also distinguished themselves in a variety of other careers, including investment banking, government, management, arts and theology, among other fields.

What our students say

I graduated with a BA in Jurisprudence from LMH in July 2016, and moved to the States for the LL.M. Programme at Harvard Law School in August. My time at Oxford was enjoyable and enriching, and a large part of is owed to LMH. The law tutors at LMH are truly excellent, they are supportive and nurturing, and I have benefited greatly from their willingness to go the extra mile (be it extra revision classes or personal meetings on issues unrelated to academics). The culture at LMH is warm and inclusive, and I have been very privileged to be a part of this community. 
 
I remember the Vice-Chancellor encouraging us during my matriculation to make the most of our time at Oxford and go in-depth in areas we are interested in as it is unlikely that we will ever get the luxury to do so again when we start work proper. This sound advice has stayed with me and I have carried it on to Harvard, and am involved in the Board of the Women's Law Association working on issues such as women in politics, the Immigration Services Project working with refugees and asylum seekers, and the Prison Legal Assistance Project helping those incarcerated on different issues. As for academics, I have cross-registered for classes at the Harvard Kennedy School, explored comparative law, and indulged in a philosophical class this term on whether there is such a thing as a fulfilled life. I definitely do miss my time at LMH and am glad I got the chance to start my legal education there.

Ern Huei Lim

 

Elsewhere, I don't think it’s the done thing to love your degree. Love your time at university: certainly. Love the people on your course - one of them will probably become your best friend. But love your degree? Love writing essays and attending tutorials? That's just weird. And yet I never felt it at all weird while at LMH.

I'm not going to pretend that it was sunshine and rainbows every week. Law at LMH was challenging, difficult, and pushed me beyond what I ever thought myself capable of. You've probably heard by now that tutorials are what sets Oxford apart, but that really doesn't do them justice. The opportunity to sit down for an hour each week with an expert in your field and talk about all the nuances and intricacies of a problem is something that I will always be grateful for. Even now, with my last days at LMH a fading memory, I remember vividly some of my best tutorials for the distinctions they helped me to make. From abortion to why people commit crimes, I had the privilege of bouncing ideas around with the people that literally wrote the book on the topics. The tutors at LMH were always open and friendly, and I really think this helped to make tutorials as productive as they were.

Looking back, there are so many different factors about LMH that made my time there so special. Its natural beauty, its array of extra-curricular, the caliber of tutors - I could go on. My point is that throughout my three years there, I got all of the other experiences one might expect of Oxford. I rowed for my college, did Ju Jitsu for the University, and helped to set up a charity. These things were all amazing, yes, but you attend university to do a degree. I can honestly say that I loved mine studying law at LMH.

James Powell

 

I don’t think there is anything quite like studying law at Oxford. It is an extremely demanding but equally rewarding course. In the same term, I could be studying subjects as diverse as Trusts and Administrative Law. It means we all become very good at juggling topics and shifting between different ways of thinking. It’s definitely not the dry and boring subject I had been warned about by friends and teachers whilst making UCAS applications! One thing I was worried about before coming to Oxford was whether I would fit in. However, one thing I have learned in my time as an undergraduate is that there is no typical ‘Oxford’ student. There is an extremely diverse community; everyone has different skills and interests, all of which are recognised and valued by the tutors. As a law undergraduate at LMH, I have always felt part of an extremely close-knit group. There is a lot of support between the different year groups, so there is always someone to talk to about work you’re struggling with or general problems. Now, I couldn’t imagine having gone anywhere else!

Anaum Riaz

 

My four years studying Law with French Law at Lady Margaret Hall have been fascinating, challenging and rewarding thanks to the incredible community and supportive atmosphere that LMH Law offers. From my first day I was introduced to law students in the years above me who took me under their wing and were always on hand to answer any questions I had. Regular meetings with our wonderfully supportive tutors meant I always felt I had someone who knew how I was getting on and to whom I could turn for help be it academic or welfare related. The college Law society organises Welfare Teas (think free chocolate, hot drinks and Crispy Kreme donughts!) to get us through first and final year exams. Yearly Law dinners have allowed me to mingle informally with people I could never have imagined meeting - the week before my final exams I found myself having dinner with a Court of Appeal judge, a QC, an MP and a host of highly reputable barristers chatting informally about exam nerves and technique! I have had the opportunity to apply for an internship in Los Angeles and to have a tour and a sandwich lunch at the Supreme Court. I feel so fortunate to have been a part of such a close knit community which is not always present in other colleges or subjects and I continue to keep in touch with law students from the years above me and hope to do so with the lower years and my tutors now that I am graduating.

Kimberley Ziya