查看完整版本 : 應唔應該讀 JD / PCLL

好多朋友都問我應唔應該讀 JD。如果你都有尼個疑問，希望尼個post幫到你。

The only reason to suffer two years of the JD degree is to practice law in Hong Kong (unless your company somehow wants you to do it).

If you are looking for a master degree in law, do a LLM. You can have more time to understand each subject. CUHK and HKU require JD students to complete subjects required for the 4-year LLB in 3 years and 2 years respectively. Moreover, the JD degree is more expensive. I find it difficult to see how anyone should do it for interest (unless you are a retiree and looking for a challenge).

If practising law is your goal, then the next question would be whether you can do well. You need good grades. Many people simply set their gpa target as that required for PCLL. This is a bad idea. Your gpa target should be that which can get you a training contract or pupillage (trainee position). This is a perfect segue to progress to my next question: whether one should do the PCLL.

Many students enter PCLL without securing a trainee position. I think this is alright for LLB students or students with relatively higher gpa (this is very possible). However, if you only get a low JD gpa, you should think twice for a few reasons:

i) it is well-known that the demand of PCLL graduates is lower than the supply of them, thus, you will likely not get an offer because of a low gpa;
ii) even if you manage the secure a trainee position during your PCLL, the pay would likely be at the lower end of the spectrum; and
iii) PCLL is meant for training lawyers-to-be, completing the PCLL is of no help for seeking alternative employment.

By now you will understand that your JD gpa will be very important. in my opinion, students who do okay are those who can easily understand the issues or frameworks illustrated by law textbooks. I suggest you read a chapter of a law textbook and prepare a set of notes in 6 hours. Explain that area of law to a current law student (or law lecturer if you know any) and ask him/her to comment on your accuracy. If you totally misunderstood the law, do this again for another chapter. If you still cannot do it, JD may not be a good idea.

Compared to an LLB, do you think JD is itself strong enough as a qualification on its own to strengthen one's competitiveness in the job market if one's GPA is not good enough to get into PCLL? Because we know that LLB is an undergraduate degree and a lot of LLB students have not decided to pursue a career in the legal industry, but JD is a post-graduate qualification. So my point is that if one is not confident enough to get into PCLL but wants a qualification to get a better job, do you think studying for a JD is a good idea?

[quote]原帖由 [i]Rochefoucauld[/i] 於 2018-8-5 03:29 PM 發表 [url=https://www.discuss.com.hk/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=485023680&ptid=27622173][img]https://www.discuss.com.hk/images/common/back.gif[/img][/url]
Compared to an LLB, do you think JD is itself strong enough as a qualification on its own to strengthen one's competitiveness in the job market if one's GPA is not good enough to get into PCLL? Becaus ... [/quote]


Based on a SMALL sample of JD-ers I know who did not proceed to PCLL, none of them got hired for their degree. In my opinion, it gives you the same advantage as any masters degree (some jobs require that). A JD degree may look good to some employers who are not familiar with it, but I think they would hire any masters student. For those familiar with JD, they may flag a low gpa.

To conclude, my view is that a candidate with a high first degree gpa but a low JD gpa may be better off if he pursued some other masters degree (and more easily get a distinction using the same effort).

Thanks for your reply!

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[quote]原帖由 [i]z05162018[/i] 於 2018-8-11 09:06 AM 發表 [url=https://www.discuss.com.hk/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=485344782&ptid=27622173][img]https://www.discuss.com.hk/images/common/back.gif[/img][/url]

JD is pretty useless. LLB is better. [/quote]

I guess by "use" you are referring to the employability of JD graduates vis a vis LLB graduates? I think they are the same in the eyes of law firm HR, ceteris paribus. Both take the same subjects. I don't think there is a reason to discriminate based on a graduate's age (likely only 2-3 years older?) or decision to study law as a second degree.

thank you for sharing

LLB and JD is a stepping stone to PCLL. In the current market, JD and LLB is the same as any other master or bachelor degree and has no special value to it.

There are no particular reasons to do either of the two degrees unless you want to be a lawyer. If you are passionate about the academic side of the law, you can still finish your bachelor degree and proceed to an LLM.