Join the Pharmacy Law & Ethics Association
Membership
Why join PLEA? We keep good company!
Members have access to our on-line member directory and to regular updates on developments in pharmacy law and ethics and to case law reports. Members may attend the annual seminar free of charge and benefit from the opportunity to meet like-minded colleagues and enhance their currency in pharmacy law and ethics. Check out the events tab for details of proposed and future seminars. Members may add their names to our consultants’ directory and share details of job opportunities via the PLEA website.
PLEA’s annual fee is currently £40.00. Five year membership is available for £160. Membership is free to students.
Our members include
- Pharmacists and others with an interest in pharmacy law and ethics;
- Solicitors, who undertake defence cases and deal with NHS contracts and regulations;
- Legal and pharmacy professionals who wish to keep up to date with developments in pharmacy law and ethic, including regulatory and commercial issues that bear on pharmacy practice;
- Pharmacists who are superintendents of pharmacy companies;
- Pharmacy technicians with an interest in pharmacy law and ethics
- Academics who teach in schools of pharmacy and other universities;
- Regulators;
- Educators who train pre-registration pharmacists;
- Barristers and solicitors who undertake pharmacy litigation;
- Students who are interested in understanding the legal framework within which they will practise on graduation;
- Pharmacists managing regulatory affairs in industry and
- Consultants, retired pharmacists and many more…
Careers
One frequent query from pharmacists is “which law qualification is best for a particular career path?” PLEA doesn’t have all the answers but we list below the types of law qualifications that are available. You would then need to search Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) such as universities, colleges and online courses) to see what is available in your area. Many HEIs now offer online courses with summer schools; the Open University also offers many options for studying at your own pace and in your own time.
Undergraduate qualifications
LLB (Bachelor of Laws) full time (3 years) or part-time (4-5 years)
Postgraduate qualifications
If you already have a first degree (say, in Pharmacy) you can add postgraduate qualifications at three levels: certificate (60 credits), diploma (120 credits) or master’s (180 credits). A credit is equivalent to 10 hours of study time (not necessarily teaching time)
If you decide to embark on a postgraduate qualification with a legal orientation, such qualifications are usually focused on one aspect of law such as health care law and human rights and can be either full-time study over 1-2 years or part-time over 3-4 years.
Practising qualifications
Extracts below are adapted from the Law Society career pages …
There are several stages to becoming a solicitor or a barrister, the first being possession of a qualifying degree
Students who have studied a law degree at university and want to become solicitors can take the one-year Legal Practice Course (LPC) followed by a two-year training contract, usually with a firm of solicitors, or the legal section of a commercial firm or government department
For barristers, the one-year Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) followed by at least a 12-month pupillage in chambers is necessary. Pupillages are divided into two six-month periods, commonly referred to as ‘sixes’.
Graduates in a non-law degree subject can still qualify as a solicitor or barrister by taking the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) before embarking on the LPC/BPTC although this entails an extra year’s study and more expense (although certain law firms will fund both law and non-law students through their legal studies if these students obtain a training contract with them). The GDL prepares non-law graduates for a legal career as it covers the foundations of law, namely contract, tort, criminal law, equity and trusts, EU law, property law and public law.
The Law Society also lists a range of careers other than legal practice where legal qualifications are particularly useful.