Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Leeds Law School has recently moved into refurbished space on levels 0, 1, and 2 of Broadcasting Place A at the university’s City Campus. This continues the School’s legacy in the city along with the contributions its staff, students, and alumni make in the community.
Incidentally, 2024 also marks 100 years of teaching law at Leeds Beckett and predecessor institutions.
A brief history of Leeds Law School
Commercial law evening classes started at the Leeds Central School of Commerce on 16 September 1924, laying the foundation for the Leeds Law School. While some aspects were of law were taught even before this, the formation of the Day Department put it on a firmer footing.
By 1962, the University of London Law Degree (LLB) was taught part-time and in evening classes.
Over the next few years, various other departments and schools were merged with the school, such as the School of Legal Studies and the School of Law and Public Administration.
The LLB offered by the University of London became a full-time course in 1966, with the premises shifting to Woodhouse Square.
When various colleges were merged to become the Leeds Polytechnic in 1970, the Leeds College of Commerce was also part of it. It became part of the Polytechnic’s Department of Law, Languages and Economics within the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences.
Woodhouse Building in the 1960s
Over the next three decades, more and more law courses were offered by the department. In 2001, the Department of Law was registered under its current name of Leeds Law School.
In 2015, the Leeds Law School moved into the Portland Building and a number of new course were launched in 2016.
Since 2018, the school has been running a Law Clinic to offer free legal advice to the public.
In 2024, Leeds Law School has found a new home at Broadcasting Place A.
Our alumni
Our law alumni community continues to make remarkable contributions to their field and to the city of Leeds. Below are just a few.
Denise Jagger
Denise received a Postgraduate Qualification in European Law from what was then Leeds Polytechnic. She became a corporate finance lawyer and worked at companies like Asda as General Counsel before taking up a role at international firm Eversheds.
Through her various roles, she championed creating more opportunities for women and ensuring better diversity and representation. Leeds Beckett University awarded her an honorary degree in 2013 for her contributions.
Since her retirement from corporate life, she holds a number of non-executive directorships and charitable roles.
Jason Pitter
Jason was born in Chapeltown, Leeds. He was called to the Bar in 1994 and undertook his pupillage in Chambers in 1995, becoming a registered barrister in 1996 practicing initially in general crime, personal injury, and civil fraud.
He is the current Deputy Head of New Park Court Chambers in Leeds and in 2018 was appointed as Recorder. In 2014, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel where he undertakes a broad range of cases including homicide, organised and regulatory crime, and fraud. He was the first black barrister to each of those posts on the North Eastern Circuit.
Jason is committed to supporting the next generation of lawyers and provides scholarship support for law students from underprivileged backgrounds to read law at university.
He was awarded with a honorary degree from Leeds Beckett in University in 2022 for his exceptional work in law and society.
Ravi Singh Rathore
Ravi is promising young lawyer who graduated with a Bachelor of Law as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from Leeds Law School. In 2023, he was the winner of the Trainee Solicitor of the Year at the Yorkshire Legal Awards.
He received recognition for his extensive community work since joining law firm GT Stewart last year, which has seen him fundraise for the NSPCC, join the newly formed Sikhs in Law council promoting diversity in law, and carry out work internationally helping serve food and water to the homeless.
Jodie Hill
Jodie is the managing director of Thrive Law, a specialist employment law firm in Leeds focusing on mental health in the workplace. Trained as a barrister before diverting to requalify as an employment solicitor, entrepreneur Jodie decided to set up her own business in 2018 to support business owners and employees across the region to thrive in the workplace.
She also lectures part-time at the university.
Since 1992, when Leeds Polytechnic became Leeds Metropolitan University, more than 7,300 students have graduated from the university with a law degree. This number continues to grow steadily every year.
Scholars at Leeds Law School
Leeds Beckett University, through its various schools, continues to work with community organisations to benefit students as well as the local community. The partnership between Halifax Law Society and Leeds Law School is one such example.
The Society awards the Halifax Law Society Scholarship to support the next generation of legal professionals from the Calderdale region. The scholarship support two students every academic year to provide them with opportunities they might not have otherwise.
