Six law units for people who work with the law rather than at the Bar: company, employment, international business, land, tort and research skills.
Level, credits, hours, units and Ofqual number are taken from the OTHM specification and the Ofqual register. Duration, study modes, fees and intake dates are set by London School of Planning and Management (LSPM), the approved centre.
This diploma teaches the areas of law that surface most often in commercial and property work: Company Law and Corporate Governance, Employment Law, International Business Law, Land Law, Tort Law and a unit on Legal Research Methods and Professional Skills. Six 20-credit units add up to 120 credits; the specification allows 1,200 hours overall and 480 of guided learning, and the Ofqual number is 610/1971/9.
It is important to say what it is not. It is not a qualifying law degree, does not exempt anyone from the assessments required to become a solicitor or barrister in any UK jurisdiction, and does not by itself entitle the holder to practise. What it does is give a rigorous grounding in the legal subjects that a compliance officer, HR practitioner, property professional, company secretary or paralegal uses daily, and it provides a Level 5 base for progression to a law or business-law degree top-up.
It is the only OTHM law programme in this Level 5 catalogue and one of four in the sector. Learners deciding between it and a business diploma should notice that the OTHM business diploma contains a single law unit; this programme contains five plus research methods.
Same awarding body, same sector, same Level 5 outcome. The Extended Diploma includes the Level 4 stage; the Diploma assumes you already hold it.
Choose this if you already hold a Level 4 qualification in a related subject and only need the Level 5 stage.
Choose this if your highest qualification is at Level 3 and you want one enrolment that ends at year-two equivalence.
6 of the Level 5 unit titles appear in both programmes. Whichever route you take, you finish in the same credit position: 240 credits across Levels 4 and 5. The Extended Diploma reaches it under one registration and one certificate; the Diploma assumes a separate Level 4 award came first.
6 × 20 credits.
| # | Unit title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Company Law and Corporate Governance | 20 |
| 02 | Employment Law | 20 |
| 03 | International Business Law | 20 |
| 04 | Land Law | 20 |
| 05 | Tort Law | 20 |
| 06 | Legal Research Methods and Professional Skills | 20 |
| Total credits | 120 | |
Unit titles and credit values from the OTHM specification.
How LSPM sequences them. Legal Research Methods and Professional Skills is taught first, not last, because every subsequent assignment requires the learner to find, read and cite primary sources correctly. Tort and Employment Law follow as the two most case-driven units; Company Law and Land Law then pair naturally around the concept of the legal person and property; International Business Law closes because it draws on the contract and company principles established earlier.
OTHM's published criteria, quoted as data. London School of Planning and Management (LSPM) checks each applicant against them before registration.
Source: OTHM specification. OTHM asks for a Level 4 diploma, or three A levels, or the mature route at 21 or over, with English suitable for study. For law LSPM sets the English expectation higher in practice than for any other programme, because the assignments require reading judgments and statutes and writing precise legal argument. Non-native speakers are asked for IELTS 6.5 or a writing sample, and we raise this openly at enquiry.
Legal problem questions and essays. A typical assignment presents a factual scenario and asks the learner to advise a party, applying statute and case law with full citation, in 3,000 to 3,500 words. Land Law and Company Law also use document-based tasks (analysing a lease or articles of association). The research methods unit is assessed by an annotated research exercise. There are no examinations. See how LSPM teaches and assesses for the marking and verification process.
LSPM's tutors mark and give written feedback. OTHM samples marked work before results are ratified. A referred submission can be reworked after feedback.
OTHM Level 6 Diploma in Law.
Top-up to the final year of an LLB or a BA (Hons) in Business Law at universities that map the six units; note that a top-up LLB may or may not be a qualifying law degree, so check with the university.
Paralegal, compliance, company secretarial, HR and property roles where legal knowledge is applied under a qualified professional's supervision.
No. It is a Level 5 diploma. Qualification as a solicitor in England and Wales is through the Solicitors Qualifying Examination and its requirements; as a barrister through the Bar training route. This diploma may support an application to a law degree top-up, and some top-up LLBs are qualifying degrees, but check that with the university before assuming it.
England and Wales for the domestic units (company, employment, land, tort), with International Business Law covering cross-border commercial principles and the main international conventions. Learners from other jurisdictions find the method transferable and the content useful for UK-facing work.
A great deal, and most of it primary: statutes and judgments rather than textbooks alone. The research methods unit exists to make that manageable. Budget for the unguided hours in the 1,200 total as reading time.
OTHM allocates guided hours to reflect how the subject is learned. Law at this level is reading and writing-intensive with seminar discussion of cases, so a larger share of the total qualification time is independent study than in, say, the accounting diploma.
Tell us what you hold now and we will say whether you are likely to meet OTHM's criteria; LSPM confirms eligibility and the next intake.