Degree of uncertainty – university law schools navigate choppy waters amid funding crisis

As Scotland’s universities struggle to balance their books, Peter Ranscombe explores what the future may hold for the nation’s law schools.

“The past 10 months since we got the announcement about the giant deficit have been a wild ride,” admits senior lecturer Yvonne Evans, the bachelor of laws (LLB) programme director at the University of Dundee. November 2024’s revelation of the university’s £30 million deficit – which has since widened to £35 million – was followed in March by a plan to axe the equivalent of 632 full-time posts, a proposal that was scaled back to the equivalent of “up to 300” full-time jobs the following month after an outcry from staff and their trade unions.

“When that number came out of the March meeting, that was a real bombshell moment for a lot of staff, which triggered a lot of anxiety. I had an early indication of the painful austerity measures because I had just applied for promotion in October, but then in November the promotion round was cancelled, which was really demoralising,” remembers Yvonne, who joined the university 12 years ago after her post at law firm Anderson Strathern was made redundant.

“The uncertainty that’s lasted for 10 months now – and unfortunately is going to go on for the foreseeable future – is the most difficult part. What we need now is for a strong and decisive principal to be appointed so we can move on.”

Yvonne adds: “I worry that the looming Scottish Parliament election will stop politicians from tackling the bigger issue about how higher education is funded. Tuition fees for Scottish students have stayed at £1,820 for 15 years – and I bet they weren’t even high enough to cover costs 15 years ago, let alone now.

“As for the staff, we’re all just keeping our heads down and getting on with it. We want things to get back to normal.”

Management failures become case study for students

Yvonne is scathing in her criticism of the previous management team’s lack of control over the university’s finances. “I used it as a case study in fiduciary duties for charity trustees with my students,” she says. “Colleagues at other universities are now asking if their financial plans will pass ‘The Dundee Test’.”

Despite the financial challenges facing the university, Yvonne is upbeat about Dundee Law School’s performance, with demand remaining high for its LLB undergraduate degree – including its dual-qualification in Scots Law and the Law of England & Wales – while the number of students on its diploma in professional legal practice (DPLP) rose from 72 to a record 84 in 2024-25.

“The dual qualification is especially popular with students from Northern Ireland, and with Canadian students, who return home to sit their bar exams,” Yvonne explains. “We’re losing some colleagues who are taking early retirement through the redundancy scheme, but I believe we can cope with the extra workload.

“Compared to some other departments, law has core subjects we must teach to meet the Law Society of Scotland’s requirements. My worry is that we might have to sacrifice some specialisms in the future in order to maintain those core subjects.”

The uncertainty hasn’t stopped Dundee developing new modules. In December 2024, DPLP director Liz Comerford introduced Scotland’s first module about trauma-informed practice, while the department is also preparing to launch a course about artificial intelligence (AI) and data regulation.

Vote of confidence as Thorntons extends partnership

In May 2024, law firm Thorntons and the University of Dundee secured £1.1 million from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund for their legal technology collaboration, which involves lawyers working with university staff and students to explore how technology can be used by law firms and other professional services businesses.

Now, the partnership is being extended to include Abertay University in Dundee. Abertay has a strong track record in tech. It was the first university to run computer games development courses – set up with input from Abertay graduate David Jones, creator of Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto – and later offered the world’s first ethical hacking degree.

“The University of Dundee and Abertay strive to deliver a leading curriculum and are working with us to shape the skills that the next generation of the profession will need to make them attractive,” says Lesley Larg, managing partner  at Thorntons. “This collaboration will also allow them to embed practical innovation and explore diverse career pathways for students by integrating academic learning with real-world experience.

“There still seems to be a great degree of enthusiasm for the project, where we have learners working alongside innovators from technology companies and really experienced legal practitioners. It’s a unique learning landscape, and it’s certainly one that the University of Dundee and Abertay are very enthusiastic about and committed to.”

Looking more broadly at the value of studying law, Lesley adds: “Law, as far as I can gather, remains a core subject for all of the universities. I’ve not got a sense that the law schools are cutting back, or the intake numbers are down.

“Law remains a really solid degree, regardless of whether somebody goes on to be a solicitor. Some of my classmates became accountants and management consultants, while others work for the government. It’s a great training for the mind and it’s still viewed in that way by industry and universities.”

Trade union warns no discipline is safe from size of cuts

In August of this year, the University of Edinburgh unveiled a voluntary redundancy scheme for senior staff, alongside early retirement measures. The university declined to comment while its voluntary redundancy scheme is still open to applicants. But trade unionists warned the cuts to Scotland’s higher education institutions would touch every part of the universities.

“Cuts of the magnitude proposed at both Dundee and Edinburgh universities mean that the law schools cannot be immune to the impact on their teaching and research,” says Mary Senior, Scotland official for the University and College Union (UCU). “You simply cannot cut millions of pounds from budgets and lose hundreds of staff members without having a detrimental outcome on the student experience, teaching and research in these universities.

“Sadly, no discipline can be fully protected from cuts of this scale. There’s also a longer-term effect on the reputation of the institution, and law graduates will be concerned to hear what’s being proposed at their alma maters.”