What did COVID-19 change in UK law education?
Updated Mar 06, 2026
COVID-19lawCOVID-19 pushed UK law teaching online at speed, and students quickly made one demand: clearer assessment. In 12,355 NSS open-text comments, analysed using our NSS open-text analysis methodology, tagged to COVID-19, sentiment is 68.6% negative (index −24.0), reflecting disruption to delivery and assessment.
In law, the Common Aggregation Hierarchy subject grouping used across UK providers, assessment dominates: Feedback accounts for 8.9% of comments (index −19.2) and Marking criteria a further 4.5% (index −46.7), while students consistently value staff expertise. The sections below translate these themes into practical takeaways for law programmes.
How did online delivery reshape law teaching?
The rapid move to online platforms required law programmes to protect interactive elements such as mooting, debates, and seminars. Staff redesigned modules and assessment to keep advocacy, analysis, and discussion central. Student feedback is mixed on engagement, but consistently values visible structure, predictable timetabling, and clear communication, themes also highlighted in blended learning best practices from the perspective of students. Discussion boards, live Q&A, and real-time feedback tools helped sustain participation and reduced uncertainty as course teams refined delivery.
What happened to practical components when campuses closed?
Clinics, moots, and client interviewing paused or shifted to remote simulation. Placements feature less in law than in many disciplines, but the loss of in-person interaction still constrained skill development. Faculties piloted virtual hearings, negotiated remote advisory work with partners, and remapped practical outcomes into assessment briefs. Students valued continuity but noted that online simulations only partially replicate the dynamics of practice. That reinforced the need for explicit criteria, exemplars, and calibrated marking to evidence the skills students gained.
How did access to legal resources change?
Restricted access to law libraries created immediate pressure to expand digital provision. Providers expanded database licences, strengthened remote authentication, and offered short, targeted training so students could navigate resources efficiently. When libraries and learning technology teams communicated updates through a single source of truth and offered responsive support, students reported smoother study routines and fewer barriers to completing research-heavy tasks.
How did the shift affect student wellbeing?
Isolation, uncertainty, and the cognitive load of studying remotely increased stress and anxiety. Younger and full-time cohorts tended to be more critical of pandemic-era arrangements, so targeted outreach, predictable contact, and proactive tutor check-ins mattered. Online counselling, wellbeing workshops, and mental health first aid for staff helped. Students also asked for consistent signposting and clear expectations on response times, so support felt timely rather than ad hoc (see whether universities are meeting law students’ support needs).
How did COVID-19 shape career planning for law students?
Cancelled networking and reduced in-person opportunities disrupted routes into practice. Virtual internships and online employer events maintained some connection, though students missed informal learning from chambers and firm settings. Interest grew in areas aligned to regulatory and societal shifts, including digital privacy, cybersecurity, and health law. Embedding structured work-integrated learning within modules and clinics can replicate some of the benefits students associate with in-person exposure.
What worked and should remain in law programmes?
Virtual moot courts, hybrid seminars, and recorded resources often improved flexibility and made participation more inclusive. Students reported better legal research habits as they relied on broader digital sources. Teaching staff remained a consistent strength when they made structure explicit, framed sessions with clear outcomes, and maintained reliable turnaround times and dialogue on feedback.
What strategies should law schools use next time?
- Keep a disruption-ready playbook for teaching, assessment, and access changes, with a single, up-to-date source of truth that explains what changed and why.
- Prioritise assessment clarity: publish annotated exemplars, checklist-style rubrics and mapped criteria, and calibrate markers; commit to a realistic feedback service level and track it (see law student perspectives on marking criteria and assessment practices).
- Target support to cohorts that react most negatively in crises with short micro-briefings, Q&A, and flexible access routes. Make disability-related adjustments explicit whenever arrangements shift.
- Learn from stronger-performing practice-heavy disciplines, protect continuity of learning and assessment clarity, then adapt for law’s clinic and advocacy needs.
- Run short reviews of assessment briefs, workload pacing, and access to specialist activities, and publish concrete fixes.
Where does this leave law education after COVID-19?
Law schools demonstrate resilience and a willingness to redesign delivery around student needs. The sector evidence points to three durable priorities: stable, disruption-ready delivery; transparent assessment; and sustained access to resources and support. Retaining these gains will help programmes protect learning quality while supporting student wellbeing in future shocks.
How Student Voice Analytics helps you
Student Voice Analytics turns open-text into actionable priorities for COVID-19 and law. Track topic volume and sentiment over time, drill from provider to school and cohort, and compare like-for-like across subject groupings and demographics. Segment by site or provider to pinpoint where assessment clarity, delivery operations, or support need attention, and export concise summaries and figures for programme and quality teams. Explore Student Voice Analytics to see your law students’ priorities in context.
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Related Entries
- The use of blended learning from the perspective of students
- Are law students confident in marking criteria and assessment practices?
- What do law students say about teaching quality?
- Are universities meeting law students’ support needs?
- Did remote learning work for law students?
- NSS open-text analysis methodology for UK HE