When I replied I was thinking of the online course I'd heard of run by Robert Gordon Uni which is local to me (I'm in Aberdeen). I expect there are others though, and if a course is totally online it doesn't matter so much where you are...

thank you for that sarah. Do you have in mind any specific courses?

Maria, I've been toying with this question for years. If you actually want to become a lawyer (a solicitor or barrister) you need to study a law conversion course (often called a Graduate Diploma in Law). This will take you one year and cost between £5-9k depending on where you study. Check out BPP Profesional Studies and perhaps your local university. Make sure it's a well regarded academic institution as you need every advantage you can get to progress within the legal profession.

Having got your law conversion then you'll need to take another one year course - either an LPC course or the equivalent to become a barrister. Before beginning any of this though, try speaking to some major construction law legal firms about training contracts etc. In the current economic climate I imagine there is a lot of competition to get into the good legal practices, but you may be lucky.

Having said all this, if you're only hoping to add law as a sideline to your architectural career, then take a look at the specialist construction law course at Kings College London. This is aimed specifically at construction professionals and is very highly regarded. However, this will not make you a registered, official 'lawyer'.