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I believe your friend would need to support herself without access to government unemployment benefits for the first 6 months. I'm not quite sure whether she would need to work for those first 6 months before being able to claim unemployment benefits or whether she just needs to support herself without access to benefits for those first 6 months. Anyway after satisfying the rules for that 6 month period, she can claim unemployment benefits; if she finds herself out of work and is actively looking for work. The Job Centre ( where she makes her claim for unemployment benefits - there are Job Centres in every town ) will want to see proof every 2 weeks that she is seeking employment.If your friend wants to study law as well whilst unemployed, and wants to continue claiming unemployment benefits; she would need to enrol on a part time course. You say your friend already has a degree. If that degree is of the same standard as a British degree, she can complete the 1 year full time or 2 year part time Graduate Diploma in Law to qualify as a lawyer; instead of a 3 year Law degree. Universities that run the 1 year full time / 2 year part time Graduate Diploma in Law includes; BPP University, The College of Law ( I think it is now called The University of Law ), City University London, South Bank University London, London Metropolitan University, Wolverhampton University, Nottingham Trent University , University of The West of England. There are about 30 institutions across England and Wales running this Law conversion 1 year course. If your friend Google's Graduate Diploma in Law; she'll find the full list. The Scottish legal system is not the same as the legal system in England and Wales; so if your friend wants to work as a lawyer in Scotland she would need to study Law in Scotland. It's a different course.Digression [ After completing that 1 year full time/ 2 year part time, she would then have to complete the 1 year course Law graduates complete. Then after completing that 1 year course ( also available as a 2 year part time course ) she can get a paid job as a trainee Solicitor or Barrister ( these are the two branches of the legal profession in the UK ). There are law firms out there that will pay for your friend to complete the 2 years of training ( the Graduate Diploma in Law + The 1 year course after that ) free of charge. But that sort of sponsorship is very difficult to get.Trainee solicitor salaries at the top law firms in London are paid as much as £90k per annum. But £25k per year as a trainee solicitor is more typical. After 2 years of training she will become a fully registered solicitor. Most trainee barristers are self employed; so don't get paid until they have built enough of a reputation to be invited to represent defendants in court. Most barristers tend to come from wealthy families. Familues who can afford to support their son or daughter till they start getting court work.If you want a £90k per annum job as a trainee solicitor; be warned that you will be up against Oxford and Cambridge law graduates. Next in the queue are law graduates from the the top London Colleges; such as The LSE, UCL, King's College; and Law graduates from Durham. But your friend's foreign language skills could prove to be useful.I should also point out there is no guarantee your freind will get a job as a trainee solicitor or barrister even if she passes all the exams with flying colours. There is an oversupply of law graduates in the profession. ]Returning back to what I was saying about the 1 year training course for graduates who don't have a Law degree from England or Wales. The rule for studying part time and claiming unemployment benefit; is that course class times should not be more than 16 hours per week. Nobody is going to check how many hours in the day she is studying as a part time student as long as she applies for jobs to keep her unemployment benefits. She can get benefits indefinitely whilst unemployed and seeking work. Currently £75 per week for grocery and heating costs. A lot more if she has children. £25k is the maximum benefit for claimants with children.Unemployed people can also claim their rent in full from the government. However the government has recently placed a cap on the maximum rent one can claim. Eg. In London The maximum rent one can claim for a 1 bedroom flat is £250 per week. A couple can claim up to £350 per week for a 2 bedroom flat. However in London and elsewhere in the UK most landlords want one month's rent and a month's deposit in advance. So if she were to rent a £250 per week 1 bedroom flat she would need ((£250 x 52 ) ÷ 6 ) as her deposit to move into that flat. Some landlords ask for 2 months rent as the deposit plus one month's rent in advance. So if she were to rent a £250 per week flat and the landlord wants her to pay 3 months in advance she would need ((£250 X 52)÷4) to move in. She can then claim rent from the government, after first making her claim for unemployment benefit, by taking the receipt she got from her landlord to the council office in her area. Eg. If she is living in Camden Town London NW1 she takes that receipt to Camden Town Hall, where she makes her claim for Housing Benefit. The government will pay the rent in full, provided it is not over the maximum limit. If the rent us over the maximum limit she will have to make up that difference herself out of the unemployment benefit money she will be getting in addition to Housing benefit.If she cannot afford to rent a flat, she can always rent a room in a shared house. The rent in a shared house can be as low as £30 per week, in cities such as Manchester, ( Manchester Metropolitan University runs the Graduate Diploma in Law course ). Manchester may be a cheap place to live but there are not as many jobs as in London. However it is much easier to survive in Manchester as an unemployed person than in London. Grocery prices in Manchester are a lot lower than in London as well. Some Polish people have been known to get around London's high rents by sleeping 3, 4, 5 or 6 to a room. But I don't know whether your freind would qualify for Housing Benefit living in illegally overcrowded accommodation.I should also make it clear that these Law conversion courses for graduates aren't free. And there is no government funding for 1 year Law conversion courses for graduates who already have a degree. You will need to ask your family to help you out with the fees. Failing that you will need to get a job if you don't have savings to pay the fees yourself. The 3 year Law degree for undergraduates is free in the sense you don't start paying back your student loan till you are earning more than £21000 per year. But I don't know whether your friend would qualify for a student loan to complete a 3 year law degree if she already has a degree. Student Finance England, the government organisation that manages that service can advice your friend. They have a website and telephone helpline.Degree courses in Scotland are free or low cost. The Scottish regional government pays university tuition fees for Scotland's residents. SAAS is the Scottish government organisation that deals with student funding in Scotland. But as a Scottish trained lawyer your friend would only be able to practice in Scotland.The High street banks used to lend graduates up to £50k to complete a Law conversion course, 4 year Graduate Medical degree, or a Master's degree in Finance. These “Professional Studies” loans were available at HSBC Bank, and at Barclays Bank. But I'm not sure whether they still do them. And I don't know what sort of security they want. If your parents own a house worth £500k; such loans are going to be easier to get I imagine. The £50k could be recovered from the value of the property if she defaults on the £50k loan.