The University of Law has been forced to scrap advertisements in which it described itself as the ‘UK’s leading law school’ and said graduates can expect to earn £54,000 a year after five years.

In a decision published today, the Advertising Standards Authority said the advertisements must not appear again in their current form. The watchdog said it had told the university ‘not to make claims that it was leading law school in the UK unless they held adequate substantiation’.

It added: ‘Because we had not seen evidence which supported the likely consumer interpretation of the claim… we concluded the claim was misleading.’

The decision followed complaints by a 'university law lecturer' and a 'retired university law professor' about two advertisements.

One on the website Educompare said law diplomas were securing graduates ‘£54,000 salaries’ and another in a national newspaper encouraged students to apply to secure their place at the ‘UK’s leading law school’.

According to the ASA’s ruling, the university said its claim of being the leading law school was based on the fact that it has enrolled more people on courses than any of its competitors.

The ASA added that the claim about lawyers’ pay was presented in an advertisement designed to resemble an online news story and although ULaw included the term ‘advertorial’ that could have been overlooked by visitors to the website.

A spokesperson for the University of Law told the Gazette: ‘While we are disappointed by the ruling, we have taken on board the ASA’s comments and will refer to ourselves from now on as "one of the UK’s leading law schools.’