LW4001 - Approaches to Law and Lawyering Skills

You will learn via a combination of large group sessions, small group sessions and independent / tutor guided independent learning.

The large group sessions will introduce you to core skills and concepts and provide context for the tasks in your small group sessions. Through the small group sessions, you will engage with a range of activities designed to develop your skills and understanding of core legal skills, including but not limited to case analysis, legal reasoning, legal writing, practical legal research, and presentation skills. The module handbook will contain instructions and tasks for the small group sessions. You will be expected to prepare in advance for small group sessions although some tasks may be completed during the sessions themselves .

You will be expected to engage in independent learning, some of which will be tutor guided. The module handbook will set out a learning and teaching schedule for the module including guidance on independent learning.

There will be teaching delivery to support the development of skills relevant to the module, including but not limited to case analysis, legal reasoning, practical legal research skills and presentation skills. An on-line reading list will be accessible on the eLP to assist you with independent learning and preparation for group sessions.

You will have the opportunity for formative feedback from tutors in workshops.

Your summative assessment will be designed to test the extent to which you have developed the skills necessary to be an effective undergraduate law student.

The University supports you in learning and research with an excellent library, excellent teaching facilities, access to practitioner and academic on-line legal databases and resources and appropriate software.

This module will be managed by a designated Module Tutor who will be responsible for guiding you in your engagement and learning on the module. Material will be delivered to you by lecture and through the eLP and you will access additional information via your directed and independent use of on-line legal data bases and print resources. Large group sessions will be recorded on Panopto, meaning that you will be able to refer to them on-line in order to consolidate your learning.

The eLP site will contain: Powerpoint slides used in large group sessions; the module handbook ; advice on assessment; and Panopto recordings of large group sessions.

As well as contact with the lecturer, who delivers the large group sessions, you will also be taught by a seminar tutor, who delivers the small group sessions. Should you have queries you may approach the lecturer or your seminar tutor or e-mail your query to either member of staff, either to have your query answered online or to make an appointment for a face-to-face meeting. Academic support is also available to you through feedback on assessment tasks.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the module you should be able to:

• Understand that successful undergraduate study requires the development of a range of academic and professional skills.
• Understand the importance of developing these skills for success in your undergraduate studies as a law student.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

By the end of the module you should be able to:

• Conduct effective legal research.
• Communicate your knowledge and understanding of key principles both orally and in writing using accurate legal terminology and forming structured and coherent. arguments.
• Perform case analysis

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

By the end of the module you will:

• Understand why particular skills are necessary to function effectively as a law student and subsequently as a legal professional.

Formative assessment

On an on-going basis your tutors will give feedback on the tasks you complete in small group sessions.
Summative assessment

You will be assessed by submission of a portfolio of written work. You will receive guidance relating to the assessment at the beginning of the module and in your module handbook assessment briefs.

Assessment Criteria and Grade-Related Criteria will be made available to you to support you in completing assessments. Grade-Related Descriptors are descriptions of the level of skills, knowledge and/or attributes that you need to demonstrate in order achieve a certain grade or mark in an assessment, providing a mechanism by which the quality of an assessment can be measured and placed within the overall set of marks.

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‘Approaches to Law and Lawyering Skills’ is designed to help you make an effective transition to studying law at undergraduate level by introducing you to both the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of being a law undergraduate. The module will introduce you to the skills required to be both a successful law student and a successful lawyer and will prepare you for the challenges and opportunities that studying law will provide. The module will encourage you to think about your skills in a way that is relevant to the other modules that you are studying but also to your future career aspirations. You will develop practical skills such as legal writing, practical legal research, and case analysis (the “how”) and you will also come to understand the importance and usefulness of these techniques (the “why”).