LL7P17 - Legal Practice Dissertation (2019/20)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2019/20 | |||||||||||||||
| Module title | Legal Practice Dissertation | |||||||||||||||
| Module level | Masters (07) | |||||||||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 60 | |||||||||||||||
| School | Guildhall School of Business and Law | |||||||||||||||
| Total study hours | 600 | |||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Assessment components |
|
|||||||||||||||
| Running in 2019/20(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
|
Module summary
This module focuses on writing a project/ dissertation on a specialist area of legal practice of between 12,000 and 15,000 words at M level.
The module aims:
1. to develop an awareness and understanding of developments within a specialist area of legal practice;
2. to apply academic understanding and research techniques to the analysis of law, policy and practice within the area of legal specialism;
3. to bring to such analysis originality, creativity and an awareness of the complexities of the inter-relationship between the academic principles of law, the wider policy and socio-economic context of the law and the implications for legal practice.
Prior learning requirements
Pass LLP003N: LLM Legal Research Methodology
Syllabus
The student will use the spring semester in which to research and write a dissertation, the proposal for which will have been part of the assessment for LLP003N Legal Research Methodology in the previous autumn semester.
The dissertation is normally to be submitted at the end of August, usually three weeks before the start of the following academic year.
Covers all Learning Outcomes
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
The module will be taught entirely by one to one sessions between individual supervisors and supervisees. However, a dedicated VLE will support this teaching.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this module students will be able to:
1. identify a developing or critical area of legal practice suitable for research;
2. analyse particular aspects of the subject by use of academic and research methodology;
3. evaluate the results of the research in a clear and meaningful way, identifying its relevance to legal practice;
4. demonstrate an ability to communicate complex information in writing with clarity and accuracy through the production of a well-written, structured and fully referenced dissertation.
5. bring to such analysis originality, creativity and an awareness of the complexities of the inter-relationship between the academic principles of law, the wider policy and socio-economic context of the law and the implications for legal practice.
Assessment strategy
Summative will be 100% by the written project/dissertation
Formative iterative feedback will be continual throughout the sessions between supervisor and supervisee/
Bibliography
Basic Texts
The Oxford Handbook of Empirical Legal Research edited by Peter Cane & Herbert M Kritzer, Oxford University Press 2010.
As the projects/dissertations will be on a wide variety of legal topics, there is no specific text attached universally to the substantive law covered in this module.
Databases
Westlaw database online
Lexis Library online
iLaw online
OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities) www.law.ac.uk/oscola