UDLAWINR - LLB Law (with International Relations)

The course, which is delivered by highly qualified academics and practitioners, has been devised with reference to the Subject Benchmark Statement for Law developed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. The subject specific knowledge and skills, cognitive abilities and non-subject specific skills outlined in the benchmark statement are referenced in the relevant sections of this course document.

The course provides a rigorous programme, including the foundation core modules needed for students who wish to proceed to the professional stage of legal training, and optional modules covering a wide range of legal issues and interests.

The Teaching and Learning strategy of the LLB Law with International Relations degree is designed to ensure that the following key outcomes are achieved:

• To comply with – or improve on – the benchmarks set out by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board and the Quality Assurance Agency;

• To encourage the acquisition and understanding of knowledge by students, engendering an enthusiasm for the subject and life-skills learning, including the progression from surface learning to deep learning;

• To facilitate students in developing independent skills and responsibilities for their own learning;

• Incrementally to strengthen the subject specific knowledge and practical legal skills gained by students, to ensure that they are equipped to thrive successfully in the professional workplace.

The distinction between this course and the LLB Law course is that, whilst both courses contain all the modules you will need to continue on your journey to qualify as a solicitor or a barrister, the LL.B. with International Relations will also give you an insight into the world of international and global politics, which may be of particular interest to you if you plan to seek employment in the political as well as the legal sector.

TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS

This degree draws on the reputation of the Guildhall School of Business and Law for pedagogical innovation, as well as utilising traditional teaching methods.

On-Campus Classes

You will be taught by a combination of workshops, lectures, interactive seminars, one-to-one supervision and self-study. You will be encouraged to read from specified student and practitioners’ books. You will be supported in undertaking on-line research using electronic law databases and encouraged to use on line legal resources on a regular basis. There is a virtual learning environment (VLE) containing handbooks, lecture notes, weblinks, discussion groups, study skills materials and assessment criteria.

Apart from being excellent pedagogic practice, our emphasis on blended learning – and on a complementary wide range of assessment techniques – is particularly appropriate to enable our diverse student population to achieve their goals and aspirations without prejudice to their cultural, social or educational backgrounds, or to their need to engage in paid employment during their studies.

Lectures will introduce you to legal rules and concepts; to theories and principles; and to legal methods of research and analysis.

Seminars and workshops will enable you to gain a deeper understanding of the matters introduced in the lectures;
to lead and contribute to discussion and debate on contemporary issues within the relevant legal field; and to develop skills of critical analysis, problem solving and synthesis of legal materials.

Independent Study will develop your skills in research and analysis of primary and secondary sources, using both the traditional library, the e-library and the professional legal databases.

Virtual Learning

Although the course is not by distance-learning, and physical attendance at the university is a requirement for the lectures and seminars, we facilitate you as much as possible to study at your own pace in your own time away from the campus. You will have 24/7 access to the extensive online law library, including the professional primary and secondary source data-bases of Westlaw and Lexis Plus.

Blended learning pervades the delivery of the module and is actively encouraged as you will engage with digital materials, use on-line discussion groups and achieve a competent standard of digital literacy during your studies.

Experiential Learning

You are encouraged to experience work-related practice both through the formal curriculum and through extra-curricular activities.

Several of the core modules specifically relate to work-based activities, including Contract I, Legal Method, Criminal Litigation and Civil Law and Practice (Pro Bono).

Several of the optional modules include work-based practical exercises, including Advocacy and Mooting,; Employment Law; and Law and Deal-Making in the Entertainment Industry

You will also be able to participate in the extracurricular experiential learning offered within the Law School, including the Pro Bono Clinic and the Mooting Club. Work within the Pro Bono Clinic may also afford you credit towards your SRA required Qualifying Work Experience if you wish to become a solicitor.

Skills Training

Transferable skills pervade every module, including those identified in the QAA Subject Benchmark for Law. These include both practical and intellectual skills, as specified in the Course Learning Outcomes.
Study Support

You will have regular access to module tutors by email and by one-to-one meetings and video conferences to support your studies. You will also engage with one formative assessment for each module, with opportunities for feedback either by email or individual online discussion.

LEARNING RESOURCES
You will have 24/7 access to the extensive online law library, including the professional primary and secondary source data-bases of Westlaw and Lexis Plus. Blended learning pervades the delivery of the module and is actively encouraged as you will engage with digital materials, use on-line discussion groups and achieve a competent standard of digital literacy during your studies.

EMPLOYABILITY FOCUS

The course is centred on the employability needs of law graduates who wish to practise professionally as solicitors, barristers or within any other professional sector where legal knowledge is a premium. The course will equip you with the skills and attributes that will enable you to compete with success in the complex and challenging legal sector and employment market.

EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
The design and delivery of the Law courses support the three core principles of the Education for Social Justice framework (ESJF – Principle 1 Accessibility; Principle 2 Reflection and sense of belonging; Principle 3 Skills for a Global and Diverse Environment).
The design and delivery of the Law courses ensure equitable access to legal education through the provision of curricular and extra-curricular activities incorporating a variety of teaching methods and assessments that support the learning and development of all students (Principle 1). Legal materials and support are specifically designed to cultivate a sense of belonging and inclusion, enabling students to reflect on and explore diverse perspectives within the syllabus. This is in keeping with the approach to students as partners and student voice. (Principle 2)
The course delivery prepares students for engagement in diverse work and practice environments through a wide range of modules and activities. Students will develop an understanding and awareness of inclusive leadership skills and practice through a variety of mock interviews including scholarship and situational judgement interviews that require applicants to demonstrate leadership and interpersonal skills (principle 3). There are modules at all levels which also promote leadership skills, e.g. LL4056.
Preparation for employability and practice is supported through the Mooting module which offers training in legal advocacy skills; and the Civil Law and Practice module which incorporates Pro Bono work and legal advice as the method of assessment.
Further opportunities to enhance employability and develop inclusive leadership and collaborative practice are available to all students through the extra-curricular Mooting Club, Pro Bono Clinic and careers development workshop on inclusive leadership run, in conjunction with the Law School and Careers Office.

The course aims are as follows:

• To deliver an academically rigorous legal education.
• To provide a wide range of optional modules in addition to the legal foundation subjects to allow students to pursue and develop their own interests.
• To develop a detailed understanding of legal rules, their contexts and application, as well as developing transferable skills in communication, independent research, teamwork and public speaking.
• To enable students to acquire the legal and transferable skills set out in the QAA Subject Benchmark Statement for Law and the statements issued by the Bar Standards Board and the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
• To give students the necessary qualifications to proceed to the vocational law courses (the Solicitors Qualifying Examination and the various Bar training courses) to train as professional lawyers.
• To enhance the employability of students, including those who do not intend to practise as a barrister or solicitor, but who wish to enter other employment where legal knowledge is useful.
• To acquaint students with a range of employment avenues, both in the legal profession and in those professions into which legal qualifications and skills are transferable.
• To develop the students’ skills of independent legal research, analysis and presentation.
• To develop students’ facility of critical thinking through taught provision and independent research.
• To develop and instil ways of thinking that are intrinsic to the study of law. These include an appreciation of the complexity of legal concepts, ethics, rules and an awareness of the importance of principles of justice and the rule of law.
• To assist students in evaluating their learning and embedding personal development in their professional practice in research/project activities.

Course Learning Outcomes
(mapped against the QAA Subject Benchmark Statement for Law, March 2023)

Learning Outcome 1: Our graduates will have the confidence needed to take leadership decisions in challenging situations. (QAA i, ii, vi, vii, viii and xi)

Learning Outcome 2: Our graduates will possess the necessary communication skills that will help them adopt a global and multicultural perspective in their professional context. (QAA xi and xii)

Learning Outcome 3: Our graduates will be cognisant of the effects of the social and environmental effects of their decision, and will remain active citizens of the places they live and work. (QAA iii, iv, viii and xii)

Learning Outcome 4: Our graduates will demonstrate application of creative thinking skills to practical problems, and possess the analytical and organizational skills to translate creative ideas to operational solutions. (QAA i, v, vi, vii, viii, ix, x and xi)

Learning Outcome 5: Our graduates will have sufficient knowledge in the core discipline areas included in their courses of study. (QAA iii, iv and v)

University Learning Outcome (ULO): To demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity and to act as inclusive, collaborative and socially responsible professionals in your discipline.

APPENDIX: QAA: Subject Benchmark Statement for Law: March 2023

4.3 On graduating with an honours degree in Law, students should be able to:

• identify, locate, and retrieve standard legal materials in relevant jurisdictions’ law in paper and electronic form
• synthesise information from a number of primary and secondary legal sources to appreciate their relative value and to achieve knowledge and understanding of complex legal issues
• apply legal knowledge to problem scenarios and draw reasoned conclusions supported by legal authority • identify a range of possible outcomes to problems supported by legal authority and informed by current research and advanced legal scholarship
• make a critical judgement of the merits of particular arguments and make a reasoned choice between alternative solutions
• demonstrate appropriate legal citation and reasoning skills in written answers and communication
• analyse, evaluate and interpret the primary source materials of law; that is, statutes, law reports, treaties, directives and other relevant materials
• understand and use terminology, both verbally and non-verbally and in writing, to convey and explain technical legal information
• demonstrate a range of techniques for conducting legal research, including methods drawn from other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, where appropriate
• exhibit some awareness of the inherent uncertainties, ambiguities and the limits of knowledge and their effect on understanding and application of the law
• show understanding of individual, regional, national and global contexts, as well as institutional, normative, social, political, economic, cultural, historical, ethical, philosophical, technological and ecological contexts
• demonstrate a range of legal skills (for example, critical analysis, problem-solving) necessary to enable them to reach a basic understanding of all branches of relevant jurisdictions, even if not previously studied
• develop skills in digital literacy in finding, managing, creating and communicating information
• participate in problem-solving exercises
• develop employability skills and awareness of career opportunities, professional requirements and of the need for future planning
• develop an awareness of the future direction of the legal profession and its constant evolution.

Generic skills and qualities of mind

4.4 On graduating with an honours degree in Law, students should be able to demonstrate the following generic skills alongside qualities of mind articulated in paragraph 1.3:

• identify issues, questions and problems
• identify gaps in their own knowledge and acquire new knowledge • understand and analyse knowledge and information
• synthesise the state of knowledge on a particular topic
• apply knowledge and understanding to provide evidenced conclusions, including to complex actual or hypothetical problems
• communicate effectively and appropriately verbally and/or non-verbally
• present knowledge or an argument in a way that is comprehensible to others
• work with a range of data, including qualitative and quantitative empirical data
• engage with a range of forms of digital technology to collate, analyse, select and present information
• intellectual independence, including undertaking tasks independently (with appropriate guidance and support), conducting self-directed research and demonstrating critical judgement
• work collaboratively, including undertaking work in a group or team and/or participating in discussions
• reflect on their own progress, including questions of academic integrity
• identify and examine underlying values and ethics within law, culture and society and on a personal level
• understand the importance of well-being, mental health and emotions and their relationship with learning
• make appropriate use of feedback provided to further their intellectual development
• appreciate and engage in contemporary debates relating to law, individuals, culture, and society, for example, around inequality and sustainability.

Law

The range of assessment methods to be employed on this course reflects the range of skills required by the discipline of law and the standards expected. They will include examinations (unseen, part-seen and wholly seen), essays and problem question coursework, oral presentations, advocacy, independent research papers, on-line tests, multiple-choice tests, projects, research exercises and oral assessments. An assessment strategy has been designed to ensure a reasonable spread of contributory summative assessment.

In line with our policy on facilitating formative feedback and feedforward to students, the assessment strategy is designed to provide formative feedback on a piece of contributing summary assessment before another summative component is due to be submitted.

At Level 4, students will have the opportunity to reflect on their learning process and engagement through the completion of a formative assessment in week 7. Module assessment is thus varied and generally does not comprise 100% written examinations/in-class tests, unless this is required by professional bodies.

Students are encouraged to work in teams, as this enables students to learn from each other and to develop important teamwork skills.

Students are able to experience the legal environment through the compulsory work-related learning elements at Level 4 and Level 6 of their course programme, as well as throughout the course by way of extra-curricular activities.

At Level 4, there will be work-related learning assessments as part of the Legal Method module, including the writing of CV’s suitable for the legal sector; and practice in the making of applications for jobs, work experience, internships and mini-pupillages.

At Level 6, students will undertake accredited work-related learning as part of the core Civil Law and Practice module, in conjunction with the pro bono clinic, which will also be available throughout their course at all levels as an extra-curricular activity.

Where possible, through the dedicated placements and careers teams, students will be supported in finding suitable opportunities which can be either be a placement, part-time role or ’live’ project for an external organisation untaken within the university.

The suitability of the opportunities will be assessed by the responsible staff on an individual basis. It is the student’s responsibility to apply for opportunities and engage with the relevant university personnel who will assist them in gaining a suitable role.

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Certificate in Higher Education
All Level 4 cores

Diploma in Higher Education
All Level 4 cores + all Level 5 cores + 2 level 5 options.

Degree without Honours
All Level 4 cores + all Level 5 cores + 30 credits at Level 5 + at least 60 credits from Level 6 modules

Degree with Honours
All Level 4 cores + all Level 5 cores + a further 30 credits at Level 5 + all Level 6 cores + further modules providing a total of 120 credits at Level 6.

Every module on this course has embedded within it reflective learning components and personal development planning relevant to the year of study. It will be encouraged in module handbooks and self-study questions and through assessment methods. You will be directed to reflect on knowledge specific learning, personal and employability skills development. You will be encouraged to engage positively with all feedback opportunities and to reflect and learn, resulting in the developing of further learning strategies.

We also aim to enable you to become reflective practitioners by taking as our model the SRA Learning and Development template and the ESJF Toolkit.

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/resources/continuing-competence/templates/

https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/about/centre-for-teaching-enhancement/education-for-social-justice-framework/

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Many LLB graduates go on to train as a solicitor or a barrister, and a number of students continue to postgraduate study (typically an LLM). In addition to the general intellectual training that they provide, law degrees give a preparation for a range of careers. Law graduates are employable not only in the law, but also in a variety of highly skilled and analytical roles in, for example, business, finance, education, public policy, public service and social services in the UK and internationally.

Throughout the degree, students will have the opportunity to gain relevant experience while studying though legal work placements, mooting and pro bono opportunities. Students studying this course are also eligible to join the Law Mentoring Programme, where students are paired with postgraduate London Met mentors in order to obtain support in relation to personal and professional development, selecting career paths, acquiring work experience and commercial awareness, and writing CVs and covering letters.

As part of the programme, participants are able to attend interactive careers workshops, postgraduate ‘taster’ sessions, and networking events, attended by students, London Met staff, and legal professionals, as well as our annual ‘Get Into Law’ day, where students are given the opportunity to hear from, and to question, a panel of legal professionals about their careers and how to get ahead in the legal profession.

Employability skills are also developed through extracurricular activities including presentations and events organised by the Mansfield Student Law Society and the careers service, together with work experience and networking with other students. There are also a number of Law Clubs which are aimed at experiential learning, such as the Mooting Club and the Legal Employment Club.
Career management is encouraged through reference to the relevant professional bodies, work experience and careers advice.

Guidance and feedback from an individual personal development profile is provided to prepare students for a professional career. Our online vacancy system, Prospects Net illustrates opportunities for part-time, full-time, vacation and voluntary work.

This course is recognised as a Qualifying Law Degree for progression to the Legal Practice Course (solicitors) or the Bar Professional Training Course (barristers).

Legal work placements, mooting and pro bono opportunities enable you to gain relevant experience while studying.

Some of our law graduates have gone into roles as paralegals, law legal advisors, solicitors and compliance and legal analysts at companies such as ATX Capital, Bure Legal, Rock Solicitors and M&K Solicitors.

Employability skills are also developed through activities including presentations and events organised by the Mansfield Law Society and the careers service, ensuring you're well-equipped for the working world.

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

• a minimum of grades BBC in three A levels (or a minimum of 112 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg Advanced Diploma)
• GCSE English at grade C/4 or above, or Higher Diploma (or equivalent)