Legal Methods and Skills (GDL)

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 6
• Convenor: Professor Daniel Monk
• Tutors: Olivia Hamlyn, Kojo Koram
• Assessment: two 1000-word case commentaries (50% each)

This module introduces you to the study of law and to many of the key legal skills you will need to be successful in it. You will gain essential knowledge about basic legal concepts, the sources of law, and the institutions of the English legal system and the people who work within it. We will also consider the unique features of studying law, the different ways of reading law and asking questions about law.

Indicative module syllabus

• Court Structure and Sources of Law
• Reading Cases
• Statutory Interpretation
• Judges
• Lawyers and Lawyering
• Civil Litigation
• ADR
• Access to Justice and Legal Aid
• Online Justice

By the end of this module, you will have gained:

• complex perspectives which can be used to explore and critique the concept of law
• knowledge of techniques used by lawyers in the reading of legal texts and presentation of a case
• general knowledge of the dimensions of the history of modern law and legal systems
• critical insights into what it means to think like a lawyer
• the ability to read, recognise, interpret and critically assess cases, statutes and scholarly articles
• proficiency across a range of different perspectives from which to critique legal methods and legal system.