Graduate Legal Studies

This module will help develop your understanding of the professional context within which legal services are delivered and the evolving role and professional identity of those working within it. This will enable you to start to plan your career path and identify the professional behaviours and soft skills such as creativity and adaptability that are increasingly required in practice.

It will introduce you to the digital and business skills required in professional practice and thus help you develop a professional mindset, enhancing your employability and capacity to be a successful legal professional.

You will study the courts system of England and Wales and core areas which could include: sources of law including case law and primary legislation, statutory interpretation, core institutions of the state and how they interrelate, separation of powers and the rule of law.

You will study core principles of contract law which could include: formation of a contract, parties to a contract, contract terms, vitiating factors, termination, remedies, causation and remoteness, dispute resolution. 

You will study core principles of tort law which could include: negligence, defences, principles of vicarious liability, occupiers’ liability, product liability, and nuisance. 

You will study core principles of Land Law which could include: Registered and unregistered land, freehold and leasehold estates, and legal and equitable interests in land, landlord and tenant, and co-ownership. 

You will study core principles of Criminal Law which could include: criminal liability including actus reus and mens rea, specific and general defences, and participation, for example. 

You will study the core areas of public law and administrative law, which could include: judicial review, legitimacy, the Human Rights Act 1998 & the European Convention on Human Rights, and the relationship of EU law to the UK.

You will study core principles which could include: express and implied trusts, the fiduciary relationship, trustees’ duties, powers and liability, and equitable remedies.

You will study core concepts which could include: starting a new business through the vehicle of a company, partnership, LLP or as a sole trader, the management of a business and company decision making to ensure compliance with statutory and other legal requirements, the interests, rights, obligations and powers of stakeholders in a business and dispute resolution. 

After undergoing a structured Introduction to Business Skills for Lawyers, you will undertake a project in an area dealing with the operation or infrastructure of a legal business or the digital or ethical realm within which it operates, further developing your problem-solving and other essential skills valued by employers. Projects will be student led, independent study.

You will undertake legal research and then apply, evaluate and synthesise the law in your chosen subject area to assist you in developing a valuable legal specialism in an area of legal practice.

This module focuses on preparing students for the external SQE 1 examination, passing which is the first stage of qualification as a solicitor. The full details of the SQE 1 can be accessed here.  
 
It will also be assessed internally. 

The elective provides students with an overview of some of the key legal and commercial issues likely to be encountered as a general commercial lawyer.

This module concentrates on private company share and business acquisitions and disposals.

In this module, you will explore how the professional context within which legal services are delivered has changed as a result of technological developments, and the evolving role, professional identity, and skills required of lawyers in this new landscape.

You’ll engage and evaluate the impact and application of technologies in the provision of legal services and the practice of law. You will explore the possible impacts of these on a range of areas of legal services and organisations, and develop the relevant knowledge and skills to support you in developing as a legal professional able to successfully navigate and thrive in the changing practice of law.

This module covers the formation and termination of employment relationships, the statutory and common law obligations of the parties and remedies for breach.

This module is about legal remedies for resolving disputes on family breakdown to develop skills and knowledge of issues frequently arising within a family law department.

This module focuses on how law interacts with technological innovation, including the legal, ethical, and regulatory challenges introduced and necessitated by technological change. Through a series of current topics, you will explore and analyse the potential and real impacts of technology on society, and the consequent responses required in law and regulation. You will engage with new technologies and innovations, and explore these within the framework of existing laws, and analyse if new laws and legal frameworks are required to deal with the implications of new technology, or whether existing laws can be utilised or reframed. Here you will research and consider specific sectors and areas of legal practice that will be affected by the increase or introduction of new technologies.