COURSE IN DEPTH
Year One
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all of the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
Legal Systems
20 credits
The module has been designed to align with aspects of the functioning legal knowledge of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam.
The module aims to provide you with basic knowledge of what the law is, what are its sources and the main characteristics of UK and foreign legal systems.
The module provides foundational knowledge to support your study in Contract Law & Tort Law at Level 4, Criminal Law and Constitutional & Administrative Law at Level 5, Law of the European Union and the optional Comparative Constitutional Models module at Level 6 by providing you with foundational concepts to be developed further in these modules.
Foundations in Professional Skills
20 credits
The module aims to provide you with foundational skills to equip you for your future study in law and also your future personal and career development. You will explore some of the foundational transferable skills that are needed in order to successfully study the law, as well as starting a reflective process preparing you for a future legal or other career.
The module provides foundational knowledge to support your study in Professional Skillsat Level 5 by starting your learning in a range of professional skills such as time management, independent learning and reflection. Since it is vitally important that you begin your career reflection and management early, you will also start to think about your own career development and this will be taken further in Professional Skills at level 5.
Critical Legal Thinking
20 credits
This module aims to furnish you with the key academic and scholarly skills to enable to flourish as a legal scholar and succeed in your studies. The module’s primary goal is to introduce you to the skillset necessary to be part of the community of knowledge and practice which is united by the use of legal thinking and knowledge.
The module provides core legal skills which will support your study of contract and tort law at Level 4, and in all compulsory and optional academic legal modules at Level 5 and Level 6. It will develop your ability to find, interpret, apply and understand the law and its role. It will provide you with the foundations for subsequent modules in which you solve legal problems and/or seek to explain or understand the law.
Law of Tort
20 credits
This is a compulsory module which has been designed to align with aspects of the functioning legal knowledge of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam. The module will introduce theoretical considerations within the Law of Tort and its function in dispute resolution and with a focus upon concepts and principles of the Tort of Negligence.
The module builds on what you have learned in Legal Systems, Foundations of Professional Skills and Critical Thinking during Semester 1 of Level 4. You will consolidate your legal knowledge and you will be introduced to principles of dispute resolution in the context of the Law of Tort. You will identify facts and analyse legal issues, in order to identify solutions to legal problems.
Contract Law
20 credits
This is a compulsory module which aims to provide you with an appreciation of the relevant contractual principles such as offer, acceptance and consideration that are involved when parties enter into legally binding agreements. The module provides foundational knowledge to support your study in Business Law at level 5 as it introduces the context for the formation of commercial transactions which is an important aspect of business law.
This module aligns with the LLB course’s ethos of fostering the development of your autonomy and professional attributes through a rigorous education in law. To achieve this the module content has been designed to improve your knowledge of the substantive law as well as to prioritise the development of key transferrable employability skills, particularly those related to communication, research, commercial awareness and problem-solving.
Consumer & Agency Law
20 credits
The module addresses the regulation of consumer markets and the law, and the policies and institutional framework concerning the regulation of consumer markets. The module aims to balance both the theoretical and commercial aspects of both Consumer and Agency Law by showing how consumer law sets out to define and protect a consumer and the legal significance of being an agent. As a threshold idea you will be enabled to see that it attempts to re-balance the market in favour of the individual consumer. You will also see how fundamental Agency Law is to nearly every transaction that people undertake.
Year Two
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all of the following CORE modules (totalling 100 credits):
Land Law & Property Practice
20 credits
The module aims to provide you with an understanding of the legal principles and rules involved in land law and an introduction to property transactions (also known as conveyancing). You will consider how they operate in the wider social and economic context and the legal ethics of property transactions.
The module builds on the transferable skills that you developed in Professional Skills and Critical Thinking at Level 4 by developing the skills acquired .The module also provides foundational knowledge to support your study in the optional module Advanced Property.
Criminal Law
20 credits
The module aims to provide you with a comprehensive overview of the fundamental concepts and principles of criminal law together with some of the criminal offences against the person and against property and some general defences.
The module builds on what you have learned in Legal Systems and Criminal Justice Process at Level 4.It also provides foundational knowledge to support subsequent Level 5 and 6 Criminal Justice pathway options by the introduction of concepts, processes and ideology.
Professional Skills
20 credits
The module aims to providing you with an opportunity to develop certain transferable skills, principally oral skills, but also written skills and professional ethics. Workshops will take place in dedicated courtroom space to foster a professional approach.
The module builds on what you have already learned in Foundations in Professional Skills at Level 4 by developing your confidence further through the practice of oral and written skills, and by recognition of the need for resilience and emotional intelligence. The module also acts as a preparation for clinical placement modules studied later at Levels 5 and 6 by equipping you with oral, written and ethical awareness.
Constitutional & Administrative Law
20 credits
Building on the knowledge of British political and legal institutions that you acquired in Legal Systems at Level 4, this module will allow you to explore the UK constitutional framework in greater depth, and key constitutional principles that underpin British democracy.
You will develop a critical understanding of those UK constitutional institutions and you will also conduct research into the impact of Brexit on the sovereignty of the UK Parliament and Constitution. Judicial and non-court based mechanisms of control of governmental action, such as judicial review and Parliamentary Ombudsman, will be considered and you will critically assess the case-law that forms the basis of the unwritten British constitution.
Business Law
20 credits
The module will provide you with a comprehensive overview of key legal principles which determine and oversee business structures carrying out economic activities. In addition to addressing the available legal channels for conducting business, the module will also focus on the formation, management and decision-making procedures in private limited companies.
This module builds on knowledge acquired in the Contract Law module at level 4 and in particular, your prior knowledge of the formation of contracts will be relevant to further discussions on commercial arrangements where business organisations are contractual parties.
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
20 credits
The module aims to balance both theoretical and practical elements of ADR, including negotiation, mediation and arbitration. The module provides fundamental knowledge and transferable skills used in the placement modules or clinical placement modules by providing you with workplace and dispute resolution skills.
Through participation and engagement with authentic simulations, the module will enable you to foster the development of your autonomy by working in teams, as well as developing your professional and ethical attributes through experiential learning, all of which are part of our ethos to incorporate a rigorous, liberal research and practice-informed education in law.
Corporate Insolvency
20 credits
The module will focus on the law relating to corporate insolvency law. It addresses the various mechanisms offered to businesses experiencing financial difficulties with a view to either liquidate or rescue the company.
The module focuses on core concepts and principles of corporate insolvency, such as the evolution and rationales of corporate insolvency law; the sources, definitions and objectives of insolvency law; the causes of corporate failure; the creditor/debtor relationship; and the liquidation/rescue dichotomy. It also engages with the issues of cross-border insolvency law and the position of the United Kingdom on the international insolvency scene. This module is of particular relevance for students wishing to understand what tools exist for failing businesses.
Employment Law
20 credits
This module will examine the fast-moving field of employment law and employment-related equality law You will engage with the relevant legal rules, and you will also analyse the wider significance of these rules in reflecting and in shaping society and the economy.
This approach will facilitate a highly imaginative and contextual analysis of the law. The module is both very practical, in that employment law remains a relevant area of legal practice, and, on the other hand, is outward-looking and intensely topical, in that a day barely goes by without a major news story touching upon employment or equality issues and how these are treated in law.
All core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.
Final Year
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 80 credits):
Equity & Trusts
20 credits
The module aims to introduce the concept of equity and how it interacts with the law to create the trust by building on what you have learned in Contract Law and Land Law at Levels 4 and 5 about equitable remedies and property ownership.
This module will develop your ability to undertake independent research while critically analysing the way in which the law applies to real life scenarios. It will do this by incorporating a rich, diverse and inclusive learning environment which draws upon the knowledge which you have already gained and challenging your understanding through group work and interactive materials taking a student-led approach.
Law of the European Union
20 credits
The module aims to familiarise you with the Law of the European Union, combining the study of theoretical and practical elements and the procedural and substantive foundations. The module examines and evaluates the structural organisation of the EU and the way its legal processes operate. This module contextualises the rules that derive from Europe within the legal institutional framework and also the way in which those rules affect business and wider society.
The module builds on what you have learned in Legal Systems at Level 4 and Constitutional & Administrative Law at Level 5 as it relates to the relationship between the structure of the EU and the English legal system, taking into account the UK’s status as a Third Party Country under EU Law.
You will also choose one of the following:
Dissertation
40 credits
The module aims to provide you with an intellectually stimulating and academically rigorous education in the preparation and successful completion of a dissertation. The module will explore some of the key aspects involved in the preparation of a dissertation which will be approached through a critical examination of the current law relevant to the chosen topic and through an emphasis on how the subject of the dissertation operates in context.
American Legal Practice*
40 credits
American Legal Practice (ALP) is an optional module. To be eligible for this module you must average a 2:1 across Level 4 and Level 5.
ALP prepares and facilitates you to apply for an internship in law a legal organisation in the United States (US), developing your legal systems knowledge and legal practice skill-set, and supporting you to create a high quality CV and Cover Letter as part of your career planning.
*Students wishing to study this module are subject to academic requirements specified by the Module Team
United Nations: Law & Practice
40 credits
This module will provide you with critical knowledge of international humanitarian law, and international human rights law. It presents an overview of the Charter of the United Nations and engages with the International Bill of Rights and associated international legislation.
The module provides a simulated crisis and humanitarian disaster wherein you will engage in a Model United Nations’ Security Council. The crisis issues include: the necessity for a sanctions regime to stop the human rights violations of--genocide, torture, executions, famine, mass casualty medicine and the spread of disease, closure of schools, and border controls. To help solve the crisis, you will participate in the MUN through: (a) providing a UNSC speech; (b) engage in an alliance building activity with fellow member states, and; (c) draft a UNSC Resolution. The module will provide a critical examination of the historical and political backgrounds of the legal architecture of the UN, and how it works in practice.
Law in Practice
40 credits
Selection for the module is through application and interview.
The module aims to enhance your existing problem-solving skills, and provide you with opportunities to develop your ethical awareness and transferable employability skills through casework either in our Law Clinic, or on a pro bono placement (e.g. with Citizens Advice), in private practice, or in a clinical arbitration setting.
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete at least 40 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules.:
Competition Law
20 credits
This module will examine how businesses interact in the market and the laws that govern market manipulations. The module will enable you to consider commercial behaviour and what happens when businesses violate competition laws in the United Kingdom (UK). You will study legal regulation and theory relating to the UK economy.
Corporate Crime & UK Tax Law
20 credits
This is an optional module offered as part of the LLB in International Business Law pathway. It considers the nature of corporate crime in the UK with specific focus on tax avoidance and evasion practices which may amount to crimes under UK law.
The module seeks to develop a critical understanding of the socio-economic impact of corporate tax avoidance and evasion by considering different theories on the nature of harm caused (e.g. profit maximisation and shareholder duty; corporate citizenship; public interest and expenditure). Methods of attributing corporate criminal liability under UK law are analysed, along with practices that amount to tax avoidance and evasion and which may constitute crimes. Reference is made to UK statutes and case law, and case studies are used to provide insight into tax avoidance and evasion practices.
Intellectual Property Law
20 credits
The module will provide a general overview of the ways in which a person’s ideas, inventions, business reputation and creations can be protected both nationally and internationally. Intellectual property can be defined as those products of the mind to which the law grants the author/creator legal protection and hence the enhanced ability to exploit. You will examine the reasons behind intellectual property laws including a review of copyright, patents and trademarks.
Legal Technology
20 credits
The rapid advancement of technology is disrupting all industries, including the legal sector. Businesses, large and small, are embracing technology as a means to improve their services meeting clients’ needs and satisfaction.
The module aims to give you an insight into the application and operation of technology in different aspects of contemporary legal practice. Employers value digital fluency and technology skills so this module enhances compatible transferable skills.
All core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.
