Lawyering and Legal Skills

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 6
• Convenor: Jeremy Pilcher
• Assessment: a 1000-word interview plan (20%), an investigation report and short presentation (20%), a 2500-word study log (60%)

The objective of this module is to equip you with both skills and knowledge that are at the core of effectively representing a client. A society expects its justice system and legal professionals to be reliable and trustworthy. A legal system should provide a framework within which people can be secure in the knowledge that their rights will be respected, vindicated and enforced. This is not simply a matter of understanding the content of the law but also how to use and apply it effectively and the processes by which that can be achieved.

You will have the opportunity to build your ability at using a range of legal skills in the context of hypothetical fact scenarios. You will be involved in a variety of skills-based activities through a case study that involves public interest issues, which will provide the basis for you to engage with what it means to be an effective lawyer. Relevant practitioners will be invited to provide you with a good sense of how these skills are used and the implications they have in real-life contexts.

Legal systems are fundamental to the way in which societies and their scarce resources are organised, owned and used by businesses. This module will provide opportunities to critically explore the extent to which legal skills, processes and procedures are able to provide society with the certainty and flexibility sought from the law. This will involve engaging with the way the mediation of this tension by lawyers may lead to social imbalances but also create opportunities for justice.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively in writing
• use effective interviewing techniques to obtain instructions and provide preliminary advice
• undertake effective problem solving of client issues
• use effective techniques when negotiating on a client's behalf
• draft court documents that are effective for their purpose
• use effective techniques to analyse and evaluate mixed issues of law and fact
• develop effective advocacy and mediation skills.

Core reading

• Julian Webb et al., Lawyers' Skills. 21st ed. (Oxford University Press, 2017).

Other indicative reading

• F. Boyle, D. Capps, P. Plowden and C. Sandford, A Practical Guide to Lawyering Skills. 3rd ed. (Cavendish Publishing Limited, 2005).
• N. Duncan and A. Wolfgarten (Eds.) Opinion Writing and Case Preparation. 4th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2016).
• C. Maughan and J. Webb, Lawyering Skills and the Legal Process. 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2005).
• M. Soanes, Conference Skills. 18th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2016).