LW237-6-SP-CO:
Clinical Legal Education (Law Placement)
2023/24
Essex Law School
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Monday 15 January 2024
Friday 22 March 2024
15
16 October 2023
Requisites for this module
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You MUST contact the module director before enrolling on this module. The module offers students the opportunity to gain academic credit through critical reflection of law in practice.
Students will undertake a practice-based role in a legal environment. Placements could range from working within the local council or local CAB office to working in a law firm or a company's in-house legal department.
The placement must be agreed with the module director. The module supports practical, intellectual and inter-personal skills and development, facilitates understanding of the cultural, ethical and employment context of law, and integrates learning from work and academic study.
The aims of the module are:
1. To teach law through its application and practice and through critical reflection on those processes
2. To increase the employability of students by developing and enhancing their transferrable and subject-specific knowledge and skills
3. To increase the employability of students by developing and enhancing skills of oral and written communication for specific audiences (including an oral presentation), professionalism, confidentiality, and problem solving in a day-to-day working environment
4. To develop in students a critical understanding of the ethical issues involved in legal work
5. To encourage better understanding of personal and professional development planning, professional ethics, and reflective learning
6. To introduce students to key skills in client interviewing and alternative dispute resolution
7. To afford students the opportunity to gain credit for their work placement and to enrich their legal understanding from undertaking work-based learning in a legal environment.
The student will acquire, develop and apply knowledge and skills relating to:
The practical application of the law
Professional communication
Professional conduct
Personal professional development
Business/commercial awareness
Planning and managing workload
Organisational skills
Working with others
The placement must be in a legal setting and must allow the student to meet a range of learning outcomes. There are few fixed requirements, allowing the nature of the legal experience to be flexible. Placements can be paid or unpaid, but must provide at least 90 hours of work (the equivalent of about 3 weeks full time or c.15 days spread over a lengthier period). One or more placements may be used to accumulate the requisite 90 hours. The student will normally be expected to engage in a wide range of work during the placement in order to provide a rich experience of legal professional employment.
There are five lectures over the Spring term and attendance at lectures is compulsory. There are four 'drop-in' sessions where you will be able to discuss your portfolio, presentation and/or any challenges and opportunities arising in your work-based learning.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Presentation (LW237 Placement) |
|
20% |
| Coursework |
Portfolio (LW237 Placement) |
|
80% |
Additional coursework information
1. Portfolio 80%
2. Oral presentation (c.10 minutes presentation plus 5 minutes of questioning) on an aspect of the placement which relates to the module's aims; the topic is to be agreed with the module director (20%)
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Ms Penelope Brearey-Horne, email: pbrear@essex.ac.uk.
Law Eduction Office, lawschoolug@essex.ac.uk
No
No
No
Travel costs for UK - based unpaid, approved work placements and live projects which are an integral part of a module may be covered by your department. (NB this will usually exclude field trips and site visits). Please check with your module supervisor to ensure that the activity is eligible.
Prof Richard Grimes
University of Edinburgh
Visiting Professor
Available via Moodle
Of 21 hours, 12 (57.1%) hours available to students:
2 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
7 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
Essex Law School
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