LLM in Legal Practice

Learning and assessment

This course consists of two modules.

The Advanced Legal Research Methods (ALRM) module provides the research, and writing skills necessary to engage with legal research at an advanced level. This includes:

• research design
• searching for relevant sources and materials
• legal referencing
• citation skills.

At the end of the module, you will submit a formal 2,000-word research proposal.

The Dissertation module consists of researching and writing a dissertation of up to 12,000 words. The subject of the dissertation will be an agreed area of legal practice set out in the research project.

Please note: Our courses are reviewed regularly, so details may vary from those shown here.

Study modules

Compulsory modules

• Advanced Legal Research Methods
  You’ll hone the research and writing skills needed to carry out legal research at an advanced level. These include research design, searching for relevant sources and materials, legal referencing and citation skills. You’ll think about the process of writing, as well as the end product, including presenting findings to different audiences. You’ll consider the distinctive features of legal research and approaches and research methodologies you might use. The work you do in this module gives you excellent preparation for your dissertation.

Final project

• Dissertation
  Your dissertation of up to 12,000 words is an extended, supervised piece of work on a particular area of legal practice set out in the research project, which you’ll agree on in consultation with your tutors. It’s your opportunity to gain knowledge and insight through sustained research and to demonstrate your ability to explore and present legal arguments.

Learning and teaching

We use a variety of teaching methods to provide a high-quality learning experience. These include:

• directed reading
• narrated PowerPoints
• eSeminars
• video consultations with your supervisor.

Assessment

Advanced Legal Research Methods (ALRM) module

You will be expected to engage with set reading and/or prepare certain aspects of the seminars, for example:

• writing a preliminary case analysis
• outlining an interesting research idea
• preparing a 3-minute oral presentation.

Dissertation module

You will be required to engage with relevant primary and secondary materials using suitable research skills. You will receive feedback from your supervisor on your evolving research. This will be through supervision sessions and written comments on draft chapters.

You will have an academic supervisor who is a member of the Law School. We endeavour to match student research interests with supervisor expertise. So we ask you to give a brief initial indication of your research interest in the personal statement section of your application. You can meet/communicate with your supervisor either in Oxford or via email or Skype.

Research

Staff from the School of Law carry out advanced research at the international level across a range of topics relevant to legal practice both in the UK and internationally. This includes:

• commissioned work for state bodies
• publications in leading journals in law and cognate disciplines
• scholarly monographs.

We have particular strengths in the law of the small jurisdictions with a common law inheritance, through the Small Jurisdictions Service, and in international law.

Recent student topics have included:

• The regulation of banking in the UK – to split or not to split?
• How can Europe achieve a unified system for the protection of patents?
• Does the established nature of the Church of England provide a model for other faith-based jurisdictions?
• How compatible are the powers in the Digital Economy Act 2010 relating to disconnection of internet access for repeat copyright infringers with European Union Law and human rights law?

This programme is aimed primarily at those who are already in legal practice, although in some cases students are permitted to begin the course alongside the start of their legal career. As such, students are drawn from and continue to progress in, a wide range of legal professions, including English solicitors and barristers, Pakistani advocates, Bahamian counsel and advocates, and Seychellian attorneys-at-law, as well as university lecturers in legal practice.

Some students run their own legal practice, in partnership, or are fee-earners, but we have also welcomed in-house counsel working, for instance, in international finance. As a part-time course requiring reflection on professional practice, our normal expectation is that applicants will be in full-time professional employment during the course.