Legal Practice

Course overview

The award of LLM is available to those students who attend research seminars, delivered over four days, and satisfactorily complete a dissertation of 22,000 words (maximum) on an area of legal practice of the student's choice (subject to approval and appropriate supervisory capacity within Anglia Law School). Anglia Law School currently employs a number of full-time academic staff with legal practice experience and accordingly is able to offer supervision in a variety of research fields for those wishing to undertake the LLM Legal Practice.

In the research seminars, students will develop their research skills across a range of appropriate techniques, such as bibliographical and electronic legal research skills, empirical techniques including surveys, questionnaires and interviews, how to critically read research, how to formulate research questions, qualitative and quantitative approaches to research, and writing and presenting research findings. In addition to these sessions, students may also seek guidance as part of the normal supervision process.

Students are allocated a supervisor to assist them in developing their research proposal/hypothesis, discuss their methodology (including the possible need for ethics clearance) and act as a mentor throughout. The student will be expected to make regular reports to their supervisor on the progress of their work. The supervisory process will take place through a combination of face-to-face, telephone and email discussion.

Additional course information

This LLM enables students to demonstrate the following skills, each of which is associated with academic Mastery:

• The ability to raise significant and meaningful questions in relation to their area of specialism.
• A depth of knowledge that may involve working at the current limits of understanding.
• Critical understanding of method and its relationship to knowledge.
• Awareness of, and ability to develop solutions to, ethical issues and dilemmas likely to arise in their research and/or their professional practice.
• The ability to draw insightful and justifiable conclusions from information which may be complex or contradictory.
• The capacity to expand, refine or redefine existing knowledge; to develop new approaches and contribute to the development of best practice in their professional sphere.
• The ability to communicate in writing in a clear and cogent manner, consistent with the requirements of academic writing.
• The ability to undertake wide-ranging, independent research, using those methodologies appropriate to the chosen project.
• The capacity to evaluate their work from the perspective of an autonomous, reflective learner.

Assessment

Completion of a 22,000-word dissertation. Students undertaking the LLM by full-time study will normally submit their dissertation within approximately six months of enrolment.