LLM Legal Practice Course (LLM LPC)

The Derby LLM LPC is highly practical and is both knowledge and skills based. In accordance with the requirements of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the LLM LPC is divided into three stages:

You’ll study and be assessed in:

• Core subjects: business law and practice; litigation (civil and criminal); and property law and practice
• Professional conduct and regulation: covering the conduct of solicitors in their professional practice and the regulation of financial services and solicitors’ accounts
• The skills of writing, drafting, practical legal research, interviewing, advising and advocacy
• Wills and administration of estates

In addition, you’ll study certain aspects of taxation as part of these core subjects.

At this stage, you’ll study and be assessed in three work-based ‘elective’ subjects of your choice. You’ll have the opportunity to concentrate on subjects which are directly relevant to your career aspirations or which are of greatest interest to you.

The range of elective subjects includes:

• Advanced Criminal Litigation
• Acquisitions and Mergers
• Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury
• Commercial Law
• Commercial Litigation
• Commercial Property
• Employment Law
• Family Law and Practice
• Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence
• Private Client (Estate Planning)

Please note we reserve the right to withdraw an option if an insufficient number of students choose that elective.

Independent Study

The Independent Study forms an essential component of the LLM LPC. You will conduct a piece of independently researched work which will be a dissertation or practice-orientated report. This will provide you with an opportunity to engage with a specific area of practice or practice-related problems of your choice to deepen your understanding and enhance your research and employability skills.

Each dissertation will be supervised by an appropriate Independent Studies Supervisor with experience of practice. Each dissertation will be individually negotiated and agreed with the module leader, who will have experience of legal practice, and will be approved and monitored under the following general headings:

• Selection of a suitable topic, identification of potential scope and appropriateness
• Relevant literature search, evidence of thorough approach to reading
• Variety of materials selected as appropriate
• Research methodology, sources of information, time-scale for research
• Gathering relevant and appropriate evidence and critical analysis of data
• Evaluation of evidence against concepts
• Feasible conclusions and recommendations
• Sound findings

Theoretical groundings in research will be provided through access to lecture and online study materials.