Common factors which may affect access to justice
Court and tribunal personnel
Rights of audience
Types of hearings in courts and tribunals in England and Wales or Sri Lanka, and an introduction to their purpose and function for example:

- Trials
- Plea and Trial Preparation Hearings
- Directions Hearings
- Plea before Venue and Allocation
- Bail applications
- Sentencing
- Appeals
- Determination of costs
- Determination of damages

An introduction to professional regulation and ethical codes:

- the Solicitors Regulation Authority
- Bar Standards Board
- Chartered Institute of Legal Executives
- Common professional ethical dilemmas – conflict of interest; confidentiality; duty to court.
or
- The Supreme Court Rules (Sri Lankan Professional Ethics as set down by the Supreme Court)

This module is assessed through a group-led coursework and an individual short written reflection.

The group coursework requires students to work collaboratively to observe a court hearing or other legal process and to report on what they have observed. Students will identify and explain key aspects of legal practice, including legal hearings, procedures, professional roles, ethical duties, and issues relating to access to justice, applying their observations to their developing understanding of legal practice.

The individual written reflection requires students to reflect on the development of their own knowledge and understanding of legal processes, ethical frameworks, or professional behaviours encountered through the court observation and associated learning activities. This assessment encourages self-reflection and supports students in articulating their learning in a professional and accessible way.

The contact hours for the module will be made up of lectures and group activities each week. The large group lectures will be focused on introducing core knowledge and concepts to students in a holistic way, considering how the different types of hearing in courts and tribunals relate to the litigation process in general, including the ethical frameworks within which legal professionals operate.

Small group activities will take the form of workshops in which students will be actively engaged in the co-construction of knowledge through a range of individual, paired and group tasks. Students will be developing their understanding of the subject knowledge through application to real life scenarios to gain insight into factors that might have an impact on justice in particular situations. They may do this through a range of practical tasks including advising a client and identifying appropriate ethical solutions for practitioners to hypothetical dilemmas. Active learning will be at the heart of the strategy, and students will be asked to feed ideas and information back to the group for discussion.

Students will be recommended to spend time on independent study tasks including preparation for workshops, carrying out recommended reading, and consolidation of lecture and workshop notes. The balance of the independent study hours will be spent on activities related to the assessment, including organising and carrying out a visit or shadowing, and the preparation, writing and editing of the summative assessment task.

1. Identify and explain key aspects of legal practice, including legal hearings, processes, professional roles, and/or ethical duties, and apply this understanding to practice-based situations.

Knowledge and understanding
Application and problem solving

2. Identify and evaluate common issues relating to access to justice in legal practice in collaboration with peers.

Critical reasoning and collaboration

3. Reflect on your knowledge of legal processes, ethical frameworks or professional behaviours and identify areas for improvement and actions to support your development.

Reflection

Legal databases available via the Library

Gillespie A and Weare S, The English Legal System. (9th edn, Oxford University Press 2023)

Herring J, Legal Ethics (3rd edn, Oxford University Press 2023)

Finch E and Fafinski S, Employability Skills for Law Students (Oxford University Press 2014)*

* Although this text is more than five years old, it remains a relevant and authoritative source because it outlines core legal employability competencies such as communication, research, and professionalism. Its conceptual framework continues to underpin contemporary discussions of skills‑based legal education.

Most of the common knowledge surrounding the legal profession stems from TV dramas and films. This module seeks to delve deeper into law in practice. It explores professional ethics, and the people and institutions involved on the ground which facilitate the administration of justice and fairness in our legal system.

This module will help you to better understand what it means to embark on a career in law and it will help you to develop a more settled intention as to your next steps, allowing you to focus on your path into the legal profession or elsewhere.