Law School
Introduction to Law (LAWD10016)
Unit Handbook 2014 - 2015
Dr. Oliver Quick, Unit Co-Ordinator
Oliver.Quick@bristol.ac.uk
Room 3.62, Wills Memorial Building
Welcome to the Unit
From the moment of conception, the law regulates every aspect of our lives: how we
live and how we die; our relationships; our jobs. It regulates the land we stand on and
the air we breathe. It applies to the vast depths of the ocean and to activities in outer
space. Law is everywhere and it is this thick, pervasive aspect of law that makes it so
fascinating to study.
This unit has three overarching objectives: to give you an introduction to law school
life, particularly to your first year at law school; to give you grounding in the English
Legal System (the nature and sources of law, the doctrine of precedent, justice
systems etc) and to begin your skills training (case analysis, statutory interpretation,
writing essays, problem solving etc). This Unit Handbook explains the unit and details
how you will be taught and assessed.
Aims of the Unit

To provide new law students with an intensive orientation towards their
subject

To provide a firm foundation for other law units by developing an
understanding of the sources of law, statutory interpretation, legal reasoning
and handling precedents

To introduce students to the main features of the English Legal System and its
operation in contemporary society, the role of practitioners, adjudicators and
legal scholars.

To introduce students to the basic legal skills of research, analysis, synthesis
and problem-solving involving the handling of primary materials (case-law
and legislation) as well as providing students with an introduction to study
skills

To provide students with the opportunity to acquire skills in paper-based legal
research and a familiarity with electronic legal research resources

To challenge students to evaluate the role of law in society
Syllabus

Study skills at University: Note-taking; blackboard; critical thinking,
assessment, research, writing; referencing; feedback and avoiding plagiarism

Perspectives on the function of law in society

The sources and forms of law

The criminal and civil justice systems (structure, procedure and remedies)
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
Case analysis and application

The doctrine of precedent and the handling of precedents

Statutory interpretation and application
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

Have a basic understanding of the constraints within which lawyers and judges
reason and make decisions and of competing theoretical approaches to legal
reasoning and adjudication

Demonstrate an understanding and critical assessment of alternative
perspectives on law and society and fundamental social concepts such as
access to justice

Demonstrate an understanding and critical assessment of the social and other
pressures that shape the development of the law, its sources and major
institutions
Skills
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

Identify and find relevant legal sources and materials made available by the
library, both in print and/or electronically

Appreciate how to read a case and be able to pick out its material facts and
ratio, as well as distinguish this from obiter dicta

Apply the rules of precedent and statutory interpretation and basic factual
skills and be able to identify correctly the application of these methods by
others

Assess critically the logical and persuasive strength of judicial and other
reasoning

Construct a logical argument using case law and statute and present it both
verbally and in writing using clear, appropriate English

Organise information in written work and engage in a degree of critical
thinking
Teaching Methods
The ‘Introduction to Law’ unit differs from other units in the Law School in not
following the traditional pattern of one or two lectures per week plus a fortnightly
tutorial. Because the focus in this unit is to give you an intensive orientation towards
the subject of law, the unit will be taught intensively over the latter part of
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introductory week (week 0) and throughout weeks 1 and 2 in a mixture of lectures and
small groups. No other law unit will be taught during this time, though some of the
lectures will act as useful introductions to core legal subjects. This will amount to a
total of 20 fifty-minute lectures, 4 two-hour seminars, 1 library tour, 1 library
workshop and 1 personal tutor meeting. Focused worksheets will be provided for each
seminar, providing all students with an initial programme of reading and study on
their arrival at university.
The focus in this unit is not only on the possession of knowledge about the English
Legal System, but on the acquisition of skills, both legal and from a more general
study skills perspective. Accordingly the unit will be taught by both lectures and twohour seminars. You should find yourself, over the course of the year, coming back to
your Introduction to Law materials and sources as you progress with your legal
studies.
Lectures
The lectures will focus on introducing the main features of the English Legal System
and on introducing you to key study skills. The general purpose of the lectures will be
to provide an organised introduction and overview of material contained in the
syllabus. In general, the lecture will take the form of an oral presentation by various
lecturers. Apart from the pre-arrival reading required for the unit, students are not
required to prepare in advance for lectures BUT they MUST read the essential
materials in order to prepare for the seminars.
Lectures will take place in weeks 0, 1 and 2 of the autumn term. The lecture schedule
is as follows:
Lecture Schedule
Times and venues will be on your welcome week programme for the introductory
sessions in Week 0. Thereafter, times and dates can be found on your personalized
timetable. Please check your online timetable, just in case there have been any
changes to the schedule below:
Title
1
2
Date/Time
Room
Lecturer
09:00-09:50
PHYS
BLDG 1.11
TYNDALL
Joanne
Conaghan, Ken
Oliphant, Gwen
Seabourne, Vijay
Chandy, Oliver
Quick
Thursday 25
September
10:00-10:50
PHYS
BLDG 1.11
TYNDALL
Oliver Quick
A Welcome to the School of Wednesday 24
September
Law
An Introduction to
Introduction to Law
(including Blackboard)
3
3
Introducing the English
Legal System – perceptions
and challenges
Thursday 25
VIC
September 13:00- ROOMS
13:50
G38 AUDI
Martin Partington
4
Study skills: Reading and
understanding cases
Thursday 25
September
14:00-14:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Keith Stanton
5
Study skills: Library
resources
Friday 26
September
11:00-11:50
PHYS
BLDG 1.11
TYNDALL
Mary-Jane Steer
6
The Nature and Sources of
Law
Monday 29
September
10:00-10:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Julian Rivers
7
The Impact of Law on
Society
Monday 29
September
13:00-13:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Martin Partington
8
Statutes and Statutory
Interpretation
Tuesday 30
September
11:00-11:50
PHYS
BLDG 1.11
TYNDALL
Jennifer Collins
9
The Doctrine of Precedent
Tuesday 30
September
16:00-16:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Ardavan
Arzandeh
Wednesday 1
October
12:00-12:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Diggory Bailey
11 Study skills: Critical
thinking, analysis and
synthesis
Thursday 2
October
11:00-11:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Julian Rivers
12 The Civil Justice System
(structure, procedure,
remedies)
Thursday 2
October
12:00-12:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Paula Giliker
13 Exam/Assessment skills:
Thursday 2
Writing essays and problem October
questions
16:00-16:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Harry McVea
Friday 3 October PHYS
13:00-13:50
BLDG 1.11
TYNDALL
Oliver Quick
10 How Policy becomes Law
14 The Criminal Justice
System (structure,
procedure, remedies)
Office of the
Parliamentary
Counsel
4
15 The Administrative Justice
System (structure,
procedure, remedies)
Friday 3 October PHYS
16:00-16:50
BLDG 1.11
TYNDALL
Akis Psygkas
16 Study skills: Research
Monday 6
October
10:00-10:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Paddy Ireland
17 Introduction to European
Law
Monday 6
October
13:00-13:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Phil Syrpis
18 Introduction to International Monday 6
Law
October
16:00-16:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Malcolm Evans
19 Introduction to Contract
Law
Tuesday 7
October
13:00-13:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Harry McVea
20 Feedback and plagiarism
Tuesday 7
October
16:00-16:50
VIC
ROOMS
G38 AUDI
Keith Stanton
21. Guest lecture from Mr Justice Mostyn “The craft of judging” 8 December,
13:00-14:00, venue to be confirmed (see your online timetable).
Lectures are an important part of the unit and experience tells us that those students
who do not attend regularly do not do well in assessments as lectures are designed to
prepare the students for assessments.
All lectures will start punctually on the hour (i.e. at 9am, 10am, 11am etc and will
last for 50 minutes). Students are asked to attend on time out of courtesy to others.
Those arriving late may be excluded or asked not to enter the lecture hall until a
suitable break. If the lecturer allows a student to enter the hall they must sit down in
the first available seat. Mobile phones must be turned off during lectures.
Infringement of this rule may lead to exclusion.
PowerPoint slides and other visual materials may be used. Slides used in lectures will
be available on blackboard after the lecture has taken place.
Seminars
Each student will be expected to attend the seminar group to which they have been
assigned. A record of attendance will be taken. There will be four seminars over ten
5
days in weeks 1 and 2 of the autumn term. Seminars will normally last for 2 hours
with a break of 10-15 minutes.
Seminars will concentrate on the students’ acquisition of legal skills. Students will
therefore be expected to have read the primary and secondary reading materials for
themselves, which will then be discussed in class. Accordingly, the style of teaching
in seminars is known as ‘Socratic’. It follows the style of teaching developed by the
Greek philosopher Socrates who taught, not by simply handing over information, but
by means of dialogue with his students. By asking questions and commenting on the
answers the teacher does not just aim to ensure that the students know and understand
the subject matter of the lesson, s/he also aims to help the students to develop new
ways of thinking and to express their ideas more coherently and persuasively.
Students should not be put off from participating in class discussions for fear of being
criticized. It is only by testing ideas that students will be able to improve their
reasoning and critical skills.
In addition, for the Socratic method to work effectively, it is very important that
students prepare in advance for every class by reading set materials and preparing
answers to the set questions and exercises. Reading lists and questions will be found
in the seminar worksheets which will be posted up on our blackboard site. We have
attempted to set manageable amounts of reading and to ensure that there is adequate
access to the materials (both online and in the library). However, because materials
will be in heavy demand due to the intensive nature of the unit (four seminars over ten
days in weeks 1 and 2 of term), students are urged to access the bulk of the seminar
materials online via electronic legal databases (which will be explained in week 0). As
with all university learning, it is students’ responsibility to ensure that they are aware
of what is coming up and that they allow adequate time for preparation. If any student
cannot for some good reason prepare for a class, they should inform their tutor
beforehand, rather than try to evade discovery in the seminar.
Schedule of Seminars:
Seminar 1 - week 1, Mon-Tues/Weds
Seminar 2 - week 1, Weds-Fri
Seminar 3 - week 2, Mon-Tues/Weds
Seminar 4 - week 2, Weds-Fri
Library Workshop from Week 1
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Teaching personnel
Unit Co-ordinator:
Dr Oliver Quick
3.62 Wills Memorial Building
Office Hours: please email for an appointment
Email: Oliver.Quick@bristol.ac.uk
Seminars:
Most full-time academic members of staff who are not on leave will undertake
seminar teaching on the unit.
Lecturers:
As listed above in the schedule of lectures.
Personal tutors:
Personal tutors will put notices outside their office door or send emails arranging
times for students to see them at some point during the first two and a half weeks of
term.
Books
Because the unit is built around three elements: English Legal System; Legal Method
and Study Skills, there is no one textbook which covers all the substantive topics and
skills covered in the unit. However, the text which we recommend to get you started
is:
Martin Partington, Introduction to the English Legal System: 2014-2015 published by
Oxford University Press (2014).
Students have found it convenient in the past to purchase this book, although there are
copies of it in the library. The publisher is offering this book at a discounted cost
of £20.99 if purchased from the Blackwell University Bookshop in Bristol. To
order, please call the store on 0117 927 6602 or email them at
bristol@blackwell.co.uk The bookshop will send it with free postage and packaging
to addresses in the UK. Alternatively, do feel free to search for it elsewhere (e.g.
online from Amazon).
There is a short video interview with the author of this book (who will also be
lecturing on the unit) here:
http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198704225.do
Prior to your arrival at University you will find it helpful to read Chapters 1, 2,
3, 5, 6 and 8 of the Partington book.
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Some students from previous years have also benefitted from using a legal method
and skills book alongside the Partington book. This is by no means essential but
would be helpful not only for this unit but also as a useful resource for the rest of your
first year. If you decide to purchase one, we recommend the following:
James Holland and Julian Webb, Learning Legal Rules (8th ed) published by Oxford
University Press (2013)
Blackwell bookshop in Bristol will offer a discounted price of £41 should you
order both books together. Order details as above.
Students will be referred to a number of different sources (including book chapters –
available online) as seminar preparation.
Assessment
The assessment for this unit requires students to demonstrate an ability to identify
relevant legal issues and/or principles, to develop arguments in relation to those issues
or principles, and to reach a considered and well-structured application of issues and
principles. The assessment for this unit will be a single two part examination of 1.5
hours duration to be held in week 6. The first part will involve drawing up an essay
question outline and the second part will be about identification of legal issues in a
problem question format.
The unit is pass/fail only and students (but for Erasmus students) will not be given a
grade for their work. Re-sit opportunities will be offered in the summer assessment
period.
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Additional Recommended Sources to introduce you to the subject of Law 1
PLEASE VIEW THE VIDEO INTERVIEWS ON THE INTRO TO LAW BB
PAGE WITH VARIOUS LEGAL PROFESSIONALS
Books (non-fiction)










Gary Slapper: How the Law Works
Gary Slapper: The English Legal System
Glanville Williams: Learning the Law
Finch and Fafinski: Legal Skills
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/socio-legal/empirical/docs/inquiry_report.pdf
An excellent report on how law works and can be studied from real life.
A.P. Herbert: Uncommon Law
Karl Llewellyn, The Bramble Bush
Helena Kennedy: Eve Was Framed
Helena Kennedy, Just Law.
Books (Fiction)










Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
Dickens, Bleak House
John Galt, The Entail
Anthony Trollope, Phineas Redux
Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment
Franz Kafka, The Trial
Berthold Brecht, The Caucasian White Circle
Reginald Rose, Twelve Angry Men
Books by John Grisham
Books by John Mortimer (Rumpole series).
TV and Radio shows:



There are lots of films on Law (both documentary and fiction)
TV Programmes: This Life, Law and Order, Borgen, Silk and Suits, Crown Court
Radio 4's Law in Action programme
Also,
Read as widely as possible newspapers and magazines, twitter, blogs and law
news websites as these will feed into your imagination about law and legal issues.
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Many of these are sources University of Bristol law school academics found helpful in their early
days of learning the law so we hope you enjoy these as well!
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