Law (LLB)

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials and seminars.

Lectures take a range of forms but generally provide a broad structure for each subject, introduce key concepts, and convey relevant up-to-date information. You will also have access to recorded versions of lectures.

In tutorials and seminars you will have the opportunity to discuss particular legal themes or topics, to consolidate and get feedback on your individual learning and to develop skills in oral presentation. Communication skills are developed in tutorials, where you will make individual contributions to group study, for example by summarising a particular judgment or article for the group.

You will practise and develop legal, intellectual and presentational skills by participating in diverse learning activities, such as solving legal problems, small-group discussions, debates, moots, oral presentations, independent research tasks and written assignments.  You will also enhance your team-working skills.

How will I be supported?

You will be allocated a personal tutor who will help you reflect on your performance on the course and advise you on study techniques, module selection and career planning (in conjunction with the University’s Career Service). They will also provide a first point of contact if you experience any difficulties.

An extensive programme of careers lectures and workshops is delivered within the School and an in-house Law Careers Consultant is available.

A range of staff are available to provide further support, including an academic support tutor, a pro-bono scheme co-ordinator and specialist law librarians. A member of academic staff acts as a designated Disability and Diversity Officer and ensures that reasonable adjustments are made for students with disabilities.

All modules within the Law programme make extensive use of the University’s Virtual Learning Environment, Learning Central, where you can access discussion forums and find course materials including recordings of lectures, links to related materials, multiple-choice tests, past exam papers and examples of student work from previous years.

How will I be assessed?

Modules are assessed through examination or coursework or by a combination of the two. The format of coursework varies encompassing standard essays, extended essays, portfolios of work produced across a whole academic year and written solutions to legal problems. Examinations typically take place during the summer.  Coursework is submitted on designated dates during the academic year. 

During the academic year, you will complete various pieces of work which do not count towards your final module mark but are designed to help you to achieve the learning outcomes for your modules and to prepare for your examinations and coursework. This work might be written or oral and may be submitted formally to a tutor or presented during tutorials or seminars. This work will normally be done during your independent study time. Feedback on this work is given frequently and in a wide variety of formats and is intended to help you identify strengths and weaknesses in your learning, as well as give indications of how you might improve in your performance in examinations and coursework.

We’ll provide you with frequent feedback on your work. This comes in a variety of formats including oral feedback during tutorials, personalised feedback on written work, feedback lectures, generic written feedback and feedback on tutorial performance.

What skills will I practise and develop?

A law degree develops your ability to organise facts and ideas in a systematic way, identifying relevant information and evaluating these to formulate advice for a client or a legal argument.

You will also:

• enhance your ability to argue in an objective, reasoned, professional manner, with due regard to authority and acceptable citation methods
• develop your ability to undertake independent learning and effectively manage your time
• enhance your team-working skills, contributing constructively and reliably
• develop your communication skills , both orally and in writing
• learn how to use subject specific electronic sources, databases and the Virtual Learning Environment to gather evidence and to research legal questions.

Other information

We offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities, some unique to Cardiff University, which equip our students with a competitive edge over other law graduates.

Mooting

Our students are encouraged to enter annual mooting competitions. These competitions give you an opportunity to present legal issues before a judge, against an opposing counsel.

Mooting is a great skill to be able to add to your CV and provides an invaluable experience of public speaking in a formal court setting.

Client interviewing competition

Our students are encouraged to take part in an annual client interviewing competition, which has Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC as its President. You will gain crucial experience interviewing in a simulated setting and will be assessed against specific criteria that include interpersonal skills and your ability to handle legal problems.