Law and French (LLB)

You will primarily be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials and seminars, although French modules will also offer the opportunity for workshops and language classes.

Lectures take a range of forms but generally provide an overview of the key concepts and frameworks for a topic, equipping you to carry out independent research for the seminars and to develop your own ideas. You will also have access to recorded versions of Law lectures.

In tutorials and seminars you’ll have the opportunity to discuss particular 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’ll 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.

Most of our modules consist of a mixture of lectures, seminars and language classes that enable you to develop communication and analytical skills, and to develop critical thinking in a supportive environment.

Seminars provide an opportunity for you to engage critically with key ideas and explore the ideas outlined in lectures in a small group environment, usually consisting of around 15 students and the seminar leader (a member of the teaching team). Seminars may take various formats, including plenary group discussion, small group work and student-led presentations.

Language classes are taught in groups to enhance confidence and active learning. A varied timetable includes oral expression, aural comprehension and writing skills, which are taught in small groups to enhance confidence and active learning. These vital communication skills are practiced and developed through regular classwork exercises and written work. Our teaching methods allow you to engage with a range of language-learning technologies. Materials including textbooks, videos, films, novels, audio files and websites are supported by online resources that compliment classroom activities and promote and enable independent learning. Class materials include a range from literary and historical to contemporary journalistic texts, providing a broad insight into language and culture.

Independent study forms a key part of your learning, and our independent learning portfolios have been developed to provide you with online resources to support your independent language learning.

How will I be supported?

The Law and French Programme (LLB) is team-taught, with the programme as a whole overseen by the Programme Director. Students are supported by a number of different staff, some focussing on academic performance in a particular area and some looking at learning and progress more holistically.

All academic staff have designated hours where they are available to meet with students to offer advice and feedback on the subjects that they teach.

You will be allocated a personal tutor, who will meet with you regularly to reflect on your progress and development across your studies, and to think about how to build on your achievements and advance further. The personal tutor can also guide students who are experiencing difficulties towards appropriate support.

An extensive programme of careers lectures and workshops is delivered within the School and a 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 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.

A skills development week each semester allows for guided study and a chance to catch up on assessed work, reading and revision. These weeks are also used by staff to visit students on their year abroad. 

Our undergraduate Professional Services Team provides academic and student support for all programmes. The team are located in a dedicated ‘student hub’ within the school and provide information and guidance in response to any queries you may have. We also have a dedicated Student Support Administrative Officer within the School, who can provide you with the necessary advice and guidance in a supportive, caring and confidential environment.

We pride ourselves on the level of engagement we have with our student body, giving you the opportunity to express your opinions and be partners in School decision-making where possible. We survey students regularly to make sure we are always working in your best interests.   

Beyond the School, the University offers a range of services including the Careers Service, the Counselling Service, the Disability and Dyslexia Service, the Student Support Service, the Academic Skills Development Centre and excellent libraries and resource centres.

How will I be assessed?

The focus of assessment in the School of Law and Politics and the School of Modern Languages is in supporting you to develop your ideas, skills and competencies, with the feedback you receive feeding forward into future work. We use traditional assessment formats (such as essays, class tests, written solutions to legal problems, exams and dissertation) as well as more innovative forms of assessment, (such as blogs, participation in radio shows, video and audio projects, interviews, portfolios, and so forth). Assessments include formative assessments (which enable you to develop your skills and do not count towards your final degree classification) and summative assessments (which do count towards your final classification).

As part of your skills training in year 1, you will be supported in understanding how the assessments work, what is expected of you, how you will be marked and how to make the most of your feedback.

Examinations take place in January or in the summer.  Students will be given general feedback in relation to examinations following the examination period and you will be able to discuss your overall performance with your personal tutor as part of the monitored student self-assessment scheme.

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 completed during your independent study time.

Feedback and assessment is a priority area, with a dedicated assessment and feedback lead tasked with ensuring you have the best experience. Feedback on your 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.

What skills will I practise and develop?

Knowledge & Understanding:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• Describe the main principles, values, institutions and processes of the legal systems in England and Wales and the European Union
• Where appropriate, demonstrate awareness of the impact of relevant international law on the laws of England and Wales and outline alternative models of legal regulation with reference to the laws of other jurisdictions
• Describe and explain the main principles, values and rules of the primary areas of substantive law of the legal system of England and Wales
• Explain the relationship between an existing body of law and relevant political, economic, social and cultural issues and outline how these factors contribute to contemporary legal debates
• Explain the political, legal, social and/or philosophical context of the evolution of a particular body of law
• Give an explanation of the meaning of complex legislation and identify its doctrinal implications
• Provide a summary of a complex body of case law and identify the legal principles arising from it
• Explain the meaning and significance of a range of primary and secondary legal materials, academic research and commentary
• Describe the main institutional structures and processes of the French legal system and explain and analyse the key principles, rules and values underpinning French law with appropriate reference to key primary and secondary sources in the original language.
• With reference to appropriate primary and secondary materials in the original language, explain and illustrate the legal, political, historical and philosophical influences that have shaped the evolution of the areas of French law studied
• Write and speak grammatically and appropriately in French using a range of formal, informal and specialist registers and translate accurately into and from the target language
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key aspects of the social and cultural context of the country or countries associated with the target language.

Intellectual Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

1. Apply knowledge of legal rules and principles to propose solutions to doctrinal problems of varying complexity
2. Evaluate the doctrinal coherence and significance of a body of statutes and/or case law
3. Evaluate the success and/or shortcomings of an area of law in relation to policy perspectives and wider social/contextual issues and identify areas where law reform might be needed
4. Evaluate law reform proposals in a way which demonstrates sound understanding of current legal problems, sensitivity to law’s social, cultural and political context and awareness of international legal obligations
5. Relate a piece of academic writing or research to a contemporary legal debate and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses with reference to other supportive materials
6. Use official publications, academic research and commentaries presented in a variety of formats in the construction of an argument relevant to a contemporary legal debate
7. Discriminate between primary and secondary materials, with reference to their authority, relevance and objectivity
8. Through independent research, identify appropriate primary and secondary legal sources, research and commentary and apply them in written work or an oral presentation
9. read primary and secondary legal materials in the original French, identify the key statements of law and/or legal argument relevant to the issue under consideration
10. Design and deliver an extended piece of research and writing in French.
11. Demonstrate an awareness of legal, cultural and linguistic differences between jurisdictions and countries.

Professional Practical Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• Locate a variety of primary and secondary materials in both paper and electronic format in both English and French
• Identify and access up-to-date legislation and case law on a legal issue in both English and French
• Use appropriate databases to find academic research and commentary of relevance to a topic for the purposes of supplementing reading lists and taught materials in both English and  French
• Produce written work, in a variety of formats, which is accurately informed, coherently written and structured, and appropriately referenced in accordance with OSCOLA guidance
• Give a clear, confident and informed oral presentation or oral response to a question on a taught or independently researched legal topic in a manner that would be appropriate for a professional environment.
• With support, propose appropriate discussion questions for a tutorial or seminar group study of a topic and manage a short group discussion of those questions
• Demonstrate written, oral and aural skills sufficient to communicate fluently and appropriately on a variety of topics of a formal, informal and academic nature in the target language.

Transferable/Key Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• Effectively communicate information and ideas, both orally and in writing, at a level which demonstrates accurate and clear use of the English French languages
• Prepare and give an oral presentation and provide clear and accurate supporting materials in an appropriate format.
• Take responsibility for structuring, managing and reporting, orally and/or in writing, a small research project
• Contribute constructively and reliably to a group task
• Effectively manage time and conduct self-directed study in the context of a structured timetable, prescribed learning activities and task deadlines
• Reflect on their own learning, identify gaps in their knowledge and plan strategies for closing those gaps
• Make use of both oral and written feedback, including feedback obtained through tutor assessment, self- assessment and peer assessment
• Use subject specific electronic sources and Virtual Learning Environments

• Use electronic methods for research and demonstrate general competency in IT skills when preparing and presenting written material

Other information

Cardiff Law School Pro Bono Unit – Law in the Real World

We are committed to extending extracurricular opportunities to our students, helping to enhance their CVs in a competitive graduate job market. We work in partnership with lawyers, charities and voluntary organisations to give students the opportunity to practise and extend their skills.

Pro Bono is the term that lawyers use for free legal advice. We run several Pro Bono schemes and provide advice to members of the community on different legal issues.

Innocence Project

Our Innocence Project works with long-term prisoners maintaining their innocence of serious crimes such as murder, serious assault and sexual offences. The aim is to prevent miscarriages of justice in which an individual could have been wrongfully convicted.

In 2014, ours was the first Innocence Project in the UK to have a conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Students work under the supervision of qualified barristers, investigating the cases and submitting them to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

NHS Continuing Healthcare Scheme

Under this scheme, we address the issue of NHS Continuing Health Care funding. This is an increasing problem nationwide which affects a vulnerable section of the community, predominantly those suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Such individuals may find themselves in nursing homes, paying their fees privately, where arguably they are entitled to have the cost of their care met in full by the NHS.

Students are trained in this niche area of law, and are allocated work in 'firms' of six students. They are supervised by legal professionals from Hugh James solicitors in Cardiff, and work involves client interviews, letter writing, and research.

Welsh Rugby Union Project

Working in partnership with the Welsh Rugby Union, students provide a free legal advice service to Welsh rugby clubs below the Principality Premiership. Legal issues faced by clubs include employment of staff, maintenance of the grounds, health and safety and much more.

The scheme is supported and underwritten by Hugh James solicitors, and Civitas barristers' chambers. Students also work collaboratively to produce information leaflets covering legal issues that clubs face.

Hafal Appropriate Adult Scheme

Hafal is Wales' leading mental health charity. Hafal train students to work as 'Appropriate Adults', to support vulnerable adults being interviewed at a police station having been arrested. Once trained, students volunteer to be on a rota to be called into police stations across South Wales.

The Personal Support Unit

The Personal Support Unit (PSU) supports litigants in person, witnesses, victims, their family members and supporters. It provides free, confidential, independent, non-legal support to clients, to help them through the court process. The PSU trains students to assist litigants at the Civil Justice Centre in Cardiff.