1.To provide students with the opportunity to study an area of law and justice in depth through experiential and enquiry based learning by assisting a practicing lawyer to provide legal services to members of the public who cannot afford to pay for legal advice and who do not qualify for legal aid.

2.To provide students with the opportunity to engage with their own personal, professional and academic development through reflection, collaborative working, research and self-directed learning.

(LO1) At the end of the module you will have demonstrated an ability to research the law and procedure in order to provide advice or other legal assistance to their client.

(LO2) At the end of the module you will have demonstrated an ability to write a letter of advice to a client or to write another legal document to advance their case, such as a letter of representation to the Home Office based on research undertaken.

(LO3) At the end of the module you will have demonstrated an ability to critically analyse client cases that you have worked on, taking a theoretical approach to evaluating an aspect of access to justice that is relevant to the client cases and to reflect critically on how you have developed your understanding of law, procedure and policy through your casework and experiential learning.

(LO4) At the end of the module you will have demonstrated an ability to reflect on your personal, academic and professional development.

(LO5) At the end of the module you will have demonstrated your ability to maintain case files in accordance with the Law Clinic Office Manual and SRA Handbook and Code of Conduct.

(S1) Research management developing a research strategy, project planning and delivery, risk management, formulating questions, selecting literature, using primary/secondary/diverse sources, collecting & using data, applying research methods, applying ethics

(S2) Literacy application of literacy, ability to produce clear, structured written work and oral literacy - including listening and questioning

(S3) Problem solving/ critical thinking/ creativity analysing facts and situations and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions.

(S4) Team (group) working respecting others, co-operating, negotiating / persuading, awareness of interdependence with others

(S5) Self-management readiness to accept responsibility (i.e. leadership), flexibility, resilience, self-starting, initiative, integrity, willingness to take risks, appropriate assertiveness, time management, readiness to improve own performance based on feedback/reflective learning

(S6) Communication, listening and questioning respecting others, contributing to discussions, influencing, presentations

(S7) Information literacy online, finding, interpreting, evaluating, managing and sharing information

Legal content of the course will vary according to client problem and advice needs. Currently student law firms either work on immigration, education or family law cases, but this may vary depending on client needs and supervisor expertise. Topics covered in workshops will include, professional ethics and conduct, funding legal cases, access to justice, practical legal research, reflective writing, interviewing skills, legal drafting, case file management, case analysis. Students will be expected to do preparation work for workshops and will be given clear guidance on VITAL on a week by week basis of what reading they are expected to do. Student will also be expected to research legal problems, prepare for interviews, attend client interviews, draft letters and other documents, manage files in accordance with Law Clinic Guidelines and to conduct independent research on access to justice relevant to the casework done in the Law Clinic.

Clinical Legal Skills is a final year optional module based in the Liverpool Law Clinic, an in-house legal practice within the School of Law and Social Justice. Learning on the module is experiential: Students work in small groups or “firms” of 6 students and there is an emphasis on collaborative learning and problem solving throughout the module.
Student learning takes place through working in the Liverpool Law Clinic with student firms assisting in-house and external solicitors and barristers to provide legal services to members of the general public. Casework includes working to strict deadlines. The Law Clinic operates during office hours 8 am to 5.30pm and for reasons of client confidentiality, students are only permitted to work on their client case in the Law Clinic. Remote working on case files is prohibited.
There are practical workshops and lectures which will cover skills.. Students will discuss the cases that they are working on, so that they whole group can learn from the legal and professional issues encountered and the legal advice provided. Workshops will cover areas including researching legal problems, letter drafting, client interviewing, access to justice, reflective practice and law and procedure relevant to client cases. In addition to weekly workshops each firm has a weekly 1 hour case supervision meeting to receive feedback on practical case work

Teaching Method 1 - Lecture
Description: 5 lectures of two hour's duration
Lectures are interactive and students are expected to spend approx. 2 hours preparing for each lecture.

Teaching Method 2 - Small Group Learning
Description: 2 hour workshops
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Workshops are practical and student led covering skills, reflection and access to justice. Students will be set regular reading and preparation for workshops. Students will be expected to spend approx. two hours preparing for each workshop.

Teaching Met hod 3 - Case Based Learning
Description: Case Supervision Meetings
Attendance Recorded: Yes
1 hour a week for 10 weeks of term for each student “firm” (6 students in a firm). The purpose of case supervision meetings is to provide guidance and feedback on casework, for example reviewing draft letters, research findings and file management. Formative assessment will also take place in case supervision meetings. The hours spent on preparation for supervision meetings will vary from week to week, depending on the cases. Case-based learning includes research, case analysis, interview planning, attending a client interview, drafting, responding to feedback and re-drafting. Over the semester students are expected to spend 70 hours on casework