Module news
In this section you will find information relating to this module which consists of general news about the module. It will be updated regularly - please refer to this section on a regular basis in order to keep abreast of important developments.
1. 2012 Essay Competition
Please click here for details of an essay competition run by the Bar Council. The essay should identify 'a desirable, practical and useful law reform' (in less than 3000 words). The closing date for the essay competition is 4 October 2012 (at 17.00). Click here for the competition entry form.
Good luck to all entrants!
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March 2012
1. Careers Day – Saturday 30th June 2012
The Open University Law School and The College of Law are hosting a Careers Day on Saturday 30th June 2012 at The College of Law in Birmingham. The day will begin with coffee and registration at 10.30am and finish at approximately 5.00pm.
The day will include sessions relating to a career within the legal profession and other career options, as well as practical sessions on applying for professional courses and training contracts. Please see the attached for full details, the draft timetable and application form.
Please click here for information on and a draft timetable of the Careers Day
Please click here for the Careers Day Application Form
Please note that there is a charge of £25 to attend the day.
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2. National Students Survey 2012
Over the last few weeks eligible Open University students have been invited to take part in the National Student Survey 2012. The survey is your opportunity to give your opinions on what you like about your time at the OU and the modules you are studying, as well as things that you felt could have been improved. If you are asked to respond to the survey please try to do so as all feedback is very helpful to us. You and your answers remain anonymous at all times and your contact details are only used for the purpose of the survey. You can complete the survey online at www.thestudentsurvey.com.
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February 2012
1. Law Module Prize for Best Student
The OU Law School has decided to award prizes on all Law modules.
At the end of this module a prize will be awarded to the student who achieves the highest overall mark for their eTMAs and EMA.
The monetary value is modest as the value of this prize is about being able to add the details of it to your CV. We think this will be of particular importance to the one third of our students who are studying this module to help them in their current career and the other third who are aiming to become lawyers.
We will publish the names of our prize winners on the OU Law School website (subject to consent).
Alena Sliapniova, the happy recipient of the 2011 W301 module prize, will be able to include this information on her CV and refer to it in future interviews. Alena said:
“Since I came to the UK in 2000, I have had an ambition to become a lawyer. However, I was not sure whether I could do it, especially as English is not my first language. I decided to improve my English first, by doing a course at a college, and after five years I felt I was ready to start my Law degree. Due to my life commitments I could not study full-time at a traditional University. My college recommended me the OU. It was tough at first, but my marks were improving every year, and I grew in confidence. Getting distinction last year came as a surprise. This year, I was determined to repeat my last year's success.
I worked consistently hard throughout the year, spending more time than average on my studies and revising regularly. So I was very comfortable with the course material when I started my final revision. My tactics paid off. Also, to succeed at distance learning you need to be self-motivated, self-disciplined, determined and good at working independently, and all OU students have those important qualities.
I am currently volunteering as a generalist advisor at CAB and I am also trying to get a position at a law centre. I think that longer-term opportunities are particularly helpful in developing legal skills. I am also trying to secure a couple of shorter work placements at the public sector organisations, as my ambition is to work in government. I will be starting my LPC at the College of Law in September 2012. I am proud to be a OU graduate. Thank you all the tutors for your support. Thank you OU for this unforgettable experience.”
With best wishes and good luck
The OU Law School
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2. Degree Classification
If you are working towards the LLB (Qualifying Law Degree) and want to work out your potential degree classification, see 'How is my degree classification calculated' for further information.
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3. Commonwealth Legal Education Association
Some of you might be interested to learn that members of the Open University Law School contribute to the work of the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA).
Attached you will see the latest edition of CLEA's Newsletter, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of CLEA. The Newsletter is edited by a member of the Law School.
Download the CLEA newsletter
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4. The Journal of Commonwealth Law and Legal Education
Members of the Law School also peer review and edit 'The Journal of Commonwealth Law and Legal Education' see the latest edition of the journal here:
The Journal of Commonwealth Law and Legal Education.
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5. Kent Critical Law Society Conference – Equality: Are We There Yet?
Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th March 2012
Kent Critical Law Society warmly invites you to attend our two day conference entitled 'Equality: Are we there yet?'
Featuring over 40 speakers discussing issues surrounding and relating to equality, the conference aims to provide a forum for open debate, discussion and criticism of how far equality is achieved (or not) by the law and legal systems of the UK.
Notable speakers include:
Corinna Ferguson (Liberty)
Lord Navnit Dholakia (House of Lords)
Pragna Patel (Southall Black Sisters)
Karon Monaghan QC (Matrix Chambers)
Mark Stephens (Finers Stevens Innocent LLP)
Hicham Yezza (Editor-in-Chief at Ceasefire Magazine)
Ticket Prices:
Students (all universities): £7
Non-Students: £15
On-line payment for tickets will be available shortly, however before then, cheques can be made payable to 'Kent Union' and posted to:
Kent Critical Law Society
Student Activities Centre
Locke Building
University of Kent
Canterbury
CT2 7UG
Please ensure that 'KCLS Conference' is written clearly on the back.
Something for the evening?
Your ticket also guarantees you free entry to our own very own Saturday night social event. Further details to be confirmed.
Need a place to stay?
Kent Critical Law Society will be providing subsidised accommodation in the heart of Canterbury. We have a range of accommodation, from 10-person dormitories to individual rooms which will be available on a first-come-first-served basis to the first 33 students who email conference@kentcls.org
We very much hope you accept our invitation and we hope to see you in March!
Kent Critical Law Society
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6. Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX)
Students who want to enter the legal profession can do so using the ILEX route.
Students who have a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) can undertake the fast-track graduate qualification towards full Graduate Membership of ILEX. For full details please access ILEX website: www.ilex.org.uk.
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7. Plagiarism and why it is cheating
Please click here for further information on Plagiarism
Warning: Plagiarism essay checking sites
There are a number of general websites offering to check essays for plagiarism. These use a variety of checking systems including one called ‘Viper’. You are strongly encouraged not to use these sites, as many contain hidden viruses or are designed to reuse and/or sell all work that has been uploaded to the site, in other essay/homework sites.
As part of the conditions to submit work to such sites, the user is granting permission for their work to be uploaded to other student essays databases. Any student who submits work to such sites will be in breach of the Code of Practice for Student Discipline SD1.9: Encouraging or enabling plagiarism. This is a disciplinary offence for which a penalty may be imposed.
For help with your academic writing and ensuring you avoid plagiarism in your work, please consult the Developing Good Academic Practices site: http://learn.open.ac.uk/site/dgap001 and/or discuss this matter with your tutor.
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8. Legal Practice Course (LPC) Guaranteed Places Scheme
The College of Law guarantees you a place on the LPC* for seven years from the date you complete your LL.B (and obtain a Qualifying Law Degree), through the Open University. The College has centres at Birmingham, Bristol, Chester, Guildford, London, Manchester and York.
How to take up your guaranteed place
The College of Law delivers the LPC in several different modes:
- Accelerated LPC - 7 month full-time
- 1 year full-time
- 18 month part-time - evening
- 18 month part-time - day
- 18 month part-time - weekend
- 2 year part-time - day
- 2 year part-time evening
- 2 year part-time - weekend
- 2 year S-mode
You may apply for any of these versions of the LPC, and the College will guarantee you a place provided you commence a course within seven years of the date of your LL.B graduation.
*Note the College cannot guarantee you a place on the Accelerated LPC – 7 month full-time.
If you complete your LLB in 2012 your degree award will be dated 31 December 2012. You will therefore be guaranteed a place at The College of Law for all course intakes* from 2013 to 2019.
You do not need to wait for your examination results before applying
After you have applied for a mode of study (see below), you will receive an offer from the College: in order to take up your guaranteed place, you must accept this offer and pay the required deposit within the stated deadline.
1 year full-time LPC / Accelerated – 7 month full-time
Applications for the course starting in 2013 open in October 2012. Apply online through the Central Applications Board (CAB) at www.lawcabs.ac.uk, or e-mail lpc@lawcabs.ac.uk for further information. Please note that your guaranteed place will apply regardless of whether you put the College down as your first, second or third choice institution.
Please note that changes to the CAB application process now enable the College to offer places from November 2012 onwards.
All applications for this mode of study must be made through the CAB. If you are putting The College of Law as your only choice on your CAB form, you do not need to provide an academic reference. However, if you are putting other providers, you will need to provide an academic reference. (You can obtain a reference by contacting The Open University Law School. Email: OU-Law@open.ac.uk.)
Note: The Accelerated LPC – 7 month full-time corporate route commences in July 2012 at our London Moorgate centre and in September 2012 at our Bimringham and York centres. See LPC course dates for other start dates.
18-month and 2 year part-time LPC
2 year S-mode (supervised online) LPC
Applications for courses starting in 2013 open in October 2012. Apply online directly to The College of Law. You do not need to provide an academic reference.
Set out below is a table summarising the modes of LPC study which are available at each College centre at the time this note was produced (December 2011). However, please note that the position may change, and we would strongly advise you to check the College website or with the Admissions team (contact details below) before making your application.
| |
1 yr full time |
18 mth p/t
day |
2 yr p/t day |
18 mth p/t
eve |
2 yr p/t eve |
18 mth p/t
w-e |
2 yr
p/t
w-e |
2 yr
S-mode |
Full-time
accelerated
(7 mths) |
| Birmingham |
● |
● |
● |
|
● |
● |
● |
|
Corporate route from Sept 2012 |
| Bristol |
● |
● |
● |
|
|
● |
● |
|
Corporate route from
Jan 2013 |
| Chester |
● |
|
● |
|
|
|
● |
|
|
| Guildford |
● |
● |
● |
|
|
|
● |
|
Commercial
& private route
from Jan 2013 |
London
Bloomsbury |
● |
● |
● |
● |
● |
● |
● |
● |
|
London
Moorgate |
● |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Corporate route from
Jan 2012 |
| Manchester |
● |
● |
|
● |
|
● |
|
● |
Corporate route from
Jan 2013 |
| York |
● |
|
● |
|
|
● |
|
|
Corporate route from Sept 2012 |
Full details of the courses, centres and application procedures are set out in The College of Law’s latest prospectus, which can be obtained from the College website or by phoning the College’s Admissions Department on 0800 289997 or by emailing admissions@lawcol.co.uk
Do please check with the Admissions Department if you are uncertain about your entitlement to a guaranteed place or about any of the application procedures.
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9. The Graham Rushton Award
The Graham Rushton Award is a grant of around £7,000 annually for which blind and partially sighted people can apply.
Further information and details of how to apply
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10. LexisLibrary – copyURL
There have been some recent changes and enhancements for LexisLibrary including.
- The Journals Index now covers over 500 journals, including international titles and reputable legal blogs
- The Results page is being completely redesigned
- An iPhone app for Casesearch is being released
- New full text journal titles are going to be added
Download a PowerPoint presentation outlining these developments
You can also now link directly to individual cases using copyURL. Download instructions
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11. ICLR Annual Lecture - Free student tickets
Tickets are now available for the ICLR 2012 Annual Lecture “Our Lady of the Common Law”. The event will be held at The Law Society in London on Thursday 1st March 2012.
If you would like a free student ticket please request one at http://iclral2012.eventbrite.co.uk/. The ICLR politely ask that you only order a free student ticket if you intend to use it on 1st March 2012.
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12. The Access to Justice Foundation Student Competition 2012
The Foundation and LawWorks are now inviting law students to enter their third annual student essay competition. More details about the competition can be found on this link.
http://www.accesstojusticefoundation.org.uk/downloads/StudentCompetition2012.pdf
The closing date for entries is 28 February
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13. Personalising Westlaw
Westlaw have added the ability for users to customise the way they interact with Westlaw UK and this means that the next time you log in you will see a ‘Log in to My Westlaw UK profile’ box. You can skip this, or click on ‘Create Profile’. When you create a profile you will be sent an email with a password, which you can change. Every time you log into Westlaw you will see this box and can then either log in or skip.
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14. Association of Lawyers for Animal Welfare (ALAW)
Download the ALAW January/February 2012 e-mail bulletin
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