Legal Methods and Skills G (11751.1)

Please note these are the 2025 details for this unit
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Legal Methods and Skills G
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods Online real-time
 UC - Canberra, Online
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Business, Government & Law
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
Canberra Law School Graduate Level Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905)
Band 5 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
The unit enhances students' skills as budding legal practitioners. We cover how to find the law, including its various sources; legal problem solving; statutory interpretation; advocacy; the arguing of law; and writing legal materials.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Gain and apply core legal writing skills, including in relation to writing legal documents;
2. Use and interpret primary sources of law, such as common law and statute, as well as secondary sources, such as journal articles and books; and
3. Develop skills in relation to legal problem solving and statutory interpretation.



Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload


Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

11251 Foundations of Law and Justice

Equivalent units

11431 Foundations of Law and Justice G, 6778 Legal Methods and Skills G

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2025 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 1 20 January 2025 Online real-time Ms Katherine Lindsay
2025 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 3 12 May 2025 Online real-time Dr Alison McLennan
2025 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 5 01 September 2025 Online real-time Ms Katherine Lindsay
2026 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 1 19 January 2026 Online real-time Ms Katherine Lindsay
2026 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 3 11 May 2026 Online real-time Dr Alison McLennan
2026 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 5 31 August 2026 Online real-time Prof Maree Sainsbury
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

David Hamer, Judith Jones, Patrick O'Mara, Belinda Smith and Tristan Taylor,  Laying Down the Law  (LexisNexis, 12th ed, 2023)
Kath Hall and Claire Macken,  Legislation and Statutory Interpretation  (LexisNexis, 6th ed, 2024)

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Extensions
Extension requests should be submitted via the Assignment Extension Form Drop Box on Canvas (not via email).
Please note that requests will only be granted if they comply with the UC Assessment Policy and Assessment Procedures. In particular, all requests must be made within the required timeframe and be accompanied by the required documentation.

Artificial Intelligence
Students are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in assessments for this unit, except for Studiosity Writing Feedback Plus.
GenAI may only be used in authorised ways when completing assessments at UC. This means that GenAI can only be used for an assessment when:
1. the Unit Convener has authorised GenAI use for that assessment 
2. the student uses GenAI in the way that the assessment instructions allow
3. the student fully acknowledges their use of GenAI, with proper citations, references and a GenAI Acknowledgement Statement in line with the assessment instructions.

Where the assessment instructions do not specifically state that GenAI may be used and how, then its use is not permitted for that assessment. Students must still provide the required GenAI Acknowledgement Statement to indicate whether GenAI has or has not been used in the preparation of the assessment. If unsure, students should seek advice from the Unit Convener.

The GenAI for Students Library Guide provides further information, including how to reference GenAI.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

For postgraduate studies, it is strongly recommended that you plan your time commitments, actively engage in class discussion (in the virtual tutorials, discussion modules and class activities) and work with your peers as part of your study. The amount of time you will need to spend on study in this unit will depend on a number of factors including your prior knowledge, learning skill level and learning style. Nevertheless, in planning your time committments, you should note that this is an intensive unit conducted over 7 weeks, and it is expected that an average student load is 15-20 hours per week. 
 

Expectations of students include:

  • You are responsible for managing your academic progress and working to achieve the unit learning outcomes.
  • You are expected to be familiar with information relevant to your units and course as per the information made available to you. This includes the Unit Outline, Canvas site and assignment instructions.
  • You have a responsibility to participate actively and positively in the teaching-learning process and comply with the requirements of your course.
  • You are required to treat all University staff and fellow students with respect and courtesy in all interactions and communications.

See Student Charter for more information.

Participation requirements

None 

Required IT skills

Work placement, internships or practicums

None 

Additional information

None

Next step

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