Legal Methods and Skills G (11751.1)

Please note these are the 2023 details for this unit
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Legal Methods and Skills G
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods Online
 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


Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

Must be enrolled in SCC001 Graduate Certificate in Legal Studies, SCG002 Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies or SCM002 Juris Doctor

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.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2024 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 1 15 January 2024 Online Ms Anya Aidman
2024 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 3 06 May 2024 Online Ms Tess Rooney
2024 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 5 26 August 2024 Online Ms Anya Aidman
Not available

Required texts

David Hamer et al, Laying Down the Law (Lexis Nexis, 12th ed, 2023) 
Kath Hall and Claire Macken, Legislation and Statutory Interpretation (LexisNexis, 5th ed, 2020) 

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

TEXT ABOVE NEEDS TO BE CHANGED TO THE NEW ASSESSMENT POLICY (EFFECTIVE 1 APRIL 2024) HOWEVER I AM UNABLE TO EDIT IT, HAVE MADE THE EDITS BELOW

Where possible, all assessment items will be submitted online via the teaching site in UCLearn. The first page of each assessment item should include the following information: Student ID, Assessment Name and Word Count (if applicable). Students should note that names are not to be included on any assessment tasks/submissions. Only Student ID numbers should be included (as per the Assessment Policy and Assessment Procedures).

Important new information has been added that will not fit here. The text will appear in the draft (print preview) and final publications.

Extensions

Students can apply for an extension to the submission due date for an assessment item due to extenuating, evidenced circumstances (specific details are found in the Assessment Procedures). An extension must be applied for before the due date. Documentary evidence (e.g. medical certificate) will be expected for an extension to be granted, however this will not guarantee that the application will be successful. The Unit Convener or relevant Program Director will decide whether to grant an extension and the length of the extension.

An Assignment Extension form is available from the Student Forms page.

Late submission of assignments without an approved extension will result in a penalty of 10% reduced marks from the total available, per calendar day late. An assignment submitted over 3 days late will not be accepted.

Academic integrity

Students have a responsibility to uphold University standards on ethical scholarship. Good scholarship involves building on the work of others and use of others' work must be acknowledged with proper attribution made. Cheating, plagiarism, and falsification of data are dishonest practices that contravene academic values. Refer to the University's Student Charter for more information.

To enhance understanding of academic integrity, all students are expected to complete the Academic Integrity Module (AIM) at least once during their course of study. You can access this module within UCLearn (Canvas) through the 'Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism' link in the Study Help site.

Use of Text-Matching Software

The University of Canberra uses text-matching software to help students and staff reduce plagiarism and improve understanding of academic integrity. The software matches submitted text in student assignments against material from various sources: the internet, published books and journals, and previously submitted student texts.

Learner engagement

In order to get the most out of your 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. 

Participation requirements

None 

Required IT skills

Work placement, internships or practicums

None 

Additional information

None