Law & Legal Practice

Legal Research Memorandum

Required. Write a legal research memo on a specific named legal question: document your research methodology (databases, search terms, jurisdictions), cite primary sources (statutes, cases, regulations), reach a clear conclusion. A qualified lawyer or law academic identifies one source or argument the memo missed — your written analysis of how it affects your conclusion is part of the proof. Legal research methodology precedes case analysis and oral advocacy.

Legal Case Analysis and Reasoning

Required. Analyse a real published case using IRAC or equivalent structured legal reasoning. Cite actual primary sources throughout. A qualified lawyer or law academic presents at least two alternative legal interpretations or weaknesses in your analysis — your written response to each is part of the proof. Case analysis builds on legal research methodology.

Contract Drafting and Critical Review

Elective. Draft or conduct a detailed review of a real contract — employment, service, or partnership. Identify key provisions, flag risks, note missing or poorly drafted clauses. A qualified lawyer identifies at least one risk you missed — your corrective draft with legal rationale is part of the proof.

Moot Court Oral Argument

Elective. Structured oral argument in a moot court or equivalent adversarial setting. Acceptable settings: a formal law school moot, a university law society moot, or a structured oral argument conducted before a qualified lawyer or law academic observer. Law school access is NOT required — the qualified observer is the requirement. You must research both sides of the legal question. Proof is the assessor's written evaluation or a recording with the observer's written attestation.

Legal Essay with Oral Defence

Elective. Write a legal essay (minimum 1,500 words) on a contested legal question with full primary source citation. The essay alone is not sufficient — proof requires a documented oral or written defence where a qualified lawyer or law academic challenges your central argument. Your responses are recorded or documented and submitted alongside the essay. The defence is a required component of this outcome.

Free access to US federal and state statutes, regulations, and case law. The LII is a primary source database for US-jurisdiction legal research memos and case analysis. For non-US students: use your jurisdiction's equivalent (UK Legislation.gov.uk, EUR-Lex for EU law, AustLII for Australian law).

Free access to legal opinions and journals. Use the 'Case law' filter to search by jurisdiction and topic. Particularly useful for finding precedents when building your legal research memo and case analysis. Citable but verify against official reporters where available.

Free PDF of the standard UK legal citation format. The legal research memo and case analysis steps require correct citation of primary legal sources. OSCOLA is widely accepted; US students should use Bluebook (free examples available at law school libraries).