Business Law Clinic - LAW00110M

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Module summary

The Business Law Clinic module provides a unique learning experience by working with ‘live’ clients who have real problems or issues related to their businesses or charities. In the course of working for your client, you will develop a range of key skills including interviewing, factual analysis, legal research and drafting advice letters, detailed case management, office and administrative abilities and time management. You will also develop an understanding of the distinction between academic law and law in practice.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Summer Semester 2025-26

Module aims

This module gives students the opportunity to participate in real cases and projects for clients across a wide range of different areas of business law including corporate structure, data protection, company policies, AI, intellectual property, dispute resolution, employee issues and commercial premises. Clients may be start-ups or micro-businesses, SMEs or charities who require advice, and possibly representation, or organisations who are seeking more general advice including advice on law reform. All student work will be supervised by the Clinic Solicitor or other suitably qualified members of staff. Students will work on several allocated cases and take part in both individual tasks and collective work as part of a student law firm.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students should be able, in unpredictably complex contexts, to

1. Act autonomously to make strategic decisions and develop appropriate practical guidance for clients,taking responsibility for outcomes with their supervisors.
2. Select and adapt in relation to a range of practical legal and commercial questions appropriate advanced problem-solving strategies, methods and techniques to critically evaluate problems, using and applying specialist legal knowledge and practice-related information and data.
3. Systematically and critically analyse and evaluate incomplete and/or contradictory information and evidence relating to real-life commercial legal problems, identifying gaps and developing effective and advanced methods to explain and support conclusions and recommendations including non-legal options.
4. Organise, evaluate and communicate advanced legal and procedural information and analysis relating to real legal problems presented by a range of business clients, using language and communication skills tailored to specific expert and non-specialist audiences.
5. Apply and develop advanced interpersonal, team and networking skills to strategically enhance team performance.
6. Develop, through exposure to a range of commercial legal scenarios and clients, and apply an advanced awareness of ethical and professional values and codes of conduct, to personal and strategic decisions, actions, responsibilities, outcomes and dilemmas.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	30
Groupwork	10
Open Examination	60

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

Separate assessment components in the form of a simulated legal problem (60%) and a reflective essay (30%) are needed for this module as the MLOs relate to the students being able to apply their legal knowledge and skills to a specific legal problem (MLOs 2 - 4 in particular) but also, separately, to demonstrate an advanced understanding of their own performance individually and within a team (MLO 5) as well as the skills and ethical mindset required of a legal practitioner (MLO6).

A separate group mark for file management (10%) supports supervisors in enforcing professional standards for file management and record-keeping, and reflects MLO6.

Please note that the 1500 word limit for the simulated letter applies only to the advice part of the assessment. Students complete a template letter which demarcates a separate advice section. No word limit applies to the rest of the letter and the students will in part be assessed on the decisions they make about how much additional information they inlcude and in what format. This relates to MLO1.

Students will be required to pass the assessment overall but will be reassessed on those individual components that they failed..

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	30
Groupwork	10
Open Examination	60

Module feedback

Formative feedback provided throughout module orally in supervisory meetings and in writing on drafts of legal advice.

Indicative reading

Reading will be determined largely by nature of client query but will consist predominantly of practitioner texts and legal databases. For wider reading on issues related to clinical legal education students will be directed to the International Journal of Clinical Legal Education (Open Source).

For a basic introduction to clinical legal education and practice see below:

• Student Guide to Clinical Legal Education and Pro Bono, Kevin Kerrigan and Victoria. Murray (eds.), Palgrave Macmillan, 2011
• The Global Clinical Movement: Educating Lawyers for Social Justice, Frank Bloch (ed.), Oxford University Press, 2010
• Clinical Legal Education active learning in your law school, Hugh Brayne, Nigel Duncan and Richard Grimes, Blackstone Press, 1998 (currently out of print but excerpts on the VLE and hard copy available in Clinic)