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MODULE OPTION CHOICES - YEAR 3 – 2017/18

What is this booklet for?

This document contains module outlines for modules which we plan to make available for you to study in 2017-18

Please note that there are various factors which affect the availability of option modules. These include:

1. the level of student interest – there is a minimum number required for a module to run

2. resource / capacity issues which may affect how many students can take a module, even if it does run

3. decisions taken by other departments in relation to module offerings

What do I need to do now?

Please have a look through the menu of possible options and consider which ones are of particular interest to you. Please think about whether the modes of teaching and assessments will suit you as well as whether the subject matter of the module is of interest to you and whether the module will fit in with your future plans.

You will have an opportunity to speak to some module leaders and to students who have taken the Law modules to find out more about them at the Options Fair at the end of week 5.

In week 8, you will be invited by email to complete your module choices online, full instructions will be provided at the time.

Please think very carefully about which options you would like to take and how these might fit into your plans for the future. The growth of student numbers in YLS, and the subsequent increased complexity of module allocation and timetabling, means that students who are allocated their first choice of option modules will not be permitted to change these without an exceptionally good reason.

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List of Options for Year 3

Term 1 (Final assessed item usually to be submitted in term 2, week 1)

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Advanced PBL Case Study

Art Law

Clinic

Company Law

Competition Law

Crime and Punishment (This module was previously called Philosophy of Criminal Law)

Criminal Trial: Evidence, Proof and Persuasion

Mental Health and Mental Capacity Law

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Term 2 (Final assessed item usually to be submitted in term 3, week 1)

Anti-Social Behaviour Law & Policy

Clinic

Corporate Social Responsibility

Financial Crime

Intellectual Property

Law and History

Mass Atrocities: Prevention, Protection and Punishment

The Business of Trusts

Tort Law and the Voluntary Sector

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TERM 1 Option Modules

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Option Module: ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Module Leader: Stuart Bell

Formal Learning Activities: Plenary Sessions and Practical Workshops and Simulations

Procedural Requirements: Participation in all learning activities

Student Numbers: Limited to 16 Law students

Module Content and Delivery:Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) develops ideas established in Legal Skills across Year 1 and 2 by looking in far greater depth at the theory and practice of the many ways legal disputes and transactions are handled, managed or resolved. The module provides further opportunities to develop your practical skills of conflict resolution and reflect upon your experiences. You will be given different contexts within which to apply the skills of negotiation and creative problem solving. These include negotiation, mediation and arbitration. The module is grounded within the framework of legal disputes but raises interdisciplinary questions related to the social and cultural contexts of disputes; economics and game theory (e.g. the red-blue game!); and social and cognitive psychology (e.g. conflict resolution styles and bargaining behaviour). On a substantive level we will be re-examining the basics of negotiation theory before going on to look at bilateral and multilateral mediation. Why study ADR? On a pragmatic level there is a clear link to legal practice. You may be interested in litigation or transactional work but there are also links to family and employment law, international business, governmental work or even more specific careers in arbitration and mediation. Perhaps more importantly there is a very strong argument that the study and practice of ADR processes has a ‘generic or transferable’ value as a way of developing your understanding of finding practical solutions to the conflicts and disputes which form part of everyday life.

Module Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module, students should be able to demonstrate:

a depth of knowledge and critical understanding of selected aspects of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

an ability to use and apply that knowledge and critical understanding to relevant realistic examples of dispute resolution

the development and use of relevant skills typically used in ADR an ability to reflect upon and critically evaluate aspects of ADR and the development

of your skills

Assessment Method: 10% Participation; 90% Learning Portfolio comprising 3,500 word (max) commentary and reflection + supporting evidence on any TWO of the practical exercises or other aspect of ADR skillsPreliminary Reading:Hazel Genn, Judging Civil Justice (Cambridge, CUP, 2010) Chapter 3 (see a summary of the arguments of the whole book at www.lawcentres.org.uk/uploads/Judging_Civil_Justice.doc)

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Option Module: ADVANCED PBL CASE STUDY

Module Leader: Scott Slorach

Formal Learning Activities: 1 plenary; 8 workshops; 1 conference



Module Content and Delivery:The module will use a complex corporate commercial case study to enable students to develop PBL skills, particularly those of analysis and research, to a higher level. In doing so, students will develop holistic knowledge of interconnected areas of corporate and commercial law, and client issues, as they arise from the case study. Students will also develop written and presentation skills in producing a compact, high quality body of work, including the ability to review, edit and improve initial drafts based on peer and tutor feedback. The module will feature both collaborative (i.e., as a law firm) and independent learning. As part of the latter, following an in-depth analysis of the case study, students can choose the specific forms of written output, issues and perspectives on which they will be assessed against the module learning outcomes (MLOs).

Assessment outputs could include a combination of any of: Advice memo or e-mail Opinion Essay Article Position paper Client presentation Case analysis Annotated contract or other legal document

Students are also free to suggest other outputs that will meet the MLOs.

The legal issues developed through the case study will include aspects of:• Commercial law• Commercial contracts• Intellectual Property• Public companies and disclosure requirements• Insider dealing• CSR and ethics• Employment• UK and EU regulation

Module Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module, students should be able to:

Analyse a complex corporate commercial scenario Identify a range of legal, contractual, practical and ethical issues arising

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Explain a range of corporate and commercial law concepts applicable to those issues Prepare a detailed, critical legal and practical analysis Evaluate legal and practical issues from a number of chosen perspectives Write a number of varied pieces of work informed by detailed research Present a draft of a piece of work to a conference of peers Review peers' developing work and provide feedback, whilst receiving and acting on

feedback on their own work Edit, improve and prepare finalised versions of pieces of written work

Assessment Method: Detailed case study analysis: 30%; Portfolio of chosen outputs: 70%

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Option Module: ART LAW (Joint Module with History of Art)

Module Leaders: Emma Waring (Law) & Michael White (HoA)

Formal Learning Activities: 8 x 2 hour plenary sessions (also class field trip) and 6 x 1 hour discussion group


Student Numbers: Limited to 24 overall, 12 Law and 12 History of Art

Module Content and Delivery:Art law focuses on the interaction of numerous legal disciplines in protecting, regulating and facilitating the creation, use and marketing of art. The focus of the module will be on works of fine art and/or the visual arts with some references to cultural property law.

During the module we will draw selectively on aspects of various legal areas including: property, contract, commercial, intellectual property and international law. Because the trade in art and antiquities is a global one, the module makes reference to both domestic legal principles as well as to American and international rules laid down by bodies such as UNESCO. Broadly speaking, the module will consider a variety of legal issues raised by the global trade in art, such as: regulation of artistic expression; moral rights and droit de suite; auctions; authenticity; questions of title and forgeries; cultural property; recovery of stolen art; museum acquisitions and disposals; and the repatriation of cultural objects.

The module will frequently consider contemporary art controversies as a means of examining these broader issues. Guest speakers will also be invited where relevant. Requirements for all students include: regular attendance at plenary sessions; active participation in class discussions based on pre-assigned reading; a newspaper editorial on an assigned topic to be debated in class; and coursework. A class field trip will be arranged (e.g. in 2015-2016 we went to London to the Royal Academy’s Ai Weiwei retrospective, the British Museum, Christie’s auction house, and had speakers talk to us about the Art Loss Register, deaccessioning from museums and repatriation of human remains from museum collections).

Module Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module, students should be able to:1. Identify the main ways in which law shapes and constrains the global trade in art. 2. Explain some of the institutions and procedures involved in trading in art in the UK with an

appreciation of the relevant international conventions and the international context of enforcement.

3. Analyse strategies and challenges posed by the protection of art.4. Reflect on the functions and objectives of art law and cultural property law.5. Synthesise and critically analyse a range of sources related to art law to develop further

knowledge, construct arguments, draw conclusions supported by appropriate authority, and evaluate the merits of alternative arguments

Assessment Method: 15% participation in class discussions; 15% newspaper editorial; 15% class presentation; 55% coursework.

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Option Module: CLINIC

Module Leader: Sara Boulton

The York Law School (YLS) Clinic (the Clinic) provides pro bono legal services. Students have the opportunity to take part in hands-on legal work, as a structured part of their study, for the benefit of the wider community.

Formal Learning Activities: A small number of introductory plenary sessions, attendance at clinical sessions as necessary

Other Requirements: Professional behaviour requirement, including attendance. Attendance at the module induction day is compulsory and you will not be permitted to take the module if you miss this session. Student Numbers: Limited to 30 Law students

Module Content and Delivery:This module gives students the opportunity to participate in, or shadow, ‘real’ cases for clients across a wide range of different areas of law including small business problems, social security, housing and employment. Clients may be individuals who require advice, or organisations who are seeking more general advice including advice on law reform. All student work will be closely supervised by the Clinic Solicitor or other suitably qualified members of staff. Students will work on 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 the module, students should be able:

1. through a critical analysis of at least one aspect of substantive law, encountered during the module, to demonstrate a clear understanding of the legal principles involved, as evidenced by documented research and subsequent advice given.

2. with reference to a range of clinic-related experiences, to identify the fundamental principles underpinning the skills that lawyers need to have to effectively carry out their work.

3. in complying with applicable standards of professional conduct and client-care requirements, to show a sound appreciation of the constraints on and expectations of a university-based legal service provider.

4. with reference to one aspect of law, procedure or other regulatory matter encountered during the module, to critique the relevant merits or shortcomings of that provision including, if relevant, a critical reflection on how that law, procedure or regulatory provision might be improved.

Assessment Method:MLO 1: An advice letter to a ‘client’, based on a given scenario, supported by fully documented legal research (40% of the overall module weighting). The assessment task is to be submitted in week one of the term following study of the module.

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MLO 2: An oral examination (viva) based the student’s understanding of the nature and extent of the skills necessary for a lawyer to effectively carry out his or her work (30%). MLO 3: A group mark (for the work of each student law firm) based on the extent to which all of the cases files handled by that firm meet professional practice requirements (10%). The group mark will be determined early in the term following study of the module.MLO 4: A critique (up to 1,500 words) of the relative merits or shortcomings of one aspect of the law, procedure of other regulatory provision arising in the context of work carried out in the Clinic (20%). The critique is to be submitted by week 1 of the term following study of the module.

Preliminary Reading:

A 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)

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Option Module: COMPANY LAW

Module Leader: Lorraine Talbot

Formal Learning Activities: Weekly plenaries and seminars

Other Requirements: Participation in all learning activities

Student Numbers: No set limit

Module Content and Delivery: In detail this module aims to:

- Provide you with a depth of knowledge and understanding of the key issues in company law including the:

o legal nature of the company

o legal implications of separate corporate personality including limited liability

o legal duties and authority of directors

o legal protection and claims of shareholders.

- Critically examine themes such as, the origins and nature of ‘corporate personality’; the separation of control from ownership; issues of diversity in the board of directors; the value of shareholder power and limited liability; the ideas and values which underpin legal doctrines

- Help you to analyse and critically evaluate the legal basis of the control exercised by a company’s board of directors over a company’s management and affairs, the legal limitations and constraints on this control

- Give you an opportunity to apply the core principles of company law through problem questions and the simulation of various aspects of company operations including the processes of setting up a company

- Help you to develop a critical understanding of the normative aspects of company law – by asking questions about the purpose of company law and whether it should or does meet wider objectives in the social and public interest

The course will be delivered through 8 plenaries covering the following topics Corporate capitalism: framework and overview The rise of investor capitalism and core company law doctrines Separate corporate personality and exceptions to this rule Parent companies, tort liabilities and involuntary creditors Directors and directors’ duties Company contracts and directors’ authority Shares, shareholders and theories of shareholder entitlement in the company

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Minority Protections and the role of shareholder as company monitor

Module Learning Outcomes:

When you finish this module you should be able to:MLO 1

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the core legal principles which apply to the legal structure and management of companies and the ideas which underpin these principles.

MLO 2 Demonstrate an ability to analyse those principles critically and apply that

knowledge and understanding to discursive questions MLO 3

Demonstrate a basic ability to engage in common legal tasks that arise in the formation, and running of a company

MLO 4 Demonstrate an ability to analyse and evaluate key normative issues in Company

Law

Assessment Method: Open Examination 100% (take-home essay / problem questions)

Essential Reading:LE Talbot Critical Company Law (second edition Routledge 2016)

Additional Preliminary Reading:LE Talbot Great Debates in Company Law and Governance (Palgrave 2014)J.Lowry and A. Reisberg Pettet’s Company Law: Company Law & Corporate Finance (4th edition, Pearson, 2012) Paul L. Davies and Sarah Worthington Gower and Davies Principles of Modern Company Law, 9th edition, (Sweet & Maxwell 2012) (an excellent text but very detailed)Talbot, LE Progressive Corporate Governance for the 21st Century (Routledge 2012)

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Option Module: COMPETITION LAW

Module Leader: Kathryn Wright

Formal Learning Activities: Workshops and plenary sessions


Student Numbers: Limited to 30 Law Students

Module Content and Delivery:Competition law sets the ground rules for relationships between firms in the market, limiting anticompetitive agreements and abuse of market power. The module will examine the substantive UK and EU law on agreements between firms and abuse of dominance, the institutions and procedures involved in enforcement, and remedies for breach of the rules. We will consider recent and forthcoming reforms, including measures to encourage private enforcement. The module will place the existing law in context by examining the purpose of competition policy, its economic underpinnings, and its place in the global economy. We will investigate the substantive law and institutions and procedures of enforcement through problems and seminar discussion. You could apply your knowledge, for example, by assessing the impact of competition law on companies’ contracts and business dealings, advising companies on their procedural rights in measures taken by competition authorities, or advising competition authorities on the evidence they might draw upon to prove anticompetitive behaviour.

Module Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module, students should be able to:

1) Identify types of firm behaviour and market circumstances which engage competition law and policy, and apply EU and UK competition law governing this behaviour

2) Explain the institutions and procedures involved in EU and UK competition law enforcement, with an appreciation of the international context of enforcement

3) Analyse the relationship between public and private enforcement4) Reflect on the functions and objectives of competition policy, with some awareness

of the economic principles underlying it 5) Synthesise and critically analyse a range of sources related to competition law to

develop further knowledge, construct arguments, draw conclusions supported by appropriate authority, and evaluate the merits of alternative arguments

Assessment Method: Two items of coursework based on PBL and seminar tasks, 50% each

Preliminary Reading:R Whish & D Bailey Competition Law (8th edition, OUP, 2015)

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Option Module: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (This module was previously called Philosophy of Criminal Law)

Module Leader: Matt Matravers

Formal Learning Activities: Weekly 1 hour lecture in Weeks 2-9; weekly 1.5 hour seminar in Weeks 2-9


Student Numbers: No set limit

Module Content and Delivery:The module will explore the normative foundations of our criminal law and some issues that arise within it. Topics to be discussed include criminalization (‘what ought to be criminalized and why?’); the justification of punishment; responsibility, excuse and justification in the criminal law (‘are psychopaths responsible for their acts?’, ‘should poor social background or different culture be a defence?’, ‘what counts as self-defence?’ and so on). In looking at these topics we will be discussing the ways in which citizens relate to one another and to the state.

Module Learning Outcomes:To develop in students an appreciation of the nature of law; to develop students’ analytical skills; to develop students’ ability to relate abstract issues in contemporary political philosophy to concrete problems in the criminal law.

Assessment Method: 100% Coursework - one essay of up to 3,000 words to be submitted in Week 1 of Term 2

Preliminary Reading:Lucia Zedner (2004), Criminal Justice (Oxford University Press).Katz, Moore and Morse (eds.) (1999), Foundations of Criminal Law (Foundation Press)

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Option Module: CRIMINAL TRIAL: EVIDENCE, PROOF & PERSUASION

Module Leaders: Patrick Gallimore

Formal Learning Activities: Weekly 3 hour workshop

Other Requirements: Participation in all learning activities including taking advocacy roles in a trial simulation

Students Numbers: Limited to 24 Law students

Module Content and Delivery:The purpose of this module is to enable students to explore how criminal trials work so that their role within criminal justice can be more fully understood. Through participation in trial simulations and in performing advocacy roles, students will explore how evidence and proof works in disputed criminal cases and the philosophical concepts that underpin proof in the adversarial trial context and, through this, how we might evaluate the normative claims about truth, fairness, rights and legitimacy as well as developing their own analytical and advocacy practices and techniques.

Module Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module students will have a fuller understanding of the rules, principles and policies operating in relation to key aspects of the criminal trial process and to identify and critically to evaluate arguments about criminal justice. Students will also have developed a fuller understanding of their own advocacy and analytical skills and of how to develop them further and the part that advocacy plays in contested criminal disputes.

Assessment Method:Portfolio to include case analysis, critical evaluation of the criminal trial process, and reflection on the student’s personal development as a potential criminal advocate Preliminary Reading:Duff A, Farmer L, et al, ‘Introduction: Towards a Normative Theory of the Criminal Trial’ in Duff et al, Trial on Trial, vol 1 (Hart 2004)Morley, I, Devil’s Advocate (3rd edn Sweet & Maxwell)Roberts & Zuckerman, Criminal Evidence (2nd edn OUP)Ashworth & Redmayne, Criminal Process (4th edn OUP)

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Option Module: MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTCAL CAPACITY LAW

Module Leaders: Isra Black & Ailbhe O’Loughlin

Formal Learning Activities: 10 plenaries (1 hour) and 8 seminars (2 hours)


Students Numbers: no set limit

Why study Mental Health and Mental Capacity Law?This module examines the legal regimes that apply to individuals whose capacity to make decisions for themselves may be in question, and those who retain decision-making capacity but who have a recognised mental disorder. We will consider cases involving anorexic individuals who continue to refuse food in spite of the risks to their life and health, individuals who refuse life-prolonging treatment, and offenders suffering from personality disorders whose behaviour presents a risk to the public. We will consider contested concepts such as rationality, mental disorder, and dangerousness, and how these concepts operate in law. We will also examine the possible tensions between individual autonomy, well-being (prudential value), and the rights of others. Throughout the course, you will develop a critical insight into the theoretical and policy justifications offered for the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Mental Health Act 1983 regimes respectively. If you have an interest in discussing the extent to which individuals with unconventional preferences and beliefs are and ought to be subject to the law’s ‘protection’, this module is for you!

Module Content and Delivery:The module aims to provide students with theoretically informed insights into key elements of mental health and mental capacity law in England and Wales. This is pursued through the critical examination of the legal regimes contained in the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 respectively, in both civil and criminal contexts. Students will enrich their understanding of the law through exploration of essential concepts, such as mental capacity, best interests, dangerousness, and appropriate treatment, as well as their philosophical and/or political underpinnings and justifications. Students will apply their knowledge to a number of areas of current controversy, such as the detention and treatment of offenders with personality disorder, and treatment refusals by individuals with anorexia nervosa.

Module Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module, students will demonstrate:

1. knowledge and understanding of mental health and mental capacity law in both civil and criminal contexts, as well as key concepts that underpin these legal regimes and their philosophical and/or political justifications;

2. the ability to locate ambiguities, uncertainties, and controversies within mental health and mental capacity law and to synthesise and critically evaluate relevant doctrinal, philosophical and social commentary on these issues.

3. the ability to formulate and present a reasoned choice between alternative proposals for reforming mental health and mental capacity law through critical judgement of the merits of particular arguments.

4. the ability to apply knowledge and understanding of mental health and mental capacity law to offer evidenced conclusions, addressing complex actual and hypothetical problems that affect individuals subject to these legal regimes;

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5. the ability to conduct self-directed research on one area of mental health and/or mental capacity law, including accurate identification of research questions, retrieval, selection, and evaluation of appropriate source materials;

6. the ability to communicate both orally and in writing, as evidenced by participation in plenaries and seminars and submission of formative and summative assessments respectively.

Assessment Method: Formative: 800 word essay plan. Summative: 3,000 word essay (100%)

Preliminary Reading:Bartlett, P. and Sandland, R. (2014) Mental Health Law: Policy and Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Peay, J. (2011) Mental Health and Crime. Abingdon: Routledge.Jackson, E. (2016) Medical Law: Text, Cases and Materials. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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TERM 2 Option Modules

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Option Module: ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR LAW AND POLICY (Joint module with Sociology and Social Policy)

Module Leader: Caroline Hunter (Law)

Formal Learning Activities: 9 x 3-hour lecture/seminars


Students Numbers: No set limit

Module Content and Delivery:A variety of teaching methods will be used, including lectures, student discussion and student presentations. The presentations will occur during the second half of the term.

The aim of this module is to provide students with a sociologically informed understanding of why a concern with anti-social behaviour has emerged in late twentieth century western societies. It will focus on the particular forms of legal and other controls which have developed in the UK. Students will engage critically with the empirical evidence as to the effectiveness of the different forms of control.

Module Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate:

A critical understanding of the changes and continuities in contemporary society which have led to current policy concerns with anti-social behaviour

Knowledge of a number of the different legal actions which are used to control anti-social behaviour and other policy responses to the issue and the critiques which have been made of these

An ability to use published empirical evidence to support arguments about the use and effectiveness of different interventions to deal with anti-social behaviour

The ability to construct arguments orally and in writing supported by appropriate evidence which critically analyse anti-social behaviour law and policy

Assessment Method: Presentation in seminar and reflection on presentation (25%); 2,500 word essay (75%)

Preliminary Reading:Squires P. (ed) (2008) ASBO Nation: the criminalisation of nuisance

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Option Module: CLINIC

Module Leader: Sara Boulton

The York Law School (YLS) Clinic (the Clinic) provides pro bono legal services. Students have the opportunity to take part in hands-on legal work, as a structured part of their study, for the benefit of the wider community.

Formal Learning Activities: A small number of introductory plenary sessions, attendance at clinical sessions as necessary

Other Requirements: Professional behaviour requirement, including attendance. Attendance at the module induction day is compulsory and you will not be permitted to take the module if you miss this session.


Module Content and Delivery:This module gives students the opportunity to participate in, or shadow, ‘real’ cases for clients across a wide range of different areas of law including small business problems, social security, housing and employment. Clients may be individuals who require advice, or organisations who are seeking more general advice including advice on law reform. All student work will be closely supervised by the Clinic Solicitor or other suitably qualified members of staff. Students will work on 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 the module, students should be able:

5. through a critical analysis of at least one aspect of substantive law, encountered during the module, to demonstrate a clear understanding of the legal principles involved, as evidenced by documented research and subsequent advice given.

6. with reference to a range of clinic-related experiences, to identify the fundamental principles underpinning the skills that lawyers need to have to effectively carry out their work.

7. in complying with applicable standards of professional conduct and client-care requirements, to show a sound appreciation of the constraints on and expectations of a university-based legal service provider.

8. with reference to one aspect of law, procedure or other regulatory matter encountered during the module, to critique the relevant merits or shortcomings of that provision including, if relevant, a critical reflection on how that law, procedure or regulatory provision might be improved.

Assessment Method:MLO 1: An advice letter to a ‘client’, based on a given scenario, supported by fully documented legal research (40% of the overall module weighting). The assessment task is to be submitted in week one of the term following study of the module.

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MLO 2: An oral examination (viva) based the student’s understanding of the nature and extent of the skills necessary for a lawyer to effectively carry out his or her work (30%). MLO 3: A group mark (for the work of each student law firm) based on the extent to which all of the cases files handled by that firm meet professional practice requirements (10%). The group mark will be determined early in the term following study of the module.MLO 4: A critique (up to 1,500 words) of the relative merits or shortcomings of one aspect of the law, procedure of other regulatory provision arising in the context of work carried out in the Clinic (20%). The critique is to be submitted by week 1 of the term following study of the module.

Preliminary Reading:

A 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)

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Option Module: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)

Module Leader: Carrie Bradshaw

Formal Learning Activities: 1 x 1-hour introductory lecture9 x 2-hour participatory seminarsFormative and collaborative writing exercises



Module Content and Delivery:

Provocatively, Joel Bakan describes the modern, Anglo-American corporation as a ‘psychopath’, pathologically pursuing profit at the expense of others. Throughout this course, we will reflect on this statement, seeking to understand what a company is, and what/whose purposes/interests companies should serve – shareholder’s financial interests, or the public at large? Can we make the corporation ‘responsible’ (and if so, how?), or is ‘corporate psychopathy’ inevitable? We will go on to consider these issues in the context of four case studies:

Human rights (and Corporate Killing) Labour / Fairtrade The Environment Bribery and Corruption

The course is delivered by Carrie Bradshaw via active and participatory seminars. Various teaching methods are used, including some lecture-delivery, as well as class discussions, presentations, debates, case studies and role-playing.

It is not necessary to have studied Company Law to undertake this module.

Module Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module, students should be able to:1. Explain and reflect upon the legal, theoretical and sociological nature of the modern

corporation and its broader role in society.2. Analyse and evaluate the role of governmental and non-governmental regulators in

holding corporations to account for the impact of their operations.3. Understand, compare and contrast the challenges of addressing corporate impacts in a

range of sectors, and make cogent arguments as to the appropriate role for law (if any).

Assessment Method:

Formative assessment (does not count towards final mark) Opportunity to submit two short pieces (approx. 800 words) of structured written work produced collaboratively with peers. The written work is based on a key reading. This piece

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of work heavily supports the completion of summative assessment, and will enable students to get some words for their coursework written as the term progresses. The module leader will provide timely and extensive written commentary on submitted work with the view to supporting summative assessment.

Summative assessment = 100% coursework comprising TWO tasks.

Task 1: Essay, 2500 words (70%): critical evaluation of ONE quote from a choice of FIVE. Four of the five quotes are drawn from students’ formative assessment, and students can therefore play a role in writing their own assessment questions.

Task 2: Reflection, 1000 words (30%): reflection on (i) what you think a corporation is, (ii) what you think the purpose of the corporation should be, and (iii) whether your views on these questions have changed over the course of the module, and why (or why not).

Preliminary Reading:Jeremy Moon, CSR – A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2014).Joel Bakan, The Corporation (Constable, 2005) (see also the film based on this book, widely available online and in the library)

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Option Module: FINANCIAL CRIME: FINANCIAL REGULATION AND THE CRIMINAL PROCESS

Module Leader: Sarah Wilson

Formal Learning Activities: 1 x introductory lecture + 8 x 1 hour lectures + 8 x 2-hour seminar class slots

Other Requirements: Participation in all learning activities. Students must also have

completed Criminal Law; Property 1 and 2 and Obligations 1 and 2.

Student Numbers: no set limit

Module Content and Delivery:This module embraces a variety of learning activities, including plenary-type lectures, student research activity and discussion, and non-assessed student presentations. Focus on different topics/ thematic reference points from week to week will usually be initiated by PBL-like activity which introduces key trigger material which then provides the basis for private study, to then be fed into a class discussion during the following week.

As a matter of content, this module exploring ‘financial crime’ in the UK is a study of ‘crime in the commercial sphere’ (Law Commission, 1999) which is believed to have annual costs for the country running into billions. This is a context where constant financial innovation challenges UK regulators and the criminal process in providing effective enforcement, and ensures the ‘problem’ of financial crime is a constant presence in policy debates and discourses (e.g. Law Commission Criminal Liability in Regulatory Contexts, 2010). It is also the case that financial crime is commonly perceived as different from ‘ordinary crime’ or not even ‘real crime’ at all. This module explores the key legal and conceptual issues arising from activity which is termed ‘financial crime’ by virtue of being ‘large-scale illegality which occurs in the world of finance and financial institutions’ (Friedrichs, 2006). It looks at how financial crime is defined legally in domestic law and in international discourses, with particular emphasis on key terminology utilised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) clustering around ‘financial crime’ ‘financial sector crime’ and ‘financial abuse’. It looks at UK responses to particularly financial sector crime, focusing on the legal architecture for response, comprising institutional structures and substantive provisions, drawn from criminal enforcement and regulatory frameworks and beyond; and in so doing, also the influences on the UK architecture from European policymaking and an increasingly international context for concern about financial crime. This is integrated with academic study of financial crime drawn mainly from criminology, with particular emphasis on ‘white-collar crime’ scholarship, and also regulatory perspectives, and ‘business literature’ focused on economics and ‘financial law’. This comes together with legal and societal understandings of financial crime dating from the nineteenth century to analyse the proposition that the ‘global financial crisis’ of 2007-8 is likely to represent a turning point for financial crime enforcement (Tomasic).

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In bringing all these things together, the module will make extensive use of financial crime ‘case studies’ which are drawn from the module leader’s practice-interface academic work. This work includes writing for Lloyds Law Reports Financial Crime, and ongoing work with a leading QC, and also specialist solicitors and accountants.


1. An understanding of the current UK regulatory architecture for responding to financial crime

2. An understanding of the UK architecture for responding to financial crime in the context of European and international influences and dimensions

3. A critical awareness of the central debates informing understanding of UK responses to financial crime drawn from academic commentary and policy discourses

4. An appreciation of how and why the global financial crisis 2007-8 is regarded as a turning point for financial crime enforcement both for the UK and also on European and international platforms

5. An awareness of questions raised in respect of financial crime in light of different theoretical and disciplinary perspectives, and how these might interface with questions arising from policy discourses; and

6. An appreciation of the likely challenges arising for effective management of financial crime in the twenty-first century, and particularly post-crisis.

Assessment: 3,500 word essay (100%)

The essay title is set and made available from the beginning of the module, but it will encourage the development of individual interests from focal points of the module, and will thus allow plenty of scope for student choice.

Preliminary Reading: IMF Financial System Abuse, Financial Crime and Money Laundering—Background Paper (Washington DC, 2001)S Will et al How They Got Away With It: White Collar Criminals and the Financial Meltdown (Columbia, 2012)R Tomasic ‘The financial crisis and the haphazard pursuit of financial crime’ (2011) Journal of Financial Crime, 18 (1), 7.

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Option Module: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Module Leader: Peter Harrison

Formal Learning Activities: PBL sessions; Plenary sessions.



Module Content and Delivery:

“In another era, a nation’s most valuable assets were its natural resources – coal, say, or amber waves of grain...in the information economy of the 21st century, the most priceless resource is often an idea, along with the right to profit from it.”

James Kantor, International Herald Tribune 2005

Whether they be Samsung, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Christian Louboutin, or a garden-shed start-up, the great majority of the value of modern businesses is created by their ability to protect the creative effort of their people and the goodwill that they have built in their brand both to stay ahead of their competitors and control piracy. The estimated cumulative value of the world’s top ten brands in 2016 exceeded US$ 760 billion.

This Module will provide an introduction to the overall concept of (and the justifications for) the protection of intellectual effort and business goodwill. It will provide an understanding of the requirements for subsistence (or registration) of each intellectual property right, and the scope of protection provided by each. However it will also stress and give examples of the co-existence and “layering” of separate rights in a single work. It will also highlight the differences between monopoly rights, anti-copying rights, rights protecting goodwill and author’s moral rights and the historical context of their development. It will also explore conflicts of the IP system with concepts of freedom and rights of expression from the open source movement, to creative commons, biopiracy, and patent trolls.

However, the core of this module is intellectual property in the real world. The PBL sessions follow a single developing scenario which follows the successes and problems of a start-up business from an initial idea, through product design, brand launch to (perhaps) the post-flotation party. You will gain an understanding of the advantages, and limitations, of intellectual property rights in a commercial context – their usefulness in maintaining competitive advantage, developing a brand and supporting business financing. Most of the problems encountered by the start-up are taken directly from the (long) practice experience of the module leader and give you a real-life understanding of the world of IP and something of what makes a start-up business succeed.

Module Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate:

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1. An understanding of the role of confidentiality, patents, copyright, design rights, performance and moral rights in the protection of ideas and their expression.

2. An understanding of the role of trademarks, domain names and the law of passing-off and trade libel in the protection of business goodwill and brands;

3. An understanding of the territorial nature of the intellectual property system, the international mechanisms used to address this, and the concept of exhaustion of rights;

4. The ability to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different intellectual property rights for the protection of a variety of commercial products;

5. The ability to advise clients on how intellectual property rights can, and cannot be, used to promote or finance a business, or to protect an individual’s creative effort;

6. An understanding of the normative justifications for, and the arguments against, the existence of the intellectual property system;

7. The ability to apply the knowledge and techniques developed in the module in different contexts; and

8. The ability to articulate reasons and proposals for reform or plausible arguments in favour of status quo in a defined area of IP law

Assessment Method: The course will be assessed through:

a) Course work in the form of a three client advice letters submitted in Week 1 of the Summer Term (75%). In these letters you will advise the start-up business which is encountered in the evolving PBL scenario and will focus on the start-up’s problems and requirements which will be discussed in detail in the PBL sessions ; and

b) A 10 minute oral presentation relating to a normative aspect of intellectual property law (25%)

Preliminary Reading: Introductory Chapter in David I. Bainbridge, Intellectual Property (Ninth Edition, Pearson 2012) (Library Electronic Resource)

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Option Module: LAW AND HISTORY: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

Module Leader: Sarah Wilson

Formal Learning Activities: 1 x introductory lecture + 8 x 3-hour seminar class slots Other Requirements: Participation in all learning activities

Student Numbers: no set limit

Module Content and Delivery:This module embraces a variety of learning activities, including plenary-type lectures, student research activity and discussion, and non-assessed student presentations. Focus on different topics from week to week will be initiated by PBL-like activity which introduces key trigger material which then provides the basis for private study, to then be fed into a class discussion during the following week.

The aim of this module is to provide students with a theoretically informed insight into the way in which law can be seen as an instrument of social commentary, and a ‘barometer’ of “social change” over time. This is pursued through exploring the proposition that examining law making can cast important light on the values and aspirations and the fears and concerns of society at any given point in time. The timeframe of c. 1750 to the present allows the students to focus on the emergence of “modern Britain”, and also discover how examining the experiences of past societies can cast light on the present and even likely future directions in societal development. Within this timeframe students will examine the themes of continuity and change looking at a number of themes which inform their undergraduate studies in law, such as the emergence of the modern state, and the rise of modern capitalism; the problem of crime for society and responses to it; and the way in which relations between individuals are governed by the private laws of obligations and property. This will be pursued through examining the emergence of modern patterns and processes in law making, and examined alongside pertinent areas of modern history (especially social, economic and cultural histories) and theories of historical enquiry. This will be read alongside the significance of law, and law-making in society, and why understanding the experiences from the past might be very significant for law reform in the twenty-first century.


1. A critical understanding of the changes and continuities in contemporary society which are evident from studying a number of themes in English law from c.1750 to the present

2. A critical understanding of the ways that law can be seen as a barometer of social change over time, and the reasons for this

3. A critical understanding of the intellectual basis for regarding the experiences of past societies as significant for the current state of play

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4. A critical understanding of the ways that ‘the past’ is used in key policy discourses relating to current issues and concerns

5. The ability to use secondary literature (drawn from legal scholarship and historiography of modern Britain) and primary sources to explain how current societal experiences might be linked with those of past societies

6. The ability to construct arguments orally and in writing and which are supported by appropriate evidence to analyse critically the merits of using the experiences of past societies to provide ‘social commentary’ on 21st century Britain.

7. The ability to undertake independent research on primary historical sources as part of an assessment of the merits of using the experiences of past societies to provide commentaries on 21st century British society.

Assessment Method: 3,500 word essay (100%)The essay will be strongly student-oriented, allowing plenty of scope for student choice. The title is set and made available at the outset of the module encourages students to focus their assessment on interests in and research into law-making past and present either pre-existing or developed during the module.

Preliminary Reading:Anon, Council of Legal Education A Century of Law Reform (London, 1901) J Tosh, The Pursuit of History aims methods and new directions in the study of modern history (Longman, 2010)

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Option Module: MASS ATROCITIES: PREVENTION, PROTECTION, & PUNISHMENT

Module Leaders: Lars Waldorf

Formal Learning Activities: Weekly one-hour lectures and one-hour seminars



Module Content & Delivery:This inter-disciplinary module examines legal and political efforts for prevention, protection, and punishment in relation to mass atrocities. Lectures will address the following topics while seminars will cover a range of case studies (including Bosnia, Guatemala, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Uganda) illustrating those topics.

Week 2: Mass Atrocities Week 3: Risk Factors & PreventionWeek 4: Responsibility to ProtectWeek 5: Punishment: From Nuremberg to the ICCWeek 6: GenocideWeek 7: Crimes against HumanityWeek 8: War CrimesWeek 9: Sexual ViolenceWeek 10: Child Soldiers

Module AimsStudents will

develop a systematic understanding of how international law interacts with international relations when it comes to responding to mass atrocities

learn how to critically evaluate legal judgments regarding international criminal law gain a transferable skill – the ability to draft a policy memo – that will help their

employability

Module Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course, students should be able to:

distinguish among international law governing use of force, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law;

identify violations of international law in contexts of armed conflict; understand the risk factors for mass atrocities critically evaluate the different mechanisms for preventing and responding to mass

atrocities

Assessment Method (subject to Board of Studies approval): 3000-word essay in the form of a policy memo (85%) Participation in seminars (15%)

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Preliminary Reading:Gary J. Bass, Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals (Princeton

University Press, 2002)Alex J. Bellamy, Responsibility to Protect: A Defense (Oxford University Press, 2014)David Bosco, Rough Justice: The International Criminal Court in a World of Power Politics

(Oxford University Press, 2014)Emily Crawford and Alison Pert, International Humanitarian Law (Cambridge University

Press, 2015)Robert Cryer et al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure (Cambridge

University Press, 2014)Christine Gray, International Law and the Use of Force, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press,

2008)Kurt Mills, International Responses to Mass Atrocities in Africa: Responsibility to Protect,

Prosecute, and Palliate (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015)Gerry Simpson, Law, War & Crime (Polity Press, 2007)Scott Straus, Fundamentals of Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (US Holocaust

Memorial Museum 2016)Benjamin Valentino, Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the Twentieth Century

(Cornell University Press, 2004)

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Option Module: THE BUSINESS OF TRUSTS

Module Leader: Richard Nolan

Formal Learning Activities: Workshops, group discussions and a final plenary

Other Requirements: Participation in all learning activities; Preparation of case studies before the workshop sessions


Module Content and Delivery:This module builds on Property 1 and Property 2. Using precedents and transactional documents generously supplied by various leading law firms, the module will examine in much greater depth various representative uses of trusts in the modern world, from wealth management to corporate finance. It will examine how practising lawyers both work within and develop legal doctrine to achieve their clients’ goals. Finally it will explore the broad theoretical implications of this practice.Why take this module? As well as learning much more about how trusts are used in real life, there are clear links to legal practice in commerce, finance and wealth management, both in this country and abroad. In addition, the module will provide a useful theoretical overview of trusts. It also has generic value as a good introduction to how lawyers in practice use, adapt and modify the legal institutions they inherit and so create new structures for future use. This is a vitally important process that occurs in many areas.The course will be taught by a mixture of classes and through an inductive approach. The principal form of teaching on the module will be a series of weekly workshops. In the week prior to the workshop the relevant sample trust instrument(s) will be released to the students together with questions relating to it. One group of students will present on the trust in response to the questions. There will then be a full group debate. Following the workshop there will be a discussion session which will wrap up the debate from the preceding workshop and provide some guidance for the next workshop. The module will end with a formal plenary drawing together the overarching themes from the workshops.

Module Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate:1. An awareness and understanding of common structures for wealth management and distribution using trusts formed under English law and trusts formed under the laws of so-called “off-shore jurisdictions”;2. An awareness and understanding of how trusts are used in asset management and corporate finance;3. The ability to evaluate and manipulate concepts of trust law for diverse purposes;4. A critical engagement with, and evaluation of, trust theory in the light of examining the sample trusts, and in particular a practical and theoretical appreciation of the flexibility of the trust concept.

Assessment Method: 20% by class presentations; (ii) 10% by general class participation in workshops (i.e. participation in relation to other students’ presentations and generally); (iii)

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60% by an essay (2,500 words maximum) on an agreed topic; and (iv) 10% reflective note (max. 500 words) on the course and your learning.

Preliminary Reading: Hansmann & Mattei, ‘The Functions of Trust Law: A Comparative Legal and Economic Analysis’ (1998) 73 New York University Law Review 434, especially at pp. 459-463 John Langbein, ‘The Contractarian Basis of Trust Law’ (1995) 105 Yale Law Journal 625 John Langbein, ‘Secret Life of the Trust: The Trust as an Instrument of Commerce’ (1997) 107 Yale Law Journal 165

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Option Module: TORT LAW AND THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR

Module Leaders: Phillip Morgan

Formal Learning Activities: 8 x 2 hour lectures, 6 x 1 hour seminars

Other Requirements: Participation in all learning activities. Moot.


Module Content & Delivery:The voluntary sector plays an important role in society, and in the economy. Governments of all political persuasions have embraced the rhetoric of supporting and developing the sector and in encouraging volunteers. The sector is not immune from the review and gaze of the law of tort, and concerns have been expressed over the interface between tort liability and encouraging the sector.

This module offers a detailed study of tort law in the context of the voluntary sector. It offers a contextual, historic and comparative common law study on the facilitation of the voluntary sector through the protection of charities, volunteers, and the voluntary sector from actions in tort/negligence. This module examines a range of defences and mechanisms that have been (or are) used (or have the potential to be used) to protect volunteers and the voluntary sector from liability, and their consistency with the purposes of tort law, and public policy.

The course will expose students to a range of methodologies, including legal theory, comparative law, legal history, and law in context, and they will examine the interface between public policy and tort law. As well as academic skills, students will be encouraged to think of law as an instrument of public policy, and to develop their skills of analysis, debate, and well as mooting skills.

Overall the module will cover:• The “compensation culture” debate,• The interface between insurance and tort,• Normative justifications for the law of tort, and their interface with altruism,• The regulatory role of tort,• Charitable immunity from tort,• Asset protection and judgment proofing mechanisms, • Good Samaritan and volunteer protection legislation,• Vicarious liability in the context of the voluntary sector.

Module Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module, you should be able to:• Describe the main arguments in the “compensation culture” debate, and the interface between insurance and tort,

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• Analyse the interface between altruism and the normative justifications for the tort of negligence,

• Reflect on the historical context of charitable immunity from tort, protective mechanisms, and volunteer protection,

• Evaluate the Social Action, Responsibility, and Heroism Bill; Good Samaritan and other volunteer protection legislation; common law protective mechanisms; charitable immunity; and damages caps,

• Critically evaluate the legal mechanisms, and structures, used to protect non-profits, and volunteers, from liability, and appraise their suitability for the non-profit sector, and society.

Assessment Method:25% - Moot & Skeleton 75% - Coursework - 2000 words

Preliminary Reading: Peter Cane, Atiyahs Accidents, Compensation and the Law, 8th Edn, CUP, 2013

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