Introduction to Law Module Handbook PDF

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Faculty of Business and Law

Department Law Module Code/Title Introduction to Law Academic Year: 2018 – 2019 Module Leader: Email:

Credit value: 15

Melica Martin

[email protected]

Room: HU.138 Advice and Feedback hours:

Assessment Overview Assessment 1 Type No Assessment Length Weighting Deadline Return date

Thursdays 2pm-4pm

Assessment 2 Exam 2 hrs 100% TBC TBC

Assessment 3

Leicester De Montfort Law School 1 LAWG10072018/19

Our Mission

To transform lives in our global community of students, staff and partners through outstanding education and research To go beyond business as usual by fostering creative, distinctive and pioneering solutions to realworld problems To promote the public good through critical analysis of the purpose of business and through active engagement in initiatives aimed at tackling business, social and community challenges

Our Vision

Our Values

To transform the law of Contract and Tort through knowledge

LEADERSHIP: Confidence and courage to shape a better future INTEGRITY: Taking personal pride in our work CREATIVITY: Thinking beyond the usual and embracing ideas GLOBAL MINDEDNESS: Finding opportunities in our diversity COMMUNITY: Realising the purpose and power of law

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CONTENTS PAGE

Module Outline………….…………….…………………………………4 Teaching Team…………………………………………………………..4 Learning Outcomes ……………………………………………………..5 Teaching and Learning Strategies……………………………………..5 Textbooks …………………………………………………………………7 Blackboard and Module Communications ……………………………..8 Assessment, MCQ & Examination Guidance and Reassessment………………………………………………………..9 Help on Essay and Exam Technique……………………………………9 Seminar topics (and questions)…………………….……………………14 Seen Exam Question……………………………………………………..23

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MODULE OUTLINE

Welcome to Introduction Law .The purpose of this handbook is to let you know what it is you will be learning over this academic year and what you have to achieve (the learning outcomes). The course is taught by way of lectures and tutorials. There will be one lecture a week and a total of eight tutorials over the first two terms, up until Easter. This handbook sets out what you have to prepare for each tutorial. This module provides some background information on the legal system in England and Wales and deals with some aspects of contract law and with the tort of negligence. You will also find a brief introduction to the various types of business entities which can legally trade in the UK. This module is assessed by way of a 2 hour examination in May 2019. The examination consists of one compulsory seen question and an MCQ/Phase Test is worth 20% of the total mark for the module and the seen question is worth 80% of the total mark.

1. Teaching Team My name is Melica Martin and I am the module leader for this course and will also be responsible to deliver the lectures and guide the seminars on this module. email: [email protected] Seminars will also be taken by Rajinder Singh [email protected]. and Graham Hipwell [email protected] Surgery hours will be provided on Blackboard in the Staff Information section:

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2. LEARNING OUTCOMES On successfully completing this module, all students should be able to demonstrate the following: 1. Demonstrate a critical awareness of the way in which the law impacts business in the guise of case law and statute. 2. Develop a working understanding of contract and negligence law. 3. Be able to sift the law to divine which is the relevant law to address a particular problem. 4. Demonstrate a capacity for analytic and deductive reasoning, particularly through the use of problem-solving by way of case-study questions. 5. Demonstrate an ability to present competent and coherent written arguments. Introduced, Practiced, Assessed Written communication Interpersonal communication Planning and organisation Adaptability Problem-solving Computer skills

3. Teaching and Learning Strategies At university, modules are taught by teams of lecturers. The teams each have a module leader who has responsibility for preparing the teaching material and other administrative functions. Your timetable will tell you who is taking your particular tutorial. The Law School ensures that all staff have an office in the Hugh Aston building and have set aside two hours a week when students can drop in to discuss academic issues. These are known as ‘Advice’ and ‘Feedback hours’ and can be found in the lecturers’ timetables, copies of which are in the Student Advice Centre. The Faculty is committed to providing an equal learning experience for every DMU student through the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Examples of the ways in which we do this include a focus on flexible ways of learning, providing flexible study resources such as by recording lectures, and by using a variety of assessment methods. Tutorials will operate on a weekly basis and are designed to help you with the topic – they are an opportunity to solve any problems or clarify issues which may be bothering you. They are a compulsory part of the course. Tutorials 5 LAWG10072018/19

will not continue or repeat the lecture, but allow you to practise and explore the concepts you have been taught. Therefore, you are expected to have studied the relevant topic(s) prior to the tutorial. To get the full benefit you need to play a part in the tutorial. You must attend the tutorial group allotted to you. In exceptional circumstances, you may change tutorial groups, but you must obtain the approval of both tutors. A full list of tutorials and rooms can be found at the Student Advice Centre (please check with SAC for any changes throughout the year).

4. How this module enhances your employability This module is designed to increase your employability. It seeks to expose you to realistic situations that you might encounter in practice. It develops the full spectrum of relevant skills such as communication, time management, professionalism, problem-solving, planning& organising etc. This module is also relevant to your everyday life – every time you go shopping you enter into a contract; being careless may result in you being sued for negligence. DMU has great ambitions for its students and alumni and we want you to have opportunities that match your ambitions. We offer a wide range of work experiences and now we want to make these even better. #DMUworks is our fresh new programme to fit around what students, alumni and employers need, focusing on work experience opportunities that may be short, long, based in the UK or abroad – with options to suit different circumstances and aspirations. You can find out and sign up for #DMUworks opportunities on MyGateway. You can also find out further information about our projects by visiting the following webpage: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/careers-andemployability/careers-and-employability.aspx

5. Your responsibility Students are expected to attend and participate in all timetabled activities, including lectures, seminars, workshops, and practical sessions. Students are also encouraged to fully participate in the academic and cultural life of the Faculty and University, including guest lectures, seminars, public debates and external visits. As students, your responsibilities are: Preparation: Complete the required readings before coming to each timetabled session on this module and to undertake the required follow-up work. Participation: Participation in class is based on participation in class lecture/seminar, as well as group activities in class. To assist your engagement in class you should 6 LAWG10072018/19

come prepared by writing down ideas, quotes, or concepts from the reading list that you find interesting as well as thought provoking. You should come prepared so that you can fully engage in class discussions and activities. Respect: Throughout your studies it is important that you treat other students with respect as well as engaging in a respectful manner with academic staff. It is imperative that you listen to others and treat their contributions with respect, even if you disagree with them. In particular it is important that:  You are respectful of your peers’ learning and resist talking through seminars, workshops and lectures.  You do not answer your phone unless it is an emergency.  If you are late, then please take the first available seat and settle yourself as quietly as possible. The student charter sets out commitments from the university to students, from students to the university, and from the Students’ Union to students. You can consult it at: http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/student-resources/student-charter/studentcharter.aspx The module teaching and assessment team will contribute to this environment by:  Treating all students with respect.  Welcoming diverse viewpoints, experiences, and interpretations of the class materials.  Challenging your thinking, beliefs, and analysis of issues, concepts, and ideas in this class.

6. Lecture Schedule You will have one lecturer a week until the Easter break 7. Seminar/Workshop Schedule There are a total of 8 seminars spread over the academic year. Your timetable will tell you when and where your seminar will be take place.

8. Module Resource In the first instance see the module leader or your tutor for all other matters. The Blackboard site should answer most of your queries.

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Books Essential 

Marson. J. and Ferris K. Business Law 4th edition Oxford University Press 2015.

Other Books 

Card R. & James, J. Press 2014

Business Law, 3rd edition. Oxford University

You may prefer one of these other books for the contract or negligence part of the course

Poole, Textbook on Contract Law 12th edition Oxford University Press 2014



Gilliker, P. Tort. 5th edition Sweet & Maxwell 2014.

N.B. Make sure that you have the latest edition as old out-of-date books can be dangerously misleading.

9. Blackboard and module communications Important information relating to this module can be found on Blackboard. This includes information on the module, lecture and seminar materials, all communications and announcements, as well as the procedure for submitting assignments via TurnitinUK. You can access Blackboard by going to this link: https://vle.dmu.ac.uk Login using the same username and password that you have for access to the University’s computer services. Further information on Blackboard can be accessed from the Centre for Enhancing Learning through Technology (CELT): http://celt.our.dmu.ac.uk/blackboard/ If you have any difficulties logging into any computer on campus, then you should contact the Help Desk located on the 1st floor of the Kimberlin Library. In addition, you might contact the ITMS helpline ( +44 (0)116 250 6050) or send an email to [email protected] (noting your name and degree programme).

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10. Assessment Briefs The exam will count for 100% of the final module mark. The exam will consist of two parts. Part A will be a compulsory ‘seen question’, which will be circulated in advance of the examination. In addition, students will be required to do 20 Multiple Choice/ (part B) of the examination on topics studied throughout the academic year. The seen question will be worth 80% of the exam mark, and the MCQ will be worth 20% of the exam mark. The format of the unseen section will consist of one problem-solving question. Examination Guidance – the examination will be at the end of the semester based on the material covered. The two-hour examination will not be preceded by extra reading time. No materials are permitted in the exam. Re-assessment – when a student fails to obtain an overall pass grade the student will be required to re-present him/herself in the failed element and will need to register as soon as possible to take the examination again during August.

No Materials are Permitted in the Exam Help Exam Technique

The following information is provided in order to assist you in preparation for answering law questions, for an exam. However, one must be aware that there is no absolute answer for a law question. A question is deliberately written so that there are areas of vagueness. Do not consider that this is a bad question and that the vagueness means that you cannot answer the question set. This sort of question requires the student to address the issue at hand and explore the different outcomes. For example, if the question does not say what time a letter was posted and the timing is critical to the question, then the student is expected to consider the alternative outcomes depending on the time factor. This serves both to show that the student is aware that time is a factor and why it may influence an outcome. All questions do pose issues and these must be addressed in any question to obtain good marks. What makes one answer different from another of the same mark is the way that these issues are drawn together and analysed. There are, however, a number of standard procedures that can be taken with any legal question in order to produce an excellent answer to the question set. A grasp of these principles will greatly assist the student in obtaining a good mark.

11. PLANNING: RELEVANCY All questions are written on a discrete area of the law, for example, offer and acceptance, misrepresentation, statutory implied terms and negligence. The 9 LAWG10072018/19

question set will require the student to determine what sections within that area are relevant and discard those that are not relevant. For example, a question on offer and acceptance will not require any consideration of exclusion clauses or consideration. This means that the student must read the question and answer the question actually set. It is not uncommon to hear a student saying “I wrote my stock answer to that question”. In other words, the student has written an answer that they would have written to any question on that given area. Such an approach is seriously flawed as it is an open admission to not having answered the question set. It is clear that no one would expect to get a good mark if they have not addressed the question set by writing such a “write all you know about” answer. It is essential that the student reads the question and makes a plan. It is a fact that the student that does not make a plan will perform significantly less well than the student who does. The plan may take several forms, different people prefer different types of plan. Some underline words in the question and write the issue of law that it raises adjacent to it. Others do more thorough plans. Clearly, the exambased plan will be less comprehensive due to the constraints of time, but it is no less essential. The plan must also highlight which areas need a mere few lines and which areas are the ones upon which to concentrate. Questions will inevitably possess a mix of issues that will take anything from a line to a page to discuss. Assessment of what is important and what can be highlighted only is an essential part of planning. The student should determine which bits of that area of law are raised and discard the rest. Then take the points of law that are raised and stitch them to the question. The ANSWER: APPLICATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE LAW Your answer should be in the form of just that, an essay. The law must be applied to the question and not simply re-stated. This means that once the relevant law has been discovered, the question facts are merged with the law into the answer. The student is now, and only now, in the position to actually start to write the answer to the question out. It is standard practice to write a legal essay in the third person and avoid “I think”, use “it could be said” for example instead. However, it must be noted that using the first person is not going to detract from your mark. The answer is this merging of the relevant law to the question facts. You do not need to write a long introduction, indeed, some students following the “write all they know about” approach will write out a very long introduction about what the law is, then they will write something along the lines of “and know turning to the question” which is open admission to having written irrelevant material, or law that has not been applied to the question. The opening line simply needs to be something along the lines of “the first issue that needs to be addressed when advising X is…” Similarly, as questions are written with vague issues that have to be explored, most questions cannot be answered with a yes or no answer. Again, the student must apply the law to the question, this means looking at both sides and not just one side. Avoid certainties such as “this is definitely a case of X…” Instead, you need to look and see if it is so certain. Questions tend to have areas that require different lengths of time spent on them. You need to make sure that you have time/ wordage left for the last issues if they require in-depth analysis. Authorities, such as cases or statutory provisions, must back up your work. You have no need to recite big chunks of case-facts. You must make a point 10 LAWG10072018/19

of law, then back it up with a case. This, for example, is the wrong way to do it: “Newspaper adverts tend to be treated as invitations to treat, this comes from the case of Partridge v. Crittenden. This case was all about Bramble Finches that were being sold for 25 shillings. However, it was a criminal offence to sell these birds…” You just do not have the time or the wordage to rattle on about case facts which are irrelevant to your answer. Instead, the way to make this point is: “Newspaper adverts tend to be treated as invitations to treat, (Partridge v. Crittenden), where it was stated that if such an advert was an offer then the offeror would be bound to sell to anyone who tried to accept the advert, despite having only limited supplies of goods.” The difference is clear, the former wastes time on irrelevancy, the latter explains the legal point. You have no need to write an in-depth conclusion, as has been said, there is frequently the facts given to hazard a definite conclusion. Many students who do well prefer to write something along the lines of “for the reasons given above, there is debate as to whether they can claim for such and such, but it is argued that X has a good case”. You do not need to go over your reasoning again, you have done this already and so you will not gain any more marks. 12. EXAM GUIDELINES If you find that you have just about run out of time in the exam, you can try and complete the question by answering the section that you think has the most marks. Just because the issue has arisen last in the question, does not mean to say that you have to answer it last. Moreover, if you have a matter of seconds left, write your main points out as best you can as bullet points. Whilst you will not gain anywhere near the same amount of marks for notepoints, you will nevertheless gain more marks than having not addressed them at all. Do not cross out any work in the exam that you want to be examined. Rough work may count for something if you have a detailed plan and you have run out of time. However, it will not if it is crossed out. A plan can never command the same amount of marks as an answer, but in one or two cases a student’s overall module mark may be improved if an extra one or two perecent can be brought forward from a plan. SUMMARY  Remember to plan your answer.  Answer the question set by dealing with the relevant law only, rather than a “write all you know about” approach.  Don’t dwell on case facts, dwell on the reasons for the decision.  Apply the law and analyse it, do not simply regurgitate facts. The following instructions will be on Part B of the paper, the MCQ/Phase Test YOU WILL ...