Bar Course LLM
2 Years Part-Time | September Start

The Criminal Litigation module is delivered on the Bar Course and across the portfolio of Bar Courses at Northumbria University. Building on foundation knowledge from criminal law modules on your qualifying law degree, this module will familiarise you with current procedures relating to the following topics:

- Preliminaries to prosecution;
- Bail and remands;
- Pre-trial issues;
- Disclosure;
- Indictments;
- The roles of the Magistrates’, Crown and Appellate Courts;
- Youth Courts;
- Summary trial procedure;
- Preliminaries to trial in the Crown Court and jury trial procedure;
- Sentencing powers of the various courts;
- Appeal procedures.

On completion of this module, you will be able to demonstrate a sound understanding of criminal process as a whole, knowledge of how cases progress through the system and an understanding of, and an ability to apply, the main procedural and evidential rules relevant to criminal matters.

The Professional Practice and Ethics module is a year-long module delivered on the Bar Course and across the portfolio of Bar programmes at Northumbria University. On this module you will learn about the nature of professional practice and the professional values which underpin practice at the Bar of England and Wales. The module aims to develop knowledge of key areas of practice and instil and consolidate the essential qualities of ethical behaviour at the Bar by nurturing and developing these existing attributes in students to a high level. Encompassing more than the knowledge and formalities outlined in the Bar Standards Board Professional Statement for Barristers and the Code of Conduct the module will furnish far reaching and fundamental knowledge of ethics that underlies practice at the Bar.

The module seeks to:

- provide knowledge and understanding of the nature of professional practice at the Bar and key concepts and topics necessary for the development of an effective practice;
- inculcate the fundamental concepts of professional and ethical values required of a practising barrister at the Bar of England and Wales;
- provide knowledge and understanding of the philosophical issues and purposes underpinning ethical behaviour, including the concept of duty in professional life both to the client and to the rule of law;
- provide in-depth knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the Bar Standards Board Handbook and Professional Statement.

The Criminal Professional Practice is a year-long module on the Bar Course and is delivered across the portfolio of Bar programmes at Northumbria University. It is designed to reflect the nature of criminal cases encountered during pupillage and the early years of practice.

This module involves the study of criminal practice in the context of realistic scenarios which incorporate fact management, case analysis, legal research, advocacy, drafting, opinion writing and conference skills, linked to the relevant procedural framework and ethical considerations as in practice. The module involves a number of different cases which raise legal and procedural scenarios of the kind that criminal practitioners regularly encounter in practice. It is designed to ensure that each student appreciates the importance of identifying legal, procedural, tactical and ethical issues when they arise.

This Criminal Professional Practice module is designed to build on existing legal knowledge and allows the acquisition of the s knowledge, skills and attributes necessary for practice as an effective and successful criminal practioner at the Bar. The module is supported throughout by research rich and practice informed learning and technology enhanced learning which are crucial to current legal practice in a demanding, rapidly changing legal landscape.

This module is an opportunity for you to devise, develop and complete a substantial piece of independent research at Masters level, in dissertation form, on a legal topic of your choice linked to your study on the Bar Course.

You will work under the guidance of a project supervisor, using the knowledge and understanding you have gained on your qualifying law degree and on the Bar Course LLM

The LLM Bar Project module focuses on the development of skills in three key areas: problem identification and analysis, research and information gathering and the written presentation of results. You will develop your ability to undertake legal research, addressing complex and current issues in your subject area. You will also engage critically with research material and analyse current skills and practice. The LLM Bar Project module will also develop your skill in effectively formulating, communicating and presenting written argument to both a specialist and non-specialist audience.

The Student Law Office (SLO) is an in-house law clinic within the Law School at Northumbria University. The LLM SLO Bar Project is a year-long module on the Bar Course LLM which allows you to experience both the real-world of legal practice, working within the award winning SLO, whilst also developing an extended piece of in-depth critical research leading to the award of a Masters in Law.

As a Bar student in the SLO you will work on real cases under the supervision of practitioner members of staff. Through real and simulated experiences with clients, you will develop range of key lawyering skills, as well as effective workplace skills and enhance your own interpersonal skills. Your work may cover a range of substantive law areas which may include crime, civil litigation, family, welfare benefits, employment or housing. In addition, you will learn about and critically evaluate the practical and procedural factors that can influence the outcome of a case. You will work with your supervisors to develop the ability to reflect on your learning.

Throughout your time in the SLO you will learn to reflect independently on, and critically analyse, an aspect of professional practice stemming from your time in the SLO or as a result of legal inquiry related to the broader concept of professional practice. You will be able to identify and utilise an appropriate research methodology to conceptualise, theorise and undertake research into practice-based issues. This reflection is at the heart of the clinical experience, enabling you not only to learn from your learning but also to fit your individual experiences into a wider context of personal and professional ethics, and the social and economic contexts of law. You will be required to produce an in-depth and extended piece of critical commentary. This will advance your understanding and knowledge of professional practice and/or the issues relevant to practising law. This extended piece of critical work will be submitted at the end of Semester 3.