Topic: What kind of lawyer do I want to be?

Order Description
– Word limit: Must not be more than 2500 words (excluding footnotes and bibliography)
– OSCOLA Referencing
– Number of words used must be stated on the front of each essay
– Font: Arial font, Size 12
– have a bibliography page
– In answering the topic question above, it is essential to include all three required elements:
1. Your observations from your court visit
-> Discuss what you saw during your court visit. As noted in the court visit assignment guidance document, examples of aspects you could consider include:
– First impressions of the courtroom, and its impact on a non-lawyer
– Representations of power in the court layout and proceedings
– Information available to defendants or litigants
– The relationships between those in court, and the impact of those relationships
– The ability of defendants/litigants to contribute to proceedings
– The ethical representation of clients

– Court visit assignment guidance
Questions you might like to consider include:
– What were your first impressions of the courtroom? How do you think a non-lawyer would feel in such an environment?
– What representations of power are apparent in the court layout?
– What information is there to help defendants or litigants in the court building?
– Consider the relationships between those appearing in court, i.e. defendants or litigants, representatives, lawyers and adjudicators. How did these relationships affect the possibility of a fair trial?
– How did the court’s treatment of defendants/litigants affect their ability to contribute to proceedings?
– What could you do to ensure the best ethical representation of a client?’
This list is not exhaustive; it is your choice as to the focus of your observations. Look for problems, issues or opportunities; positive, neutral or negative aspects of what happened at court, and analyse the significance of what you observed.

2. Your independent research around a topic based on those observations
-> Building on the observations of your court visit, engage in independent research on a connected topic. The link with your observations may be that your research is specific the area of law that was covered at the hearing, or the link between observation and research may be much broader, extending beyond a single area of law. Your independent research should expand upon your observations, but how you establish this link is up to you. Use your research to engage in deeper analysis of what you observed.

3. Reflection on how your own development in the Legal Foundations course relates to the issue you have identified and researched, and your future as a lawyer
-> When you are engaging in negotiation and advocacy practice, but also across the legal foundation course, there are opportunities to reflect upon your development as a lawyer. You should use this reflection to situate your future self in the topic you have chosen as the focus of your observations and research. Based on how you have developed through the year, and in light of how you have progressed as a negotiator, advocate and lawyer, what could be your contribution to the matters you have discussed in your observations and research?