General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW2017 |
| Course name: | Legal Research and Writing II |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | Legal Research and Writing I |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
Legal Research and Writing (‘LRW’) II is a foundation skills course offered in the second semester of the second year. It follows on the LRW I course offered in the first semester of the first year. LRW I introduces students to basic legal research and writing skills, while LRW II builds on those skills and concentrates on the development of more lawyerly skills including drafting and oral presentation skills.
LRW II is a skills-training course and has been certified as a communication intensive course. It emphasizes maximum participation – how much you gain depends on how much you put in. The lectures and tutorials work in tandem to help students develop skills such as oral presentation, legal drafting, conducting research, problem solving, legal reasoning, and constructing persuasive arguments.
The skills that you acquire in this course will be useful to you throughout your legal study and your future career.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor / tutor | Stephanie Biedermann | sbied@hku.hk | CCT 802 | By email |
| Course tutor | Jack Chan | chanykjack@gmail.com | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Raymond Chu | rchu@bernacchichambers.com | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Simon Kwok | skkwokcl@gmail.com | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Kevin Leung | kevin.leung@lokschambers.com | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Alex Mak | makalex@hku.hk | CCT 704 | By email |
| Course tutor | Dickie Mok | ham-dick.mok@law.nyu.edu | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Ivan Suen | ivan.suen.27@gmail.com | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Natasha Trapla | ntrapla@hku.hk | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Dixon Tse | dixontse@plowmanchambers.com | N/A | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Legal research and analysis skills: identify and analyze the legal issues from factual problems, and use appropriate legal research resources to look for relevant materials.
CLO 2 Legal drafting skills: demonstrate appropriate use of plain English and applicable legal terminology in drafting simple legal documents and legal memoranda, and to express complex ideas clearly and concisely in writing.
CLO 3 Oral presentation and submission skills: prepare for oral presentation (in groups and individually); in conducting oral presentation, students will demonstrate confidence and persuasiveness, logical organization of ideas, effective design and use of slides, handouts, and/or other visuals to support the presentation, as well as effective teamwork.
2.2 LLB Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llb-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class contribution, participation in tutorials | ongoing | 15% | 1-5 | 1, 2, 3 |
| Writing exercises / presentations | TBA | 35% | 1-5 | 1, 2, 3 |
| In-hall exam | TBA | 50% | 1-3 | 1, 2, 3 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
We will discuss each assessment area in more detail during class. Rubrics and additional guidelines will be available as assignments are distributed.
Final assessment will be in May 2025 (precise date TBA). Details will be announced via Moodle nearer the time.
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Lecture: | 1 hour / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Tutorial: | 2 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
Details posted on Moodle, including course organizational information and schedule.
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/