General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3268 |
| Course name: | Essential Lawyering Skills in Practice |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
| Cap on student numbers: | 30 |
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1.2 Course description
This course aims at equipping future lawyers with the necessary practical skills in legal practice, focusing particularly on three major facets, namely, a lawyer interaction and relationship building with clients, a lawyer interaction and relationship with people in the workplace, and the self-development of a lawyer.
Success in the practice of law pivots on the skills to understand, analyse and resolve people problems. Those are the practical skills that distinguish a notable lawyer from an ordinary one. This course aims at fostering awareness of the human side of legal practice, as well as the practice of essential relational skills and emotional competencies on interacting with clients, and people in the workplace. Hence, it encompasses the learning and practice of various essential communication skills, principles, and practices of negotiation and persuasion as well as the understanding and management of emotions. This course instills professional ethics and core values in students so that they can understand the rationale and practical significance of avoiding conflicts of interest and the duty to act in the best interest of the client. This course also nurtures self-awareness so that students can recognize their own values, beliefs and attitudes and the effect of these elements on a lawyer professional life.
This course is intended to be interactive; apart from course readings and written assignments, there will be class exercises, role-plays and student presentations to enhance the practical learning of the skills and techniques taught in the programme.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Jody Sin | jodysin@hku.hk | N/A | By email |
| Course convenor | Walter Lee | wyatwlee@hku.hk | N/A | By email |
| Course convenor | Jenny Chung | jchung15@hku.hk | N/A | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Demonstrate a solid understanding of the skills and values essential to professional practice.
CLO 2 Apply the essential skills and values to real-life situations.
CLO 3 Appreciate the importance of self-awareness and of developing own values, beliefs and attributes.
CLO 4 Appreciate the different political, social and cultural environments in the practice of law and other professions.
CLO 5 Apply enhanced communication, presentation, negotiation and conflict management skills in dealing with clients and the workplace issues.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation | N/A | 15% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | |
| Writing memorandum | 31 Mar 2021 | 20% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | |
| Group presentation | 27 & 27 Apr 2021 | 35% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | |
| Conflict management assignment | 30 Apr 2021 | 30% | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| *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
To be advised by course convenor(s).
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
| Seminar: | 3 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
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | Randall KISER, Soft Skills for the Effective Lawyer, Cambridge University Press (ISBN: 9781108403504) |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/