General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3278 |
| Course name: | The Legal Profession |
| 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: | Yes |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
This course introduces the legal profession not from the perspective of law practitioners, but from the social science studies on various aspects of this profession in different jurisdictions and social contexts. The course does not teach students how to think like a lawyer, but it provides social science perspectives for understanding how the legal profession is organized, differentiated, and transformed over time. It also examines the relationship between lawyers and other social entities and processes, such as their clients, market competitors, state regulators, and the processes of globalization and political change.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Sida Liu | liusida@hku.hk | CCT 503 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Describe and explain the basic social structure of the legal profession in different jurisdictions.
CLO 2 Apply social science perspectives to various empirical problems and issues related to lawyers’ work and careers.
CLO 3 Critically examine theories of the legal profession and demonstrate their usefulness and limitations.
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 |
| Reading responses and class participation | TBC | 16% | 5 | 1, 2, 3 |
| Midterm exam | 13 Mar 2024 | 30% | 1 | 1, 2, 3 |
| Law firm report | 17 Apr 2024 | 24% | 5 | 1, 2, 3 |
| Final paper | 10 May 2024 | 30% | 1 | 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
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: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/