Form a broad perspective on the role of the lawyer, lawyering as a profession, lawyering skills, and lawyers’ relationships to clients. Consider the future of legal services.
Would you like to understand the different legal careers available, consider different models of offering services to clients, and spend time exploring the kind of practitioner you want to be? This paper takes you through the history and future of legal practice, examines how lawyers can provide services to clients, and supports the development of professional character.
| Paper title | Lawyers, Clients, and the Profession |
|---|---|
| Paper code | LAWS350 |
| Subject | Law |
| EFTS | 0.1000 |
| Points | 15 points |
| Teaching period | Semester 1 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $710.30 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- 96 LAWS points
- Pre or Corequisite
- Any 200-level LAWS paper not already passed
- Limited to
- LLB, LLB(Hons)
- Notes
- May not be credited together with LAWS475 passed in 2018 and 2019.
- Eligibility
This paper is best suited to students in their final year of their legal studies.
- Contact
- Teaching staff
- Paper Structure
Module 1 - Lawyers and the profession (nature and structure of the profession, gaining entry)
Module 2 - Working with clients (types of clients, charging clients, law firms, self-represented litigants)
Module 3 - Future of practice (disruption to legal services, new models of practice, wellness, diversity)
- Teaching Arrangements
This paper will be taught as a blend of online learning and four in-person classes. It is essential that students can access Blackboard with a good internet connection so that they can engage with the online component of this course. Students must also attend the in person classes (i.e. this is not a distance paper). Students will be assigned to a discussion group to support their learning and to complete activities.
- Textbooks
Readings are assigned and are accessible through e-Reserve.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship,
Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Environmental literacy,
Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation, Teamwork.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
When you finish this paper you will understand the history and structure of the legal profession, evaluate this learning against your own conceptions and reflect on your place with a rapidly changing landscape of legal practice, with particular regard to the needs of clients. Emphasis is placed on developing reflective practices that will help you in making career decisions and to work in different practice settings.
