Workshop resources for the HEA-funded workshop 'Embedding legal research skills into the LLB curriculum'. LETR identified that “legal research skills are not sufficiently acquired by the end of the academic stage” and recommends the introduction of distinct assessment in legal research to the LLB. This workshop explored the ways in which legal research skills can be developed and assessed within a qualifying law degree. This presentation is part of a related blog post that provides an overview of the event: http://bit.ly/1hUljKb For further details of the HEA's work on teaching research methods in the Social Sciences, please see: http://bit.ly/15go0mh

1. Embedding Legal Research Skills
into the LLB Curriculum
7th
April 2014
Workshop Materials

2. WORKSHOP ONE
Aim:
To look at different types of research exercise and evaluate them in relation the BIALL Legal
Information Literacy Statement
In your groups:
 Attempt the research task that you have been given,
 Answer the questions in the grid below and
 Nominate someone from the group to feedback after lunch
Questions for Discussion:
What prior knowledge and
training did you need to
undertake the task successfully?
Who would need to deliver the
training to do the task, a law
lecturer or a librarian, or both?
How much time do you think
would be needed to do the task
well?

3. Did you think the task was
interesting? What might have
made the task more interesting
or engaging?
If you were a law student, do you
think that you would have
understood the purpose of the
task?
Which of the 4 skills of the BIALL
Legal Information Literacy
Statement would be developed
by doing an exercise of this type?
At what stage of the LLB
programme might it be
appropriate to ask students to
tackle a task like this

4. Websites and online sources:
1. Understanding and Evaluating Digital Information:
Look a the article “Secret courts will let UK security services off the hook” at
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/13/secret-courts-uk-security-
services-off-hook
 What is the viewpoint of the writer?
 Who is the author?
 What else ahs he written?
 What does the use of language tell you about the author’s viewpoint?
 Does the newspaper/new source have a stated view or political affiliation?
 What happened to the Bill discussed in the article?
2. Websites and online news:
 Pick a topic and find two news articles with opposing (or at least differing points
of view).
 Post the links on Moodle
 Report your findings to the rest of the group
o Freedom of Association
o Deportation and Human Rights
o Terrorism and Personal Liberties
o Article 6/Right to a Fair Trial
o Article 9/Freedom of Thought Conscience and Religion

5. Group 2 Workshop Task
Property law
Background
In the news on 3rd
February this year, it was reported that: “Landowners in the Sussex Downs
National Park are mounting a "legal blockade" to block a potential fracking site. Solicitors for
residents near Fernhurst, in West Sussex, have written to Celtique Energie and the Energy Secretary
Ed Davey to explicitly deny permission to drill under their land.” (BBC news,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26007057 accessed 4/2/14).
Your task
Find out the answers to the following questions:
1. What general laws relating to property are the landowners relying upon in mounting their ‘legal
blockade’? Do you think they will be successful?
2. Are there any specific laws which would allow the energy company and/or the Energy Secretary to
drill under the land despite the objections of the landowners?
3. What possible reforms to the law are being discussed to make it easier for energy companies to
carry out fracking?
Remember that you must be able to cite authority to back up your answers.
Recording your research
One member of your group must be tasked to record the approach of the group to the research,
and the steps taken. Please fill out the following table in real time:
Time Research undertaken Comment and Further Steps

6. Group 3 Task
Problem Solving
 Read the scenario
 Answer the questions
 Fill in the Research Record
Scenario:
Your aunt phones you up. She wants to ask your advice because you are studying law. Her 19
year old son (your cousin) and three of his friends have decided to protest about the way that
the Stephen Gough has been treated. They are planning to stage a naked protest outside the
High Court on Monday.
Your aunt thinks they will be arrested and wants you to explain the law to her so that she can
try and dissuade him. Your cousin and his friends have told her that there is no criminal offence
of “being naked”, but she says she read on the BBC website that Stephen Gough was convicted
for being naked in public.
You don’t know who Stephen Gough is, or really know what she is talking about, but you agree
to help her.
Questions:
1. Make a list of questions that you need to find the answers to.
2. What is the first step that you are going to take to find out about this?
3. You discover that Stephen Gough has been convicted under the Public Order Act 1986.
Where are you going to look up the relevant part of the statute?
4. You read somewhere that Stephen Gough lost an appeal in the High Court on 31st
October 2013. What is the name and citation of the case?
5. You find a case on Public Order that seems relevant, but it is from 1990. What more do
you need to find out about the case?
6. What other offences has Stephen Gough been convicted of?
7. What other information might you need in order to advise your aunt?

7. RESEARCH RECORD
Name of client:
Student’s name
Seminar Tutor
Date:
Research Objective or
task:
Research Material:
(Statute, Regulation,
Case, Book, Article. Lexis,
etc)
Research Finding:
Are your findings up to
date?
Yes/No (delete as appropriate)
Further Research
Required:
Time spent on research:

8. Group 4 Workshop Task:
Piracy and International Law
 Look at the task below and predict how many of the questions you think you will be
able to find answers to in 35 mins.
 At the end of the 35 minutes look back at your prediction to see if you were
accurate.
Piracy is not just Johnny Depp and ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’: it is a modern-day
maritime crime of far-reaching significance. Its contemporary image is better reflected in
the less-glamorous yet highly charged film ‘Captain Phillips’ starring Tom Hanks.
The modern world depends on global shipping to bring us the food we eat, the clothes we
wear and much else. The deprivations of piracy put these at risk. Moreover, piracy may have
devastating personal consequences. The main global ‘hotspot’ is off the coast of East Africa,
adjacent to the Somalia. However, there are now increasing reports of incidents in West
Africa and South-East Asia.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/piracy/8929550/Somali-pirates-arrested-
after-Royal-Navy-helicopter-chase.html
The Task
The research exercise requires you to explore the on-line resources in order to:
1. Identify the main international treaty that governs piracy.
2. Provide the legal definition of piracy.
3. Prepare an overview of the efforts taken by the international community to combat
piracy: provide a list of at least 5 effective measures that have been taken
4. Provide statistics relating to the number of armed pirate attacks off the coast of
West Africa, starting from 2010.
5. Describe the reporting mechanisms that exist to facilitate the reporting of piracy.
6. Explain the impact of piracy on: (a) the States of East Africa, (b) the Indian Ocean
Island (c) the global community

9. Starting points:
http://www.un.org/depts/los/piracy/piracy.htm
www.imo.org
http://daccess-dds-
ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N10/425/07/PDF/N1042507.pdf?OpenElement
Research Log:
Before you begin, discuss the manner and form in which you intend to log your research.
Determine also if each member of your research team will maintain their own research log /
record or whether there will be a common log.
Whatever method you choose, please remember that some must be able to replicate the
research log by following in your footsteps.

10. Group 5 Workshop Task:
1. Look at essay question for Family Law.
2. Using the Statsky Cartwheel on the next page generate a list of search terms that
could be used to look for journal articles relevant to the essay topic.
If you have not used this cartwheel before, look at the example from the
egal nfor ation iteracy State ent attached
3. Once you have a list of search terms use the terms to search the law databases
and begin to put together a list of academic articles that you might need to read
for the essay.

11. Family Law Coursework 2014
Emily Jackson comments:
“ ecause parents possess a bundle of i portant rights and duties, clear and una biguous legal
definitions of motherhood and fatherhood are self-evidently desirable. And yet the law has
tended to assume that the existence of a parent-child link will simply be obvious. Whilst this
may be true in the paradigm case of a child conceived through sexual intercourse and brought
up by both her genetic progenitors, for an increasing number of children there may be genuine
uncertainty about the identity of their parents […]Where there are a nu ber of possible
others and/or fathers, how should we choose between the in order to identify a child’s legal
parents?” (E ily Jackson (2006) What is a parent? n Diduck, & C O’Donovan, Feminists
Perspectives on Family Law (pp. 59-99) at p.59 Abingdon: Routledge-Cavendish.)
Critically analyse the basis on which the law confers the legal status of parenthood in
situations where there are a number of possible mothers and/or fathers. (You are not
required to discuss the position of step-parents)
Learning Outcomes:
You will have
 Demonstrated effective legal research into a complex area of law.
 Explained clearly the legal principles involved in this area of law.
 Engaged in a critical analysis of the relevant statues and legal judgments.
 Engaged in the academic debate on the legal attribution of parenthood.
 Reflected upon the original data collected.
 Presented a clear and coherent argument with logical progression of ideas.
 Shown evidence of good communication skills including the use of clear and coherent
written style and the good use of English language, particularly spelling, grammar and
syntax.
 Referenced work correctly and included a full bibliography.

12. Parents
Broader
term
Closely
related
Term
Synonyms
Procedures
and
remedies
Narrower
terms
Long shots
Antoyms
Courts and
agencies

13. Group 6
Looking for relevant cases
Background:
This is a task designed to help students in the early stages of researching a coursework
question in Family Law.
Your task:
 Look at the coursework question over the page.
 Using Lexis and/or Justcite to search for cases start filling in the tables below.
The first box on the first table has been completed as an example.
 You are not expected to read judgments in full at this stage, but merely to
identify cases that may be relevant to the coursework question.
Problems applying/interpreting the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Acts of
2008 and 1990
Name of case Citation Law Facts
Leeds
Teaching
Hospital NHS
Trust v A
[2003]
EWCH 259
Because the two men had
not consented to their
sperm being used in the
way that it was used, the
relevant sections of the
HFEA 1990 did not apply
and therefore court
applied common law
principles making the
genetic father the legal
father.
Couple A and
Couple B were both
receiving fertility
treatment in the
same clinic and
following an error,
Mrs A became
pregnant with Mr
’s sper
DNA testing/disputes about paternity where there has been an affair
Name of case Citation Law Facts

14. Disputes between lesbian mothers and known donors:
Name of case Citation Law Facts
Surrogacy:
Name of case Citation Law Facts
Natural parent presumption:
Name of case Citation Law Facts
European Court of Human Rights cases on paternity
Name of case Citation Law Facts

15. Family Law Coursework 2014
Emily Jackson comments:
“ ecause parents possess a bundle of i portant rights and duties, clear and
unambiguous legal definitions of motherhood and fatherhood are self-evidently
desirable. And yet the law has tended to assume that the existence of a parent-child link
will simply be obvious. Whilst this may be true in the paradigm case of a child conceived
through sexual intercourse and brought up by both her genetic progenitors, for an
increasing number of children there may be genuine uncertainty about the identity of
their parents […]Where there are a nu ber of possible others and/or fathers, how
should we choose between the in order to identify a child’s legal parents?” (E ily
Jackson (2006) What is a parent? n Diduck, & C O’Donovan, Feminists Perspectives
on Family Law (pp. 59-99) at p.59 Abingdon: Routledge-Cavendish.)
Critically analyse the basis on which the law confers the legal status of
parenthood in situations where there are a number of possible mothers and/or
fathers. (You are not required to discuss the position of step-parents)
Learning Outcomes:
You will have
 Demonstrated effective legal research into a complex area of law.
 Explained clearly the legal principles involved in this area of law.
 Engaged in a critical analysis of the relevant statues and legal judgments.
 Engaged in the academic debate on the legal attribution of parenthood.
 Reflected upon the original data collected.
 Presented a clear and coherent argument with logical progression of ideas.
 Shown evidence of good communication skills including the use of clear and
coherent written style and the good use of English language, particularly
spelling, grammar and syntax.
 Referenced work correctly and included a full bibliography.