Legal Practice Course (LPC)

This LPC elective builds on the core practice area of Civil Litigation. You will consider (amongst other things) the following advanced topics:

• Choice of law and the circumstances in which this is an issue
• Forum shopping (including the factors which a client might take into account when deciding which country should hear its claim, in cases where it has a choice)
• How to draft statements of case
• Advanced disclosure of documents (in particular, issues relating to privilege and seeking 'non-standard' disclosure against - for example - individuals or companies which are not actually a party to your client's litigation)
• How to pursue a case before the Commercial Court
• Experts witnesses (e.g. the tactics involved in dealing with experts in complex commercial claims)
• Search orders
• Regulatory disputes (e.g. the steps firms and employees need to take when dealing with a regulatory issue and their disclosure obligations when faced with a regulatory investigation)
• Procedures and tactics in judicial review cases

Revenue law is a pervasive subject on the LPC. It is not separately assessed and is taught (and examined) where appropriate within the other subject areas of the LPC. For example, when you are studying Business Law and Practice you will develop your understanding of the various taxes as they relate to the business environment and then these tax issues will be examined as part of the Business Law and Practice assessment.

To assist with your learning during the compulsory stage of the LPC, you will be provided with a revenue law workbook. The purpose of this workbook is to introduce you to the basic principles of individual and corporate revenue law. It provides you with an overview of how the UK taxation system works. Your knowledge of revenue law will be developed throughout both the compulsory and elective terms.

Professional Conduct and Regulation (‘PCR’) is a pervasive module: as well as being assessed in a standalone two hour PCR exam, PCR issues will also arise on the LPC in all of the Core Practice Areas and, to a lesser extent, in most elective modules.

Some of the areas covered include:

• The SRA Principles
  • SRA Code of Conduct 2011:
  • Client Care
  • Conflicts of Interests
  • Confidentiality and disclosure
  • Your duties to the court
  • Undertakings
• Money laundering and the proceeds of crime
• Financial Services

The module is very practical; you are given dozens of scenarios where you face a variety of ethical dilemmas. By the time students complete the module, they should to be able to spot the relevant PCR issue and explain what course of action they would need to take in order to comply with their statutory and regulatory obligations.

The first part of the Property Law and Practice module introduces you to the steps to take when acting for either the buyer or the seller in the acquisition or sale of registered and unregistered freehold properties. The second part of the module introduces you to the steps to take when acting for either a landlord or tenant in the grant of a commercial lease (including a detailed look at some of the key clauses in commercial leases such as buying/selling leases, alterations, repair and service charge). You will also look at the security of tenure which is generally available to tenants of commercial leases; how a landlord might exclude that security of tenure or, if a tenant has security of tenure, the circumstances in which a landlord can recover possession of the leased premises.

All of the above is done through case studies - one for freehold and one for leasehold.

Drafting is a skills subject on the LPC. You will be assessed on your drafting skills through a written, timed assessment.

To assist with your learning, you will be provided with a drafting workbook at the start of the course. The purpose of this workbook is to introduce you to the basic principles of effective drafting. It also provides you with a number of exercises with solutions for you to practice drafting skills. Drafting points will also be covered in certain small group sessions on the compulsory modules and you’ll be given opportunities to practice your drafting skills in these sessions.

Full details as to how drafting is taught and assessed is also covered in the drafting workbook.

The Business Law and Practice module is the largest of the core practice areas. The module essentially follows the life cycle of a company (from how to set up and finance a company through to insolvency). The module is split into six key topic areas:

• Setting up and financing a company
• Directors
• Shareholders
• Acquisitions
• Tax (individual and corporate)
• Business Accounts Insolvency

You will be taught through a combination of lectures and small group sessions and you will work with realistic client scenarios to provide context for your learning and to assist with developing your ability to provide accurate, practical and commercial advice which is crucial in practice.

Debt Finance is an elective subject on the LPC. The aim of the module is to introduce you to the basic steps of a commercial loan transaction and a bond issue. The particular focus is on negotiating loan and security documentation from the point of view of a bank and a borrower. This involves understanding the commercial and other concerns of corporate borrowers and lenders. We also consider the framework within which banks operate, an area which has dominated the news lately.

This elective covers two broad topic areas, namely:

• Intellectual Property Rights (“ IPRs”), their subsistence and infringement; and
• more general commercial issues such as Sale of Goods, Competition Law and Distribution/Commercial Agency.

More specifically, you will consider the main areas of intellectual property in a practical context: trade marks and passing off, copyright, designs (registered and unregistered), confidentiality, patents, exploitation of IPRs. You will also consider commercial topic areas such as sale of goods (and UCTA), law and jurisdiction in commercial contracts, e-commerce, international sales, competition law, distribution and agency agreements.

Alongside these core areas, you will develop your negotiation and analytical skills and the ability to critique numerous contractual clauses from a legal and commercial perspective.

The knowledge and skills you develop will be invaluable to you as a lawyer in many of the key areas of practice.

The Family Law elective is wide-ranging and so will be relevant for those in many types of firm: general practice, a commercial practice or a ‘niche’ family law firm.

You will consider the law relating to divorce and relationship breakdown, the formation and dissolution of civil partnerships, the division of family property and finances following divorce, including looking at ‘high net worth’ individuals. Aspects of public and private children law are looked at in detail and also the issue of domestic abuse.

You will consider the position of cohabitees in relation to money, property, children and domestic abuse. Case studies are used throughout and you will gain valuable experience in advocacy, drafting and negotiation.

This elective covers the key rights and common agreements that a solicitor would expect to come across in a number of media and entertainment industries including:

• music
• film
• television
• advertising; and
• sport

You need to be familiar with the substantive law in these areas, but the emphasis of the module is on the practical application of rights within the media industries.

A listed company is one which has its shares traded on the main market of the London Stock Exchange ("LSE"). On this elective, your client starts out as a successful and large company which is family owned, but which wants to float on the LSE. You will advise on the steps the company has to take, to convert itself from private ownership to listed company status, via an Initial Public Offer ("IPO").

The company wishes to market itself and you will consider what has to be included in the prospectus it produces, what happens if the directors make a mistake in the prospectus, what can be contained in any advertisements the company issues and so on. You will regularly relate your study to current news stories on the areas covered.

After your client's flotation, you will consider numerous other issues which affect listed companies, such as raising finance by secondary issue, market abuse, insider dealing and corporate governance and takeovers (recommended and hostile).

In addition to learning about the role of solicitors and the required documentation for equity finance transactions, you will also learn more about the role of the company, the directors and advisers (including the sponsor, brokers and accountants). You will look also at some of the functions of the Financial Services Authority and the LSE. You cannot study the Equity Finance and Corporate Finance electives together as the subjects overlap.

This elective will give you a good introduction to the buying and selling of private companies and their businesses. You will study the legal and structural differences between a share sale and a business sale, and will also learn about the corporate auction process.

All the stages of a corporate transaction are covered, including preliminary documentation, due diligence, contractual protections for buyer and seller, claims of misrepresentation and entire agreement clauses and completion arrangements. The elective also focuses on the tax considerations for both buyer and seller. including tax considerations arising within a corporate group. You will also learn to spot issues and understand specialist advice in other areas of law relevant on a corporate acquisition, such as IP and employment

Private equity funds have recently played a significant role in the acquisitions market and you will learn about this, e.g. the way in which a private equity backed management buyout is likely to be structured and the special considerations arising for the buyer, the seller, the management and the private equity fund when the documentation is being negotiated.

The topics and concepts covered by the Private Acquisitions course are a crucial part of the work undertaken by corporate departments - regardless of size of firm or national profile. Any student contemplating a career in such a department (or a related department) should consider taking this elective.

This elective introduces the framework of UK immigration law and how it operates both inside and outside the UK. You will consider who is subject to immigration control. You will consider how, when and where it is enforced.

Whether the client is an asylum seeker, a student, an EEA national or a worker, they will be seeking advice on entering or remaining in the UK. You will examine the options available, the procedures involved, the evidence required and the advantages and disadvantages of each option. You will look at developments across immigration, asylum and human rights law.

Employment law is probably the fastest-moving area of UK law. This elective is a varied, fascinating and popular module, covering key areas of employment law which are most likely to crop up in practice. The module is always up-to-date and students are encouraged to take an interest in current employment law issues reported in both the legal press and newspapers.

During the module you will gain an insight into the main aspects of Employment Law encountered by solicitors in practice as follows:

• What constitutes an employee
• Terms and conditions of employment
• Wrongful dismissal
• Restrictive covenants and confidentiality
• Unfair dismissal – the elements of a claim and remedies
• Redundancy
• Compromising/settling Employment Tribunal claims
• How the Tribunal system works
• Discrimination on grounds of sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, age and disability
• Transfer of Undertakings

The module will equip you with the ability, from day 1 of your training contract, competently to advise both employee and employer clients as to their rights and obligations in relation to the above areas.

On this elective, you will study many different areas of practice including road traffic accidents, public liability, employers' liability and clinical negligence claims.

You will develop your skills of conducting complex case analyses and drafting statements of case in these specialist areas. You will learn how to analyse medical evidence, with a view to valuing a personal injury claim. You will also study the workings of the Coroner's Court, including a visit to a Coroner’s Court to observe an inquest, and compensation awards under the Criminal Injury Compensation Scheme.

The elective is balanced, in that you will study many aspects from the perspective of both the claimant and defendant.

The personal injury and clinical negligence option covers the essential areas of Personal Injury Practice. It looks in detail at road traffic accidents, trips and slips and accidents at work. This is both in terms of ordinary claims and those by dependants in respect of fatal accidents such as death from asbestosis, as considered by the House of Lords in Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services.

The intricacies of quantum and assessing future losses using Ogden tables are considered in detail. The module is also an introduction to clinical negligence, including understanding medical jargon and the difficulties of proving causation.

This elective builds upon the related core practice area.

You will begin with advanced techniques for representing clients at the police station. This will equip you to go in to a police station with confidence, and prepare you for the ‘Critical Incidents Test’ you will be expected to pass during your training contract.

A proportion of the elective is dedicated to juvenile clients. This is a specialised area which requires additional knowledge and skills. You will practice representing a juvenile from the investigative stage through to the juvenile court and, ultimately, the sentencing hearing.

Motoring law is an important part of private criminal practice. You will therefore consider the intricacies of endorsement, disqualification and totting provisions.

Throughout the module you will consider the perspective of both the prosecution and the defence. This gives you a rounded understanding and equips you to apply to (and work for) the CPS and criminal defence firms alike.

The module initially starts with a case study, advising a property developer client on out-of-town retail development. During the course of this case study, you will consider planning and environmental issues, the role of the property lawyer in funding the development and tax issues. You will then look at the construction of the development and the idea of “ pre-letting” to the tenant that will take a lease when the building is constructed.

The second half of the course (and the second case study) will enhance your commercial landlord and tenant knowledge. You will advise the landlord and also various tenants within a mixed-use development – essentially learning to deal with property management issues. You will draft key documents and negotiate and advise on key issues in a commercial lease. You will then look at the role of a property litigation lawyer in terms of remedies available for landlords when tenants breach covenants in their leases.

Corporate Finance is a mix of two thirds of the Equity Finance elective and one third Debt Finance. You will cover most of the Equity Finance elective (except for Takeovers) and in addition will also look at some secured lending.

A listed company is one which has its shares traded on the main market of the London Stock Exchange ("LSE"). On this elective, your client starts out as a successful and large company which is family owned, but which wants want to float on the LSE. You will advise on the steps the company has to take, to convert itself from private ownership to listed company status, via an Initial Public Offer ("IPO"). The company wishes to market itself and you will consider what has to be included in the prospectus it produces, what happens if the directors make a mistake in the prospectus, what can be contained in any advertisements the company issues and so on.

After your client's flotation, you will consider numerous other issues which affect listed companies, such as raising finance by secondary issue, market abuse, insider dealing and corporate governance.

In addition to learning about the role of solicitors and the required documentation for corporate finance transactions, you will also learn more about the role of the company, the directors and advisers (including the sponsor, brokers and accountants). You will look also at some of the functions of the Financial Services Authority and the LSE.

In relation to secured lending, you will learn how to negotiate the documentation for different loans to protect your client, whether that is the lender or the borrower. You will also see how lenders which have made bad loans can cut their losses by selling loan participations in the secondary market.

Since, as stated, this elective is a mix of roughly two thirds of the Equity Finance elective and one third Debt Finance, it follows that if you choose this elective, you cannot also choose either the Equity Finance or Debt Finance electives.

This elective introduces you to the key areas of practice of a private client department, be it in a small high street firm, or a mid-tier or large firm which has both commercial and private clients.

The topics you will study include will drafting, administration of estates and the distribution of property, including intestate estates, trusts and the taxation of trusts. You will also look at areas such as applications under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, tax planning and to a small extent post-death arrangements.

The elective is very practical and you will develop your skills in problem solving, legal writing and drafting and interviewing, and your understanding of professional conduct, client care and financial services implications of private client work.