Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	Regulation of the Legal Profession
School	Birmingham Law School
Department	Law
Module Code	08 26080
Module Lead
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	Law Programmes Only
Exclusions
Description	Lawyers are one of the most powerful and respected professions whilst also being amongst the most regularly criticised. The first half of the course looks at why lawyers have gained their privileged status; what it means to be a professional and whether lawyers live up to their side of the professional bargain. Throughout the course we will look closely at research on the profession and seek to hone your skills of critical thinking and writing; helping you develop some of the tools necessary to critically evaluate what goes on in court rooms and lawyers offices.The second half of the course looks more closely at the ethics of the legal profession. It takes some of the lawyers key ethical duties and some of the key associated ethical dilemmas and looks at these carefully to see how far law and morality co-exist, but also how the professional rules seek to aid lawyers in the resolution of professional tensions. We also consider the role of legal education and look at diversity in the profession.We use academic research to provide some understanding of why lawyers might be criticized, but it is important that students seek to understand the academic debates in a current context.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Demonstrate knowledge of how the legal profession in the UK is regulated, including knowledge of relevant legislation, statutory instruments and related regulations, significant policy documents as well as academic literature Bring together and present coherently materials from primary and secondary sources which deal with the issues addressed in the module Make personal and reasoned judgements about the material covered in the moduleInteract with the other members of a learning group, giving and receiving information and ideas and modifying responses where appropriate
Assessment	26080-01 : Essay 1 : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessments: 1 x 6,000 word essay Reassessment: This is a final year module.
Other
Reading List