General transferable skills: College of Law, York

(Transcript of a section of the General transferable skills report, 1998)

Strategy and target group

The principal target group is the Legal Practice Course (LPC) student group (postgraduate). Although skills are explicitly taught as part of the training for legal practice, students are made aware of the transferability of the skills they acquire.

The range and emphasis of the skills involved is different in the College’s Common Professional Examination (CPE), Bar Vocational Course (BVC) and Professional Skills Course.

Specific skills module or integration of skills?

All the skills mentioned below are all fully integrated into the LPC. There is introduction to them in the foundation element of the course, after which the skills are developed in all the subjects on the LPC.

Specific skills

Four of the skills (writing and drafting, practical legal research, interviewing and advising, and advocacy) are separately assessed. Students are provided with a criteria sheet for each skill so that they know what is expected of them and how the skill will be assessed. Negotiation is taught and practised on the course, but is not separately assessed.

In addition, problem-solving, intellectual skills and a variety of IT skills are indirectly assessed in the context of coursework assignments.

Personal and inter/intrapersonal skills are also developed by the requirements for students to work on their own initiative, manage and organise their time and documents efficiently, work on problems and their solutions in small teams, and give and receive feedback.

As the LPC is a course preparing students for the solicitors’ profession, understanding and application of ethical standards and awareness of the business environment naturally permeate the entire course, the former aspect being directly assessed.

Last Modified: 30 June 2010