Introduction to Learning Law Course

Learning Law is for anyone considering a move into law who has not studied it before. That covers a wide range of starting points. You might be a graduate in an unrelated discipline, weighing up a change of direction. You might be considering law as a second career after years in another field entirely. Or you might already work in a legal environment, in a paralegal, support or other non-qualified role, without ever having had a formal introduction to the discipline itself. No law degree is required, no prior legal qualification is assumed, and no particular route into the course is treated as the norm.

What the course does ask of you is meaningful engagement. That means independent preparation ahead of each class, and a willingness to work through course material at a steady pace.

Learning Law runs across six weeks, each week built around a distinct topic in the working of the law of England and Wales.

The first two weeks cover how law is made. Week one looks at Parliament itself: its composition, and the process by which a Bill becomes an Act. Week two turns to the different forms legislation can take. It examines primary legislation (Acts of Parliament) and secondary legislation (rules and regulations made under powers those Acts confer), and the relationship between the two.

The next two weeks cover how law is adjudicated. Week three examines the courts of England and Wales: the different courts and their functions, the process a case follows through them, and the respective roles of judges and lawyers within that process. Week four turns to case law itself. It looks at how senior judges arrive at their judgments, including how they interpret legislation, and how those judgments go on to establish precedent for future cases.

The final two weeks turn from the structure of law to the practical skill of engaging with it. Week five, Reading Law, looks at how statutes are interpreted and applied in practice. It draws on the judicial approaches to interpretation covered in the previous fortnight, including the use of case law precedent. Week six, Finding and Researching Law, addresses where the law is actually found, among primary and secondary sources such as legislation, case law and academic legal research. It also shows how to find your way around them.

Learning Law runs for six weeks, with a tutor delivering the lecture and the class each week.

The lecture. A live presentation for the whole course cohort, streamed in real time. It sets out the fundamentals of that week's topic. Up to one and a half hours in duration.

The class. Smaller and more interactive: a group of no more than ten students working through discussion and problem questions, with direct instruction and feedback from your tutor. Up to two hours in duration. Because each class is limited to ten students, a week's class may run more than once, so that every student on the course has a place. The class is scheduled separately from the lecture, and the two are not necessarily held on the same day.

Platform and access. Both the lecture and the class are streamed via Google Meet and scheduled in United Kingdom time. Google Classroom is the platform through which you access each week's lecture and class livestreams, together with any accompanying materials. To book a place on Learning Law, you must be signed in to our Student Portal with the email address linked to your Google Account (we ask for this address as part of your registration). Once you are enrolled, access to Google Classroom is arranged on your behalf. You then sign in to your course's classroom space with the same email address. Access remains open for the duration of the course.

Weekly commitment. Lecture and class attendance, together with independent study such as preparation for each class and follow-up work afterwards, bring the total commitment to around fifteen hours a week.

Certificate of completion. On completing all six weeks, you will receive an electronic certificate confirming you have completed Learning Law. It is a record of the course, not a professional or academic qualification. It is, however, a straightforward way of evidencing your own initiative, to a future employer or simply for your own record.

This programme does not carry a formal English language entry requirement. The nature of the lecture and class material does, however, call for an ability to engage with legal material in English broadly consistent with an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 7.5 (Academic), or a Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) level of C1. If your language proficiency sits significantly below that level, you may find it difficult to engage fully with the lectures and classes, or to keep pace with the course.

A place on Learning Law costs £175, which covers the course in full.

A booking secures your place for the full six weeks: a seat in both the lecture and a class, every week. The start date of the next course is shown at the top of this page.

You need to be registered with Woodroffe Legal Education before you can book, and you need to be in the United Kingdom when you book.

Already registered. Sign in to the Student Portal, through which you reach the booking system. You can then book and pay for a place on the next available intake.

Not yet registered. Registration is free and completed once only, via a short online form. We review each registration, typically within three working days. Once you are approved, you will be sent details of how to sign in to the Student Portal. You will need a free Google Account to sign in.