In this module, taught by Jeanette and Verona Ní Drisceoil, students set up ‘law firms’ and undertake a consultancy project with a local organisation, developing group work, academic and employability skills to prepare them for the assessment. The participation and engagement grade throughout the project encourages excellent student engagement.

Teaching area

Inclusive assessment

Course

Law optional Level 5 module: Professional Skills: Law in Action: 55 students in two workshop groups

Description

This module started in autumn 2025. There are no lectures – instead, students come to a weekly two-hour workshop. In the first week, they set up their own ‘law firms’ in groups of four and decide on their name and mission statement. During the entire module, they work in their groups. To complete their consultancy work, they meet up outside the formal teaching sessions, both online and in-person. In their law firms, the students work on consultancy projects with local organisations, which give them a brief to research a legal question to assist them.

Consultancy with the Komedia

In autumn 2025, the students worked with five local organisations. One of the consultancy projects was with an arts venue, the Komedia in Brighton. Four law-firm groups were involved. One group per class worked on the pastiche copyright exception, while the other two groups worked on data sharing between the different organisations under the Komedia umbrella.

The Komedia was planning a new musical singalong brunch and needed to know how closely the performers could draw on materials from the films. The groups working on the pastiche exception divided up the work between them and undertook legal research. One group examined how to avoid copyright infringement for a singalong based on The Wizard of Oz. For example, a student came up with the bright idea to replace Dorothy’s ruby slippers with red Converses. At the end of the three-week project, the law firms presented their findings to the organisation and wrote a report.

Inclusive pedagogy

Self-monitoring progress

Inclusive practices are embedded in the curriculum. After each workshop, students have three minutes to write an ‘exit ticket’ on Canvas, the Virtual Learning Environment platform, before leaving. In this reflective task, they describe how they feel about the skills they have gained and how confident they feel. The weekly exit tickets help them to reflect as they go along; this mirrors the assessment task, in which they showcase the skills and experience they have gained. The exit tickets help the students realise they have developed professional skills.

Participation grade

Of the overall grade, 20 per cent is marked on participation and engagement during the consultancy project. If students miss a session, the onus is on them to let us know and to proactively catch up with their group.

Embedded skills

Many students were nervous about giving presentations, but their confidence increased through dedicated voice-work oracy sessions led by Verona Ní Drisceoil, and the majority participated in presenting to the consultancy organisations. The support enabled students to step out of their comfort zone and maximise their opportunities.

Inclusive assessment

The students need to show they have met the module learning outcomes:

1. Demonstrate engagement, participation and personal responsibility in a practical ‘employer’ task.
2. Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively and communicate information, ideas and solutions appropriate for the target audience.
3. Demonstrate effective oral communication of legal advice and/or legal information suitable for a work-like context such as a ‘work in progress’ review.
4. Initiate and undertake practical legal research.

The main assessment takes place in person with the two module convenors, who assess each student individually. Students showcase the skills they have developed on the module at an interview for a fictional role at a law firm. Preparation for this assessment is embedded in the module. Careers Consultant for Law Helen Gorman runs a session on ‘Building your professional profile’, which includes interview skills. Before the interview, each student submits a legal letter they have drafted based on a document pack; this activity is also scaffolded in the module.

The interview is in two parts. In the first part, the student discusses their process of legal drafting. If they used AI to refine their drafting, they talk about how well it worked. The letter itself is not marked. In the second part, they interview for the fictional role at the firm, highlighting the skills they have gained through the consultancy work on the project.

Finally, the students write a 600-word reflection on how they have met the criteria for 20 per cent participation and engagement on the module. This is not marked but it helps the tutor to decide on their grade.

Outcomes

Inclusive assessment

The weekly reflective task provides practice for the assessment task. The consultancy project provides students with embedded work experience and feeds into their ‘work in progress’ oral assessment.

Student engagement

Attendance and engagement in autumn 2025 were excellent. The participation and engagement grade encouraged attendance, and non-attendance was minimal. The students built connections in their groups, and they all met their deadlines for the consultancy work.

Team-based learning and group work

Students work collaboratively in teams and take personal responsibility to complete the tasks.

Academic skills and student support

The voice-work oracy sessions helped students to develop presentation skills and gain confidence, and they learnt to communicate legal advice and/or legal information. Students acquired significant employability skills too.

Comments

The students were overwhelmingly positive about this module. They fed back to the convenors directly after the assessment, and in the accompanying research study, that they had enjoyed the different type of assessment, which they felt would be helpful for future interviews and workplace situations.

Morgan Legace wrote about her experience:

Each week we explored topics such as generative AI, building a professional profile, legal drafting, voice and presentation skills. A recurring theme was adopting a ‘mind‑first’ approach: understanding how to think critically, and strategically in a rapidly evolving world shaped by generative AI. Our discussions helped me understand how AI is entering legal workplaces and how future lawyers can adapt, collaborate with technology, and maintain professional integrity…

One of the most valuable components of the module was the consultancy brief with a local Brighton business. Working collaboratively with classmates, we formed our own ‘law firm’ and produced a professional consultancy report and presentation for a real client. This experience significantly strengthened my research skills, organisation, teamwork and ability to translate legal principles into practical, client‑focused advice. It also enhanced my project management abilities – delegating tasks, meeting deadlines, and maintaining high professional standards throughout.

Our final assessment was a simulated law firm ‘work in progress’ interview. This was an excellent opportunity to apply everything we had learned in a realistic setting. It required us to demonstrate legal drafting skills, including preparing a Letter Before Action, and to show accuracy, attention to detail and adherence to professional protocols. The assessment was interactive, challenging, and incredibly rewarding – it allowed me to showcase skills I can confidently carry into the workplace, such as professional communication, structured reasoning and formal drafting accuracy.

Links

Read Morgan’s full post on LinkedIn.

References

Ashton, J. and Ní Drisceoil, V. (2026), ‘Building an Enabling Environment: Reflections on the Inaugural Year of the Professional Skills: Law in Action Module’, Learning Matters post (accessed 9 April 2026)