Legal resources on the web for students maintained by Delia Venables,
including information on case notes, course materials, competitions, discussion groups (forums)
and links to the main legal resources sections.
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This page was last updated on January 22nd. There is a sponsored link below followed by the normal entries...
Very interesting news especially for geeks.... And see the USA site Data.gov. Introductory MaterialNik Nicol, a barrister, provides an excellent introduction to the English Legal System (and it's available in Spanish too).Internet information skills for lawyers (an online tutorial) is provided by Social Sciences section of Intute, funded by JISC. The tutorial is free and takes you round the key legal resources available for lawyers. Your expert guide is Sue Pettit, Subject Librarian for Law, University of Bristol. Help With Law Exams is a free resource for students and teachers of law. It is maintained by Clive Dunkley, a law teacher at King Edward VI Sixth Form College in Nuneaton and an examiner for OCR for the AS Law papers. There is legal news extracted from current newspapers and other sources, expressed in a straightforward manner, descriptions of the Court Structure, how to become a solicitor or a barrister, information on police powers, magistrates, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Civil Law, Criminal Law and many other topics, all refreshingly free of jargon. a-level-law.com prepared by law lecturer Asif Tufal contains free lecture notes, case notes and resources for AS and A Level Law and ILEx Part II courses. Subjects covered are: Contract Law, Criminal Law, English Legal System and Tort Law. It also includes sources of free legal advice and useful links. Learn Law is a provider of online learning tools for law courses in England and Wales. They offer an online multi-choice assessment tool for GCSE Law students consisting of interactive revision tests enabling students to revise and apply their knowledge to over 15 areas of Law. Class reports provide teachers with instant feedback on how a group of students have performed on the revision tests. From September 2005 they are also offering the multi-choice assessment tool for students studying AS Law for the AQA and OCR examination boards. There will also soon be complete distance learning courses in GCSE, AS, A2 and the National Association of Paralegals. A Guide to the UK Legal System by Sarah Carter, Law Librarian at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and Guide to Irish Law by Dr. Darius Whelan, lecturer in law at the Institute of Technology, Tallaght, Dublin, are two comprehensive and innovative papers published on the USA LLRX Librarian's site. The papers describe the respective legal systems as if to a lawyer or student of law from another country, making full use of legal sources and resources on the web. The Legal System of Scotland (4th edition) has been produced by The Stationery Office in Scotland. The book provides a comprehensive guide to the Scottish legal system written in plain English for non-lawyers. It provides an overview of various aspects of the legal system such as: origins and sources of Scots law; the civil and criminal courts; tribunals; the personnel of the law; administration of the Scottish legal system; legal aid and protection of the public. The book in paperback costs £3.95. City Law School is one of London's major law schools and offers an impressive range of academic and professional courses. They offer particularly good online resources (mostly available to all law students rather than "just" their own students) including: LoretoLaw is a blog for A Level law students following the OCR syllabus at Loreto College in Manchester. It includes information about current topics in the syllabus and legal topics in the news and also gives information on future courses to follow at the University stage. Minitrial is an initiative from Scottish Lawyers to help secondary schools find out more about the Scottish legal system. Students take part in a reconstruction of a ciminal jury trial. The site shows an interactive court scene and describes the participants, then shows some of the "papers" for the assault trial. There are various materials for further work which can be downloaded. The site does not try to be too clever but is straightforward and informative. The Scottish Council of Law Reporting (SCLR) makes available on its site a collection of digital resources concerning the celebrated case of Donoghue v Stevenson - the case of the snail in the ginger beer bottle, from 1932. Now there is a new section of the site “The Paisley Snail MiniTrial” with featured articles and images of the original court documents which can be used by students in schools and colleges to run their own civil jury trials and to return their own verdict in the case based on current Scottish procedure. The format is based on the successful “criminal” trials from Minitrial, which is an educational initiative by Scottish lawyers, as above. Teachers can download starter packs of materials for use in class.
Resources Presented AlphabeticallyPlease note that the resources described here are only the ones designed specifically for students.The key legal resources (designed for all lawyers, including students) are presented here. Bournemouth and Poole College Law Weblog is intended to keep the college's students up to date with current developments in the courts and provide a discussion facility. The College follows the AQA AS and A level syllabus, and the blog covers legal developments relevant to that. There are extensive notes for law students at the main departmental page here. Criminal Law Online provides presentations and recorded lectures in criminal law for LLB and GDL students. These presentations, viewed online, are not free but they are low cost and good value. Topics available so far include Defences, Homicide and Non Fatal Offences. The lectures, presentations and articles are produced by Norman Baird who is also co-editor of Consilio, as above. elawstudent.com is a small company developing law courses and in particular, so far, an 'A' Level Law software programme (GCSE law and the core subjects for the first year of the LLB degree will follow later in the year). In the meantime, barrister Richard Priestley is making his database of significant edited transcripts of case judgments available to anyone interested. The user should click on the Quick Search button on the home page and then search by keyword (e.g. negligence) or by name or part of name. I asked how the cases were chosen. Richard said "I choose the cases in accordance with the syllabi of AQA and OCR, who are the only two examining boards offering AS/A LEVEL LAW. Unfortunately, the areas covered are huge: crime, contract, tort, consumer protection, human rights and els. Frankly, in terms of depth, I would equate the course with a first-year LL.B." Europa - Quick links for schools and universities describes EU actions in education and training aim to improve the quality of learning systems and provide greater opportunities for people at all stages of their lives. This special section of the Europa site provides links to research and educational networks as well as programmes and funding to encourage learning and research. (Not specifically legal resources). Insite Law Magazine ("daily online law news and law blogs") is a project initiated by long time legal educator and innovator Mike Semple-Piggot. The aim is to assist law students by providing text and recorded lectures completely free, together with other materials (news, podcasts, law reports) prepared by Mike and other legal experts. Plans are now well advanced to provide completely free text and materials course books, with recorded lectures, in Contract, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Tort, Intellectual Property, European Union Law, Competition Law, Employment Law and Family Law. These texts and lectures are designed around the requirements of traditional university syllabuses for qualifying law degrees. There are a number of news feeds to which the student (or practitioner) can subscribe. Intute is a free online service that helps users find the best web resources for their studies and research. Subject specialists (there is a major law section) review and evaluate thousands of resources for this site. Intute is created by a consortium of seven universities. The service aims to identify and evaluate legal resource sites offering primary and secondary materials and other items of legal interest. Descriptive records and links are created for legal service sites and specific documents. The jurisdictional coverage is wide, covering over 200 countries as well as international law. Judiciary of England and Wales is the website of the judges, magistrates and tribunal members in England and Wales. It is not part of Government, MoJ or Parliament but prides itself on being strictly independent. The site is designed as an information resource for members of the public and covers the functions of the judiciary with information on who the judges are, when they site, judgments, sentencing, practice directions and many related topics, together with news of current issues, news items and reports. There are interviews, surveys and even a quiz. JUSTICE is the well known and respected human rights and law reform charity and now there is also a JUSTICE student human rights network. Launched a year ago, the group is aimed at creating a lively, interactive network for all those studying the law who are interested in human rights. There is a mailing list, electronic bulletins, successful seminars at the Guardian Newsroom and other events being planned. The latest bulletin, is here. One particular feature of the site is a very comprehensive list of links to resources and organisations involved with human rights and covering Asylum, Criminal Justice, Equality, EU Justice and Home Affairs, Human Rights, International Human Rights, Legal Systems and Privacy. LawsBlog is a blog designed for Law, Government & Politics, and Citizenship studies students of Dr Peter Jepson, Strode's College, Egham. This blog provides a useful resource of law information and lesson materials. Law Competitions is a site for law students to put them in touch with legal skills competitions. As the site notes, national and international sites are very difficult to find and addresses can change. LawDictionaries.com provides links to free online law dictionaries and other useful tools for law students and practitioners. Lawfile is a set of resources, and also a free journal called Obiter, set up by Alan Lowe. It provides lists of courses for law students as well as links to resources categorised by area of law (abortion, banking, Canon law etc). LawStudentsForum is an online forum for law students at the University of London (External Programme). You can post new ideas or articles in the forum and comment on the ideas of others. Law Student Forums is a new forum for law students to talk about the study of law and legal professional training. It has been started by a student at Surrey University. LexisNexis provides students with a route into their online services and materials as well as information on current cases and legislation and their possible educational and career paths.fs The Malet Street Gazette is devoted to linking the global community of University of London students and graduates, as well as highlighting issues that deal with National Bar Admissions and Internet/Distance Learning. The site provides a place where law students can post questions about their studies or any issue of the law, and covers general discussion of legal issues. MootingNet provides a structure and lots of background information for the old established occupation of "mooting" (the play acting preparation for a legal career). There is also a useful set of links to other student resources (take "legal Links" option). Online Legal Coach is a new site set up by group of experienced legal practitioners and law lecturers to provide additional support to law students in their studies. There are study guides and videos, a case law library and a forum in which questions can be asked and answers received from the experts. You have to register (quite a long registration form) to use the resources but it is free. There are some additional services, such as essay marking, which are provided for a fee. Roll on Friday - news and lighter material and also leisure suggestions, a currency converter and a translator. Scots Law Student Zone provides advice and links for law students in Scotland. Aside from links to universities, law scools and the diploma in legal practice, the site contains a bulletin board, chat room and advice on getting work experience, traineeships and jobs after studying law.
QED LAW Legal Education is a new information website produced by Norman Baird. It currently includes research concerning the number of firsts and upper seconds awarded by each of the UK universities. It will be updated regularly with information about legal education and provides a valuable resource for law students - both present and prospective - as well as legal academics and others interested in legal education in the UK. QED Law Courses provide revision lectures in the core subjects - criminal law, law of contract, legal system, public law, law of tort, equity and trusts, land law and european union law. The revision lectures are for students on university LLB and GDL / CPE courses. These are "real" lectures - not viewed online. Lectures take place in the Chadwick Lecture Theatre in the Chadwick Building and the Pearson Lecture Theatres in the Pearson Building at UCL. There is a schedule of lectures on the web site. A (modest) charge is made for attendance at the lectures. The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting, the non-profit-making body which prepares The Law Reports and The Weekly Law Reports, offers a free "Student Newsletter" with articles on law reporting and selected case summaries. The Proceedings of the Old Bailey 1674-1913 is "A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court." "The Proceedings" is the name of the original published version. Here is what it says about these: "The Proceedings contain accounts of trials which took place at the Old Bailey. The first published collection of trials at the Old Bailey dates from 1674, and from 1678 accounts of the trials at each sessions (meeting of the Court) were regularly published. Inexpensive, and targeted initially at a popular audience, the Proceedings were produced shortly after the conclusion of each sessions and were initially a commercial success. But with the growth of newspapers and increasing publication costs the audience narrowed by the nineteenth century to a combination of lawyers and public officials. With few exceptions, this periodical was regularly published each time the sessions met (eight times a year until 1834, and then ten to twelve times a year) for 239 years, when publication came to a sudden halt in April 1913." The site is beautifully prepared, with the full text available as well as digital images of the original reports. There are also some pictures from legal material of the time together with an extensive Introduction. There is a particular section for schools, with the site obviously seen as material for school projects. The project is a collaboration between the Open University and the Universities of Hertfordshire and Sheffield and is funded by various grants so that access can be free. There is to be a conference in July on the project called "The Metropolis on Trial", to be held at the Open University, Milton Keynes.
Overall Legal Resources home page Comments or queries? delia@venables.co.uk
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