Legal Professional Skills
UndergraduateUNE-LAW1022025
Continue your studies of Australian law with an exploration of legal writing and research. Work on your written communication skills. Learn how to search online for primary and secondary legal sources. Find relevant information and communicate clearly.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 12 Oct 2025
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 16 weeks
- Start dates
- 24 Feb 2025,
- 23 June 2025,
- 20 Oct 2025
- Price from
- $2,351
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- FEE-HELP available
Legal Professional Skills
About this subject
Upon completion of this subject, students will be able to:
- demonstrate legal research skills to locate relevant primary and secondary legal sources;
- evaluate alternate research strategies for identifying, understanding and utilising research results in a legal context;
- critically analyse legal research results and materials and apply them for addressing legal problems;
- plan and execute a legal research and writing project;
- understand and demonstrate the different written communications conventions that apply to writing for different contexts; and
- demonstrate plain English legal writing skills using appropriate professional language, a logically ordered structure and with appropriate referencing.
- Topics will be available to enrolled students in the subjects Learning Management System site approximately one week prior to the commencement of the teaching period.
This subject provides a thorough introduction to online and database research strategies for primary and secondary legal materials. You will learn how to effectively plan a legal writing project from initial research stage, right through to analysis of materials and written execution. Plus, you will develop your skills in writing persuasively, concisely and in plain English to legal audiences in a variety of contexts.
Assignment 1: 800 words. Relates to Learning Outcomes (LOs) 1, 2;
Assignment 2: 1500 words. Relates to Learning Outcomes (LOs) 3, 4, 5;
Assignment 3: 2000 words. Relates to Learning Outcomes (LOs) 1-6.- Assignment 1 (15%)
- Assignment 2 (35%)
- Assignment 3 (50%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
The University of New England is the only Australian public university to be awarded the maximum 5 stars for Overall Experience by the Good Universities Guide, 13 years in a row. UNE has delivered distance education since 1955—that’s longer than any other Australian university. Perhaps that’s why students continue to rate UNE so highly for student satisfaction and teaching quality. With over 170 degrees offered online, and more than 22,000 students, UNE is an expert in online education.
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Entry requirements
Prior study
You must either have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject, or enrol in the following subject(s) to study at the same time or prior to this subject:
Additional requirements
- Equipment requirements - Headphones or speakers (required to listen to lectures and other media). Headset, including microphone (highly recommended). Webcam (may be required for participation in virtual classrooms and/or media presentations).
- Software requirements - It is essential for students to have reliable internet access in order to participate in and complete your units, regardless of whether they contain an on campus attendance or intensive school component. For additional information please visit UNE Hardware Requirements: https://www.une.edu.au/current-students/support/it-services/hardware
- Other requirements -
Textbook requirements:
Textbook information is not available until approximately 8 weeks prior to the commencement of the Teaching period.
Students are expected to purchase prescribed material.
Textbook requirements may vary from one teaching period to the next.
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
Student feedback
6 student respondents between 27 Jan - 12 Feb 2025.
100%of students felt the study load was manageable
66%of students felt this subject helped them gain relevant skills
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
UndergraduateUNE-LGS-DEG
UndergraduateUNE-LLB-DEG
UndergraduateUNE-LAW-DEG
UndergraduateUNE-PLS-DIP
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