Welcome to your Law course - University of Staffordshire

Hello and welcome to your Law Degree at Staffordshire University. The Law team is looking forward to meeting you and introducing you to key Law staff as well as your course mates. We will help you to settle into your studies by showing you round important university and course systems and crucial resources for success on your degree. You will have a named tutor to support you from day 1, and we are available if you have any questions at all – just ask!

Your staff team

We want to make sure you know some of our team before you arrive. Hopefully this will help you recognise us and ensure you know who you can contact if you need any additional help and guidance.

Anna Garland

Course Director

Anna was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1994 and practised as a Barrister specialising in Family and Criminal Law. She is now Course Leader for LLB (Hons) Law and Course Director for our Law courses.

Anna's profile

Aidan Flynn

Senior Lecturer

Aidan worked in three Law firms, before becoming a lecturer at Staffordshire University in 2016. He is Course Leader for the LLB (Hons) Law (Accelerated) and has expertise in Constitutional, EU and Human Rights Law.

Aidan's profile

Dr Samantha Spence

Course Director Associate Professor

Samantha is the Course Director for Postgraduate Studies in the law department. Her main area of interest lies in feminism and international human rights law, specifically the rights of marginalised groups.

Samantha's profile

Keith Wharton

Senior Lecturer

Keith served with West Midlands Police and the National Crime Squad and became a specialist in pro-active paedophile investigation and Head of Intelligence and Prison Intelligence. He is the Course Leader for LLB Law (Criminal Justice).

Keith's profile

Dr Rachael Stretch

Lecturer

I am a Lecturer in Law, specialising in Family Law, Law and Disability and SEND, Equity and Trusts, Quantitative Methodology, Comparative Methodology and Professionals and Mandatory Reporting.

Rachael's profile

Donna Graham

Lecturer

Donna is a Lecturer of Law in the School of Health, Education Policing and Sciences. Her interests lie in legal pedagogy. She teaches across a broad spectrum of subjects, including Tort Law, Legal Skills, and Introduction to Principles of Law.

Giles Gater

Senior Lecturer

Solicitor and Senior Lecturer in Law

Giles's profile

Natasha Thomas

Senior Lecturer

Natasha is the Course Leader (and main contact) for the Legal Practice LLM course.

Dr Md Jobair Alam

Lecturer

First activity

In your first weeks at university you will be studying three modules (subjects). English Legal System will introduce you to the way that the legal system operates in England and Wales, including the courts, legal personnel, and the foundational principles of a Common Law legal system. Legal Skills gives you a grounding in essential skills for the academic study of Law, and also looks ahead to the skills that lawyers need in practice. Finally, Tort is the study of the circumstances in which you can be sued for damages in the civil courts as a result of something you do which harms someone else. The first tort you will be studying is Negligence.

Course Delivery

Lectures are lecturer-led online 1 hour sessions which introduce you to new learning in your modules. They take place once a week for each module, and all students studying that module take part.

Workshops also take weekly for each module, on campus. These are smaller groups of up to about 24 students, where you will engage in active learning. Workshops allow you to consolidate learning from the lectures, and to apply that new knowledge to different legal scenarios. They include discussion and group work, so you will get the most out of them if you have done all the preparation set by your lecturers, and take part in all the activities. If you are nervous about speaking in front of other students, you will soon find that the sessions are supportive and friendly.

Pre-Learining

There are lots of online resources that are relevant to Law that you can access before you arrive on campus. Here are just a few to get you started:

Read the Secret Barrister's blog for comment on the workings of the Criminal Justice System as experienced by the people who work in it. The Secret Barrister has also published 3 books about the justice system: Stories of the Law and How It’s Broken, Fake Law and Nothing But the Truth. These are essential reading if you are interested in Criminal Justice in particular, or a career at the Bar.

If you are considering a legal career, you can find out more about the different routes to qualification here:

https://www.legalcheek.com/paths-to-becoming-a-lawyer/ The Legal Cheek website is also a great source of news, information, events and advice for student lawyers.

Find out more about the Supreme Court, and watch Justices of the Supreme Court giving judgments in recent case: https://www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt/featured. You can take a 360 degree virtual tour of the Supreme Court online (alternatively take an accessible tour here.)

Get ‘Legally Speaking’ with Hatti Suvari’s podcast, videos and other law content.

Listen to our CrimeTapes Podcast

Foundation Year Semester One Activities

The three modules you will be studying during your first weeks at university are all designed to support your transition into Higher Education, and to introduce the knowledge and skills you will need as student lawyers.

Introduction to Principles of Law covers the legal system, and the people who work within in. Academic Skills provides you with an opportunity to reflect on your ambitions, how you want to present yourself professionally, and the foundations of effective written communication for study and professional practice. In Foundations of Legal Knowledge, expert lecturers will be introducing you to their specialist legal subjects: some subjects will be compulsory in your later studies, others will be optional, and they will give you insight into the range of areas that legal study and practice can cover.

Foundation Year Pre-Learning

Learn about the legal skills you will develop during your degree

There are many interesting videos on the UK Supreme Court’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt where you can watch judgments being handed down.

For quick, accessible introductions to the Supreme Court: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTHrynZIsBo and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz1NSeazk7g

Do you want to be a lawyer? Barrister, or solicitor? Find out the differences here https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/law-careers/barristers-chambers/barrister-vs-solicitor-which-one-is-for-me-

Reading one of the following newspapers regularly is a good idea: The Times, The Telegraph, the Independent and The Guardian.

Equipment and software

An internet connected device is essential, and we strongly recommend that you have a laptop. Mobile phone screens are not large enough for you to read and easily navigate learning resources accessed via the Virtual Learning Environment, legal databases, or your library account. If you do not have a laptop, you can borrow one on short loan, or longer term loan, from the university when you arrive.

Software link: https://staffsuniversity.sharepoint.com/sites/software/SitePages/Home.aspx

Tips and Activities

You will be given the opportunity to take part in a trip in your first year of study. Past trips have been to courts (local, regional and London), the decommissioned Shrewsbury Prison, the Welsh Parliament, the Houses of Parliament in London, and the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool.

Groups and Societies

The Law Society

The Debating Society

Academic skills

Whether you're joining us from school or college, or you're returning to education after some time away, everyone can benefit from the Academic Study Skills resources provided by the University library.

The Academic Skills team is here to support you throughout your academic journey and to help you gain the skills you need to reach your full potential. They can assist with academic reading and writing skills, give advice on how best to plan assignments, and help improve your time management.

The library's Academic Skills Guides offer the key information to make studying easier and give a comprehensive guide to the learning resources and services we offer.

Staffs CampusConnect

Staffs CampusConnect is our student-led community app for new students. Connect with other people from your course, hometown or country, and even those with similar interests.

To register, please ensure you use your Applicant ID (Student Number) that you received in your offer letter, and the email address you used in your application to us.

Register for CampusConnect

Welcome website

Our welcome website will provide you the link to your new student life. It's all about how you find your place at university, including everything from how to meet friends, feel confident in doing your academic work, being a member of your Student Union and getting involved in Union Societies, Academic Societies, Sports, Volunteering or representing your peers in your School.

Part of this Welcome Week - we have an exciting program of University and course level activities planned for you for your first week in September. We are also building an extended program for you to join a series of events throughout the first half of the autumn term. Further details will be shared with you via the Welcome website and Students' Union pages over the coming weeks.

Welcome website

Campus map

Use our campus map to familiarise yourself with our campus before you arrive.

Campus map (PDF)

Check your email

Please make sure you check your personal email account regularly over the next few weeks. We will be sending you lots of information about Welcome Week.