Law

Law in Action

2009-11-20T12:52:00Z

Law in Action is a great reource for law teachers. Clive Coleman puts together broadcasts giving a real insight into key legal issues. Have a look in the archive and you’ll find programmes on A level-relevant topics - everything from murder to juries. Although not all the old programmes are available online, summary articles are available, and more recent programmes such as this interview with the Lord Chief Justice are still online - a good source of insight for students, in this case, on both sentencing and civil courts.

Tesco Law here we come?

2009-11-19T17:14:00Z

The Legal Services Board‘s proposals on the future of legal services may represent a major signpost on the way to opening up the legal profession. A Level Students will already be aware of the Clementi Report (2003) into the future of the profession, which was followed by the Legal Services Act 2007. This week’s report brings the likelihood of new providers (known as Alternative Business Structures, or ASBs) entering the market ever closer. So, will Tesco Law be good for consumers, with low, transparent pricing, or will it hand over clients to less regulated, less experienced players, and affect adversely the quality of advice? Some solicitors were so excercised by this that they protested against it outside the High Court in May, handing out cans of beans to bemused passers-by and holding signs claiming that “not Tesco Law” and “Legal services by supermarkets is as ridiculous as lawyers selling beans.”

Time will tell, but it seems clear that entities such as the Co-Op will be keen to capitalise on the “Big Bang”.

You can read the report here.

Teachers may also wish to note that the Legal Services Board is now, as of January this year, the oversight regulator for the eight “approved regulators” of the legal industry, including the Bar Standards Board, Legal Complaints Service, Senate of the Inns of Court, Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, ILEX, and so on. It also appoints the Office for Legal Complaints, which will run the legal ombudsman scheme by the end of 2010. Time to update your notes for next year’s teaching?

Carlill v Carbolic Smokeball Co

2009-11-16T21:10:00Z

A2 Contract law teachers - for something different, Radio 4 have a fab 15-minute podcast on this famous case here. Why not do a listening exercise for the auditory learners in your class? Good for stretch and challenge too. Be quick though - it’s only on iPlayer for two more days!

Police Powers

2009-11-16T12:45:00Z

The topic of police powers is an accessible one for students. For an example of (alleged) abuse of police powers, there’s a fantastic video below of the arrest of two “FitWatch” protestors. Very good for prompting a discussion of the need to balance liberty and security!

SImon Myerson QC on life at the bar and advice on getting pupillage

2009-10-26T19:58:00Z

Podcast here - good stuff for teaching the legal profession - a bit of stretch and challenge!

Revision Presentation - Introduction to Criminal and Civil Law

2009-10-21T13:03:00Z

This streamed revision presentation provides an introduction to the essential differences between criminal and civil law

Launch interactive revision presentation

Authoring Opportunities for Law Teachers & Examiners with tutor2u

2009-10-04T16:45:00Z

tutor2u, the leading publisher of digital learning resources for Economics, Business Studies & Politics, is expanding! We’re keen to develop a fantastic range of free and subscription teaching resources for GCSE & AS/A2 Law using many of the ideas and formats that have proved so popular in our original subjects. Here is some information if you fancy getting involved as an author…

We’re expecting Law to quickly become a really important subject for tutor2u and there are some tremendous professional development opportunities available for colleagues who would like to get involved in some way.

For example, our brand new Law Blog joins a network of subject-resources that has delivered almost 16 million page impressions since their launch in Spring 2008. We are always delighted to welcome new authors for the Law blog, including colleagues whose interest might also extend to contributing to our Politics, History, Economics, Business & IB Diploma blogs.

We’re also looking to extend our collection of subscription-based teaching and revision materials for Law, including:

- Teacher PowerPoint presentations on key Units
- Student Revision Guides
- Revision quizzes and activities - via our Puzzlepack and PowerPoint LessonGames formats (very popular in other subjects)

You may also have a Law resource idea or concept that we havent looked at yet - we’d be delighted to learn more about that and to see if we could help you make it available to colleagues in other departments.

To make contact with us, please complete this brief form and we will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

Tort Law: Rylands v Fletcher in Action: Buncefield

2009-03-24T22:57:01Z

Tort Law in the News:

The recent finding by the High Court found Total 100% liable for the recent Buncefield Disaster.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article5944190.ece

Albeit tragic, a great synoptic case study particularly for students following the OCR A-Level syllabus.
Key Topic Areas: Rylands v Fletcher, Duty of Care, Breach, Nuisance ,Remoteness, Causation and Contributory Negligence (the latest point of contention) are all neatly encapsulated within the sad story.

The following article from The Times may be a useful starting point for the development of materials:

Buncefield Article

ECJ makes a ruling on retirement age

2009-03-05T13:22:00Z

The ECJ has ruled that is is ok for employers in the UK to force workers to retire once they reach 65 years of age.

The ECJ said that this is acceptable if the government has a legitimate aim relating to employment and social policy.

In such cases, the ECJ gives guidance which is then applied in the relevant national court - so now that a ruling on the effect of European law on the UK has been made - albeit in a Spanish case - it will be up to the High Court to decide if the age limit is “appropriate and necessary”, just as it will be for the equivalent Spanish court to decide the issue there.

It will be interesting to see how this goes as most people see it as a setback for the claimant in this case, who was arguing that being forced to retire at 65 amounts to age discrimination… although Age Concern intend to push ahead with it.

Questions for A Level law students:

1. Can the ECJ bind UK Courts?
2. Could the ECJ change its mind on this issue in future?
3. If the High Court decides the age limit is justified, which English courts will be bound by its decision?
4. Which Courts will be able to overrule the High Court’s decision?
5. What do you think about the government’s policy? Is this the sign of a civilised society, or is it rampant ageism?

Welcome to the Law Blog

2009-02-08T08:59:00Z

Welcome to our new Law Blog. The aim of this blog is to provide Law teachers and students with resources, news and other materials which help support their studies. We’ll try to cover a wide range of topics across the GCSE and A Level specifications.

Would you like to contribute to this blog? Experienced or enthusiastic Law teachers or lecturers are welcome to join the authoring team. Blogging is a rewarding process and a great CPD activity too! If you would like to get involved, please contact tutor2u using this form

Sign up for tutor2u’s Law Teacher Resource Newsletter

2009-02-03T09:58:01Z

If you would like to be added to the tutor2u Law Teacher Resource Newsletter, please complete this online form