Advanced Legal Research LLM

This module forms the culmination of the Advanced Legal Research LLM. Here you will produce a
significant research project on a topic and in a format agreed with your supervisor and the module
leader. This could be a traditional dissertation, but other forms of research output, as have been
studied and practised in the rest of the course, are encouraged. Production of the project is
supported through individual supervision as well as seminars and workshops, formative peer
assessment, and a preliminary summative assessment. The project must not replicate materials
covered in other coursework submitted for the award of the degree. 

This substantial and original piece of legal research will express your own unique voice as a legal researcher, driven by your own research interests and priorities, drawing upon the diverse skills, perspectives, reflective practices and collaborative partnerships that you have developed throughout the LLM program. As such, the project is the final crystallisation of the course's mission to produce confident legal researchers who respect and are open to diverse perspectives, who appreciate the equality of every voice and the necessity of inclusivity in the production of legal research. You will also be encouraged to consider how your legal research project might engage with one or more of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, aligning your research interests with the University's commitment to building a more sustainable and equitable society, and developing your own identity as an active global citizen.

This module aims to provide you with an advanced understanding of the major established and
emerging methods of legal research, both in academia and beyond, as well as interdisciplinary
research methods and those from other relevant disciplines. The module provides a critical
introduction to methodology in law and in research more generally, and allows you to understand and make use of a range of research methods according to their fit and appropriateness to a given
research task. The module will introduce the major competing perspectives on methodology within
legal research, and draw upon the multimodal nature of legal knowledge and epistemology to
introduce methods from outside classical legal frameworks to allow you to understand and evaluate
research that utilises a range of methods. The module also aims to provide a practical opportunity to
discuss, select and actively use different methods, and evaluate their suitability in different contexts,
as well as critically discuss and evaluate the use of methods by others and the impact of a choice of
method and methodology upon findings. 

By introducing you to a range of established and emerging methodologies, and examining questions of ethics and broader questions of values within research methods, the module champions diversity of approaches and openness in legal research. You are further encouraged to engage in open dialogue and debate about methodological questions, to develop your own voice as a researcher. By teaching how to translate research expertise into practical applications in diverse formats, the module also reflects the role of quality education and knowledge exchange as key drivers of social justice and sustainable development.

The module offers hands-on application of advanced legal research methodologies combined with modern innovation strategies. Via engagement with legal theories and normative frameworks, you will investigate how AI tools can be applied to legal research and communication. The module includes workshops on AI applications, multimedia communication principles, academic writing, and collaborative research practices. These workshops allow you to analyse case studies, design visual or other media representations of legal concepts, and explore professional networking and advocacy within the legal field. You will develop the ability to present complex information in accessible yet innovative ways to diverse audiences, enabling you to develop confidence in your unique voice and perspective as a legal researcher, contributing to greater equality and inclusion in the legal research field. By examining how emerging technologies are transforming legal research, and gaining practical experience with AI and multimedia tools, you will be equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in a changing world and to contribute to a more equitable society that will increasingly rely on innovative legal research to support sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

This module provides a critical introduction to established and emerging structures of law, legality
and normativity, alongside canonical and cutting-edge theoretical and practical approaches to
describe, understand and evaluate them. The module therefore covers three overlapping and
intersecting areas: (1) The nature of law and legal systems in their various guises, looking in
particular at ‘law’ as it exists not only in the municipal or State context, but also outside of and beyond the state; (2) The emergence of new cultural, technological, regulatory, political and social contexts in which law is emerging and/or to which law is seeking to respond; and (3) Theoretical models of law in its traditional and emerging guises and political, social and ethical theories which inform the competing ways that law and society should respond to these changes. 

This approach encourages students to think about legal and normative structures from a diverse range of cultural and social perspectives, building more inclusive understandings of law's place in a diverse world. By analysing legal and normative systems in their varied guises, the module seeks to prepare students to participate in building peaceful, just, and strong institutions, in alignment with the University's commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

This module is designed to allow you to begin planning, designing and researching your final project from the very beginning of the course. Running year-long alongside the rest of the modules, it will provide a space in which to continuously synthesise your learning and apply it to your own research interests, to share and receive ongoing feedback on your progress from tutors and peers, to regularly demonstrate and reflect upon the viability of your project, and to put in place the scaffolding of your project early (such as finding a supervisor and receiving ethics approval). You will be encouraged to engage with Westminster Law School’s research community and, through collaboration and peer feedback from the research community, to develop the inclusive perspective of an active global citizen, from which to think creatively about your own research as a response to diverse global challenges. In this module, you will be encouraged to consider how your legal research project might engage with one or more of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, aligning your research interests with the University's commitment to building a more sustainable and equitable society.

The module explores what it means to be a professional legal researcher in a world of multifaceted challenges and fast-paced transformation. By simulating real-life scenarios, you will locate and explain the various professional spaces in which legal research is performed, assessing these as pathways for sustainable and equitable change. You will investigate real-world legal problems, critiquing the differing modes and outputs deployed in professional legal research spaces and assessing the impact of a shifting normative landscape on the practice of professional legal research. With an emphasis on legal research as entrepreneurship, you will canvass and workshop the essential skills and competencies to successfully navigate professional legal research in a rapidly changing world, such as funding, networking and collaboration. The module will build connections between diverse student backgrounds and the diverse pathways into a variety of high-end research roles, by considering legal research as entrepreneurship in a diverse and ever-changing world, and by critically evaluating the diverse professional spaces where legal research is conducted. By exploring collaboration and networking as essential skills and competencies for success in these diverse legal research spaces, the module also contributes to the University's commitment to building partnerships for sustainable development goals.