Module Directory

Enrolment in this module is capped. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. To ensure fairness and accessibility, a small portion of the places are specifically reserved for students who register at the University of Essex late or enter the final year directly through a partner institution, in recognition of their unique circumstances. We encourage all interested students to apply at their earliest convenience to secure a spot, keeping in mind the special provision for late arrivals.

This module focuses on questions of ethics and justice raised by legal practice. It is designed to provide students with the ethical frameworks necessary to equip them to provide legal services to community members, as well as to explore issues of access to justice raised by the sort of problems which lead people to seek out legal help. It will be of particular interest and benefit to all students who are thinking of entering legal practice, particularly if they wish to use their legal skills to help those most in need.

The aims of this module are:

• To provide students with an introduction to the ethical issues which arise in legal practice, the theoretical resources to resolve them and opportunities to explore how they should be resolved.


• To provide students with an introduction to issues of access to justice which arise in legal practices designed to ensure services to those most in need.


• To provide students with an appreciation of the ethical, social and political context in which legal services are provided.


• To introduce students to the practice of reflection on experience in order to improve their performance and understanding of legal work.


• To provide students with practice in arguing for particular positions on ethics and access to justice.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Understand and critically evaluate the key ethical principles governing the provision of legal services.


2. Critically analyse significant access to justice issues, considering their implications for professional responsibility and service provision.


3. Reflect on and evaluate performance in structured learning activities, such as roleplays and classroom discussions, using relevant ethical frameworks.


4. Effectively adopt and defend positions on legal ethics and access to justice.

Reflection on the ethics of the legal profession will involve looking at the most important ethical principles governing legal practice such as confidentiality and the avoidance of conflicts of interest and some of the most controversial debates such as whether lawyers should pursue immoral goals or use unethical means to achieve client goals, whether clients should be allowed to make 'irrational decisions' and whether lawyers owe duties to ensure equal access to justice. Related to this issue is the current position as regards access to justice and possible means of redressing current problems. The module will also consider strategies for putting values into action in the legal professional setting.

Syllabus information

• Professionalism


• Pro Bono


• Access to Justice


• Giving Voice to Values


• Access to Justice: Family and Immigration Law Perspectives


• Neutral Partisanship


• Client Autonomy and Lawyer Paternalism


• Confidentiality


• Conflicts of interest


• Making lawyers moral

This module will be delivered via:

• One 2-hour seminar per week

Students are expected to undertake the reading before classes and be prepared to engage in discussion.