Legal research and writing are fundamental skills required for practising lawyers in Canada. The Legal Research and Writing (LRW) course provides students with insights and best practices as well as an opportunity to apply what they have learned throughout the course.
Designed collaboratively with the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) for internationally trained lawyers. The course aims to lay a robust legal research and writing foundation, marking a step toward entry to the Bar admission process of a Canadian law society in a common law jurisdiction.
Course Description
The LRW course unfolds entirely online over an engaging eight-week period, blending legal research and writing tasks. Students are initially introduced to the learning environment through the Introductory module, which guides them through D2L, our intuitive learning management system. The Introductory module also covers essential information such as policies and expectations, including deadlines of key deliverables, to assist students through the course.
The journey through the LRW course encompasses:
- Two self-directed modules that include required readings, videos and activities. Each module concludes with a multiple-choice assessment to consolidate learning.
- Continuous skill enhancement through practice quizzes interspersed throughout the course.
- Two comprehensive assignments — one focused on legal research and the other on legal writing — designed to apply and test the students on applying the course material. These assignments are assessed by experienced Assessors, all of whom are Canadian lawyers with a minimum of three years of experience.
- A weighted approach of the four course deliverables determines a student’s final course grade, providing a balanced and comprehensive performance assessment.
Course Details
Upon completion of the LRW course, successful students will be able to:
- Conduct research using primary and secondary sources
- Use appropriate citation
- Identify relevant legal issues in a given fact scenario to support the research objective
- Evaluate and interpret the applicability of legislation and case law to a given fact scenario
- Develop a logical analysis by integrating research results with the facts and issues of the given fact scenario
- Understand how to use writing basics to express concepts using plain language with precision and logic
- Identify and tailor the form of writing to the proper audience
- Use appropriate structure and organization for the given document
- Compose a professional document that achieves its intended goal
- Apply the basics of legal writing by learning how to write an opinion letter, an advocacy letter, legal brief and/or legal memorandum.
Who Should Enroll
This course is specifically designed for individuals with prior legal training and/or experience, particularly in legal research and writing. It’s important to note that this course is advanced and goes beyond a mere introduction to legal research and writing.
Admission Requirement
Proof of an NCA Assessment Report from the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. Please note that CPLED can not guarantee admission to an LRW offering. Registration for each intake is subject to capacity limits.
Fees
| Item | Fee | GST (5%) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course tuition | $450 | $22.50 | $472.50 |
| LRW appeal | $250 | $12.50 | $262.50 |
| Refund administration | $100 | $5 | $105 |
CPLED accepts online bill payments, Electric Funds Transfer (EFT) or wire transfers. Payments should only be submitted once an invoice has been issued within the CPLED Student Portal. For more information on how to submit your tuition fee payment, visit the payment information page.
