Legal Practice - University of the South Pacific

Professional Diploma in Legal Practice (PDLP)

The Professional Diploma in Legal Practice is an intensive programme designed to prepare students for entry into legal practice in one or more of the jurisdictions of the member countries of the university. It is open to any graduate who has successfully passed a programme of legal studies, which covered a range of knowledge and skills sufficient to enable students to commence an intensive professional legal practice programme.

Special Admission Requirements:

To be admitted to a Professional Diploma in Legal Practice a person shall have passed a programme of legal studies deemed by the University to be sufficient to enable the graduate to commence an intensive professional legal practice training programme.

Programme Requirements:

The Professional Diploma in Legal Practice consists of:

  1. attendance at the Laucala Campus for at least 90% of the core hours; and
  2. a period of supervised practice of not more than one month with an organisation approved by the university; and
  3. completion of eight modules.
  4. Performance in each of the modules shall be acknowledged by the awarding of the following grades:
    1. 'Pas' meaning 'Pass or Competent'
    2. 'IP' meaning 'In Progress'
    3. 'Fail' meaning 'Fail or Not Competent'
  5. A provisional grade of IP (meaning 'In Progress') shall be awarded where a student is given an extension of time by the Academic Standards and Quality Committee to complete any work on which assessment for the course is based. Any extension of time may only be ip to the last day of lectures of the following semester specified in the University Handbook/Calendar. The provisional grade of IP shall be replaced by an appropriate grade based on the work submitted by a student by the end of the extended period. Where a student has been given a Fail grade, the maximum number of attempts allowed for the programme is two, which comprises a first attempt followed by a second attempt if not successful. The decision to permit a third attempt at the programme shall rest with the Chair of the Academic Standards and Quality Committee.
  6. There are no final examinations for the programme. The performance of students shall be assessed entirely by coursework, which shall include oral presentations, written presentations, logs and portfolios of work, file management, attendance and general conduct. The written and oral presentations may include work that has been prepared and work conducted under examination conditions.

Modules:

LW501, LW502, LW503,LW504, LW505, LW506, LW507, LW508.

Schedule:


Approx 14 Weeks

On-campus component (core elements at Laucala Campus)

Approx 4 Weeks

Off campus component (placement in law offices in any one of the USP regional jurisdictions)

Approx 4 Weeks

On-campus component (analysis of placement, advocacy and completion of assessments at Laucala Campus)

Modules:

LWD01, LWD02, LWD03, LWD04, LWD05, LWD06, LWD07 and LWD08.





Disclaimer & Copyright | Contact Us
© Copyright 2004 - ###CURRYEAR### University of the South Pacific. All rights reserved.