This course will explore the role of lawyers in society in terms of the historical development and orientation of the professions, lawyers’ understanding of and commitment to codes of conduct and ethical practice, and the relationship between the professional lawyer and the needs of the community. Students will examine the role of lawyers in a practical sense in relation to the needs of different groups in society with a view to developing in students a lifelong commitment to public interest law and helping them deliver practical benefits to the wider community. Teaching will be both classroom and community based: there will be emphasis upon developing projects in conjunction with and for the benefit of selected groups such as school children, domestic workers, prisoners, unrepresented litigants. (Alternative arrangements will be made for part-time students). A number of different teaching methods will be employed during the course and students, working in groups and individually, will be actively engaged with the community in devising and delivering course-relevant projects. Guests with relevant specialist interests will be invited to speak to the students. By incorporating a more extended range of mandatory readings than undergraduate courses of similar length and a more research-focused assessment regime, this course is designed specifically for students at the postgraduate level.