The Freshfields Legal Research Skills Course is designed to satisfy the requirements of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board in respect of law students who wish to enter the legal professions in England and Wales. The course gives students a grounding in research and the use of IT in the law, and includes skills valuable both for their studies and future careers. Students attend a hard-copy research skills seminar in the Michaelmas Term, and IT-based teaching in the Michaelmas and Lent terms of their Part IA studies (or first year of law). Further advanced sessions are available for Part IB and Part II students, as well as introductory and research group teaching for postgraduate students.

The course explains the use of IT in the legal professions, and trains students to use both traditional paper and the most advanced and up-to-date online research tools such as Lexis Library and Westlaw UK. Small-group sessions are conducted in the Freshfields IT Room (S19), with students having hands-on access to a PC to develop their skills. The course is assessed by a combination of written and online assessments and students pass by demonstrating that they have a sufficient grasp of the skills required by the Joint Statement issued by the Law Society and the General Council of the Bar. It is necessary for students to complete the course successfully in order to be included on the block exemption form which the Faculty submits to the Law Society indicating those students who have satisfactorily completed the academic stage of training.

The Freshfields Legal Research Skills Course is generously supported by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.