The title of the assessment: Research-Based Legal Opinion, and the question number attempted
This is an individual assessment, not group work
Case Scenario:
The assessment is a research-based legal opinion. You are provided with a set of facts below. Read the facts carefully. You are expected to analyse these facts, identify the legal issues, and develop your legal opinion. Once you identify the issues, utilise law, case law, legal commentary, and academic literature to develop your arguments. There are two separate clients in the questions. You can choose any one(1) and write a 2500-word legal opinion. Ensure you provide proper citations wherever necessary. You do not need to provide a bibliography.
Facts:
The Government of the United Kingdom has embraced a digital-first strategy to streamline the integration of various government services, businesses, and other sectors. As part of this initiative, the government has launched a national digital ID system known as UK-ID. This ID grants citizens access to a wide array of services, including government, banking, internet, healthcare, education, and local council resources throughout the UK. It processes personal data to provide these services.
Building on this framework, the government plans to introduce UK-Assist, an AI-powered personal assistant designed to be a comprehensive, one-stop solution for users. UK-Assist will utilise the UK-ID data alongside an individual’s digital footprint to manage various tasks. It will have the capability to file taxes, apply for or renew passports, and schedule regular GP appointments and prescriptions. As the AI assistant accesses digital footprints, it can also handle tasks such as ordering groceries, engaging on social media platforms, and booking holidays. In essence, every citizen will benefit from a personal assistant that takes care of everyday administrative tasks, allowing them to free up valuable time for more creative pursuits. The AI tool is designed to learn on the job; while the initial application is uniform for all users, it will self-evolve through the processing of different data, enabling it to perform a variety of personalised tasks for each individual.
John Smith, a resident of Bristol, has been utilising the UK-ID to access local government services, banking, and healthcare. Recently, he used his daughter Jane’s UK ID to enrol her in a secondary school. Since the announcement of UK-Assist, John has been considering using the service but has not yet downloaded the AI application. He is unsure about the risks that this AI application might have.
Last month, he and his daughter received their medications pre-delivered to their home from the pharmacy. This greatly surprised him, as he typically needed to visit the pharmacy to collect them. Last week, he received an email reminding him to apply for the renewal of his passport. His passport is set to expire next month.
John is suspicious that their data may have been processed under the UK-Assist scheme. He is worried about the handling of his and Jane’s data. Today, Jane refused to eat dinner and mentioned wanting to go on a diet following the advice from an online platform. This raised concerns for John, as he realised that his 13-year-old daughter was being exposed to targeted content from a well-known social media company in the UK. This diet plan could potentially increase the risk of anorexia among children. John is unsure of how to deal with such internet risks. The three main broad areas of concern are clear from these facts: (1) data processing, (2) online harm, and (3) risks associated with AI.
You have been approached to provide legal advice. [NB – Pick any one question for your assessment. Ensure that you indicate the question number in your submission]
Question 1 – What legal issues can you identify that affect John in this situation? Develop your legal opinion by explaining the issues, discussing the rights that John has and the grounds (if any) for legal actions or complaints. Substantiate your opinion with legal reasoning and evidence.
Question 2 – What legal issues can you identify that affect Jane in this situation? Develop your legal opinion by explaining the issues, discussing the rights that Jane has and the grounds (if any) for legal actions or complaints. Substantiate your opinion with legal reasoning and evidence.
While drafting your opinion, you should lay out how your legal opinion is dependent on the facts provided. Only those legal issues that have been developed on the facts will be marked.
Guidance
What am I required to do on this assessment?
This is a research-based legal opinion. You are required to develop and write an opinion for either one of the clients. You must concisely identify the legal issues and explain them, relying on relevant literature to support your explanation. Your opinion must make it clear to your client what the position in law is and what can/should be done about the legal issues you have identified. You are free to use law, case law, legal commentary and academic literature to develop your opinion.
General
This assessment requires you to provide a legal opinion to your client. It is a variation of the essay-style assessment. The important difference between a standard essay and a legal opinion is that you are required to discuss only the problem(s) at hand and not provide a broad summary of the legal landscape. You need to use the facts provided, explain the applicable law and write your opinion. The fact sheet lays out what opinion is being sought from you.
Writing style:
This is a formal legal opinion. The writing style should be standard English with a formal tone. Do not write in the first person or use any personal pronouns. You should write in the third-person style. While you can mention your client’s name, you should not address the client directly.
Structure:
Your opinion can follow any structure you prefer, as long as it is logical and driven by the facts. It is advisable that you use a structure that will focus on one legal issue at a time and build your opinion in stages. This will involve explaining the issue with relevant literature, the rights your client has, and the grounds (if any) for legal actions or complaints.
You need to provide a short introduction that identifies your client and what your task is. Explain briefly your focus and the laws and the structure of your opinion. The next sections will provide your main opinion. Deal with each identified issue separately (with separate headings where possible). As provided above, this must include any rights your client has and any grounds for legal action (under separate sub-headings where possible). You need to provide legal reasoning for your answers/opinions. Ensure that you use relevant literature throughout while giving any opinion. The conclusion should summarise your opinion and provide clear suggestions to your clients on the steps they can take/cannot take, etc.
Please note:
- Using headings and sub-headings is highly recommended
- Do not provide a bibliography
- Do not provide a table of contents or a cover page. Start directly with an introduction, and use your word count wisely. A reminder that only 2500 words will be assessed.
- Include footnotes where necessary
Remember that your structure should allow your client to quickly and easily understand your opinion. This will also help show your research and writing skills to your marker, as your analysis will be thought-out and backed by legal evidence.
Where should I start?
You should start by reading the case scenario. That will allow you to identify the legal issues present. Once you have identified the issues, thoroughly research the relevant legal and academic literature that could be relevant to the issues at hand. Refer to your workshop materials and reading lists to create a base for your research. Utilise those resources and undertake further research to build strong evidenced-back arguments. Think of a clear structure for your opinion, write, cite, edit, and review your work.
What do I need to do to pass?
Refer to the marking criteria and any minimum requirements.
You must show that you understand the law and can apply it to a given scenario and that you have built a command of case laws to support your case. Strong evidence of self-research is expected. This can be done by reading the core and suggested readings and self-research. To do well in this assessment, you should try to be as comprehensive as possible and link your opinion to the case.
What milestones are there for this module, and when might I aim to reach these?
This assessment is 100% of your coursework. You must complete this and pass to complete this module. Refer to the rubrics below to understand the marking criteria.
The key step to completing this assessment includes revising the assessment brief, identifying the legal issues, researching the relevant laws and legal developments, planning the arguments and legal opinions, writing, and reviewing.
(How) May I use generative AI?
Using AI is discouraged in this module for anything other than text proofreading.
This is an applied law assessment, which means your answer must be your interpretation of the law to specific facts. You must also show that you have read and can apply appropriate case laws. AI will not be useful to do any of this.
If you do engage with generative AI, do so in the same way you handle other sources of information. Give credit where credit is due. Any use of AI must be credited.
How it is credited remains the same as for any legal source. Cite any text borrowing, cite any paraphrasing This means putting generative AI-produced text in inverted commas (“ “). Credit is only given for your intellectual input in the work. This means that if you use generative AI, you must engage with the AI tool’s output. Like any research tool, fact-check and cross-reference. Otherwise, the result will be something that, on its face, looks confident and robust, maybe even authoritative, but lacks, on further inspection, depth and accuracy. You can find more guidance on ‘how to’ on Using generative AI at UWE Bristol.
Practice good academic integrity. For law students, higher levels of transparency, honesty and originality are expected. It is important to note that you should not present AI output as your own opinion or critical analysis.
What resources will help me understand and succeed with what I’ve been asked to do?
- Finding books, articles and other information > generally, here and for legal research, here
- Plan and structure your work > workbook here
- Writing in academic style > workbook here
- Write a report > workbook here
- Be reflective > workbook here
- Be critical/evaluative > workbook here
- Complete a literature review > workbook here
- Reference via OSCOLA or Harvard (optional for joint award students only) – or see BLIS course
- Write using academic English > support here
Please refer to the Assessment Q&A on the module’s Blackboard site for more guidance. This Q&A allows you to ask questions about the assessment(s), anonymously if you wish, and receive a response from the module leader.
You can and should subscribe to the Q&A in order that you are emailed when a question is posed and an answer provided. Please note: The answers posted here effectively form part of the assessment brief – that is, if you do something instructed or advised against in this Q&A, you will lose marks, and, conversely, if you follow the guidance provided, you will earn marks.
Please observe the following before posting:
- Do not ask a question that has already been asked.
- Do not ask a question that can readily be answered using the resources on Blackboard, including any module handbook;
- Please only post relevant and sensible questions, all of which are moderated before becoming public.
Please ensure your question is clear and precise and include any contextual information necessary for the module leader to understand it.
FOR WORK UPLOADED TO BLACKBOARD, YOU MUST PREVIEW YOUR WORK IN BLACKBOARD BEFORE FINAL SUBMISSION.
You may be able to ask for an alternative form of assessment. Please see these webpages and speak to the Module Leader if in doubt.
Learning Outcomes
- MO1 A critical understanding of the legal principles and concepts relating to the use of information technology
- MO2 A critical understanding of how different legal systems approach the regulation of information technology and the relationship between those systems and the international legal framework
- MO3 A critical understanding of how different legal systems approach the regulation of information technology and the relationship between those systems and the international legal framework
- MO4 An ability to anticipate and critically evaluate the possible legal solutions to complex legal issues created by innovative uses of information technology