Law Student Gazette

1. Study Skills Workshops

A series of three new Study Skills workshops aimed at first year law students will be run from week 7 to week 9 on Thursdays.

Location is the Law Library Level 3 Meeting Room.

Book in to one or more classes via the Online Class Booking System (search for Study Skills).

Week 7: Study Groups Thursday April 19, 12-1pm

In this session, we will discuss how to make study groups work effectively and will include the following topics:

The do’s and don’ts of study groups – ensuring that your work is still your own; Group revision strategies; Assigning tasks; Group dynamics

Week 8: Team Work Thursday April 26, 1-2pm

This session will explore the following aspects of team work: Team member roles; Assigning tasks; What if something goes wrong?; Team building exercises.

As students will have to work as part of a team throughout their studies and in their careers, this workshop will provide tips on how team members can get the best results out of their team.

Week 9: Oral Presentation Skills: Thursday May 3, 12-1pm

As students and as lawyers, it is important to be able to communicate clearly in order to get your message across effectively. In this session, we will discuss: Knowing your audience; Different types of presentation styles; Overcoming nerves and presenting confidently.

We will have an activity in which the students are assigned a topic and give a short group presentation.

1. The RACS Scholarship

The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons is again offering the Foundation for Surgery Louis Waller Medico-Legal Scholarship in 2013.

This scholarship is open to law graduates undertaking or intending to undertake doctoral research on the topic of medico-legal risks and related law. For more information please see here.

1. Law Student Mentoring Program

Invitations to all women students participating in second to final year law students at Monash University Law School are now open, to participate in the 2012 Law Student Mentoring Program.

For more information please see WBA Mentoring Program.

.: End of Student Gazette 16.4.2012 :.

1. Symposium – Recent developments concerning the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Date: Tuesday 24 April 2012
Venue: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Time: 9:00am to 2:45pm

This symposium will consider three important current issues in children’s rights, from Australian and international perspectives.

This informative and thought-provoking event will bring together some of Australia’s leading child rights advocates, academics and organisations. It will be an invaluable occasion for those working or studying in the area, as well as anyone with an interest in children’s rights.

Confirmed speakers:
The Hon Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC, Chair of Children’s Rights International
Associate Professor John Tobin, University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Paula Gerber, Monash University
Chris Varney, Former Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations

Registration
Registration fees for the symposium are:
Full price: $75
Concession full price: $35

To register and pay online, please go here.

For more information on the event, please see Convention on the Rights of the Child.

2. Law Beyond Practice 2012 – Law Careers Beyond Commercial Firms

Date: Thursday 19 April, 2012
Venue: Monash University Law Chambers Auditorium, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne CBD
Time: 6pm – 8pm
Ticket: $10 (Drinks & Canapés provided)
More information: Here

Seats are strictly limited, so be quick to secure your place by booking online.

Thinking about clerkships and the conventional pathway of commercial law firm practice? Having doubts and wanting to know other options for your hard-earned law degree?

Law Beyond Practice 2012 aims to provide ambitious law students with an insight into an array of career opportunities to use your law degree outside commercial practice. Connect with successful professionals who have chosen less traditional law-related careers, from government departments, not-for-profit organisations, to leaders of the criminal law. Hear their ‘100 Second Pitch’ and then have the opportunity to chat with them – in an informal setting – to discuss legal career insights that are rewarding in both the personal and professional sense.

Confirmed speakers so far:
The Hon. Robert Richter QC
Ms Joh Kirby, Executive Director of Victoria Law Foundation
Cr Charlotte Baines, Monash City Council
Senior Sergeant Therese Fitzgerald, Police Prosecutions Division
Ms Madeline Keating, Carina Ford Immigration Lawyers
Mr Nikolas Tumbri, Associate to The Honourable President Maxwell of the Supreme Court of Victoria
Mr Khoi Cao-Lam, Manager of North Melbourne Legal Service Inc
Professor Arie Freiberg, Dean of Law Faculty at Monash University
Mr Paul Horvarth, Sports Lawyers

Representatives from:
The Legal Services Commission
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
The Environmental Defender’s Office

3. Meeting Challenges in the Civil Justice System by Professor Dame Hazel

How has the landscape altered? What are the challenges and opportunities? How does the justice system need to change to stay relevant to the people it serves?

The lecture will focus on current civil justice policy in England and Wales and argue that, as a result of trends over the last fifteen years, the value of a public civil justice system is being challenged, while access to that system is being inhibited both by new procedural and funding measures.

Accompanied by a profound change in civil justice discourse, the relevant interdependent justice policy strands involve the promotion of mediation and the withdrawal of the State from civil disputes; the removal of legal aid from most non-criminal issues; and a reduction in resources for the courts.

Date: Tuesday 17 April, 2012
Time: 6:00pm
Venue: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale St, Melbourne
RSVP: See attached information for booking form

For more information please see Critique of Civil Justice Reforms in England.

4. 2012 Law Malaysia Program Information Session

Date: Tuesday 17 April, 2012
Venue: Building 12, L2
Time: 1 – 2pm

Please come along and hear all about this wonderful program (lunch provided)!

Malaysia offers a fun time whilst basking in the sunshine enjoying the food and culture from one of Asia’s most multicultural societies. Enrich your education by studying at the Monash Malaysia campus where you will have the chance to experience the law in a comparative context including studying
with students from different parts of the world.

• Find out how you can study overseas in 2012 at the Sunway Campus, Malaysia without adding any time to your degree.
• Listen to students share their experiences from the 2011 program.
• Hear about the application process, units offered, funding and more.

This session will not be recorded but all information presented including eligibility will be available on the Malaysia program website.

1. Message from the JD director

The end of trimester 1 is approaching which means so it the exam period!

We have been working on arranging a separate stream of the elective, Professional Practice. We are hopeful that a pilot program will be up and running for trimester 3, 2012 and if successful to then establish the program on a more permanent basis. The initial pilot will only require a very small number of students but we hope that this will enable more JD students to chose Prof Prac as an elective in the future. More information will be sent out about this shortly.

Trimester 3 will also see our first ever streams being run on Saturdays. We are trialling this with two subjects initially and depending on levels of interest from both staff and students we will try each trimester to run streams of some core JD units on Saturdays.

The curriculum review process is progressing well and we are hoping to report back to students with further developments soon.

Just a reminder that if you have any academic issues with subjects in the elective program that you should contact Assistant Prof. Moira Paterson. She is now the director of all Graduate programs, except the JD core units, which you should still contact Rachel Chrapot about.

Please be aware that the SETU online feedback will be open to students on 26 March 2012. Please ensure that you login and give us your feedback on individual units. All SETU results in all JD Core Units are read, and your comments in particular are very important in the development of the JD program. All comments are anonymous. You should also feel free to contact Rachel Chrapot at any time during the trimester with regard to academic issues. All comments will be treated in the strictest of confidence.

Please ensure that any special consideration issues are dealt with as soon as possible. Student services can better help you if you get in touch with them as soon as you become aware of any difficulties you are having.

2. Outcome of Elections for Student Representatives

The elections for student representatives on faculty committees have now concluded. The student membership is as follows

Postgraduate Consultative Committee:
LLM representatives

Alexandra Heath
No further nominations were received by the nominations deadline

JD representatives

Alicia Chisholm
James Skerrett
Aaron Sudholz

JD Studies Sub-Committee:

Lauren Anderson
Andrew Cameron

Graduate Studies Sub-Committee:

No nominations were received by the nominations deadline

Please see our website for more details about these committees.

1. 2012 Law Malaysia Program-Applications Extended!

2012 Law Malaysia Program-Applications extended until 20 April 2012!

• Monash Sunway campus in Malaysia, located near Kuala Lumpur
• 25 June – 24 August
• Full semester of law studies
• Taught by academic staff from Monash and overseas universities
• Applications are now open and close on Friday 9 March 2012
• Small classes, with students from partner universities, including Hong Kong, Malaysia and Paris

Monash Abroad travel grants will be available. Further information can be found here.

Application process including application form can be found here.

Please see here for further information.

1. The Monash University Undergraduate Prize for Writing

The Faculty of Arts is the educational partner of the Emerging Writers’ Festival and proud sponsor of the inaugural Monash Undergraduate Prize for Creative Writing, a prestigious new award for emerging literary voices.

This competition is open to any undergraduate student in Australia, please see Writing Prize Flyer for more information.

.: End of Student Gazette 2.4.2012 :.