Introduction to the Courts

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE RESEARCH ORDERLY TO THE HON JUSTICE GRAEME HAROLD MURPHY

Day in the life of an Associate

You will notice from the articles in this section that the specific day-to-day aspects of working as an Associate differ from Court to Court, and indeed from judge to judge. However, you can expect to do the following categories of work: • Legal research and judgment proofing. The legal research aspect is pretty similar to that in private practice – your judge is like the partner that asks you to write a research memo on an area of law. Judgment proofing is another big aspect. This is very different to how proofing is colloquially understood. Often your judge will ask for your opinion on how well he has understood, expressed and applied the law to the facts in his draft judgment; • Administrative duties. These could include maintaining and preparing electronic and hard copy files for hearings, setting up Court, knocking the judge(s) in and out of Court, in-

Court duties such as arranging video links, swearing in witnesses, passing materials from counsel to the bench, and keeping everyone’s water topped up; and • Any ad-hoc duties your judge has for you.

This could include (as it does in Murphy JA chambers) watering your judge’s pot plants, keeping his printer stocked up with paper, and arranging monthly Judges’ Lunches.

The benefits of being at the Court

The first main benefit is the close relationship you build with your Judge. It is very rare for a junior student / fresh graduate to have a close 1 on 1 relationship with someone at the pinnacle of their career - and that goes for most, if not all careers in the professional services sector. You learn a lot about the law and how it is applied. If your Judge is a specialist in a particular area of law, and that area aligns with your own personal interests - you will leave the Court having been exposed to interesting and niche aspects of that area. The second benefit is the exposure to litigation and advocacy. You quickly realise what it is, and what it isn’t. If you’re remotely interested in litigation and advocacy being at the Court is a great way to be exposed to both written and oral advocacy. You can never rule something out until you’ve tried it. Being at the Court gives you many transferable skills. Critically engaging with submissions, the law, and draft judgments allows you to further develop your analytical skills and attention to detail. And these skills are transferable no matter whether you end up as a front-end projects or M&A lawyer or a courtroom advocate.

So how do you choose which to apply to? One approach is to think about which areas of the law you are interested in and go from there. For example, you might notice from the articles in this section: • the Family Court deals with family law (often described as a very

“human” area of the law) and has a quicker turnaround of cases, meaning you get exposure to a higher volume of advocacy; • in the Magistrates Court you will see a lot of high-volume, highturnover cases that might be relatively speaking, legally less complex. • the District Court does the heavy lifting for criminal cases; • the general division of the SCWA (GenDiv) primarily deals with trials (and some appeals), whereas the Court of Appeal (COA) primarily deals with more complex appeals and questions of law; • the Federal Court has jurisdiction to deal with judicial review of decisions by officers of the Commonwealth. The Federal Court also deals with many bankruptcy and insolvency cases. At the SCWA, within each of the COA and GenDiv, you may have judicial officers that specialise in civil cases (eg, Murphy JA, Kenneth Martin J, Master Sanderson), or criminal cases (eg, Mazza JA, Hall J, Corboy J), or a mix of both. It is pretty rare for students to go directly from studying to become an Associate at the High Court. Usually, many High Court Justices recruit several years in advance, and it may be advantageous to have worked as an Associate at a lower Court and/or have experience in practice.

Supreme Court Buildings and Gardens, Old Court House, Stirling Gardens

Supreme Court of Western Australia, David Malcolm Justice Centre, 28 Barrack Street

LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE TO THE HON JUSTICE MICHAEL JOHN BUSS (PRESIDENT)

Yasmin Kirkham Juris Doctor, UWA Class of 2022

David Malcolm Justice Centre, 28 Barrack Street, Perth 6000

supremecourt.wa.gov.au/

What does your work involve?

As a part-time Legal and Administrative Associate to President Buss I work 2.5 days a week. The Court of Appeal primarily hears appeals from the District Court and Supreme Court of Western Australia. My main role is to assist the Judge in the progression of appeals. Prior to an appeal hearing, I help prepare materials that Judge will need. This includes lots of printing and filing (which I find quite therapeutic), collecting legal authorities and sourcing exhibits. In court, I act as orderly and collect the judges from their chambers and maintain order in the courtroom. And yes, I do get to knock them into court. I sometimes do legal research which is super interesting. We also proofread judgments before they are published; while this can be tedious, it is very satisfying when you find a mistake! Because Associateships are typically limited to one or two years, Judges want to give you the best experience they can. You get to form close relationships with your Judge and fellow Associates and build a lasting network for your legal career. I have recently begun a ‘themed Friday’ initiative where Buss P chambers wear a different colour each Friday. Another benefit of working at the Court of Appeal is seeing some of the best counsel in the State argue about niche and complex issues of law. It has been a privilege so early in my career to watch experienced counsel and gain insight as to what to do in court (and what not to do!). Why did you apply to be an Associate?

I was attracted to the idea of working as an associate as I have always been interested in advocacy and how our court systems operate. Despite some experience working in law firms, I hadn’t yet been to court and was largely unfamiliar with the adversarial process. I wanted to see how judges and barristers use the legal principles I have learned throughout my degree to grapple with complex issues of law and fact.

How and when can students apply?

Applications for the following year typically open in late February. Advertisements are posted on the Supreme Court website and distributed by the university law schools. Candidates provide a cover letter, resume and academic transcript. Some positions also become available throughout the year, such as my position (which was advertised in May). I was lucky to secure one of the part-time roles at the Court of Appeal, which works great alongside my studies.

Who can apply for a position?

To apply for an Associateship, you will need to have graduated, or almost have completed your law degree.

What is the application process?

Candidates submit their applications, complete an interview at the Court and then receive an offer from the Judges if successful.