The Jurist 2015 Issue 3 by Flinders Law Students' Association

The Jurist Issue 3 2015

The Jurist

ABOUT MINTER ELLISON We’re an Australian-based international ABOUT MINTER ELLISON

law firm offering a full range of legal We’reservices an Australian-based international to an impressive list of clients law firm offering a fullinrange of legal across Australia, Asia and globally. Recognised for our clear thinking, services to an impressive list of clients our technical skills ability to acrossstrong Australia, in Asia andand globally. deliver practical solutions have led to our Recognised for our clear thinking, our involvement in the Asia Pacific’s most strong technical skills and ability to innovative and high-profile transactions. deliver practical solutions have led to our involvement in the Asia Pacific’s most innovative and high-profile transactions.

OUR PRACTICE TEAMS OURCommercial BUSINESS UNITS Litigation AND DIVISIONS Corporate

Commercial & Services Regulatory Financial Group Human Resources & Industrial Relations Dispute Resolution Insurance & Corporate Financial Institutions GroupRisk Real Estate, Environment & Planning Human Resources & Industrial Relations Workers Compensation Insurance & Corporate Risk Mergers & Acquisitions Projects, Infrastructure & Construction Real Estate, Environment & Planning Tax

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FACTS & FIGURES

In South Australia / Northern Territory: 31 partners and around 200 legal staff Adelaide office opened 1988 Darwin office opened 2003 Part of the Minter Ellison network of offices in Australia, Asia and the UK

RealReal people people achieving excellence achieving excellence For more information on vacation clerkships or theorMinter Ellison For more information on vacation clerkships the Minter Ellison graduate program please go please to www.minterellison.com/careers graduate program go to www.minterellison.com/careers

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Contents President’s Welcome by Annika Beaty

4 Features 5 Wallmans Wellbeing Week 6 by Bill Jones My Competition Experience by Daniel Jeffry 10 Competitions: First Year Moot 12 by Giulia Prosperi-Porta Embracing the moving Goal Posts by Anneka Ferguson 14 Access to Justice: Bush Court 18 by Alicia Jennison Being a Clinical Assistant in HR by Alex Douvartzidis 20 Helping ‘survive’ Law School 24 by Giulia Prosperi-Porta A Cave to lick your wounds in by Dorian Basic 26 Don’t Dwell on Results 28 by Giulia Prosperi-Porta Transactional Legal Practice by Mara Morrigan 31 33 Puzzles

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President’s Welcome

by FLSA President, Annika Beaty

Welcome to the third edition of The Jurist for 2015! In the wake of FLSA’s annual Wellbeing Week, this edition of The Jurist will continue the discussion of wellbeing, particularly as we are hurtling towards the exam period. The summer holidays are tantalisingly close. A number of Flinders Law students will be embarking on the Indonesian Study Tour beginning in late November. Others are undertaking summer clerkships, internships, and other placements following the end of exams. Some are currently preparing applications for an overseas exchange, or considering whether to sign up for any interesting summer electives. Many of us will simply be glad to have an opportunity to rest. However, before we can let our minds wander into the summer holidays, we need to finish our final assignments and revise for exams. It is now more important than ever to manage our time effectively and establish healthy lifestyle habits. In order to make the most of the final weeks of semester 2, it is important not only to carefully manage our time but to also manage ourselves. At this time of the semester, it can be easy to let stress get the better of us. However, by implementing a number of study strategies, we can stay calm and balance our commitments in the lead-up to exams. First, it can be helpful to write your study schedule as early as possible. This schedule should ensure you dedicate enough time to each topic or final assessment, and ultimately see you through the exam period. Your study schedule is likely to depend on how much work you have done over the semester.

Start by writing a list of everything you need to complete before exams. Work out which areas of the topics are being examined and exactly how many days you have to dedicate to revision. You can then work out how you will use your free time each day to get these things done. Try to stick to this schedule! It can be useful to ask a friend or family member to hold you accountable. Second, remember to incorporate regular study breaks and exercise into your weekly routine. Take some time to be active, go outside, breathe fresh air, and do something for yourself. Do whatever you need to do to maintain your sanity during this hectic period. Don’t chain yourself to your desk – it is better to have a well-rounded study timetable that includes breaks, instead of forcing yourself to study for two weeks non-stop. Third, make the most of your final classes and staff consultation times this week and next week. It pays to be organised as early as you can, because you will get much more out of your practice exam tutorial or revision lecture if you are familiar with all, or most of, the material. Visit your lecturers and ask them questions early – don’t wait until the final consultation the day before the exam. Set goals for yourself, and strive to make progress every day. Every bit of study helps, and the earlier you start, the better off you will be! Good luck, and I hope you enjoy the third edition of The Jurist. If you would like to get in touch with the FLSA committee, please feel free to send an email to president@flsa.org.au or send us a message via our Facebook page. You are also welcome to drop into our office in room LWCM1.08.

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Features

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Wallmans Wellbeing Week by Bill Jones

At this year’s Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) Conference, FLSA was fortunate enough to be crowned the winners of the ‘Best Health and Wellbeing Initiative’ for our 2014 Wellbeing Week. With this in mind, FLSA endeavoured to step up their game to produce an even more impressive week for 2015. The determination of not only the Careers and Education portfolio, but the entire committee, resulted in an outstanding attempt to increase both the physical and mental wellbeing within the Flinders Law School. In the lead up to the week, the Careers and Education portfolio brainstormed ways of how we could top last year’s week. We wanted the week to be enjoyable, but we also knew that the serious underlying reasons for the week needed to be the focus. And thus the idea to host a Mental Health Panel Session was born, an event designed to discuss the stigma surrounding mental health. Once the panel session had been decided on, the difficult task became selecting panellists worthy of the cause. So who else would you invite to this event? Only people that sit at the top of the field in both the legal profession and mental wellbeing of course!

Cue the Honourable Christopher Kourakis, Chief Justice of Supreme Court of South Australia. As the highest judicial officer of the state, his Honour was a perfect addition to our panel. His knowledge of both the bar and the bench provided the law school with a treasure trove of useful ideas and insights re mental health strategies. Perhaps his most memorable quote of the night was “You can only worry about your performance, not the result”. This resonated with me, being a constant worrier re assignment grades, it woke me up to the fact that once that exam has been sat, or that assignment submitted, it’s out of your hands. All you can do is sit back, relax, and watch some Netflix (or in my case hurry onto another assignment that you had been procrastinating away for the whole week). Our second panellist was Marie Jepson, co-founder of the Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation (TJMF). For those that don’t know, Tristan Jepson was a young lawyer, who under the stress of the legal profession, took his own life. Marie, his mother, created the TJMF in honour of her son’s memory, and with the vision of seeing a profession free of the depression that her son faced.

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Her words were strong yet delivered with a mother’s love. Whenever I locked eyes with her during her speeches, I could see the determination inside her, the determination to make a better workplace for lawyers and law students alike. For more information on the TJMF you can visit their website at: http://www.tjmf.org.au Continuing down the line we were kind enough to be visited by psychologist Fiona Stevens. The first thing that caught me about Fiona was her blazing red hair, suit, and shoes. This eccentric appearance was matched in volume by Fiona’s knowledge of the human mind, and more specifically, the biological processes in which law students and lawyers operate under. For a room full of law students, you could imagine the bewildered looks on our faces when the words “cerebral cortex” and “cognitive faculties” were uttered (unless of course you’re doubling in psych, in which case this would have made sense). Fiona’s most useful tip was to simply communicate with friends and family, for this gives the mind a break and actually detoxifies the brain from our rampant stress. Our final panellist was Brenda Barnett, Senior Solicitor at the Crown Solicitor’s Office. Brenda, a lawyer who was previously a teacher and a banker, came into the law late in life. These careers equipped her with the knowledge to deal with stress in a multitude of situations. Brenda’s most importance piece of advice was to maintain our connections, including those outside of the law. In the hustle and bustle of professional life, a breather is always necessary in order to stay sane. And of course, a panel cannot function without a mediator. Trevor Edmond, the managing partner of Wallmans Lawyers, was fantastic in facilitating the discussion, but also being forthright with his own battle with depression.

So with the sesh planned out, all that was left was everything else (sweating intensifies). We decided to channel our inner Oprah Winfrey and tried to organise as many freebies and giveaways as possible. By contacting a never ending list of corporations and shops, Olivia Hanna, our Education Officer, managed to create her hugely successful show bags, packed full of discounts for food chains such as Boost and Bing Boy, tips on how to be stress free, and of course the all-important safe sex tattoos (don’t worry they weren’t permanent). In addition to the show bags, we managed to provide tonnes of free food that was packed full of FLSA love. I have a strong feeling that our Vice-President, Hannah Brimstone, now has PTSD in relation to the amount of smoothies that she made. Another huge success was the “Mindfulness Colouring” initiative. You’d be surprised how calming colouring in intricate patterns for hours on end is. Our aim for the 2015 Wellbeing Week was to increase the number and range of activities, which we felt we definitely achieved. The bar was set so high for us this year, due to the success of previous years, and the National recognition from ALSA, we did not want to let the standard fall. I believe we were able to achieve what we set out to do due to the hard work of the amazing Careers and Education Portfolio. Firstly thank you to Hannah for your wonderful leadership and dedication to furthering the cause of wellbeing amongst tertiary students. And to Nicole Liebelt, our 2015 Wellbeing Officer, for your support behind the scenes. Kudos goes to Tom McCourt, our 2015 Careers Officer, who was also incredibly helpful in implementing the efforts of the Careers and Education portfolio. Not only did he provide vast amounts of mental and physical support to the portfolio, but his pancake flipping skills was one of the key reasons that made the Wallmans

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Wellbeing Week such a success. If you’re worried for the quality of future FLSA pancakes then fear not, for Tom will still be around next year as our 2016 Activities Director. And finally I make special mention again to Olivia Hanna, Education Officer, for her outstanding actions in this year’s Wallmans Wellbeing Week. Olivia was the Peta Credlin to Hannah’s Tony Abbott. She went above and beyond her role as Education Officer and put in countless hours of her own time to provide this service to the law student body. She was responsible for various initiatives such as liaising with the law, criminal justice, and business schools, and contacting an immense amount of sponsors to donate items to the students. This hard work and devotion to FLSA and the law school is sure to continue in Olivia’s role in 2016 as Sponsorship Director. All in all, the Wallmans Wellbeing Week was an outstanding success and we hope you guys thought so too. If you have any feedback or suggestions for the 2016 FLSA committee on how we can improve your future experiences for Wellbeing Week, please send on email to vice. president@flsa.org.au. REMINDER: As it is now exam period, please do not forget to take time out for yourselves. Have a bath, go for a walk on the beach, and always remember to #treatyoself. The Jurist

Special Thanks to:

Our Wellbeing Week Sponsors; Wallmans Lawyers Bakers Delight Marion Bakers Delight Newton Beyond Blue Bing Boy Boost Juice Burger Theory Cold Rock Ascot Park Eagle Boys Fancy Burger Flinders Health and Counselling Gringo’s Mexican Cantina Juniper and Pine Kmart Marion Made with Love Mental Health Australia Red Aware Rheinland Bakery Marion San Churros Marion Shine SA Snctry Clothing Student VIP T2 The Yoghurt Factory The Yoghurt Shop Central Markets Wok in a Box Woolworths Marion

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My Competition Experience by Daniel Jeffery My competition experience in the Lipman Karas Negotiation Competition. Like many other fellow law students, I came into the Flinders Law program straight after graduating high school. As a young and unseasoned 18 year old, entering a legal competition honestly had not crossed my mind – the thought actually frightened me. In starting my third year of Law School in 2015 I heard about the Lipman Karas Negotiation Competition; a competition which simulates a negotiation between two sets of two lawyers, who are trying to reach a compromise that each of their clients will be satisfied with, while trying to avoid litigation. After hearing of this competition, I really thought that I could give it a good crack, but a fear to perform in a high pressure situation was potentially clouding my judgement and I almost ended up saying: maybe next year (as usual). I slowly realised that this was a mindset that could become my own worst enemy if I let it. It is a mindset that I believe a majority of young law

students experience, where you restrain from challenging yourself outside of your university curriculum.

How the Competition helped I did not write this article in order to provide you with tips or tactics as to how you can ace your negotiation. I wrote this in order to aspire you to give it a go. Like I said, you are not alone in feeling anxious about participating in a law competition. That was why I needed to do this competition – for myself. This year I went from the guy who thought he could give it ‘a good crack’, to the guy who won the negotiation competition alongside his good friend, Meshal Althobaiti. I can conclusively say that, although it was an emotional rollercoaster at times, the 7 week journey was one of the finest, challenging and most memorable experiences I have had. Due

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to the limited time you are given to prepare for each round, the negotiation competition helps you handle very stressful situations and highly analytical legal problems. Problems that would, practically, take months to resolve. Yet you have little preparation time and only one 50-minute meeting to attempt to resolve the issues you are faced with and achieve an outcome that your client would be satisfied with. This is difficult, for example, when both parties want to achieve outcomes that vastly differ in terms of monetary figures, or when one party wants something that the other cannot afford to concede to. Accordingly, the negotiation competition can ready you for extremely time-demanding scenarios that you are bound to face in the real world of legal practice. The negotiation process also adapts you to researching new areas of law such as commercial law, environmental law and international law. This can be particularly useful as you may find yourself gaining

interest in unfamiliar territories, which can aid you in deciding what your future specialties might be. You will also find yourself thinking very practically and heavily increasing your business knowledge. For these reasons, the negotiation preparation process can become an emotional and intense experience, which is totally worth the energy.

Is being a Lawyer really for you? I would like to end with stating that the negotiation competition truly helps you realise whether practising law is the career for you. As negotiation has been regarded as one of the most important legal skills, the negotiation competition is a stepping stone which can aid you in answering this question. Therefore, some will leave the preliminary round of the competition telling themselves that they want to do this for a living and others will leave saying that this isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really for them.

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Competitions: First Year Moot by Giulia Prosperi-Porta When Warren Flaherty entered the First Year Moot, all he wanted was to make it past the preliminary rounds. But he totally exceeded his expectations, after he was recently crowned the First Year Moot champion. “I am very happy I won, now I want to get on with everything else,” Warren said. “As the rounds wore on I thought I didn’t really want to get through because it was taking up so much time, but at the same time I hoped in the back of my mind I did get through,” he said. Warren battled it out in court with Adam Hamilton, Rhys Harrison and Ryan Parker, in the area of tort law. Presiding Grand Final Judge, Tania Leiman, said the competition was close and impressive. “What got Warren over the line was a clearer and more accurate discussion of the law,” Tania said. “He was the best at picking up on what we were asking in our questions and why, and his written submissions were the strongest.” The champion congratulated his competitors.

“It was mentioned that it was a very high calibre of competitors. I consider myself lucky to compete with them,” Warren said. Ryan Parker said the most the challenging part of the moot was the workload. “I loved the whole competition, stressful though it was,” he said. “I particularly enjoyed meeting other students through the competition: whether it was working with them, mooting against them, or just commiserating and sympathising with them.” The First Year Moot taught Adam Hamilton to be more organised and manage time more effectively. “I am a very unorganised person. I do not have a diary. I do not plan my days,” he said. “Upon the completion of the First Quarter Final round, I knew this competition was not going to be easy. “In order to succeed I was going to need to get it together.

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“I started a diary, I planned my days and I prioritised my work.” Tania was also a judge in the semi-finals, which she said was also an impressive round. Semi-finalists included Quynh Nguyen, Tim Bost, Audrey Lian and Giulia Prosperi-Porta, along with Warren, Ryan, Rhys and Adam. “I thought everyone was extremely well prepared, extremely confident and presented really well for first-time mooters; all of the judges in the semi-final and grand final rounds commented on that,” Tania said. “They were very professional. Even though we knew everyone was nervous, they did well.” The area of law for the semi-final round was contract. The other judges were contract topic co-ordinator Esther Stern and tutor Frank Camatta. The area students needed to improve on the most was knowledge of the law and cases, Tania said. “It’s all very well looking great and being confident, but the downfall was that the law wasn’t correct,” she said.

“No matter how professional and polished you look, if the law is not correct you won’t go very far. “In real life, if lawyers appearing in court can’t correctly answer questions about the law that applies or haven’t read the relevant cases, then they run the risk of being severely embarrassed in public and in front of their clients.” Tania encouraged students to participate in mooting. “It builds your confidence in standing up in public and putting your legal arguments forward,” she said. “The skills you learn in mooting are exactly the sorts of skills you’ll use if you’re doing even the most minor court appearance.” Ryan echoed Tania’s sentiments. “If it is the sort of thing you are terrified of signing up for, because you’re too nervous, then there is even more reason to participate,” he said. “It is a great way of getting over your fears as well as building necessary legal skills.”

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Embracing the moving goal posts! by Anneka Ferguson My first thought, always, when I am asked to provide some ‘advice’ or guidelines on mental wellbeing at study or in practice is, ‘Who am I to provide advice?’ Whilst I have studied law (and am now studying psychology) and, whilst I have researched in the area of law student wellbeing and I have worked in practice and now academia, my thoughts may not be the right ones for you. However, I would be honoured if you would read the story and decide for yourself.

Yes, I entered a BA/LLB at a deliberately unspecified university (Not the one I currently work for!). But, instead of partying (too much) I began working full time by the end of my first semester of university, had my first child at the end of my second year, became adept at pinpointing subject matter to pass exams on minimal study, moved over 500kms away from my university, became an external student and ultimately completed the BA/LLB with Honours (surprisingly) 7 years after I started it.

My foray and desire to study and have a career in law has its origin in long, boring Friday afternoons in the school cafeteria studying 3 unit Legal Studies. In this less than inspiring environment, I was inspired by the potential power of international law to both make a difference in the world and provide me with the opportunity to travel.

Even when I began working in law, I’m not sure I quite found the recipe for world peace in the salubrious worlds of car accident personal injury and asbestos litigation. However, I continued on this path, reasonably happily until, in another bout of excellent family planning, I had my second child.

I envisaged a glorious university career of living it up with all-night parties and study sessions at university, impressing everyone with my (obvious) brilliance, followed by years of travelling to godforsaken parts of the world to bring about world peace. (I wasn’t even a contender for Miss Universe contest!) Probably, not surprisingly, this isn’t exactly how it panned out…

At this point, despite never having once before uttered the sentence, “When I grow up, I want to be a lecturer in Trust Accounting Law!”, I embraced an opportunity to do exactly that at ANU Legal Workshop. In fact, I embraced the opportunity, moved to the country, had another child, moved into convening other areas of the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP), and have not looked back. Not quite what I planned though!

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Am I bitter? Do I wish I did it all differently? Is my advice to you to ensure that you stick to your plans at all times and ensure that you have good birth control? In short, no… Why? Because even though everything changed from the beginning of my law degree to my admission into and departure from legal practice and arrival into legal academia, I am content with what I have achieved and where the new challenges are taking me. In my role as convenor in the GDLP I spend quite a lot of my time talking to students regarding the difficulties they are facing in their studies and the impact on their wellbeing. I have paired with colleagues to implement, examine and evaluate better ways to conduct our courses in order to facilitate student motivation, ethics, professionalism and wellbeing.1 Out of these combined experiences I have come to the conclusion that even though the goal posts of your plans may change over time, as long as you consider the following issues you will likely continue to be content along the journey and wherever your journey takes you – even if it is a little short of bringing about world peace. 1 For example, (Upcoming) Ferguson, A. (2015) ‘Creating practice ready, well and professional law graduates’, Journal of Learning Design vol 7, no. 2; Tang, S & Ferguson, A (2014), ‘The possibility of wellbeing: preliminary results from surveys of Australian professional legal education students’, QUT Law Review, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 27-51; Ferguson, A & Lee, E, ‘Desperately Seeking...Relevant Assessment? A Case Study on the Potential for Using Online Simulated Group Based Learning to Create Sustainable Assessment Practices’, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 121-145

“To thine own self be true…”2 Or, in plain English (because we all want plain English speaking lawyers nowadays), be yourself! Of course, this is a little easier said than done. In order to be yourself, you need to know yourself and this could be a little more difficult than assessing the colour of your belly button lint on a daily basis. There are lots of psychologically sound ways of considering who you are (www. authentichappiness.org provides one option) but, at the heart of it is the fact that, in order to be true to yourself you need to be aware of your values and how you wish to translate this into your professional identity. Your values are your fundamental motivators, they are what you stand for. If you are able to combine what you are doing in any aspect of your life with the values that motivate you, you will ultimately be successful by your own standards. For example, whilst I didn’t end up as an amazing international human rights lawyer (the next Julian Burnside QC), I am doing a job that has enabled me to combine my altruistic values of being compassionate and supporting others to achieve their potential with my more intrinsic motivational values of intellectual stimulation, embracing new opportunities and people, family, and my extrinsic motivational values of being able to travel. Another part of knowing yourself, and continuing to know yourself, is to ensure that these values align as you make your decisions about your career. 2 Polonius to Laertes, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3

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A frequent audit of how you are feeling about the decisions you are making and how they align with your values is necessary. Mark it on your diary – “Value Audit day!” (It comes right after “pairing up your unpaired socks day” on my calendar!) And remember, there is much more to the practice of law than the corporate environment – if that is what interests you “go for it”, otherwise don’t. And even when you do get your dream job, it might be good to keep “value audit day” on your calendar just in case your dream job has turned into hell with harbour views.1

The damn snail may never have been in the ginger beer bottle.3 When you take your hard learned legal knowledge out into practice I can almost guarantee that your first client will have a problem that cannot be easily or satisfactorily resolved by the law alone; and you will very likely flounder over what would seem to be the simpler tasks – i.e. I still have nightmares about the photocopying dramas involved in my first brief to Counsel. Relish the uncertainty... control the things you can but learn to embrace and be comfortable with the things you can not be certain of.

“Clever people seem not to feel the natural pleasure of bewilderment, and are always answering questions when the chief relish of a life is to go on asking them.”2 You got into law school. You are a clever person, surrounded by other equally clever persons and many other clever persons will be making great efforts to transfer their knowledge to you. This is great, this is fantastic! But, no matter how hard you study you will never know everything and your knowledge, once received, will not stay current for very long. Furthermore, the practice of law is not certain. There may be rules/regulations/legislation. There may be precedents from one end of the world to the other and books published ad nauseum on various intricate matters. However, there will always be uncertainty in both the practice and the content of the law. 1 See, for example, Hell Has Harbour Views, a book written by Richard Beasley and a telemovie written and directed by Peter Duncan. A reportedly fictional account of life in a corrupt Sydney law firm – despite its fictional status, speculation is still rife as to which law firm it is based on. 2 Frank Moore Colby (1865–1925), U.S. editor, essayist. “Simple Simon,” vol. 1, The Colby Essays (1926)

“Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself…If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”4 You will make mistakes. You won’t get everything right the first time (or even the second or third time) and ultimately that comment on your essay about the placement of your commas is not going to bring about the end of the Western World. It can be hard to keep this perspective when law school does, at times, seem to be about beating everyone around you. However, do try to remember that it is inevitable that there will be times you are at the top of the pile and sometimes the bottom. Be kind to yourself, and consider finding what motivates you, other than marks. Learn for learnings sake - for the opportunity to expand 3 Donoghue v Stevenson [1931] UKHL 3, 1932 SC (HL) 31, [1932] UKHL 100, [1932] AC 562 4 Cavinder, Fred D. (August 1973). “Desiderata”. TWA Ambassador. pp. 14–15. via Platt, Suzy, ed. (1993). Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. Library of Congress. Barnes & Noble. p. 212

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your own horizons. And even, heaven bid, consider teaching yourself to unthink like a lawyer and have an argument about who is going to take the garbage out based on pure emotion and irrationality, instead of referring to clause 2(3) of the Household Garbage Act you have drafted and taped to the refrigerator. “…No man is an island, entire of itself…”5 The law happens in the real world. If you cut yourself off from this real world to study it, you won’t be equipped to practice it once you reemerge into this real world. Not to mention, it probably has a pretty dastardly affect on your wellbeing. So socialise, seek out connections with likeminded communities, the student bodies, even the legal profession itself. In fact, our research suggests that if you go out and see the law in action through a law related job or clinical legal experience (even if you don’t want to be a lawyer) than this can assist in reducing the chance of experiencing the symptoms of mental distress (Stress, Anxiety and Depression). But, if ‘sh#t happens’ (and there is no doubt that at some point it will). If you do find you are experiencing symptoms of distress or things are just generally seeming more difficult and overwhelming, don’t be afraid to ask for help when things get tough. The sooner you send out the distress signal to your friends, family, community, university lecturer – the sooner they can send out the life boat to support you. “…F#@k you, I won’t do what you tell me! ”6 5 John Donne (1572-1631),Devotions upon emergent occasions and seuerall steps in my sickness - Meditation XVII, 1624 6 Line from “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine

Don’t let other people tell you who you should be or how you should think. Remember that you don’t have to agree with the High Court Judge (magistrate, lecturer, book author), and just because the arguments might appear rational that doesn’t mean a) that they are, or b) that you have to agree with them if some part of you still doesn’t think that the outcome is right…. …So, feel free to ignore everything I have just said. Anneka Ferguson, the biography: Anneka is currently the Sub-Dean for the Masters of Legal Practice at ANU Legal Workshop. Within the Masters of Legal Practice (Admissions) and Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Anneka has convened Legal Practice trust accounting; the Professional Practice Core Course in 2011 and 2013; the Professionalism in Practice (aka practice management) component of the Professional Practice Core in 2012-2015; and the Graduate GDLP in 2014-2015. Anneka’s teaching motivation derives from her early years in legal practice wherein she realised how little was taught at university about operating, surviving and thriving in legal practice. As such she is dedicated to providing all law graduates with the opportunity to practise and develop the real skills, attitudes and well being they will need for practice. To complement this teaching focus, Anneka’s research, since early 2012, has focussed on evaluating the effectiveness of the PPC and practice management within the PPC in supporting the development of a successful, ethical, and well rounded (both in content and mental wellbeing) legal professionals. This research is currently yielding some important results relating to the relationship between the Self Determination theory of psychological needs and effective legal education. For details of recent articles and teaching awards, please go to http://law.anu.edu.au/staff/annekaferguson *This article was previously published in the ANU Law Students’ Society Wellbeing for Law Students handout

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Access to Justice: Bush Court By Alicia Jennison At the completion of year 12 I headed to Alice Springs for my gap year to work for the Northern Territory Department of Justice as a Court Orderly at the Alice Springs Magistratesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Court. It was during this time that I decided to study law because I saw how crucial lawyers were to achieving justice in almost every court case, whether it was criminal or civil.

Therefore, if someone from within a community is a victim of a crime, their journey to bring their assailant to justice is heavily complicated. There are police officers located at almost all of the communities, so the victim is able to report the crime whenever they wish. However, actually bringing that crime through a court is nowhere near as simple.

The accessibility of courts, lawyers and other types of support continue to be a major barrier to justice nationwide. The expense of going to court and seeking legal representation or other support majorly contributes to the reason that justice is not easily accessible. However, there are other less obvious barriers to accessing justice that exist.

In the larger towns like Alice Springs, where there is a courthouse, once someone has been charged with an offence, the first court appearance will occur within days. However, in remote communities there is no magistrate to hear the matter within days of the accused being charged.

In the Northern Territory there are a lot of remote indigenous communities that do not have a courthouse or any lawyers within the community.

So what does happen? Approximately once a month a magistrate and a court staff member travel to the remote community to set up what is known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bush courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

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There is a roster that determines which magistrate will travel to which community and when. The bush court will run anywhere in-between half a day to two full days depending on the size of the community. Defence lawyers and prosecutors also travel to the communities. The defence lawyers, depending on the court list, may spend as little as 5 minutes with some clients. This is often their first face-to-face conversation with the defendant. In this time they will seek instructions as to whether they will plead guilty, ask for an adjournment, ask to set a hearing or otherwise. In my experience, the lawyers, prosecutors and magistrates do their best job to ensure that justice is served, however, it is extremely difficult when there is a court list of over 40 individuals and you have one day to get through them all. There are usually only about

two to three defence lawyers for all of the defendants. Civil cases are even more difficult. Only the criminal jurisdiction is heard at the remote communities so if a member of the community wants to issue a civil proceeding, they will have to travel to Alice Springs. It then becomes difficult to arrange to get the other parties to Alice Springs. This often deters individuals from pursuing justice at all: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all too hard. The cost of achieving justice is undeniably the most common barrier to justice; however, other barriers such as location should not be ignored. Although the Department of Justice attempts to minimise the effects by setting up these bush courts, it is clear that the current procedures are insufficient. Issues discussed in this article are issues that should be considered among future lawyers and politicians in their efforts to increase access to justice.

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Being a Clinical Assistant in Human Resources by Alex Douvartzidis

In the interests of providing law students with different career path options in which to use our degrees, I heard several recommendations of a career in quality and assurance (Human Resources). So, I decided to learn more about all aspects of the job from an actual practitioner.

Accreditation is an internationally recognised evaluation process used to assess the Quality of care and services provided in long term residential Aged Care. Accreditation is conducted throughout the healthcare system in hospitals, disability services, mental health etc.

As a Clinical Assistant, I am assuming you have an array of tasks. Could you summarise some of your key responsibilities and give some information on what an â&#x20AC;&#x153;accreditationâ&#x20AC;? is?

Accreditation is conducted to ensure that the care providers is compliant and promotes quality and safety. Accreditation programs focus on Continuous Quality Improvement strategies.

As a Clinical Assistant my main responsibilities include Management of a Quality system to ensure quality continuous improvement, conduct in-house clinical/non-clinical audits, Medicare Claiming for Aged Care funding, provide support and assistance to the Clinical Services Coordinator and any Allied Health or Medical Professionals that are on-site, Resident/Staff/Other Incident investigation, Management of the Compliments and Complaints system, Compiling reports for services outside of the company as needed, compiling monthly reports, any other duties as delegated by Senior Management or the CEO.

In order to receive government subsidies, residential aged care homes are required to be accredited. The Australian Government has appointed the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency to conduct these accreditations. They are responsible for assessing a residential care facilities performance against a set of legislated Accreditation Standards, consisting of four standards. Accreditations in residential care are conducted formally every three years, which is a formal audit of all four standards. The Agency also conducts unannounced visits to monitor continuing compliance with standards yearly.

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When an Accreditation Audit takes place, the assessors review our procedures to ensure they comply with national standards and that we are following them. They observe practices at the facility and look at resident records and other documents such as HR, Incident reports, Care Plans and Compliments and Complaints. They also talk with residents and resident’s families to gain feedback about their satisfaction with the care being provided. The process of Accreditation is outlined in the Quality Agency Principles 2013. Other legislation you will find this is Quality Agency Act 2013 and the Aged Care Act 1997. If the Department of Social Services is aware that an Aged Care home does not meet these requirements under the Aged Care Act, it may issue a notice of Non-Compliance or impose sanctions on that home. As a Residential Care Facility, we must comply with the Aged Care Act 1997 and the Charter of Care Recipients’ Rights and Responsibilities – Residential Care (Aged Care Act 1997, Schedule 1 – User Right Principles 2014). All our residents are given a copy of the Charter of Care upon admission, in the resident agreement. All aged care homes must give their residents the same set of rights and responsibilities. These rights and responsibilities are protected by the Aged Care Act 1997. The Charter of Care Recipients’ Rights and Responsibilities, explains the care recipients rights and responsibilities as a resident of an aged care facility. This is not only to protect the residents themselves, but also the residential care facility. Any complaints that cannot be resolved internally, can be put through to the Aged Care Complaints Scheme, who formally follow up complaints and issues with the home.

What’s involved in the process of drafting quality assurance policies and procedures? Senior Management / Executive Support / CEO are responsible for creating policies and procedures in consultation with the appropriate staff. The Clinical Assistant may be consulted on their areas of expertise on particular policies and procedures. All must comply with the Aged Care Act. The CEO must formally approve and review every year. How do you analyse data to identify areas for improvement in the quality system? All residential care facilities have different management systems for Continuous Improvement. At this facility, all Continuous Improvement ideas and projects are collated into a spreadsheet and put into a Continuous Improvement folder by the Senior Manager. This information is collated from reported incidents/opportunity to improve ideas/ compliments and complaints/delayed call bell response forms/staff or other incidents. Resident and Medication Incidents are collated and analysed monthly through a report. It is from these reports I am able to identify Continuous Improvement ideas. For example, if there are several medication incidents relating Warfarin, I am able to identify that Warfarin Education is required for our Enrolled Nurses. If there are substantial amounts of Skin Tears sustained in a month, I am able to identify areas in Skin Care (Standard 2.11) where we can improve. I.e. Regular Nail Care, Limb protectors for residents whom have frail or impaired skin integrity, if there are a high amount of reported unwitnessed falls during a month period, then I am able to work on areas of improvement for Falls Management.

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Throughout my incident investigation I am able to identify areas of improvement. Continuous Improvement is also analysed through the Compliments and Complaints system, Clinical and Non Clinical Audits conducted monthly which can highlight areas of improvement, In-house audits are also conducted by Senior Management on every Accreditation Standard, to ensure we are complying with all standards and principles, and other staff incidents/opportunities to improve and delayed call bell response forms. As a part of your role, you mentioned you investigate incidents that occur, how do you work on implementing preventative strategies and evaluations? Part of the Clinical Assistant’s role is to thoroughly investigate all resident incidents that occur with the Clinical Services Coordinator. This includes implementing preventative strategies so that these incidents don’t reoccur, or minimise the risk of injury should these incidents occur again. Once these strategies are implemented, the investigation is re-evaluated to assess the effectiveness of such preventatives strategies and actions. Resident Incidents are categorised into Resident Falls (including witnessed falls, unwitnessed falls and near miss falls), Skin Tears, Behaviour Incidents, Bruising or Minor Injuries, Fractures, Manual Handling Incidents, Medication Incidents, “Other” (including hospital transfers, code blue medical emergencies not related to any category above). This includes a thorough investigation ensuring the person reporting the incidents provides as much information as possible, including what the resident was doing before

the fall, what shoes were they wearing, were they walking unassisted, were they walking without a frame, were they agitated, had they been administered any medications prior, did they need to go to the bathroom… etc. This incident report is then given to the Clinical Assistant to review. Along with the Clinical Services Coordinator, we identify possible contributing factors to the incident; Are they a high falls risk? Do they have a diagnosis of dementia or hypertension resulting in dizziness was an infection present at the time of incident? Do they have impaired mobility? Do they have known behaviours of concern? Was medication a contributing factor? Action and Preventative Strategies must then be put into place to reduce the risk of this incident happening again, or if it does happen again strategies that will reduce the risk/severity of injury. These are resident specific. Once these action and preventative strategies are implemented, the Clinical Assistant/Clinical Services Coordinator must then review the incident and evaluate all contributing factors/preventative strategies and their effectiveness and the incident as a whole. How would you recommend someone go about gaining a role in quality and assurance? Quality and Assurance is a broad role that is required in most businesses nationally and internationally. Separate from a law degree, you can also complete a Diploma in Quality Management. If you are specifically interested in Aged Care/ Health Care: The Australian Aged Care Quality Agency conduct courses and workshops covering; Understanding Accreditation, Understanding Quality Review, Managing

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Accreditation Performance Foundations for Managing Risk in Aged Care, Information’s Systems – Key to delivering Quality Care, Making the most of Complaints. The Agency also conducts Better Practice Conferences. Prior to the interview, you mentioned you assist in the management of complaints made by the Complaints Board or any queries from the Coroners Court, should there need to be an investigation into a death of a resident. Could you talk about the steps required to effectively deal with complaints? And the process behind your role in the Coroners Court? Families contact the facility directly with any complaints they have. As per the Aged Care Act, we are required to ensure we provide an external route for Complaints should resident families feel that their complaints are not being resolved adequately by the aged care facility. These alternative routes include the Aged Care Complaints Scheme or another external complaints resolution team. Should a complaint reach the point of the Aged Care Complaints Scheme, they then contact the Aged Care Provider directly and formally. They then examine the complaints relating to the aged care provider’s responsibilities under the Aged Care Act 1997. This includes concerns about care, choice of activities, discrimination, catering, and communication of the physical environment. The Scheme can select one or more of the following approaches to resolve the issues; approved provider resolution, conciliation, mediation and investigation. As a Clinical Assistant in consultation with the CEO and Senior Manager, they must work cohesively with the Complaints board and provide all

information as requested by them. Coroners Inquests only occur when there is a death that raises concerns about the care being provided to a nursing home resident (State Coroner Guidelines 2012 / Office of Aged Care Quality and Compliance). Should there ever be an incident where the needs to be a Coroner’s investigation, the Coroner will contact the CEO or Manager of the facility and request all clinical evidence relating to that resident (Medication Charts, Clinical Notes, Incident Reports). The facility may also be required to compile a report for the Coroner. In consulation with the CEO, Senior Manager and Clinical Services Coordinjator, the Clinical Assistant will compile a report including all incident reports to send to the Coroner for investigation. The Coroner may refer the case to the Aged Care Complaints board at any time. What do you think are some of the key skills you need to be successful in this role? A Clinical Assistant is responsible for the support of the Clinical Services Coordinator and Senior Management. It is key to be organised, focused, ability to multitask and have a great understanding of the Aged Care System and Aged Care Act. Not only that but it is imperative to have extensive knowledge of the Accreditation Standards and principles and be able to apply them to every day situations. The key to being a good Clinical Assistant is to conduct your work as if you are an Aged Care Assessor; there should never be any holes! The skills applied throughout a law degree would be highly beneficial to a Clinical Assistant role or a Senior Management / Business Manager position.

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Helping students ‘survive’ law school By Giulia Prosperi-Porta

FOR the first time, law students can access an all-in-one ‘survival guide’, which aims to help them maintain their mental health and wellbeing throughout their studies and careers. The Wellness Doctrines for Law Students and Young Lawyers, launched on 1 October 2015, includes personal stories, first-hand accounts and case studies of more than 45 legal professionals and health experts. Speaking to The Jurist, The Wellness Doctrines author, Jerome Doraisamy, said he was inspired to write the book following mental health battles he experienced while studying law at the University of Technology, Sydney. “The book is a single resource that gives you a collection of experience, guidance and advice,” Jerome said. “Wellbeing issues should be front and centre of educational development and professional practice in law.”

Jerome, 27, left his legal career to write the book so he could help other law students and professionals who were going through tough times. “It was a project I’d been working on for quite a while, which I was doing at night time and on weekends, and really wanted to give it a proper go,” Jerome said. “It’s been nice to come back to what I really love doing.” Jerome is aiming to get the book out into Australian law schools and law firms. It has also received interest internationally including from the United Kingdom, South Africa, Singapore, Canada and the United States. “There has been a fantastic response,” Jerome said. While studying a double degree in law and communication, Jerome worked part-time as a paralegal and volunteered 35 hours a week with his university’s law society. He slept for only four to five hours each night and

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neglected activities he enjoyed. Jerome was so busy he did not have time to think about his mental health. “I was so focused on doing everything else right; getting the right marks and getting the right clerkships,” Jerome said. “I didn’t allocate any time to look after myself – it didn’t cross my mind.” He became unable to relax and unwind, constantly checking emails on his phone. “I was never allowing myself to properly switch off,” Jerome said. “Eventually it became too much; I pushed myself so incredibly hard and just came crashing down.” Jerome realised he was not well when he was at a dance festival with his friends. He found he simply could not relax and enjoy the festivities like his friends were. Jerome checked himself into a mental health facility, determined to get better.

“Being proactive was always very important to me,” Jerome said. “It’s really important to have open and honest communication with friends and family.” Jerome has come a long way, now always putting his health and wellbeing first. “I don’t compare myself to my friends the same way that I used to,” Jerome said. He said he maintained a balanced lifestyle by making time, instead of finding time, for activities he enjoyed, such as reading books and playing team sports. “What I want to do right now is work that makes me happy at this point in time. “I’ll just see what happens but I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself.” The Wellness Doctrines is available at Dymocks and Co-op, in other selected retail and online stores, and at www.thewellnessdoctrines. com.

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A cave to lick your wounds in by Dorian Basic Depression and mental illness are rampaging through the West like a hot male substitute teacher at an all girls’ high school — leaving broken hearts, and people, behind. Furthermore, it’s no secret that the “students” known to have been most infatuated with the black dog are those who are lawyers. But wait, there’s more. Now you don’t even need to practice to experience the existentialist despair of a midlife, late-20th century, white-collar worker. This new millennium has fast-tracked and streamlined oblivion ‘til it’s one step away from smothering students, and youth, in the crib. So, with decaying economic (“A job, a job! My kingdom for a job!”), civic, and social life, our current reality will most likely beat into you some early cynicism, and Irish sunglasses (with the drinking habit too), before you graduate. Beware those already losing hope; this isn’t the “it’s all going to be OK” hug you’re looking for. Instead, this is the hand that touches yours at the counter of your local hardware store, telling you “If you want rope of a softer weave, check the shelves at the back right. It’ll be more comfortable.” All in the form of a hip Buzzfeed numbered list! In reality however, any rope or ligature is going to hurt, and hurt bad. So instead, I’ll point out movies (because it’s all I contribute to Flinders) that will give you, the viewer, bed sheets of solidarity to comfortably pull over your head to wallow under.

So, here are some films to ensure that you (or your boyfriend) will be crying from both eyes during this Netflix session. 1. My Cousin Vinny (1992) There isn’t anything inherently depressing about this film, unless you’re a law student. Born too late to simply walk into a trial like Joe Pesci did, we’re more likely to be finding creative applications for our degrees, rather than busting our cousins out of jail. More likely, it’ll be walking back home to grab our shinebox. 2. The Deer Hunter (1978) Moving on from hack employment worries experienced by most people these days, and onto a De Niro film, before he started phoning it in. Sit back and watch a friendship group of lively young men, their families, and their small town community, and see it smashed into pieces. Enjoy. 3. Any Robin Williams film Because despite laughter being the best medicine, and having a successful comedic career, he still killed himself. 4. Precious (2009) Or generally anything about children, uncaring families, and molestation to ensure that nice grimy, empty feeling after a viewing (Mysterious Skin (2004)?). Hell, just to save space, lump anything with animals (especially dogs), or misunderstood creatures dying here too. Add in that Futurama episode with Fry’s dog while we’re here, even though it isn’t film.

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5. Death in Venice (1971) A desperately lonely individual in a graceful, old town, trying to recapture lost feelings of youth, love, and beauty [SPOILER] and dying in the process [SPOILER]. The accompanying selection of music composed by Mahler is what completes it. 6. Bridge to Terabithia (2007), The Mist (2007), My Girl (1991) She cracks her head open like a watermelon, he mercy kills his son just as the cavalry arrives, and a young boy in love is ruthlessly run-down and slain by bloodthirsty hornets. 7. Cancer, AIDS, and imminent death. Anything terminal, with that faux-feel-good feeling in trying to spend the remaining time with loved ones. Philadelphia (1993), to keep it tenuously law-related I guess. 8. Friday the 13th (series, 1980-2003) A single mother works as a cook in a nearby summer camp to support her, and her disfigured son. The only thing these aching souls have in this world is each other, as they scrape by on her measly salary. Tragedy strikes when the spate of bullying and neglect her son endures from the camp counsellors and attendees culminates in his drowning by accident.

9. Dead Ringers (1988) A socially awkward and permanently virginal half of a pair of world leading twin gynaecologists falls in love with a beautiful Quebecois actress and her magical vagina. Hilarity ensues. 10. Why isn’t Requiem for A Dream (2000) on the list? Because if you thought this, there’s a high chance you’re a millennial who conforms to the socially acceptable “counter-culture” crowd who feels their status signalling taste in this film is more than just dipping their toes into the intellectual waters of the deep-end. That’s why I suggest Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) instead. Understandably, not everyone shares the same taste in film, and not everyone finds the same titles depressing (I cry at the end of Heat). Whatever feelings of despair you’re going through as a student I’m sure are shared by many artists. Should my suggestions not be to your liking, its undoubtable there are other titles out there that will give you that allpowerful feeling of solidarity in knowing most people go through some sort of pain, which only serves to strengthen the spirit. If not, just do it before you pay off your HECS entirely.

Mrs. Voorhees life spirals into years of depression and grief, but as you find out, nothing can break the bond this mother has for her son. A love that can even bring back the dead. The Jurist

Don’t dwell on results By Giulia Prosperi-Porta Look at your performance and how to improve it instead of dwelling on results, is the advice the Honourable Chief Justice Christopher Kourakis offered to Flinders law students during Wallmans Wellbeing Week. “One of the big problems lawyers face is, because of the very nature of our profession which is a win or lose situation, is to not distinguish between anxiety about result and anxiety about performance,” the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia said. “You can’t be responsible for the result, but you can do something about your performance. Recognising that you can only do your best in your work and taking responsibility for that is important.” Chief Justice Kourakis was a panellist at The ‘Reducing the Stigma Surrounding Mental Health in the Legal Profession’ Panel Session held by Flinders Law Students’ Association during Wallmans Wellbeing Week, on October 12 -16. Wellbeing Week aimed to bring mental health in law to the fore. One in three law students and legal professionals will experience mental illness – the highest rate of all professions. One in ten legal professionals will take their own life. Chief Justice Kourakis said maintaining a worklife balance, sustaining strong connections with people outside law, and making time for family and exercise were vital for mental health and wellbeing.

“Working out how to separate working life and home life is important,” he said. Chief Justice Kourakis said he went through a period of anxiety in the 1990s when he was at the bar, which he did not disclose to anyone. He overcame it after seeking help from a GP and psychologist. He urged students and legal professionals not to be afraid to ask for help if they were suffering. Chief Justice Kourakis, who was previously president of the Law Society of South Australia (LSSA), said the LSSA established a service to help members who suffered mental illness in 2002. “When I joined the Supreme Court it was already a practice which continues – appointing a judge that other judges could go to if they suffered stress or symptoms of depression. “There are those services that have been put in place and we talk about it (mental health) more. “I just wonder whether it’s a generational thing happening. I know my own children talk about these issues a lot more. I also wonder whether the influx of women into the profession has changed it. “A lot of the not talking about it and stigma comes from the blokey features of the profession, which has been dominant for a long time.” Other panellists at the session included Cofounder of the Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation, Marie Jepson, Senior Solicitor at

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the Crown Solicitor’s Office, Brenda Barnett and psychologist Fiona Stevens. It was moderated by Managing Partner at Wallmans Lawyers, Trevor Edmond. Ms Barnett said people were more open to talking about mental health issues in the legal profession today, compared with ten years ago. “A lot of things have changed especially in society, generally we didn’t talk about mental health,” she said. “Over ten years ago there wouldn’t have been a panel like this, there wouldn’t have been the Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation. “We’ve still got a long way to go but it’s up to all of us to be there for our colleagues, to be there for ourselves and to have these kinds of open discussions.” Ms Barnett said students needed to start maintaining a work/life balance while in law school. Students should have a ‘tool box’ to ‘dip into’ when the going gets tough. “It’s like being a fireman; you have to make sure you’ve got that protective clothing; that you have that work/life balance in place before you get into a high stress situation,” Ms Barnett said. “You have to actually have a life, you have to have fun and go on holidays. “You have to look after yourself and be the best you can be.” Ms Jepson helped establish the Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation after her son Tristan, a law graduate and writer, took his own life

when he was just 26 years old. “We started after Tristan’s friends’ girlfriends came to our place and said ‘all our guys, young lawyers, suffer from depression, won’t seek help and have sworn us to secrecy’,” Ms Jepson said. “One thing I’ve learnt is the words ‘mental health’ in the legal profession is as good as a dose of cold water; it’s a killer for anything.” The foundation’s aim is to reduce workrelated psychological ill-health in the legal community and to promote workplace mental health and safety. Ms Jepson urged students to “invest” in themselves. “Invest in your sustained performance because you may manage to make it through law school and the early years of your career, but this is when you are really vulnerable. “Fifty per cent of the first episodes of depression appear by age 18 and 75 per cent by age 25. You’re right there. “Put in place those protective factors, make sure you have those relationships with family and friends that you prioritise, exercise, eat healthy food, have someone you can talk to who accepts you and is non-judgmental. “Those things are what protect you, they will help you weather it. The things that are really good for you may not look as good on your CV but are essential to maintain through life so you can do what you want to do and make a difference.” “You can do your best but you don’t have to be the best.”

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CANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T WAIT TO CU!

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Transactional Legal Practice’s Award

by Mara Morrigan

Lucy Evans and Deborah Ankor recently won the 2015 Flinders Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for their 9 unit PLT topic, Transactional Legal Practice. I spoke to Lucy Evans about the topic, the unique challenges involved and having their teaching innovations honoured.

Another major difference is that students have access to a Practitioner Mentor for the whole semester who they meet with at least six times. This is invaluable because students get to know someone in practice who can offer advice about transitioning from law student to practitioner and can be useful for networking with.

Tell me a little about how Transactional Legal Practice differs from other topics, even other Professional Legal Training (PLT) subjects?

Many mentors go above and beyond the assigned role, setting up meetings with HR in firms, introducing students to judges and other senior members of the profession, letting students watch them in court, or inviting them for drinks with firm.

Transactional Legal Practice is a final year double unit topic which provides additional flexibility to what can be built into the topic. It’s different because it’s based on an educational theory called a capstone – a capstone deals with transitioning from student to professional, often using tools that are closer to the workplace such as projects or simulations. Capstones allow reflection on everything that has been learnt in the degree, while synthesising and building upon those things, allowing the student to transition into a professional. To do this, Transactional Practice combines various areas of property, commercial, corporate and estate law into transactions; different areas of law are involved in each transaction and students build upon their knowledge throughout so they can see how to operate legal transactions as a whole and synthesise what they have learnt in other topics. There is a national project on capstones in law to help educators understand how to use capstone principles in their topics. The Capstone Experience Toolkit used Flinders University’s Transactional Legal Practice as the leading example in a PLT topic.

There is a strong focus on professionalism and professional identity: Who you are as a professional and how you interact, how you regard yourself and your interaction with society generally. There is also an element of fun, so overall the topic is challenging, yet achievable. Students master so much and have a real sense of achievement by the time they finish. Transactional Legal Practice gives students the skills, confidence and competence to go for clerkships and jobs. Self-directed learning is a great tool, especially in the final years of a law degree. Take me through how the online simulations work? This ties back in with the problem-based style of the topic. This year we introduced a one day online simulation for a probate issue in class, then moved onto a six or seven week (student-paced) interactive transaction that encompassed several areas of law. Students had to make use of FLO and a program called Conductrr. This program allowed us to give information to students, but in such a way

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that they had to put in the work. Students had to email the parties in the simulation about aspects of the matter and demonstrate enough knowledge to get the full response necessary to continue their work.

Transactional Legal Practice offers unique assistance in transitioning. There are higher expectations with higher pressure, but there is also more help available and the outcomes are beneficial and empowering.

The simulation allowed for information gathering to be very realistic. Students had to do LTO and ASIC searches and a website for the client’s company was built with the necessary information worked through in the form of blog posts and links. Students learnt both how to gather and use information just like they will do in legal practice. Since not everything was supplied, as it would be in more traditional methods of assessment such as problem questions, the outcome depended upon what the student could find out and connect.

How does Transactional Legal Practice approach equity concerns for students who struggle?

This topic is a transitional space; students get to practice in a safe place in a supported learning environment. While it is self-directed learning, the student is never alone or in isolation. They get to build on their own research with the support and guidance of peers, professional legal practitioners and educators. Flinders PLT is very well regarded in the legal profession and many of Practitioner Mentors return in subsequent years, demonstrating the strength of programme. These simulations were highly popular, as was the level of student engagement. Students who took the topic this year told me how fun and interactive Transac was which is truly high praise for any law topic. Will simulations continue to be used in this topic? Some students are anxious about real life practice. Having an ongoing simulation that mimicked the interactions with a client really assisted to overcome those anxieties, allowing students to engage and become more confident with self-directed learning. We were trialling the simulations this year and they were such a great learning tool, so we are hoping to secure ongoing use of Conductrr. It’s so important that students get a chance to practice these skills before being out in the world.

They are approached in a professional manner. There can be a disconnect between university expectations and the actual work environment. We assist students in managing this which is empowering. If a student has extra issues we encourage them to examine that as they transition from uni to the real world. We don’t give extensions because the focus is on pre-emptive measures so that things get done. This prevents anyone from falling too far behind because, like other PLT topics, Transactional Legal Practice involves tasks that need to be addressed before the next assessment can begin. Transactional Practice is about empowering you in how to self-manage and builds both confidence and a sense of accomplishment. Although the topic is assessed by the work that you turn in, so much of it is about self-growth and self-management. It’s called self-efficacy in the literature and allows each student to practice the ability to flourish as a professional. What does winning this Excellence in Teaching and Learning award mean to you? It’s been great to have positive recognition of the hard work done over the last five years and how the topic has been constructed. Winning the award confirms the course and where it is heading. All of which assists with resourcing and Flinders reputation, particularly the reputation of our PLT programme and the Law School generally. This recognition ultimately flows down to assist students. We are really proud of the topic and the students who have taken part. The whole structure of this topic has allowed much more scope for student evolution, both independently and as a cohort, which is really exciting!

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Puzzles

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Sudoku

Light Puzzle 1 (Easy, difficulty rating 0.42)

3 1

Puzzle 1 (Medium, difficulty rating 0.50)

5 7

Medium

3 3

3 1

6 9

Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Mon Apr 21 14:50:41 2014 GMT. Enjoy!

8 8

1 3

8 6

5 9

7 1

6 8

Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Mon Apr 21 14:51:19 2014 GMT. Enjoy!

Puzzle 1 (Very hard, difficulty rating 0.78)

Very Hard

Puzzle 1 (Hard, difficulty rating 0.64)

Hard

3 7

7 4

6 2

The JuristGenerated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Mon Apr 21 14:52:24 2014 GMT. Enjoy!

Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Mon Apr 21 14:51:54 2014 GMT. Enjoy!

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