The Grapevine – SLJ Alumni class news

Class of 1995

In 1995, Ben Hunter was part of the first class of graduates from the Bachelor of Laws program, based in Lismore. Southern Cross Univeristy (SCU) was not established until 1994, and until that time, the Bachelor of Laws students studied at The University of New England, Northern Rivers, on the current SCU Lismore site.

In 2013 Ben was named SCU Alumnus of the Year, and over the last 25 years, his degree has taken him to London and Singapore for extended periods, working as a banking and finance lawyer.

Ben has been back in Sydney since the end of 2012 and is currently working as in-house counsel at one of the big Aussie banks. Ben attended the Law School 20 year anniversary dinner in October 2013, and he is in close contact with many of his SCU classmates.

Class of 1998

Having completed the Associate Degree in Law and the Bachelor of Laws at SCU in 1997, Julie de Rooy went on to general practice as a lawyer in New South Wales and Victoria.

She transitioned to the University sector, teaching law in Victoria at a number of different universities including RMIT and Swinburne.

After obtaining her Masters of Law at Melbourne University, and over 15 years in Melbourne working for a large part as a senior lecturer, Julie was awarded an Australian Learning and Teaching Citation in 2010 for excellence in teaching law.

Julie recently returned to New South Wales and has come full circle returning to the School of Law and Justice at SCU working part time as Resident Tutor.

Julie also runs an Ecotourism accommodation business on her rural farm property near Kyogle.

Class of 1999

Since completing cross-institutional studies in law at SCU in 1999, Jo Bird obtained a highly competitive Australian Postgraduate Award to complete her PhD at the University of Melbourne.

With a love of language and music, she won the Vallejo Gantner Memorial Scholarship and was selected for a manuscript sponsorship at the University of Melbourne Centre for Scholars and Researchers.

She has published in Australia and internationally, including New York’s Cardozo Journal of Law and Gender. Her activism has taken her to Mexico to work for No Más Muertes, a human rights NGO documenting abuses on the US/Mexican border. Jo currently lectures in International Law at SCU. She also works as a research associate for Pro Vice Chancellor and First Nations scholar Professor Irene Watson.

Class of 2009

Since graduating in 2009 with a Bachelor of Laws Jonathan Harlen has combined a career in law in the Northern Rivers with his previous career in the arts. He worked as a solicitor advocate for nine years locally, specialising in Tribunal and District Court work, before joining the staff at the School of Law & Justice (SLJ) as a lecturer.

He is currently Course Convenor of the SLJ Law and Creative Writing Program, and is on the editorial team of the SCU Journal of Law, Culture and the Humanities, Polemos. He is also completing his Phd on aspects of legal pluralism in Aoteoroa/New Zealand. He has published more than 30 novels for adults, young adults and children.