JURIS DOCTOR AND POSTGRADUATE GUIDES (SAMPLE STUDENT)

• This student started their Juris Doctor Degree in Session 2.

• This student’s approach was to get all the core units out of the way and leave the electives towards the latter end of their degree.

YEAR 1

SESSION 1 SESSION 2

LAWS800: Foundations of Law

LAWS8002: Criminal Law

LAWS8018: Research Methodologies

LAWS8030: Contracts

YEAR 2

SESSION 1

LAWS8009: Property Law

LAWS8006: Ethics

LAWS8015: International Law

LAWS8070: Constitutional Law

YEAR 3

SESSION 1

LAWS8013: Civil and Criminal Procedure

LAWS8027: Remedies

Law Elective 1

Law Elective 3

YEAR 3

SESSION 1

LAW8099: PACE

Law Elective 5

Law Elective 6

SESSION 3

• This student decided to do summer school to ease off workload. N/A N/A

LAWS8005: Theories of Law

SESSION 2

LAWS8040: Torts

LAWS8010: Equity and Trusts

LAWS8011: Company Law

LAWS8080: Administrative Law

SESSION 2

LAWS8014: Evidence

LAWS8019: Dispute Resolution Processes & Law

Law Elective 2

Law Elective 4

SESSION 2 N/A

LAWS1000 / LAWS8001: FOUNDATIONS OF LAW

DR MAREIKE RIEDEL

What is studied in LAWS1000/LAWS8001?

• The name says it all: Foundations of Law. These foundations include essential legal skills such as statutory interpretation and case analysis, and essential knowledge about features of the Australian legal system, such as separation of powers and the rule of law. It is the only ungraded unit in the program which means that you get a chance to redo your assessments to correct mistakes as you go along and this also takes a bit of the pressure off.

• In the LAWS1000 unit we put a lot of emphasis teaching you basic university skills to help with the transition from school to uni.

• In the LAWS8001, we assume you already have many of those skills, so we spend time on refreshing and refining them.

If you were a student, how would you study for this unit and why?

• These days both undergraduate and JD students are often juggling multiple commitments along with their studies and as the semester progresses this can become quite overwhelming. The key is to make a clear plan at the beginning of the semester with all the due dates and to allow sufficient time for all assessments and other tasks. Being organised helps you approach the busy periods with less stress.

• Be mindful of your mental health. Reach out if you need help. Campus Wellbeing has great resources and dedicated staff.

How can first year students prepare for assessment tasks in LAWS1000/LAWS8001?

• Read instructions carefully and allow enough time. It might sound basic but many of the mistakes that I have seen in student assignments come from not having read the instructions carefully or from starting the assessment too late. Familiarise yourself with the additional materials that we provide to help you prepare for your assignments.

•  Be mindful of deadlines! Put them in your calendar or pin them to your wall.

What are some common mistakes that students make?

• One of the most common mistakes is students not spending sufficient time on mastering the system for legal referencing and citations. It is easy marks to gain and worth investing your time.

• Another common mistake is not proof-reading your assessment before submitting it. Easy marks are lost here as well.

What is one aspect of this unit that you like teaching?

I really enjoy assisting students in getting a handle on statutory interpretation. Students often find statutory interpretation difficult, abstract, and daunting, and that is why we do lots of little exercises together in class. It is such a foundational skill and I love seeing the lightbulb moments when students find their way through statutes and start thinking like lawyers.

What is one piece of advice you would provide to all law students?

Think about forming a study group with your peers. I wish I had done that earlier when I was in law school. Learning with your peers is such a great experience and very effective.

DR AMANDA HEAD LECTURER / SEASONAL STAFF COORDINATOR

Macquarie Law School, 6 First Walk Room 518, Wallumattagal Campus

What is studied in LAWS1100/LAWS8006?

• In this unit we focus on the role of the lawyer in Australian society. We look at lawyer client confidentiality, access to justice, conflicts of interest, communication skills and the relationships between lawyers, clients, and society generally. We spend some time in class, problem solving ethical dilemmas that lawyers have faced in the real world which provides for very interesting discussion.

If you were a student, how would you study for this unit and why?

• Plan the semester, noting when assessments are due and plan for blocks of time to spend on assessments, readings, and revision.

• Regularly attend the lectures and tutorials. There are live lectures in this unit, and I recommend attending them when possible, rather than listening to the recordings. In my experience live lectures are far more engaging and there will often be an opportunity to ask questions of the lecturer.

• Engage with the discussions with the class and your peers and, importantly, ask questions.

• Keep an organised system of notes.

How can first year students prepare for assessment tasks in LAWS1100/LAWS8006?

• For assessments that require research, start early (as soon as the assessment details are released) and begin by reading widely on the topic. This really helps with managing workload, and I find it

LAWS1200 / LAWS8030: CONTRACTS

ILIJA VICKOVICH

What is studied in LAWS1200: Contracts and LAWS8030: Law of Obligations - Contracts?

Students will study the formation of contracts, so that they can recognise what kinds of actions and statements will bind people to contractual relationships. They will study the terms of contracts, gaining an appreciation for express and implied terms, and judicial interpretation of the meaning of contractual terms. We also address the various ways in which contracts may be discharged and made void. Finally, students consider the theories and the role of contract law in society and trace its historical development. The study of Contracts is fundamental to other core and elective Law units and one of the building blocks of your Law degree.

LAWS1200 is offered at the undergraduate level and LAWS8030 at the postgraduate level. Although the material is similar and is covered through shared lectures, there are some differences in the assessment tasks and levels of analysis.

significantly reduces stress. If you are having any issues, it gives time to contact academic staff for support. We are here to help.

• For timed assessments, keep up to date with the unit content by setting time aside each week to listen to the lectures and attend the tutorials. Keep notes up to date and set aside time for revision.

What are some common mistakes that students make?

• Not reaching out to the academic staff if you are having difficulties.

• Not planning the semester or leaving assessments a few days before they are due and underestimating the time needed to complete assessments.

• Not utilising the study and writing resources that are available through the university. Studiosity and Writewise in particular can really help fine tune legal writing skills.

• Not proof-reading assessments before they are submitted. Valuable marks are lost through silly mistakes that can be picked up by spending a little time reading over your paper before submitting it.

What is one aspect of this unit that you like teaching?

• All of it really; legal ethics is a surprisingly rich area of law. I particularly like engaging with students in ethical dilemmas, in which there is sometimes a conflict between what appears to be the morally right thing to do and what a lawyer is ethically bound to do.

What is one piece of advice you would provide to all law students?

• University is far less structured than school and even work, which can catch students out. At the beginning of semester prepare a plan that details when assessments are due and block out time each week to focus on particular tasks.

• Study/work/social life balance is really important and can best be achieved with good time management skills and planning.

If you were a student, how would you study for this unit and why?

LAWS1200 and LAWS8030 focus on studying Contracts by developing the legal skill of hypothetical legal problem-solving. Students should build up this skill as they progress through the units as the main assignment and final exam in this unit usually both test this skill and require students to apply contract law principles.

The legal principles of contract law are mostly based on common law. It is important that students come to terms with analysing how courts employ common law reasoning to arrive at legal principles. In addition, a class participation mark requires students to attend tutorials regularly and to attempt, both before and during class, to solve questions using principles and case decisions.

Listening to lectures carefully, making relevant notes, and reading case judgments are the key to proper study of the material Understanding principles and applying them to factual scenarios is the essence of success in this unit.

What are some mistakes you wish students in your units knew not to make?

The main mistake students make is to devote less time to their readings than they should, because the subject is full of substantive content. Doing the readings is especially vital in the first few weeks, when the groundwork is laid. Without a solid grounding in basic principles, the later material will be hard to understand.

Another thing to watch for is reading the extracted judgments in the casebook. Reading key cases shows us how courts reason and formulate decisions. The more key cases you read, the more confident you will be.

Finally, unless you turn up to tutorials, you are at risk of falling seriously behind. Most understanding happens in the classroom. Students with poor attendance invariably have poorer results.

What is one aspect of this unit that you like teaching?

It is always enjoyable to see students relating their own life experiences to what they study in Contracts. They constantly tell me they are surprised how a topic they thought would be dry and boring ends up being relatable, enjoyable and interesting. This always inspires me to teach and also to learn from the students and their questions in class.

What is one piece of advice you would provide to all law students?

The key to success in Contracts is understanding legal principles through cases and knowing how those principles apply to recognisable problem fact scenarios. Understanding the principles in a simple way gives you the basic skills to tackling any Contracts problem that arises. Doing well requires students to develop goodlegal problem-solving skills, through tutorial discussions, and to prepare for themselves succinct summaries and notes about the law in advance of the Assessments.