Half-Yearly President’s Report Session 1, 2020 Contents I.
Introduction ..................................... 2
II.
Department Reports ...................... 3
Daniel Lim | President Macquarie University Law Society
Members and friends of the Macquarie University Law Society (‘MULS’),
A.
Administration...................... 3
B.
Finance ............................... 3
C.
Education ............................ 4
D.
Career Engagement ............ 5
E.
Social Justice ...................... 6
F.
Competitions ....................... 7
G.
Publications ........................ 8
H.
Marketing ............................ 9
I.
Events ............................... 10
I am excited to present this bi-annual report on behalf of the 2020 MULS Executive
III.
Conclusion .................................... 11
Council. This report will provide you with an insight into the internal operations of MULS, whilst highlighting our areas of achievement and future initiatives as we move into Session 2, 2020.
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I.
Introduction
In 2020, the thirty-three-member Executive Council and three MULS Representatives have been working across seven distinct departments to deliver the best possible opportunities and experiences for MULS members. This report will cover the operations and initiatives of each of these departments in detail below. It should come as no surprise that COVID-19 has had significant impacts on MULS, leading to one of the most unique years we have ever had in our forty-five-year history. Although this posed numerous challenges to how we ran our events, I am proud to say that the creativity and resilience of the MULS Executive Council meant that almost all of our planned initiatives for session one went ahead in an online format. None of this would have been possible without the support of our members, corporate sponsors and the Macquarie Law School, all of whom I would like to thank for their contributions. This year, we have continued to maintain our prominent position as a student representative group as a result of the hard work of Executive Committees both past and present. Although 2020 has had unprecedented difficulties, we have continued to uphold a strong commitment to providing our members with opportunities to expand their intellectual, social and vocational experiences. In 2020, our vision has been to: •
Improve the governance framework established by previous Executive Councils;
•
Ensure the smooth running of the Society and providing Executive Council Members with guidance as they perform their constitutional duties (‘Administration’);
•
Maintain high-quality events and initiatives financially without compromising the ability of future Executive Councils to do the same (‘Finances’);
•
Advance the education of members by running initiatives such as the new MULS podcast, ‘Justified’, as well as a number of wellbeing events which complement the academic pursuits of law students (‘Education’);
•
Strengthen our career initiatives to facilitate networking between Australian and global law firms and Macquarie Law students, as well as promoting other options available with law (‘Career Engagement’);
•
Provide new opportunities and events for members to interact with and learn about issues affecting the wider community (‘Social Justice’);
•
Co-ordinate opportunities for students to practice their legal skills with MULS competitions, whilst implementing a new intervarsity mooting competition (‘Competitions’);
•
Continue publishing a range of high-quality publications and collaborating with other departments to provide a new Diverse Careers Guide (‘Publications’);
•
Promote the Society through in-person and digital communication channels, including social media and the MULS newsletter (‘Marketing’);
•
Offer a range of social events to encourage the interaction between members and a balanced lifestyle (‘Events’).
To achieve this vision, the Executive Council has prioritised an interdepartmental approach and worked collaboratively to organise new events that are innovative and tailored to give MULS Members a more specific look into the legal industry. This report will expand on how this approach has influenced our ability to strengthen each of our MULS Departments and the general operation of the Society.
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II.
Department Reports A.
Administration
The MULS Administrative department is comprised of Morgan Graham, Secretary, Celine Nalbandian, Executive Officer (Administration) and myself. This year, MULS has been active in liaising with other law student societies at Australian Law Students Association Councils and Special Committee of Law Student Societies Morgan Graham Secretary
meetings, which have provided an invaluable opportunity to learn from other societies and share ideas and advice. The Administrative department has also been busy liaising with the law school, university and other external bodies.
Celine Nalbandian Executive Officer (Administration)
B.
Finance
In 2020, MULS has thus far maintained its financial position whilst engaging in thorough financial and budgetary reform. I wish to extend personal thanks to Harrison Pryor, Treasurer, for his many hours of work spent preparing documents for our annual audit, creating the 2020 MULS Budget and for his ongoing hard work in managing this important element of the society. Harrison Pryor Treasurer
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C.
Education
MULS is committed to advancing the education of our members. Our Director (Education), Lucy Sheppard, and Executive Officer (Campus Experience), Taris Watson, have organised many exciting initiatives including our highly successful AGLC4 Workshops, O-Week for both Session 1 and 2, Law School welcomes and the MULS Podcast, ‘Justified’, which now has four episodes. The Education team also ran a wellbeing series on our social media channels to promote and support our members’ wellbeing during the time of COVID-19. Additionally, we have worked to foster engagement with the broader Macquarie University community by building strong relationships with the Walanga Muru and Widening Participation teams at Macquarie. We are excited to continue the momentum into Semester 2, with our LexisNexis workshop series and new podcast episodes. Further, the team has run numerous online social events, including ‘The Common Zoom’ and Speed Friendship. These initiatives provided opportunities for new law students to connect and were organised by the First Year Representatives, Zac Kertesz and Kenya Walker. We have also garnered significant online engagement and built a community for JD students; an initiative developed by the JD Representative, Shlemon Eshow. MULS is excited to continue these online events into the next session.
Lucy Sheppard Director (Education)
Kenya Walker First Year Representative
Taris Watson Executive Officer (Campus Experience)
Zac Kertesz First Year Representative
Shlemon Eshow JD Representative
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D.
Career Engagement
MULS continues to provide a vast range of career engagement opportunities for MULS members. The Career Engagement Department has worked hard to adapt to the new digital normal, hosting all of our events online. I want to express my thanks to Adrian Brett, Director (Career Engagement), Isabella Maurici and Travis Stuart, Executive Officers (Corporate Careers) and Matthew Nivelleau, Executive Officer (Sponsorship), who worked hard on the fourteen careers events that occurred in Session 1, which included the Clerkship Fair and Interview Roulette. As we move into Session 2, the Careers Engagement Team is excited to be collaborating with the Publications and Social Justice Department for the Diverse Careers Guide. We are also looking forward to a number of initiatives in Session 2, including the Criminal Law Careers Panel and Careers in the Legal Sector workshop. These events will be helmed by Patrick O’Brien, Executive Officer (Public Interest Careers).
Adrian Brett Director (Career Engagement)
Travis Stuart Executive Officer (Corporate Careers)
Patrick O’Brien Executive Officer (Public Interest Careers)
Isabella Maurici Executive Officer (Corporate Careers)
Matthew Nivelleau Executive Officer (Sponsorship)
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E.
Social Justice
MULS is determined to continue its commitment to advancing social justice and community wellbeing throughout 2020. Led by Olivia Mueller, Director (Social Justice), we have run multiple initiatives, including Social Justice Speaker Night I, organised by Sophie Maher, Executive Officer (Social Justice Advocacy), as well as a Practical Skills Workshop, Olivia Mueller Director (Social Justice)
Social Justice Careers Showcase and a collaboration with Diverse Women in Law for the Diverse Legal Careers Panel. Moving into Session 2, we are excited to be hosting a Film Screening with Keynote Speaker, Social Justice Speaker Night II, a new podcast episode about pro bono work in private practice, as well as our Annual Trivia Night, which will be organised by Jessica Go, Executive Officer (Community Outreach). We remain
Sophie Maher Executive Officer (Advocacy)
optimistic that we can run our events in-person, but are well prepared if we are required to run them digitally.
Jessica Go Executive Officer (Community Outreach)
Diverse Legal Careers Panel Event
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F.
Competitions
Due to the impact of COVID-19, all of our competitions moved online, which caused a number of logistical challenges. However, I am proud to say that with the leadership of Sydney Gale, Director (Competitions), all competitions effectively and successfully transitioned into a digital format. All of our internal competitions, which included Negotiations, Senior Client Interview, the Contract Law Moot, Criminal Law Moot and Championship Moot ran on Zoom and proved to be just as nail-biting as they would have been in person. The Competitions department must be praised for their hard work and resilience during this unprecedented time, so I would like to thank Anshika Sharma and Olivia Hobill Cole, Executive Officers (Advocacy), Phillipa Rich and Abirami Kandasamy, Executive Officers (Professional Skills), Billy Co and Matilda Lynch, Executive Officers (Foundations) and Marica Ratnam, Executive Officer (External Competitions). I commend the Competitions department on their success this session and for continuing to provide opportunities for members to develop their legal and professional skills. I also would like to thank all of the staff, students and Macquarie Law alumni who judged our competitions. We would not be able to do what we do without your help.
Sydney Gale Director (Competitions)
Marica Ratnam Executive Officer (External Competitions)
Matilda Lynch Executive Officer (Foundations Competitions)
Billy Co Executive Officer (Foundations Competitions)
Olivia Hobill Cole Executive Officer (Competitions - Advocacy)
Anshika Sharma Executive Officer (Competitions - Advocacy)
Abirami Kandasamy Executive Officer (Professional Skills)
Phillippa Rich Executive Officer (Professional Skills)
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G.
Publications
Helmed by Devlin Greatbatch Murphy, Director (Publications), the Publications Department has maintained its position as a producer of informative and high-quality content. Nerissa Puth, Editor-in-Chief of The Brief has upheld our flagship publication’s strong reputation in the legal sphere with Edition 1 of The Brief: Unchartered Territory. Meanwhile, Matthew Lo’s efforts in putting together a number of guides, including the First Year Guide and the Clerkship Guide must be commended. I look forward to his next project, The Diverse Careers Guide, which is a collaboration between a number of MULS departments. Having led this team in 2018, I understand how much hard work goes into putting together these guides and publications, so I commend Devlin, Matthew and Nerissa for their hard work.
Devlin Greatbatch Murphy Director (Publications)
Nerissa Puth The Brief Editor-in-Chief
Matthew Lo Executive Officer (Editor)
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H. Marketing Following an Extraordinary General Meeting in November last year, MULS introduced a new Marketing department and Director (Marketing) position to increase our focus on promoting our fantastic initiatives. Our Director (Marketing), Annie Renouf has been working closely with our Executive Officers (Publicity), Jaclyn Ling and Ethan Inches to come up with new and innovative methods of marketing to reach our members. We have revived the MULS Newsletter, ‘From the Bench’, which is distributed weekly, and are excited to start selling our iconic MULS Hoodies again soon. I would like to give a special mention to Ranuli Athauda, Executive Officer (IT) for her tireless efforts in redesigning and updating the website. Her technical expertise, diligence and general support of her peers have been a big part of MULS’ success as we have transitioned online this year.
Annie Renouf Director (Marketing)
Ranuli Athauda Executive Officer (IT)
Ethan Inches Executive Officer (Publicity)
Jaclyn Ling Executive Officer (Publicity)
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I.
Events
Unfortunately, our Events Department was the most affected by the COVID-19 situation. Despite this, Georgia Weeden, Director (Events), Jayda Watson, Executive Officer (Sports), and Jaz Cremen and Max Glover, Executive Officers (Socials) have worked hard to provide social opportunities for our members with Trivia Nights and Netflix Watch Parties. We look forward to continuing these initiatives into Session 2. I praise the Events Team for their resilience and optimism as we move into the next session. We hope that as things begin to go back to normal, we can resume our social sports tournaments, put on a great show for you at our annual Law Revue, directed by Monica Gonzales and Alec Zhao-Culpan, as well as host our famous Law Ball.
Georgia Weeden Director (Events)
Max Glover Executive Officer (Socials)
Monica Gonzales and Alec Zhao-Culpan Law Revue Directors
Jaz Cremen Executive Officer (Socials)
Jayda Watson Executive Officer (Sports)
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III.
Conclusion
MULS would not exist as it does today without the generous support of our corporate sponsors. It is through their sponsorship that MULS can run such a large variety of high-quality initiatives to enrich the personal and professional development of our members. I thank Professor Marc De Vos, Dr Lise Barry, Dr Andrew Burke, Debra Ronan, Debbie Loo, Eleanor McGhee, Chindy Praseuthsouk and others from Macquarie Law School, along with Sami Uddin and Tam Ho from Macquarie University for their ongoing support. MULS is deeply grateful to each of you for your invaluable assistance. I wish to also express my sincere gratitude to the MULS Directors, Executive Officers, Representatives and Sub-Committee members. MULS operates as a result of your enthusiasm, dedication and hard work. To say that I am proud of your efforts is an understatement, and it has been a pleasure working and forging genuine friendships with all of you. I commend you for your individual and team successes so far this year, and I am excited to see what we can collectively achieve in Session 2, 2020. As President, I am committed to ensuring the continued improvement of MULS and I welcome any feedback, suggestions or questions relating to MULS. I am proud of what MULS has achieved so far in 2020, and the collective contribution of the entire team in providing opportunities for all MULS members to learn and develop. I wish you the best for the remainder of 2020. Daniel Lim President, Macquarie University Law Society
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