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;
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Ensure the smooth running of the Society and providing Executive Council Members with guidance as they perform their constitutional duties (‘Administration’);
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Maintain high-quality events and initiatives financially without compromising the ability of future Executive Councils to do the same (‘Finances’);
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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’);
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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’);
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Provide new opportunities and events for members to interact with and learn about issues affecting the wider community (‘Social Justice’);
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Co-ordinate opportunities for students to practice their legal skills with MULS competitions, whilst implementing a new intervarsity mooting competition (‘Competitions’);
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Continue publishing a range of high-quality publications and collaborating with other departments to provide a new Diverse Careers Guide (‘Publications’);
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Promote the Society through in-person and digital communication channels, including social media and the MULS newsletter (‘Marketing’);
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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.
2 MULS | Half-Yearly President’s Report
