ISSUE 22
WELCOME CONTENTS
MEET THE EDITORS
3
MEET THE COMMITTEE
4-5
DEAN OF LAW ADDRESS
6-7
PREISDENTS ADDRESS
8-9
LAW BALL
10-13
YOUTH PARLIAMENT
14-15
A RELFECTION ON LAW SCHOOL ETHICS IN LAW COMPETITIONS UPDATE CAREERS UPDATE SOCIAL JUSTICE UPDATE
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16 18-21 23 24-25 26
MEET THE EDITORS Victoria DARZANOS Publications Director Hi, my name’s Victoria and I am your Publications Director for the 2018/2019 term. I am currently a fourth year student, enrolled in a Law and Psychological Science double degree at UniSA. Previously on USALSA, I was the Publications Officer. For this term, as your Publications Director, Claire and I will be presdenting to you publications regarding current events within the Law School.
Claire zollo Publications Officer Hello, my name’s Claire and I am your new Publications Officer for the 2018/209 term. I am currently enrolled in a Law and Business (Management) degree at UniSA. My time at UniSA has been one of the craziest yet happiest in my life. As a part of the UniSA Law school has I have felt a part of a supportive and encouraging community and I aim to bring that same feeling the law school to all other students. As part of the Publications team, I want to work to help promote the law school and showcase the many wonderful achievements of its students to ensure all students know their contributions make a difference. I believe it is important we celebrate this community and its students and in my role I want to help ensure all students have a voice.
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MEET THE 2019 us
EMMA MARTIN President president@usalsa.org
4
ALEXANDER HAMAM
EDEN PANOZZO
Vice President of Finance
Vice President of Activities
treasury@usalsa.org
activities@usalsa.org
VICTORIA DARZANOS
CLAIRE ZOLLO
ALEX VUKOJE
Publications and I.T. Director
Publications and I.T. Officer
Competitions Director
publications@usalsa.org
publicationsofficer@usalsa.org
competitions@usalsa.org
RICHARD TRAN
POSITION VACANT
LAUREN KNAPPSTEIN
Sponsorship Director
Activities Director
Careers Director
sponsorship@usalsa.org
activitiesdirector@usalsa.org
careers@usalsa.org
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salsa COMMITTEE
POSITION VACANT
COURTNEY DOLPHIN
JASMIN ROBINS
Vice President of Education
Vice President of Administration
Social Justice Director
education@usalsa.org
secretary@usalsa.org
socialjustice@usalsa.org
SHANIA MORGAN
PENNY WHITING
NATALIA REVERUZZI
Competitions Officer
Careers Officer
Marketing Officer
competitionsofficer@usalsa.org
careersofficer@usalsa.org
marketing@usalsa.org
CASEY ELLENDON
TERESA TA
Finance Officer
Events Officer
financeofficer@usalsa.org
eventsofficer@usalsa.org
NICOLE BOSWORTH First Year Representative fyrepresentative@usalsa.org
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THE
2019
t H E DL AEWA N O F
PROFESSOR RICK SARRE
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Greetings from my desk. I am delighted to be the Dean for the current year. It is a privileged desk that I sit at; for I am privileged to be, each day, amongst skilled staff and keen students. I am pleased to be able to offer these few words obiter dicta to the suitably named Obiter. It is tempting, here in 2019, to look back 50 years (as all media outlets have been doing lately) and offer some latter-day insights regarding the events surrounding the moon landing on July 21 (July 20 in the USA) 1969. I have fallen for that temptation. On that afternoon, my Year 9 class was dismissed early after lunch and we all wandered down Tusmore Avenue, Leabrook, to sit in the lounge room of a mate’s place (there was no TV at school) to watch a grainy black and white image of a space-suited Neil Armstrong slowly descend to the moon’s surface and utter the immortal words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” He said in an interview later that he thought of that sentence just at the top of the ladder. (I think that he would have made a great barrister if he can come up with such profundity without more than a few seconds preparation). We cannot scold him today for his gendered utterance. What we do need to do is recognise his courage; he and his colleagues gave themselves only a 50/50 chance of survival. Apparently, Richard Nixon’s speech writer had already prepared an address to the nation from the president honouring their bravery and lamenting their deaths should something have gone horribly wrong that day.
Indeed, I am told (by a quick Google search) that an iPhone could today be used to guide 120,000,000 Apollo era spacecraft to the lunar surface, all at the same time. It really is quite astonishing. Why am I mentioning this? It is because these pioneers went into the unknown with complete uncertainty regarding the outcome. They placed an amazing amount of faith in the ability of the scientists who put them in that rocket to do what they promised they would do: to take them safely there, and then safely return them. Now, I want you to think of that fact as you ponder what it must be like for a client to place their lives (in many instances their freedom) into the hands of their legal advocate. In due course, you will be the person with the power to bring about the outcome they desire, using concepts and terminologies that are likely to be quite foreign to them. You cannot know all of the potential pitfalls, but you will need to be ready when they occur. You will need to have knowledge, adaptability, communication skills, the capacity to learn new things quickly, and problem-solving abilities. You will need to be able to work autonomously (yet collaboratively) and ethically. Presto! The graduate qualities come alive! Good luck with your studies. Pop in and see me at any time. Or email me rick.sarre@unisa. edu.au. I may regale you with more stories from 1969 (if you are interested)!
What is most astonishing is that the planners upon which Messrs Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins had relied had done their sums mainly on slide rules. For the uninitiated, these were the plastic things that did mathematical calculations before we had computers. Thinking of the lack of advanced computing power in 1969, yet still being able to send pilots outside of earth’s orbit,
S i n c e r e ly Rick Sarre, Dean of law
makes my head spin.
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2019
P R EASD DI DR EESNST ’ S
EMMA MARTIN
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Congratulations everyone on reaching past the
of the academic year, and I encourage everyone
halfway point of the year. I hope all of the students
to attend where possible. These USALSA events
who engaged in the Winter School subjects
are the best way for students to network and
enjoyed them despite the intensive nature. Since
familiarise themselves with future employers and
our last Obiter edition in January, USALSA has
colleagues.
been busy providing as many engaging and fun opportunities for our students.
We will be releasing information later in the semester regarding our future social events.
First, I would like to welcome a new cohort of first
Make sure to pay particular attention when we
year students who have yet to see an edition of
release information on the Tri-Varsity event we
the Obiter. I hope that they have all recovered
have in the works!
from their first experiences with Law exams. It has been an extremely busy semester for us all.
Good luck to everyone for the upcoming semester. Remember to take the time to look
Our annual open competitions held across
after yourselves, and don’t be afraid to ask for
April and May saw our competition winners
help when you need it. Law can be extremely
represent the University of South Australia at
stressful, and we can all feel the pressure at
the ALSA Conference held in Melbourne this
times. However, you are not the only one going
year. Congratulations to our Client Interview
through this and reaching out to friends and
team for making it to the Semi-Finals! This was
even USALSA can help remind you that this is a
an incredible achievement made possible by the
journey we are all on together.
hard work and preparation of the client interview team; congratulations on an amazing personal achievement Patrick and Airdre. Additionally, in our Competitions portfolio, we will be running a new competition in the form of a Criminal Sentencing Competition. This new competition will be open to all year levels. For
PRESIDENT Emma Martin
all our first-year students, we have our upcoming Novice Moot for you all to be introduced into the mooting world. Information on both of these upcoming competitions will be released shortly. We’ve also held many successful and insightful careers events. The Tri-varsity and Skill-Building Night in our first semester. We also introduced a new careers night with our ‘Ask a Clerk’ Seminar. We appreciate the student feedback we received for these events, and hope to continue to provide our students with further opportunities to succeed in their endeavours as future professionals. We still have careers events running in the remainder
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the 2019 casino
royale Law ball
A night of glamour and glee. A dancefloor packed
Ace Nights entertained guests all night with their
with swirling dresses and sharp suits. A delicious
casino game tables, while Nelya kept the party
selection of foods and drinks. A chance to try your
going with crowd favourite tunes, making it a
hand at blackjack and roulette - risk free! Put all
great night enjoyed by all!
of this together and you have yourself USALSA’s Law Ball for 2019!
Nelya’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dj_pillowprincess/
This year we stepped up our game and brought you the biggest and best law ball yet. Held at the
USALSA would like to thank all those who
Ambassador’s Hotel on King William, over 120
attended and are looking forward to continuing to
guests attended to celebrate the end of semester
make Law Ball bigger and better every year!
in the best way possible. Students got the night to dress up, have a bet and a drink and laugh the stresses away with their friends. As our biggest social event of the year, this was our chance to celebrate our achievements and let our hair down and put the law textbooks away for the night!
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USALSA Activities Team
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Richard’s experience with youth parliament YMCA South Australia Youth Parliament is a
the chance to pick the brains of diverse groups of
non-partisan program providing a platform for
people with diverse perspectives. By exchanging
young people aged 15 - 25 to have their say on
thoughts and experiences with them, I came to
important issues, build skills and parliamentary
a better understanding of various contemporary
understanding.
personal
issues that South Australia is facing and ways in
development, empowerment and connecting
which I can get involved and assist. One week of
politicians and decision makers with youth voices
Youth Parliament has tied us together in a special
and opinions.
way.
The Youth Parliament program runs in March
As a law student, the Youth Parliament gave me
to July every year and includes mentoring,
a precious chance to apply my legal knowledge,
a training weekend, a week-long camp and
especially public law and legislation, by gaining
access to Parliament House. Every year, young
first-hand practical experience of being a member
leaders come together to learn about public
of Parliament and participating in the process
speaking, democracy, parliamentary etiquette,
of crafting a Parliamentary Bill. I was actively
bill development and youth advocacy. They share
involved in the researching, writing and debating
their passionate ideas, discuss the challenges
of a Bill on a topic chosen by my team, as well
facing South Australia and create solutions in
as those tabled by other teams. I learned about
the form of Youth Bills. They will conduct their
various roles and functions of Parliament and how
debate in the State Parliament and according to
a member of the public can voice their views on
parliamentary rules and procedures. A highlight of
issues in our society. We wrote a Bill of Human
the program is a private reception at Government
Rights for SA which is an important current issue in
House in which participants will have a chance
Australia. We did research about similar legislation
to meet the Governor in person and discuss our
in Victoria and the ACT and other international
experience with him.
instruments about human rights. All of the Bills will
It
focuses
on
then be considered by the Department of Human Personally, Youth Parliament has been an
Services and will potentially be implemented by
amazing opportunity to grow my confidence,
policy or introduced in the Parliament as authentic
socialise with other young leaders from different
legislations.
backgrounds in our community and expand my horizon. Youth Parliament is comprised of smaller
I reached out to our UniSA lecturers such as Ms
committees with each focuses on a specific area
Sue Milne and Dr Sarah Moulds as well as other
such as Police and Justice, Mental Health and
online resources such as Office of Parliamentary
Disability and Transportation. Therefore, I had
Counsel to discuss and seek guidance on how to
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develop the Bill. I am very grateful that they were very happy and willing to spend time guiding me, even though it is an extra-curricular activity. I found that reading books related to the topic was very helpful in building my background knowledge and preparing for the Parliamentary debates. I personally felt that Youth Parliament is a transformative experience that installs the sense of awareness of world surrounding me and sense of empowerment to take action to improve my life. I highly encourage everyone, especially those with interests in parliament and politics to participate in the program. Application opens March each year, and the Youth Parliament team can assist with securing sponsorship. More information and application process can be found at
https://www.sa.ymca.org.au/what-we-do/youth-
empowerment/youth-parliament.
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A R E F L E C T I O N O N S o m ay e h ’ s FIRST YEAR OF LAW Law school is nothing like you would expect it to be. There is no sugar-coating the fact that studying law is stressful and will it lead to the pages of the cute and organised planner you bought at the start of the year turning into an illegible mess. But, as cliché as it sounds, it is definitely an experience that will better you in every aspect of your life. You won’t even realise how much you have changed until you finally have the opportunity to reflect on it after all the three-hour long lectures… and assignments… and exams… and maybe even a little partying. After just a few law classes you begin to think differently, becoming more and more analytical of the world around you. Of course you’ll also become a lot more cautious with how you do anything because apparently suing someone can be very easy. You’ll even constantly warn others of what they’re doing and that’s when you begin to hear “we get it, you study law”. Get used to this phrase because you can’t escape it. No matter what, law is involved in absolutely everything and naturally; the more you learn about it, the more you speak about it. While others may be searching for ways to shut you up, at least you’ll have your friends also studying law that will never get enough of these sorts of discussions. Just remember, making friends at university is so easy, you automatically have a common interest in what you’re studying. Supporting each other during hard times you will face will be invaluable to you and your fellow students. You’ve probably heard this over and over, but in the end, if you put in the effort and listen to what your lecturers advise you, everything will figure itself out. My advice would be to set a routine and make sure you have prepared for the lectures and tutorials before attending. Some days this will be straightforward, other days you will have to make sacrifices. In saying that, it won’t be the end of the world if you choose to go out for a night instead. But no matter what I tell you, and what your lecturers will tell you, you will adapt in your own way. Don’t ever stress about the pace of others in the class, trust your own work ethic. Law school is without a doubt difficult, but how you decide to approach, can make the process a lot more stressful or a whole lot smoother and enjoyable.
s o m ay e h m i r z a i e i UNISA Law Student
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THE ETHICS OF THE LAWYERS’ TRUST ACCOUNTS SYSTEM JENNIFER JONES I
Introduction
Lawyers’ trust accounts hold clients’ funds until such time as they are needed for the payment of services rendered. Typically the amounts held are relatively small and are not held for long periods, however, when all the amounts are held together in a trust account, significant interest may accrue. Consideration of the legal and moral conflict presented in Reid Mortensen’s Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts depends, at least in part, on a personal understanding of what being a lawyer entails.1 In considering the question of Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account Schemes (IOLTAs) I will address the concerns from the perspective of each of the four lawyer types identified in table 2.1 of Parker and Evans’ Inside Lawyer Ethics. 2
II
Legal Authority and Obligations A
The Legal Practitioners Act
The Legal Practitioners Act (LPA), particularly sections 53-56 and Schedule 2 part 2,3 governs the way in which South Australian solicitors must deal with trust funds, and their obligations to Statutory Deposit Accounts (SDAs). This legislation makes it not only legal to invest trust account funds to accrue interest, but almost mandatory. B
The Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules
The Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules (ASCR)4 s 4.1.1 requires that, ‘A solicitor must act in the best interests of a client in any matter in which the solicitor represents the client.’ However, s 3.1 qualifies that obligation as, ‘a solicitor’s duty to the court and the administration of justice is paramount and prevails to the extent of inconsistency with any other duty.’
1 Reid Mortensen, ‘Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts’ (2005) 27 Sydney Law Review 289,322. 2 Christine Parker, Adrian Evans Inside Lawyers Ethics (Cambridge University Press, 3rd ed, 2018) 37. 3 Legal Practitioners Act 1929 (SA). 4 The Law Society of South Australia Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2011 (at 1 July 2014).
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C Consequences of seemingly incompatible obligations The question therefore arises, are the requirements of the LPA and the ASCR incompatible with each other, and do they make it next to impossible for a solicitor to act in the best interests of the client regarding trust account funds? Schedule 2 of the LPA stipulates that a solicitor does not have to deposit a client’s funds into the general trust fund if, ‘the practice has a written direction by an appropriate person to deal with it otherwise than by depositing it in the account.’5 What therefore is a solicitor’s right or obligation to tell a client that s/he is allowed to instruct the solicitor in this way?
III
The Moral Quagmire
Given the legal provisos referred to above, it is fair to say that a solicitor has an obligation to act in the best interests of their client so long is there is not a higher obligation to the court and the administration of justice. However, when the obligation to the court and the administration of justice requires that clients’ deposits be placed into SDAs in order to benefit IOLTA schemes but does not preclude the solicitor from advising the client of their right to give alternatives instructions, where does that leave the solicitor? It seems that, in effect, a solicitor is given tacit permission to simply keep quiet about the way in which the client’s money will be used but is not forbidden from advising the client of alternatives.
IV Traversing the Maze An ‘Adversarial Lawyer’ is described in Inside Lawyers Ethics as having, ‘a duty to advocate client’s interests as zealously as possible within the bounds of the law (barest obligation to the law)’.6
For a
lawyer of this type there is no question, given it is allowable for a lawyer to advise a client of their right to provide instructions for the use of their funds, that s/he should advise her/his client of this option. A ‘Responsible Lawyer’ is described by Inside Lawyers Ethics as feeling that, ‘duties of advocacy are tempered by duty to ensure integrity of and compliance with the spirit of the law.’7 This type of lawyer will also feel compelled to act in the best interests of the client as a fundamental obligation, but will equally feel an obligation to contribute to the IOLTA scheme for the benefit of disadvantaged members of society via a legal aid scheme and other charitable endeavours. For an ‘Activist Lawyer’, identified in Inside Lawyers Ethics as juggling two responsibilities, ‘Public Interest Lawyering’ and ‘Client Counselling to persuade clients of the moral thing to do’, the situation is even more complicated.8 From this perspective the rights of two groups of people are in direct conflict: people who need legal aid v people who have a right to know how their money is being used. If the ‘Activist Lawyer’ advises a client of their right to determine how the deposit is used and the client chooses not to support the IOLTA scheme then, by definition, the activist should not continue to act for that client. 5 Legal Practitioners Act 1929 (SA) Schedule 2 s 12(1)(a). 6 Christine Parker, Adrian Evans Inside Lawyers Ethics (Cambridge University Press, 3rd ed, 2018) 37. 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. THE OBITER
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And finally, the ‘Ethics of Care’ Lawyer, described by Inside Lawyers Ethics as a lawyer who feels that, ‘Preserving relationships and avoiding harm are more important than impersonal justice...’9 In a strange way this presents the dilemma that is hardest to solve: an ‘Ethics of Care’ lawyer will certainly not want to antagonise or disadvantage a client, nor will they want to further harm already disadvantaged members of society by compromising their access to legal aid. There is no middle ground to be found. I believe that any lawyer ‘type’ would feel uneasy about the quasi secret aspect of the current arrangements. Without asking, it is not possible to know how many clients would be happy to have their money used in this way for the benefit of unknown third parties. One can imagine some clients would be appalled that interest derived from their funds will be used to defend people whose offences they find abhorrent. It is possible that an even larger group of clients would simply object to their ‘hard earned cash’ being used for the benefit of someone other than themselves.
V Individually it wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans Reid Mortensen questions the proposition that ‘The redistribution of IOLTA from clients is often justified by the claim that, individually, the deposits held in trust accounts could not earn net interest for the client once transaction costs are taken into account.’10 Indeed, when applied to just one client, it is perfectly fair to say that bank fees and other costs might swallow up any interest available on a single deposit. However, it does not account for what might happen if all clients knew of the possibility of giving their solicitors alternative instructions and chose to pool their funds in a similar fashion. If all clients’ deposits were handled in the same way as the SDAs used to facilitate IOLTAs then the bargaining power of such large amounts could be used to access beneficial terms from Banks. This could be done for the benefit of all clients, at no greater work load to solicitors than is currently required by the LPA in processing the funds into and out of SDAs and reporting on the transactions.
VI Conclusion I believe strongly that the provision of legal aid services is essential to a well-balanced legal system and IOLTAs certainly achieve significant funding levels for such services, but it is the hidden nature of the IOLTA scheme that provides me with major disquiet. It is definitely a risk that, given a choice, clients collectively might decide not to allow their funds to be used in a way that provides this level of support for such worthy causes, but the extremely questionable manner in which it is currently undertaken undermines the very positive intentions of the scheme. I am convinced that legal aid and such services should be provided by an ethical government rather than by a system which is effectively hidden from the very people who are providing the funds. If the funding is provided via taxes then the burden is shared proportionally according to the system to which 9 Ibid. 10 Reid Mortensen, ‘Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts’ (2005) 27 Sydney Law Review, 316 [B].
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that particular government is beholden. If the funding is provided via an IOLTA it is perfectly possible that a person who can least afford it is supporting other equally disadvantaged people, e.g. a person wrongly charged with murder may have to mortgage their home in order to fund their legal defence. When morality and legality are out of step and are discovered to be so, it is compounded dramatically if the general public also discovers that obfuscation has been used to enable the questionable moral behaviour to continue undiscovered . In my opinion the IOLTA scheme should be disclosed in clear light, and all clients of professional legal services should be able to make their own choices, even if it means that legal aid is no longer funded in the same way. As a consequence the funding becomes a political dilemma not a legal one, and the political arena is uniquely equipped to solve such dilemmas. I am left with the doubt that successive governments would fund the legal aid service as I believe it should be funded, but to me that is the lesser of two evils.
Jennifer Jones UNISA Law Student
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U S L A S A C o m p e t i t i o n s U p d at e Alex Vukoje The USALSA Competitions portfolio has had a busy 2019, running four competitions concurrently during Semester one. These competitions were; the Witness Examination, where competitors examined a witness in a criminal court scenario. The Client Interview, where competitors interviewed a new client in hopes of extracting all necessary legal and factual information from them in a professional manner. The Negotiation, where two teams attempted to negotiate a deal on behalf of their clients, and the Open Moot, where two teams argued a point of law on appeal. The competitions were all very successful, with academics from the university, current solicitors and barristers and even a Supreme Court judge helping us adjudicate the competitions. The Competitions team is immensely impressed with the standard and quality displayed by law school students during the competitions, as well as the high level of competitiveness. The hard work and dedication shown by the competitors shone through and the judges noticed this effort in their feedback. All competitors should be proud of their efforts. The winners of the competitions were then given the chance to represent our university at the Australian Law Student’s Society’s national competition. ALSA gives these students a chance to test their skills on a national level and is a great opportunity to learn and meet law students from all over Australia and New Zealand. We now look forward to a new Criminal Law Competition to be run in Study Period 5, as well as the annual Novice Moot. These competitions have been able to showcase some of the real talent in our law school and we are so excited be introducing even more. It was clear that all students that got involved really gained something valuable from participating. In today’s increasingly competitive legal world, participating in a competition such as these could really be the edge you need to set yourself apart from the crowd. The competitions at UniSA give you a chance to gain skills you can’t get in a normal classroom without the pressure of grades. They are an extremely valuable experience and we would encourage that all interested parties in the future put their hand up to compete.
USALSA Competitions Team
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2019 WINNERS Moot Winners Laura Corbett Richard Tran
N e g o t i at i o n W i n n e r s Emma Martin Liam Waddill
W i t n e s s E x a m i n at i o n W i n n e r Peter Varga
Client Interview Winners Airdre Mattner Patrick Schaefer
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U S L A S A C a r e e r s U p d at e Written by Lauren Knappstein In Study Period 2, the careers team at USALSA have been extremely busy running events for UniSA Law students. These events have allowed students to get a taste of what they could do after they have finished their law degrees and provides them with a chance to interact with those in the legal profession.
Ask a Clerk Seminar For the Ask a Clerk Seminar, earlier in the semester, the USALSA Careers team brought a panel of Law Clerks together to answer questions about Clerkships and to prepare them with questions to ask law firms at the Trivarsity Law Careers Fair. There was an amazing attendance from first year students all the way through to those in their final year of studies, who were looking to apply for clerkships in the coming future. The panel discussed how they got their clerkships and graduate positions and provided advice for those interested in clerkships. Getting to hear the experience from those in different fields and firms showed student how diverse the field of law can be. The students were able to ask questions and the panel was able to shed light on any grey areas the attending law students had. All students attending left satisfied and feeling more informed about the importance of obtaining a clerkship during their degree. The event was extremely successful, and we urge students to participate in the event next year, especially if you are considering taking up a clerkship in the future. This event gives the opportunity to get the answers to questions you may not be able to ask elsewhere.
Trivarsity Law Careers Fair The Trivaristy Law Careers Fair is the biggest careers event for all three universities. The Fair is a onestop-shop for all your clerkship and graduate position opportunities that are available at law firms, and GDLP options. It runs alongside The Big Meet, which is a fair targeted for jobs in other industries such as Government, Human Resources and Management. This is an extremely valuable experience for students to see what opportunities they have for their future and talk to people working at some of the biggest law firms in Adelaide. Students are able to ask questions, meet lawyers and find out where their career could take them.
This event was a great success with
an outstanding combined attendance from UniSA alongside Flinders University and The University of Adelaide Law associations, with over 350 students attending the event. With 21 Law firms and exhibitors, this event is guaranteed to assist students when entering the legal profession.
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Skill Building Night The Skill Building Night was aimed at informing students of how to get themselves career ready. Student were shown how update their cover letters and resumes, and given tips to ensure that they stand out from the crowd when applying for clerkships and graduate positions. The Career Services from UniSA came to discuss critical tips and provide an array of advice about compiling the perfect cover letter and resume. Students were also introduced to the Business Careers Mentor Program and shown how the program helps the development of many skills going into a professional environment. We would recommend this program to anyone looking to gain some mentorship and work with an experienced professional. There was also a panel of guests who are all professionals in the legal field who were able to answer any queries that students have about clerkship applications and entering the profession. The panel included a partner, a Human Resources Manager and a current law clerk. This was a good experience for all in attendance and they gained some valuable skills that will help their careers now and into the future. Upcoming events! The Career team are working on even more events for the upcoming study period, to advance your legal career knowledge and networking! These include a combined professional networking night where members from the legal profession and other related areas will be invited to attend, as well as introducing a brand new event with members of the profession presenting on dispute resolution and collaborative practice. We look forward to seeing you at these events!
USALSA Careers Team
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SOCIAL JUSTICE UPDATE A i r d r e M at t n e r As always, USALSA is always looking for
even when they feel overwhelmed by uni.
opportunities to benefit the community around us and contribute to important causes. During SP2,
During the coldest time of the year, we remind
members of the USALSA committee and student
students to consider the hardship of those who
body took part in the 2019 Walk for Justice on
are homeless and do not have heating, hearty
May 21st.
meals and warm beds which many of us take for granted. They instead rely on the generosity of
Students got up early for 5km walk through the
others to stay warm. The Hutt St Centre provides
Botanic Gardens, right next to the river Torrens.
over 40,000 meals and supports the needs of
The morning finished with a breakfast for walkers
over 2000 homeless people yearly. Students can
cooked by award winning chef Simon Bryant to
donate to this very worthy cause via their website
celebrate the fundraising event. The Walk for
https://www.huttstcentre.org.au or via the law
Justice raised much needed funds for JusticeNet
school’s donation box which is next to the pigeon
SA, as well as recognising the pro bono legal
holes by the front reception.
work undertaken by legal professionals in South Australia. This work provides thousands of South Australians access much needed justice. Students will have a welcome back event to look forward to at the beginning of study period 5 at the Royal Oak, which will raise much needed funds for the law school’s chosen charity “Ice Factor”. This is an initiative targeting at risk and disadvantaged teens through the sport of ice hockey. Additionally, we will be holding mental health and well-being events before the busy and stressful exam period at the end of 2019. We believe it is extremely important to ensure all of our students are looking after themselves, both physically and mentally, so these events will be aimed at encouraging students to look after themselves,
USALSA Social Justice Team
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STUDY PERIO YEAR
5
ISSUE
22 2019
PAGES
A 2 0 1 9 U S A L S A P U B L I C AT I O N
27