• Offered by ANU Law School
  • ANU College ANU College of Law
  • Course subject Laws
  • Areas of interest Law
  • Academic career UGRD
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in First Semester 2018
    Second Semester 2018
    See Future Offerings

The Community Law Clinical Program is a 6 unit elective course.

This is a clinical program based in a community legal practice environment.  During the course students work for one full day a week at Canberra community Law where they provide legal information and undertake casework under the supervision of solicitors.

The course objectives are to: 

  • contextualise the study of law and student learning in a wide range of other law courses;

  • guide and support students in identifying, developing and applying ethical legal practice skills;

  • develop students' critical understanding of legal practice approaches, the roles of lawyers in relation to individual clients and social justice issues; and

  • encourage, promote and validate student aspirations to promote access to justice and equality before the law.

Course topics include:

  • introduction to public interest law;

  • professional responsibilities;

  • legal practice skills - legal writing, interviewing, casework skills, advising;

  • substantive law in relation to tenancy, Social Security and Disability Discrimination; and

  • law Reform.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
1. describe and critique how advanced knowledge and skills acquired through the study of law relate to a legal practice setting, assisting individual clients and working for social justice,
2. reflect on their personal motivation for studying law, their goals and career aspirations,
3. demonstrate a reflective and ethical approach, together with the ability to apply broad theoretical and professional knowledge, in performing paralegal tasks,
4. demonstrate substantial improvement in their practical legal skills particularly relating to work routines, communication with a variety of audiences, interviewing, writing, and legal research principles and methods,
5. describe and critique a range of legal practice approaches having regard to the legal needs of individual clients,
6. analyse the predicament of individual clients having regard to the operation of the law and the legal system,
7. describe and critically assess a range of strategies to improve justice / social justice outcomes,
8. identify concrete and achievable ways in which they can promote access to justice and equality before the law,
9. Plan and execute a written research project, with some independence.

Indicative Assessment

1. Participation in onsite sessions - ie quality of performance at onsite sessions including client assistance and casework (70%);
2. Participation in reflective tutorials and simulated hearings – ie quality of contributions made during (a) evening reflective tutorials, including case study presentation and (b) simulated hearings (15%);
3. Research paper and presentation (15%);
4. Attendance at both orientation days, a minimum of 6 out of the 8 scheduled Thursday evening tutorials and the research presentation / debrief session in the last week of the course. No marks are assigned for attendance at these events but attendance is a requirement to pass the course.

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

Two day orientation workshop at the beginning of semester, one day per week on-site (including through the mid-semester break)

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must be studying the Bachelor of Laws or Bachelor of Law (Honours) and have completed or be completing five LAWS courses at 1000 level. An application process exists for this course, please contact the ANU College of Law.

You will need to contact the ANU Law School to request a permission code to enrol in this course.

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
3
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2018 $3420
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2018 $4860
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

First Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
2788 19 Feb 2018 27 Feb 2018 31 Mar 2018 25 May 2018 In Person N/A

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
7751 23 Jul 2018 30 Jul 2018 31 Aug 2018 26 Oct 2018 In Person N/A

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