• Offered by ANU Law School
  • ANU College ANU College of Law
  • Course subject Laws
  • Areas of interest Law
  • Academic career PGRD
  • Course convener
    • Radhika Chaudhri
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in First Semester 2020
    Second Semester 2020
    See Future Offerings

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:

  1. Identify, plan, manage and execute a substantive and original written research project addressing a complex problem, and do so independently, and to a high professional standard appropriate to the professional setting.
  2. Demonstrate persuasive and inclusive written and oral communications skills appropriate to specialist and non-specialist audiences, and a given professional setting.
  3. Integrate and apply multiple areas of legal knowledge, skills and professional values gained throughout the JD program.
  4. Recognise and apply JD graduate attributes such as, but not limited to: an extended understanding of recent developments in law and its practice; high level research skills; high level conceptualisation; the ability to generate and evaluate complex ideas; legal technical and communication skills; a reflective and ethical approach, and high level personal autonomy and accountability.
  5. Reflect on and review key elements of a growing professional and ethical identity by, for example, naming and debating specific interests, interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and career motivations and aspirations.
  6. 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.
  7. Recognise and apply improved practical legal skills particularly relating to work routines, professional conduct rules, ethical practice, communication with a variety of audiences, interviewing, writing, and legal research principles and methods.
  8. Describe and critique a range of legal practice approaches having regard to the legal needs of individual clients.
  9. Analyse the predicament of individual clients having regard to the operation of the law and the legal system.
  10. Describe and critically assess a range of strategies to improve justice / social justice outcomes.
  11. Identify concrete and achievable ways in which they can promote access to justice and equality before the law.

Other Information

Entry into this course is through an application process, advertised through the Wattle JD program page

Indicative Assessment

  1. Participation in on-site sessions - ie quality of performance at on-site sessions including client assistance and casework (70%) (70) [LO null]
  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%) (15) [LO null]
  3. Research paper and presentation (15%) (15) [LO null]
  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. (0) [LO null]

In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle. 

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)

Inherent Requirements

Not applicable

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must be studying a: Juris Doctor (7330XJD, 7330HJD or MJD) and have completed or be completing five 1000 or 6100 level LAWS courses. An application process exists for this course. You are not able to enrol in this course if you have previously completed LAWS4268 Community Law Clinic.

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

Prescribed Texts

Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately 2 weeks prior to the commencement of the 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
2020 $4830
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2020 $6420
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
4177 24 Feb 2020 02 Mar 2020 08 May 2020 05 Jun 2020 In Person View

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
9154 27 Jul 2020 03 Aug 2020 31 Aug 2020 30 Oct 2020 Online or In Person View

Responsible Officer: Registrar, Student Administration / Page Contact: Website Administrator / Frequently Asked Questions