Becoming a Practitioner (BAP) is the first course students must do in the Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (GDLP). It is a four day, compulsory, intensive course that introduces students to legal practice skills and to the requirements of the GDLP.

The skills of legal practice are mandated by the Law Admissions Consultative Committee (LACC). They and are known as the Australasian Practical Legal Training Council (APLEC) competencies.

During BAP, students engage in a series of activities that introduce them to:

• Lawyer's Skills including: communicating effectively, interviewing clients, negotiating settlements and agreements and representing a client in court.
• Legal Problem Solving including: analysing facts and identifying issues and generating strategies and solutions.
• Work Management and Business Skills: managing personal time, managing risk and working cooperatively.

The BAP course also provides the groundwork and basic skill development that will then be developed through the remainder of the GDLP.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Develop and apply effective communication strategies, (including verbal, non-verbal and in writing), to communicate with specialist and non-specialist audiences in the specific legal contexts of a client interview, a negotiation and representing a client in a legal forum.
2. Collaborate effectively with peers, clients, staff, legal and other professionals to identify, analyse and solve problems.
3. Investigate and analyse complex legal problems, facts and law and develop options and strategies which meet a client's objectives.
4. Reflect on the student's own knowledge, learning, experiences and feedback from peers and mentors and modify the student's own practice to improve future performance.
5. Demonstrate and critically reflect upon the student's own ethical and professional behaviours, including regard for their own wellbeing when managing workload.

Required Resources

The course resources consist of:

1. Online Resources: in the Wattle area for the course;
2. Course Resources Booklet: handed out at registration

The Online Resources include:

• News from the Course Convener
• Student Discussion Forum
• Course Timetable (pdf)
• Course Resources Booklet (pdf)
• Demonstration videos for advocacy, negotiation and interviewing
• Resource material for key skills areas (advocacy; negotiation; interviewing; legal writing and legal drafting)

The Course Resources Booklet includes:

• Course Outline
• Timetable
• Administrative introduction to the GDLP
• Key resource materials for skills areas practiced during the week
• Some of the resource materials for exercises during the week

You will also receive further instructions and scenario handouts during the course.

You are responsible for their access to Wattle, so if you have problems, please contact our WATTLE support team via IT Service Desk or phone 02 6125 4321 select option 1, 5 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. While you are not likely to need to use the ANU Law Library during the BAP course, practice resources are available via the Library. For information about the Library, including details of E-Legal research online resources (for example, CCH Intelliconnect, Legal Online, Lexis Nexis AU) can be found at  http://anulib.anu.edu.au/subjects/law. For access to the online resources please go to:  http://virtual.anu.edu.au then type in your “u” number and your password.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• You will receive feed-forward when you begin to practice tasks and feed-back in relation to all tasks, including assessable tasks. Feed-forward aims to help you improve your performance while you are working on this yourself. Feed-back focuses on your level of achievement and ways of improving further when you next undertake the task.
• You will also receive written or oral feedback following any resubmission of an assessment.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Competency Standards

The GDLP draws together the compulsory skills, practice areas and values from the Law Admissions Consultative Committee (LACC) Competency Standards for Entry-Level Lawyers. The LACC competencies set out the standards that you must achieve during your professional legal training (PLT) to be eligible for admission to practice.

You can find the PLT Competency Standards for Entry-level lawyers at https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/files/web-pdf/LACC%20docs/224336988_10_LACC%20-%20PLT.pdf.

Requesting an Extension

If you think other circumstances justify an extension you should discuss your circumstances with your Convenor, before the due date. Whether or not an extension will be granted remains in the discretion of the Convenor. Convenors will not usually grant extensions if the reason for your inability to complete work on time is due to a commitment that you knew you had at the start of the course. Alternatively, an extension is likely to be granted if an issue / commitment arises during the course that you could not have predicted.

In some circumstances (illness, injury, family crisis etc.) an extension will be granted as a matter of course. The Convenor may ask you to provide documentation – e.g. a medical certificate. Retrospective extensions will be granted only in exceptional circumstances. Convenors recognise that circumstances can arise when it is impossible or impracticable for a student to request an extension prior to the submission date. Convenors may notify the Sub-Dean when responding to your extension request. The Sub-Dean may contact you with regard to your extensions request(s) if they identify that you may benefit from additional and/or coordinated support due to your circumstances.

Word Limits

As the assessment in the GDLP Program is authentic to legal practice, we do not impose word limits. However, you will often be given a word ‘recommendation’ to guide you, taking into account the purpose of the document and the length it is likely to be in practice.

 

Sub-Dean, GDLP/MLP

The GDLP/MLP Sub-Dean, Pamela Taylor-Barnett can be contacted via email on pamela.taylor-barnett@anu.edu.au

Wellbeing Support Services for Lawyers

You will find an abundance of wellbeing support information for lawyers on the ANU School of Legal Practice website.

We also encourage you to read Being Well in the Law – a guide for lawyers which is a toolkit is provided by the NSW Law Society, written by our ANU Academics.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Pre-Course: Watch advocacy videos and review materials
2	Monday - Topics covered include: Introduction, administration, outline of the course Basic interviewing Interviewing exercises Interviewing in firms Introduction to advocacy, appearances and mentions Advocacy exercises	Homework - Review material on: Interviewing Advocacy Writing Prepare pleas or bails
3	Tuesday - Topics covered include: Pleas or bail Group writing workshop Professional Practice Core explanation/introduction Introduction to team work and group activity Introduction to civil applications	Homework: Prepare civil application Complete writing exercise
4	Wednesday - Topics covered include: Civil applications Red/Blue game Negotiation theory Negotiation exercises Introduction to examination-in-chief and cross-examination	Homework: Prepare examination-in-chief and cross-examination
5	Thursday - Topics covered include: Examination-in-chief and cross-examination Advocacy assessment Negotiation assessment Extra practice	For a full class schedule, please refer to the Important Class Information & Schedule in Wattle

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Respond to a client problem scenario and consider client and lawyer perspective.	0 %	18/07/2019	18/07/2019	1
Construct written response for a client that clearly addresses a legal problem.	0 %	18/07/2019	18/07/2019	1
Participate in group work to facilitate solutions for clients.	0 %	18/07/2019	18/07/2019	2
Negotiation a settlement for complex commercial or other legal problem	0 %	18/07/2019	18/07/2019	2
Prepare and discuss options to solving a complex legal problem involving two sides in dispute	0 %	18/07/2019	18/07/2019	3
Present case for client in court	0 %	18/07/2019	18/07/2019	3
Participate in peer review exercises where reviews are offered and received by students.	0 %	18/07/2019	18/07/2019	4
Write a reflection on the BAP experience	0 %	18/07/2019	18/07/2019	5

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using 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. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

You have elected to enrol in an intensive practice course – give it your full commitment by keeping up to date, being informed and actively participating in the course.

Please check Wattle announcements and forum discussions as well as your ANU email at least every 24-48 hours. Alternatively, set your personal setting to provide you with all the reminders you need to achieve this. At the end of the day, it is your responsibility to ensure you are actively committed and involved in this course.

All email correspondence from the ANU will be sent to your ANU email address.

You may arrange for your ANU Email to be forwarded to an email address you check daily. 

Assessment Task 1

Respond to a client problem scenario and consider client and lawyer perspective.

Assessment Due Date: During allocated session

Linked Learning Outcomes: 1

Please refer to the Important Class Information & Schedule in Wattle for further information regarding submission of assessment and grades in this course.

Assessment Task 2

Construct written response for a client that clearly addresses a legal problem.

Assessment Due Date: During allocated session

Linked Learning Outcomes: 1

Please refer to the Important Class Information & Schedule in Wattle for further information regarding submission of assessment and grades in this course.

Assessment Task 3

Participate in group work to facilitate solutions for clients.

Assessment Due Date: During allocated session

Linked Learning Outcomes: 2

Please refer to the Important Class Information & Schedule in Wattle for further information regarding submission of assessment and grades in this course.?

Assessment Task 4

Negotiation a settlement for complex commercial or other legal problem

Assessment Due Date: During allocated session

Linked Learning Outcomes: 2

Please refer to the Important Class Information & Schedule in Wattle for further information regarding submission of assessment and grades in this course.?

Assessment Task 5

Prepare and discuss options to solving a complex legal problem involving two sides in dispute

Assessment Due Date: During allocated session

Linked Learning Outcomes: 3

Please refer to the Important Class Information & Schedule in Wattle for further information regarding submission of assessment and grades in this course.?

Assessment Task 6

Present case for client in court

Assessment Due Date: During allocated session

Linked Learning Outcomes: 3

Please refer to the Important Class Information & Schedule in Wattle for further information regarding submission of assessment and grades in this course.?

Assessment Task 7

Participate in peer review exercises where reviews are offered and received by students.

Assessment Due Date: During allocated session

Linked Learning Outcomes: 4

Please refer to the Important Class Information & Schedule in Wattle for further information regarding submission of assessment and grades in this course.?

Assessment Task 8

Write a reflection on the BAP experience

Assessment Due Date: During allocated session

Linked Learning Outcomes: 5

Please refer to the Important Class Information & Schedule in Wattle for further information regarding submission of assessment and grades in this course.?

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

Not applicable

Hardcopy Submission

You will complete oral assessments and written assessments throughout the course as specified by the course convenor during the intensive.

Late Submission

If you do not complete an assessment at the assigned time, without receiving an approved extension from the Convenor, the following penalties will apply: 

• You will not achieve a CRS for this course

The Convenor has overriding discretion to accept an assessment and/or to allow a student to resubmit an assessment, or to submit a supplementary assessment.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Your oral work will receive feedback during the intensive from your assessor. Please ensure that you write a contemporaneous record of the feedback you receive so that you can refer to this in the portfolio and Ready for Practice course. You may, with the consent of your assessor, record the assessment and the feedback on your own device for your own future reference.   

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students