Student enrichment: Linking to Industry – Clerkship Masterclass

As part of our career support program, the Monash Law Faculty piloted a day-long ‘Clerkship Masterclass’ for high achieving students about to start summer clerkships at law firms.

Our librarians assisted students in honing their practical legal research skills. Senior practitioners from the legal profession were also invited to share their insights, strategies and tips on working in a law firm. Monash Law alumni, Ms Nancy Collins and Ms Meagan Grose from Arnold Bloch Leibler, presented on Memo Writing, and Ms Jade Rowarth, a partner at Maddocks and a Monash Law alumna, outlined the nature of her work in mergers and acquisitions in her presentation: Getting the Deal Done.

Student enrichment: Warwick-Monash Collaborative Moot

In February this year, the first Monash Warwick Alliance International Collaborative Moot was held with three Law students from Monash University and three Law students from the University of Warwick. Each team included a mix of students from both Universities and students prepared for the moot online with their international team members. Monash Law students arrived in Warwick a few days prior to the moot to complete preparations in person. As part of this trip, students visited the London office of international law firm Baker & McKenzie and spoke to high school students about Law.

“These collaborative skills will be especially valuable given the current environment of law firm globalisation through mergers and alliances”, said Mr Tim Rankin, President of the Monash Law Students’ Society.

Watch a video about the Monash Warwick moot or read more.

Celebrating achievement: Monash Law Team wins Silver at International Mediation Competition in Paris

Ms Tessa Sullivan
(postgraduate student),
Ms Naomi Burstyner (coach),
Ms Wendy Gaddie (coach),
Ms Jemima Roe
(undergraduate student),
Ms Julia Larner
(postgraduate student)
and Ms Joanne Paul
(postgraduate student)

For the first time, a Monash Law Faculty team entered and participated in the prestigious International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Mediation Competition held in Paris in February this year.

The Monash team came second, winning silver, from a field of 66 teams and 500 participants. The team received three trophies and won two special awards – one for best Mediation Plan and the other for best Advocacy. Accolades from both Judges and spectators were also received.

Celebrating achievement: Monash debaters took part in historical Wiley College Exhibition Debate in Texas

A team from the Monash Association of Debaters (MAD) was recently invited and funded to travel to Texas, USA to take part in an exhibition debate against ‘The Great Debaters’ of Wiley College - a fierce debating competitor with a strong presence in debating history.

The Wiley College debating team played a significant role fighting racial discrimination and segregation during the civil rights movement. In 1935, the Wiley College debating team was unable to participate in the USA national debating championship competition due to harsh segregation laws. However, they braved discrimination and participated in an exhibition debate against an all-white University of Southern California team who were the reigning national champions at the time. The African American underdog team successfully defeated the reigning champions. This historical debate took place before an audience of eleven hundred people and was later depicted in the 2007 period film The Great Debaters, starring Denzel Washington, who portrayed the team's then-coach Professor Melvin Tolson.

Celebrating achievement: Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitral Moot Competition

Mr Stephen Moore,
Ms Nicole Franklin
and Ms Priya Wakhlu

Monash Law students Ms Nicole Franklin, Mr Stephen Moore and Ms Priya Wakhlu have found success at the Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitral Moot Competition in Frankfurt, Germany.

The Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitral Moot focuses on investor-state arbitration, and is designed to give students experience in this rapidly developing area of law. Preparation for the competition involved developing a strong understanding of public international law, foreign investment law and evidentiary and procedural norms. This knowledge was advanced through both written submissions prior to the competition, and oral submissions in Frankfurt.

Student enrichment: Increase in Monash Law Faculty’s mooting involvement with new mooting program

Given the highly competitive market for law firm clerkships, industry experience and job opportunities, the Faculty has adopted a new three-tiered strategy to enhance the advocacy and mooting skills and experiences of our Law students.

The three-tiered strategy involves (1) introducing advocacy skills into several core units to provide a minimum level of competency in advocacy for all students, (2) providing co-ordinated Faculty support for students to further develop their advocacy skills by continuing to offer elective units, such as Trial Practice and Advocacy, and supporting and incorporating the various competitions run by the Law Students Society into the Faculty’s advocacy program, and (3) providing opportunities for the best and most enthusiastic students to gain elite advocacy experience by participating in a range of national and international competitions (in addition to the Jessup and Vis Moots).

Student enrichment: John Bertrand Leadership Series

The Honourable RJL
Bob Hawke AC (middle)

A new initiative was launched last year to provide Monash students and alumni with unique high level leadership training and exposure. This will assist in producing the next generation of Australia’s legal, professional and community leaders.

Monash University ran the first of its new ‘John Bertrand Leadership Series: Explore the Essence of Leadership’ from July to October last year. The course combines academic leadership principles and hands-on learning with a speaker series.

Celebrating achievement: Monash University selected to participate in an international mediation competition in Paris

As you would be aware, our Faculty is always looking for opportunities to extend its reach and world class reputation. For the first time, Monash University (the Faculty of Law and the Australian Centre for Justice Innovation) has been selected to participate in the prestigious 9th Annual International Chamber of Commerce mediation competition to be held in Paris in February this year.

The competition involves teams from law and business schools from more than 40 countries taking part in mock mediation sessions (where participants act as lawyers for their clients), training programs and social events. The competition requires participants to apply their skills in managing conflict during the mediation of commercial disputes. Participants are judged by their ability to work collaboratively, maintain their client’s interests and negotiate the best settlement for their client.