Victoria’s Chief Justice delivers the Annual Newman lecture

2014 Newman Lecture speakers (L-R): Professor Bryan Horrigan, The Honourable Chief Justice Marilyn Warren AC, Emeritus Professor Gabrielle McMullen AM FRACI, Dr Simon Caterson.

Victoria’s Chief Justice and Monash Law alumna, the Honourable Chief Justice Marilyn Warren AC, recently attended Mannix College and delivered the annual Newman Lecture, exploring the meaning of justice. Read more or view a transcript of the lecture.

Monash and Harvard Law School collaborate on new subject

In an exciting new initiative, the Monash Law Faculty will be offering the subject Copyright X: Monash in conjunction with the Harvard Law School. This innovative collaboration begins in January 2015 as an elective for JD and Masters students. Read more

The lasting legacy of Lawrie McCredie

A new book has been published about the extraordinary life of Lawrie McCredie CBE AM, who served for more than 30 years in the Faculty of Law.

Proceeds from the sale of Blind Optimist: The Life of Lawrie McCredie CEB, AM will go to the Faculty’s Lawrie McCredie Student Support Program. Read more

Faculty welcomes Distinguished Jurist in Residence and launches new Distinguished Professional in Residence Program

The Hon Peter Gray AM

The Faculty warmly welcomes Professor the Honourable Peter Gray AM, retired judge of the Federal Court of Australia, as the Distinguished Jurist in Residence.

The Faculty has also launched a Distinguished Professional in Residence Program. Read more

New professional mentoring program for Juris Doctor students

A new professional mentoring program has proven a great success in providing JD students with greater insights into the legal profession and valuable networking opportunities.

Want to become a mentor? Get involved by contacting the Juris Doctor Law Students' Society at jd.mentoring@monashlss.com

Read more

Student enrichment: Monash Law Faculty Arrangement with The University of Cambridge

The Dean and Professor Marilyn Pittard (Associate Dean of International and Engagement) are very pleased to announce a new Monash-Cambridge Degree pathway opportunity.

Outstanding Monash Law Faculty Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Juris Doctor (JD) students now have a pathway opportunity to study one of the following postgraduate Cambridge University Law degrees:

• Master of Law (LLM) or
• Masters Degree in Corporate Law (MCL) programs

Eligible students can use successful completion of their Cambridge Law degree as credit towards their Monash LLB or JD degree.

Upon successful completion of either of these programs at Cambridge, students will receive an LLB or a JD from Monash and either an LLM or an MCL from Cambridge.

Read more.

Please also read about our dual JD degree with Washington College of Law, American University, Washington DC and our arrangement with Oxford University.

Student enrichment: Oxford Law Dean’s visit to MULC

We were delighted to recently welcome the Dean of Law from The University of Oxford, Professor Timothy Endicott, to address students at our Monash University Law Chambers. This event was chaired by the Associate Dean, International and Engagement, Professor Marilyn Pittard.

Professor Endicott gave an informative insight into the study of Law at Oxford, ably assisted by Monash Law alumni, Dr Oren Bigos, barrister at The Victorian Bar, and Ms Jillian Williams, Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright, who have both undertaken postgraduate law studies at Oxford. 

Our Dean, Professor Bryan Horrigan, also announced a new scholarship for Monash students to support and facilitate postgraduate study opportunities at Oxford and Cambridge.

To read more about the Monash Law Faculty’s arrangement with Oxford, please visit our website and watch our video of Ms Amelia Hughes, a Monash Law alumna who is currently studying a BCL at Oxford University.

Student enrichment: Pilot Clinic with the Supreme Court of Victoria to start in 2015

At the recent 2014 Fiat Justitia Lecture, the Honourable Chief Justice Marilyn Warren AC of the Supreme Court of Victoria publicly announced a new and exciting initiative between the Faculty and the Supreme Court of Victoria – a pilot student clinic program which will commence in 2015.

This program is intended to provide Law students with a range of clinical contacts with judges in different areas of judicial work.

We will keep you updated on further details about this pilot clinic as it unfolds.

Student enrichment: Professor Frank Bloch - Inaugural Visiting Fellow of the Susan Campbell Memorial Fund

The Faculty recently hosted Professor Frank Bloch as the inaugural Visiting Fellow under the Susan Campbell Memorial Fund.

Professor Frank Bloch

Professor Bloch is an internationally renowned expert on clinical legal education, legal aid, social security, disability and other public benefit programs. He is Professor of Law Emeritus at Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee, where he served as Director of Clinical Education and as Director of the Social Justice Program. Professor Bloch is a leader in the international clinical legal education movement and one of the founding members of the Global Alliance for Justice Education where he currently serves as Executive Secretary. (For a more complete biography, please visit our website.)

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: Maddocks Welcomes Students to High Achievers Program for 2014

Associate Professor
Kathy Laster, guest speaker
the Honourable Justice Kevin Bell,
and the 2014 Monash Law Faculty’s
High Achievers.

The 2014 Maddocks High Achievers Program began with a dinner at the offices of our sponsor, Maddocks, in March. The top 25 fourth-year LLB students and top 10 second-year JD students are selected each year to participate in this enrichment program.

The Honourable Justice Kevin Bell was the distinguished speaker. His Honour spoke of his experiences in practice, at the Bar, and eventually on the bench. Human rights and reconciliation through amendments to the Constitution provided a stirring call to legal arms for this talented group of future leaders in the legal community.

Also part of the Maddocks High Achievers Program in Semester 1 is the ‘Greet the Greats’ Program. Students are given the chance to meet distinguished members of the legal profession informally, in small groups, to gain valuable insight into what makes for a successful career in the law. We are grateful for the involvement of the following ‘Greats’ this year, including Supreme Court Justice the Honourable Justice Lex Lasry, barrister Dr Bryan Keon-Cohen AM QC and Victorian Government Solicitor Mr Peter Stewart, who all shared their knowledge and experience of professional life with our students.

Thank you to Maddocks for its sponsorship of this valuable program and to Associate Professor Kathy Laster who is responsible for running this program.

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.

Student enrichment: Inaugural Monash-Warwick Virtual Honours Conference links Law students in the UK and Australia

The Monash-Warwick global alliance continues to go from strength to strength. Early in 2014 students from the University of Warwick and Monash University were connected via video link to present research findings to their international peers.

Monash Research Practicum student,
Mr Shea Wilding, presents to students
from Monash University and
the University of Warwick.

Monash Research Practicum students presented their findings on topics such as the proposed expansion of Auditor General powers and how the law of procedural fairness applies to Royal Commissions and other executive inquiries. Warwick Honours students shared their summer research findings on topics such as trustee remuneration in the charity sector and legal interventions for anorexia nervosa sufferers.

Connecting two Universities on opposite sides of the globe presented some challenges – with Warwick linking in at 8am their time (after breakfast), and the Monash presentations starting at 7pm Melbourne time (after dinner).

With the success of this inaugural event, both Universities look forward to an annual virtual conference and other opportunities to share knowledge and the experiences of studying law internationally.

Thank you to Associate Professor Kathy Laster for her key role in organising this virtual conference. Associate Professor Laster is responsible for the Monash Research Practicum program.

Student enrichment: Law student’s involvement in New Colombo Plan in Tokyo

A current Law student, Mr Shojeeb Alam (also studying Japanese) took part in the launch of the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan in Tokyo. The intention of the $100 million Plan is to build closer relationships with Australia’s Indo-Pacific neighbours by enabling students to study abroad and gain an understanding of other cultures and ways of living. A pilot phase will occur in 2014 with more than 700 students undertaking programs in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Indonesia.

Read more here and here and watch a video of Mr Shojeeb Alam’s speech.

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.

Student enrichment: International study opportunity: Pathway for Monash JD students to Oxford postgraduate degrees

For an extra six months of full-time study, successful students will be awarded two degrees: the Monash JD and the BCL or Masters in Law and Finance from Oxford.

The Dean and Professor Marilyn Pittard (Associate Dean of International and Engagement) are very pleased to announce that the Oxford Law Faculty and the Monash Law Faculty have signed an agreement to provide a pathway enabling early entry for Monash Law JD students to study the Bachelor of Civil Law degree or the Masters in Law and Finance at Oxford University.