Sydney Law School Social Justice Program
In 2009 Sydney Law School will introduce an important opportunity for students to gain practical legal experience and provide vital services to disadvantaged members of our community.
In response to demand from the public, our students and the profession, a new Social Justice Program is being established. This will help expose students to real-world cases, enable them to apply knowledge gained in the classroom, and develop practical skills such as researching, case-writing, and client interviewing.
Opportunities will be created by partnering with community legal centres and other organisations offering legal advice and representation to special interest groups.
Students will experience first-hand the impact of a pro-bono service on the wider community.
Applications are now open for Semester 1, 2010
A quality learning experience for Sydney students
In 2009 Sydney Law School secured a $50,000 grant through the University’s Teaching Improvement and Equipment Scheme to develop curriculum design guidelines and a model curriculum for the Social Justice Program.
The development of these guidelines and model curriculum will ensure good learning and teaching practice and consistency across all units in the Social Justice Program as it develops over the coming years.
The effectiveness of the Program will be evaluated in consultation with students, clinical legal partners, employers of our graduates, and the wider profession.
Clinical legal partners
A number of established community legal organisations have expressed interest in partnering with Sydney Law School. They have an excellent track record in providing much-needed professional legal services to the community.
The Social Justice Program will arrange placements of students with various organisations. These may include the following bodies and others:
Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS)
RACS is involved in a variety of legal work on behalf of refugees, including applications for protection visas, hearings at the Refugee Review Tribunal and Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH)
PILCH was established in NSW to identify areas of public interest where legal assistance may be provided by private lawyers; to match eligible clients with private lawyers prepared to act on a pro bono or other basis and to facilitate co-operation between private and public interest lawyers on public interest issues. PILCH has a diverse membership and support base including private law firms, barristers, the Bar Association, the Law Society, community legal centres, and government lawyers.
Other clinical legal education opportunities
Sydney Law School has run Australia’s first externship program, the External Placement Program (EPP), since 1996. A highly successful clinical offering, it has been the blueprint for the numerous Australian externship programs that have followed.
In this unit of study students gain the opportunity to work for up to one day per week during the semester in a 'public interest' placement site. In addition, students attend fortnightly seminars which are designed to promote discussion and reflection on a range of issues that may arise during the course of the placement as well as seminar presentations on matters relevant to public interest externships. The unit has a public interest focus which is reflected in the selection of placement sites.
For more information see LAWS3025 External Placement Program in the Sydney Law School Handbook.
Social Justice in action
"Like many students, I came to Sydney Law School seeking a strong legal education. But I didn’t realise that through the Faculty’s External Placement Program I would get to be part of a real legal practice. Working with the Refugee Advice and Casework Service, I had the opportunity to use my legal skills to benefit disadvantaged individuals and groups in our community. I didn’t just study, I participated. I learned things you can’t learn in a classroom. The experience broadened my perspective and changed my career and life goals in ways I never anticipated. The new Social Justice Program will extend clinical legal education opportunities to many more students, giving them the same invaluable chance to both learn and be of service to others." - Matt Costa, BA (Hons) 2006, LLB student.