Social Justice Program - unit of study applications for semester 1, 2010
Social Justice Clinical Course weekly seminars and one-day-per-week placements will commence in week 2 of semester. For more information please see the Pre-Enrolment Guide. Students wishing to participate must apply via the process below.
NOTE: The Social Justice Clinical Course is marked on a Pass/Fail basis. A Pass grade will not be included in your WAM calculation.
Social Justice Clinical Course applications are now open for semester 1, 2010
Applications close: Friday 11 December, 2009
** Students should enrol in their full load for semester 1, and can discontinue another subject once successful applications have been announced. **
PLEASE PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
Submit no more than one page* which includes:
- your full name, SID, contact details, and academic program and year;
- which day or days of the week you would be available to attend the clinical placement during semester (from week 3 to the end of week 13);
- any involvement /experience in social justice activities; and/or
- why you would be interested in doing this course.
* Font-size should be no smaller than 10-point Arial.
Applications should be submitted via email to the Faculty's Executive Officer
Selection Criteria
There are approximately 20 places available to students. The following criteria will be applied to allocate places to applicants:
- students entering their penultimate or final year of either combined law or graduate law
- students with an attraction to social justice lawyering, and/or students with a history of engagement with social justice
- reasonable academic performance in their current law degree
- availability for one-day per week placement vacancies
Workload
Students should be aware that this unit may contain a heavier workload than traditional law elective subjects. The course will involve one two-hour weekly seminar as well as one-day per week at the placement site.
Placement sites
By applying to enrol in this unit of study, students acknowledge and accept that they may be placed at any of the available placement sites. The current available placement sites are:
More partner organisations are to be announced.
Unit of Study description
The Social Justice Program will arrange for students enrolled in the course to work with various organisations which have agreed to participate in the Program. To date, such bodies include the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) and the Public Interest Law Clearinghouse (PILCH). Through such organisations students will be exposed to real world cases and participate in a structured seminar program dealing with social justice issues and aspects of public interest law.
Hands-on experience with cases, clients and/or policy and research projects will be obtained one day per week in a 'social justice' placement site. Students will attend weekly seminars designed to provide students with the basic knowledge and skills required to participate in a working clinical legal organisation, and cover legal issues specific to the placement sites. The seminars will encourage discussion and reflection on the range of issues that may arise during the course of the placement.
At the end of the unit students should have:
- enhanced their ethical, social and professional understanding of the practice of law;
- improved their ability to recognise, define and analyse legal problems flowing from real case files, and to identify and create processes to solve them;
- observed and practised communication and inter-personal skills involved in the practice of law;
- been introduced to aspects of legal practice such as legal writing, research, client interaction and time management;
- had the opportunity to work both independently and collaboratively, in a way that is informed by openness, curiosity and a desire to meet new challenges.