The
Law
Legal Education
You
can study law in Australia at any of its 28 law schools, many
with over 100 years of history whilst others are brand new, being
perhaps only a few years old. All of them welcome students from
outside Australia - subject, of course, to the school's academic
standards being met.
The legal
education you would receive in these law schools is varied. Some,
for example, place particular emphasis on developing practical
skills as well as knowledge and understanding of the law. Others
ensure that their students develop a critical perspective on the
law, setting it in economic, political, historical or philosophical
contexts. Others, still, have a more 'black letter law' approach.
In Australia,
many law graduates go on from law school to seek admission to
practice as a lawyer. To be able to do this, they have to show
the admitting authorities in the various States and Territories
that they have studied at least 11 areas of legal knowledge. These
areas are criminal law and procedure, torts, contracts, property,
equity, company law, administrative law, federal and state constitutional
law, civil procedure, and evidence. As a result, whichever law
school you attend, you will find that it offers these 11 areas
of legal study.
But all law
courses have other optional subjects, with a wide range to choose
from, other than the 'core' subjects listed above. When choosing
a law school, you might wish to explore the subjects that they
offer; for example, if your interests are in the commercial area,
you might want to choose a law school with a good range of subjects
in commercial law. A description of the main undergraduate degrees
in all of the law schools can be found in the Lawasia Directory
of Law Courses in the Asia and Pacific Regions. To obtain a copy,
contact the Centre for Legal Education in Sydney, Australia (fax:
+61 2 9221 6280; email: cle@fl.asn.au).
A strong emphasis
in Australian legal education is on developing your intellectual
skills - to think critically, to write clearly, and to be able
to develop and support an argument. It is not about learning things
by heart. So although you must be ready to read widely, you would
also need to think deeply, and with a critical outlook. If you
have already graduated in another discipline, your law degree
would be of three years in length. If you have recently finished
your secondary schooling, your degree would probably be four years
duration.
However, a
feature of legal education in Australia is that most school leavers
go on to what we call a 'double degree': that is, in a five year
period a student undertakes two degrees in parallel - one of them
law and the other might be Arts, Commerce or Science. You may
wish to undertake such a double degree - in fact the law school
of your choice may not admit you unless you did so. In that case,
you would finish your tertiary education in Australia with two
degrees.
You would
have to pay a tuition fee of at least $10,000 for each year, maybe
up to about $13,000. Of course, as well as this there would be
living expenses. All of Australia's universities provide assistance
to foreign students, including help with accommodation, study
skills and so on.
There is no
central body with which to enrol to study law. If there is an
Australian Education Centre near to you (perhaps at the Australian
Embassy or High Commission), you can seek their assistance. There
is also a booklet, called Studying Law in Australia. It contains
a great deal of information on all of Australia's law schools,
living in Australia, and the Australian legal system. You should
be able to get a copy at an Australian Education Centre. You can
also access it on the Web at http://uniserve.edu.au/law/pub/edinst/cald/stdlaw/StudyingLawInAustralia1997.html.
If these courses are not successful, contact the Centre for Legal
Education.
In Australia,
you cannot be admitted and practice as a lawyer unless you have
a law degree and have undertaken legal training. This takes the
form of a practical training course of up to about six months,
during which time you undergo a form of work experience called
articles of clerkship.
You will need
to find out about this further phase of legal training if your
plan is to be admitted as an Australian lawyer. If your interest
is in undertaking postgraduate studies at an Australian law school,
you can find out more about the wide-ranging programs of postgraduate
studies in Studying Law in Australia. You can undertake a certificate,
diploma, masters or doctorate, depending on the law school you
choose and your area of interest. Fees for these courses are also
in Studying Law in Australia.
Author
Christopher Roper, Director
Centre for Legal Education
