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Sustainability Business Clinic (LAWS50126)
Graduate coursework level 5Points: 12.5Not available in 2020
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
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Sustainability Business Clinic provides a practical, clinical experience in which students are supervised in the provision of advice to new and innovating enterprises. Clients will be identified as warranting assistance because they will contribute to community or environmental wellbeing but do not have the current capacity to pay for specialised legal assistance.
Students will undertake 12 days of clinical work based at Melbourne Law School under the supervision of practising lawyers from a partner law firm with expertise in the relevant law (including: climate and energy law; local government, environment and planning law; tort law; property law; and general corporate, transactional and business law). Students will use and refine the legal knowledge and skills acquired during their degree to undertake work on real legal issues and with real clients, and in doing so, will be exposed to the realities of legal practice.
Students will participate in timetabled classes, in which areas of potential reform of the law to improve the prospect of emerging sustainable solutions to social and environmental problems will be discussed. Students will also take part in debrief sessions with a Melbourne Law School academic, where students will evaluate their progress, discuss their perceptions of the law in practice, and reflect on the role of the law and their place in it. Students will be required to maintain a reflective journal during semester to facilitate these discussions.
During timetabled classes, time will be allocated to discuss and analyse the law relevant to client problems, with some direction on skills and legal practice as appropriate. Skills and doctrinal learning will also be undertaken during clinical work time.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who successfully completes this subject will have a sophisticated insight into, and be able to analyse and reflect critically and meaningfully on:
- The practical, interpersonal and technical skills and ethical awareness needed for effective legal practice, including in the areas of collaborative work, research, advice, communication, file management and organisation;
- their capacity for learning from experience, their resilience and their growth in self-confidence and good judgment;
- the effectiveness of the laws in Australia for achieving environmental and social change, and for confronting environmental and social problems;
- the breadth of laws that affect new and innovating community and environmentally- minded enterprises;
- the availability and appropriate use of legal processes and different areas of law to client problems;
- the capacity and role of law and lawyers to create social, environmental and political change, and
- The multi-disciplinary approaches to client dilemmas - including recognition of the non-legal aspects of client problems and the ethical responsibilities of legal practitioners in advising across these non-legal aspects.
Generic skills
Upon successful completion of the subject, students will have developed and demonstrated the following skills:
- Thinking skills, including the ability to gather information, understand interests and context, apply knowledge and convey complex legal concepts to a non-legal audience (including clients) in a way that is useful and effective;
- applied research skills, including the ability to identify, research, evaluate and synthesis relevant factual, legal and policy issues in the context of a complex and emerging area of law;
- legal practice skills, including an understanding and experience in ethical decision making and the role and capacity of lawyers to serve the community, and cognitive and technical skills relating to the generation and provision of legal advice and information attuned to client needs;
- personal and professional skills, including learning autonomously, being accountable for one’s work, self-reflection on performance and ethical professional conduct and development;
- skills required for effective workplace performance, such as communication, time management, co-worker collaboration and office organisation; and
- research and reflection skills, including the ability to engage in high-level analysis and critical reflection, and to develop and articulate legal reform ideas for social and environmental change based on theoretical and empirical knowledge of the operation of the law.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Only approved applicants can enrol into this subject.
Successful completion of all the below subjects:
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS50023 | Legal Method and Reasoning |
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
April (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS50024 | Principles of Public Law |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
June (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS50025 | Torts |
November (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS50026 | Obligations |
May (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS50029 | Contracts | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS50030 | Property |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
April (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS50032 | Administrative Law |
May (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Hurdle requirement: Satisfactory clinical performance and attendance throughout semester, with feedback provided throughout the semester | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Hurdle requirement: Attendance and participation in three reflective debrief sessions with the subject coordinator, with feedback provided throughout the semester | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Critical personal reflections (three reflections of a total maximum 1,000 words). Students will be assessed throughout the semester
| Throughout the teaching period | 20% |
Work portfolio (of total maximum 3,000 words, prepared during clinical work. Must contain at least one research note [minimum 2,000 words] and one client advice extract [1,000 words])
| End of semester | 50% |
Law reform submission (of maximum 2,000 words, prepared outside of clinical work time), due during or at the end of the semester
| During the teaching period | 30% |
Additional details
The due dates of the above assessment will be available to students via the Assessment Schedule on the LMS Community.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
Not available in 2020
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 15 students. Applications will be assessed by the Subject Coordinator and students will be asked to attend an interview. Please refer to the JD LMS Community for more details.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
- Kate Williams et al, Reflective Writing (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2012)
- Specialist materials will also be made available from Melbourne Law School
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Juris Doctor
Last updated: 3 November 2022