Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Graduate Entry) (Honours)

The Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Honours) may be taken as a first degree in a minimum of four years full-time (or the equivalent part-time) or as a graduate-entry program in a minimum of three-and-a-half years full-time (or the equivalent part-time). The course is offered by the College of Business, Government and Law.

This course is designed to offer students of exceptional merit the opportunity to maximise their potential, by providing an environment in which students with similar capabilities and interests will work with key staff of the College to develop their legal knowledge and expertise as they pursue their studies. The course extends the curriculum offered in the Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and includes higher performance expectations and the demonstration of independent research capabilities and advanced knowledge and understanding.

The course meets all of the academic and professional training requirements for admission to legal practice.

Graduate-entry students who do not wish to undertake the Practical Legal Training component may complete a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) in three-and-a-half years full-time (or the equivalent part-time). However, these students cannot be admitted to Legal Practice without completing further practical legal training. Graduate-entry students who choose to exit with the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) must complete 90 units of compulsory topics, a 13.5 unit dissertation topic, and 22.5 units of option topics at Honours/Masters level as listed under Options -Year 3 & 4 topics in the Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) (Honours) course rule.

• Admission requirements
• Course aims
• Learning outcomes
• Credit
• Program of study

Admission requirements

The minimum requirements for consideration for entry to all undergraduate courses are specified in detail in the University Entry Requirements.

Applicants must normally hold an approved degree or equivalent qualification

Course aims

The course aims to:

• provide students with a sound training in law and legal skills
• emphasise the acquisition of foundation legal skills through the integration of skills training with the teaching of substantive subjects
• instil in students a desire for just outcomes, a broad outlook on law and a commitment to ethical conduct
• develop the capacity to engage deeply and critically with legal knowledge and practice
• provide students with a sound training in high level academic research and writing skills.

Learning outcomes

At the completion of the course, students will be able to demonstrate:

• an extensive, well-founded and advanced knowledge of key areas of current Australian law, including new and developing areas
• the ability to find, interpret, understand and critique Australian law within its historical and comparative contexts, using effective learning strategies and appropriate methods, including both recent and traditional technologies
• the ability to use their knowledge to plan, analyse and think critically, logically and creatively, including by reflecting upon and evaluating facts, ideas, options and resolutions to disputes and debates, and considering client instructions and the requirements of procedural and jurisdictional contexts
• the capacity to use plain English vocabulary, legal terminology and conventions as appropriate to the situation, to convey their knowledge, reasoning and decisions in a clear and fluent manner
• the capacity to listen well and respond constructively in written and spoken formats as they apply skills of oral advocacy, persuasion, interviewing, negotiation, argument and counter-argument, as appropriate to particular audiences and settings;
• professionalism and self-reliance in their learning and their work within legal contexts, including skills and attributes such as initiative, goal setting, organising activities, prioritising tasks and managing time productively
• the capacity for, and a commitment to, lifelong learning: recognising that the world is dynamic and changing and therefore being prepared constantly to review, update and adapt their knowledge and skills
• the willingness and ability to exercise intellectual independence and take responsibility for their decisions and actions and to operate effectively within any relevant contextual framework
• the capacity to interact effectively with others in a variety of legal practice settings, including, where appropriate, working cooperatively and productively towards a common outcome as a team member and leader. This also includes group dynamics, showing respect for others and for their ideas and perspectives and learning to negotiate and resolve conflict or difficulties in a constructive manner;
• awareness of the philosophy and the social and global contexts of law, and willingness to uphold their community responsibility to advocate for justice and to act with integrity in all matters in their professional work and personal lives. As potential officers of the court, they must learn and apply ethical standards applicable to the legal profession and legal practice, and to show understanding of the complexity of ethical issues and debates, applying relevant decision-making models to arrive at ethical solutions to problems and taking responsibility for their actions
• the capacity to recognise the colonial and immigrant context of Australian law and legal practice, and to engage positively with people and ideas beyond the limit of their own geographical, disciplinary, social and cultural background, including by synthesising ideas and principles across various legal doctrinal areas; critically analysing and taking appropriate action in complex global and cultural contexts; and forging constructive links between the world of study and the world of work
• the capacity to engage in significant academic research and writing which has been planned and executed with a degree of independence and which, with an awareness of the academic process for the development of ideas, will better equip students for postgraduate studies.

Credit

Credit may be granted for equivalent level topics taken at other institutions. Other than in exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the Dean (Education), at least half of the units towards the degree must be obtained from topics offered by Flinders University.

Program of study

To qualify for the Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Honours) as a graduate entry student, a student must complete 126 units with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic, comprising 90 units of compulsory topics, 22.5 units of Legal Practice core topics and the 13.5-unit dissertation topic, as set out below. Students will need to have a GPA of 5.70 or higher to enter the final year of the course. Those not meeting this requirement will transfer to the Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Graduate Entry).  Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Graduate Entry) may transfer to the Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Graduate Entry) (Honours) if they have achieved a GPA of at least 5.70 after completion of 36 or 72 units of the degree. Under exceptional circumstances and subject to specific conditions, the Dean (Education) may invite other students.

Except with permission of the Dean (Education) the program must be completed within ten consecutive years.

The award of a grade of Fail (F) on more than one occasion in the same topic, which may include attempts of the same topic undertaken in other awards, may constitute prima facie evidence of unsatisfactory progress for the purposes of the University's Policy on Student Progress.

The Dean (Education) may specify that two or more topics represent unacceptable combinations.

Core - Year 1 topics

 LLAW1211  Legal Research and Writing [Research I, Writing I]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1212  Criminal Law and Legal Method [Statutory Interpretation I]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1213  Introduction to Public Law [Group Work]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1214  Contract  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1221  Professional Skills and Ethics [Ethics I]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1222  Issues in Criminal Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1223  Torts 1  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1224  Advanced Contract [Writing II]  (4.5 units)

Core - Year 2 topics

 LLAW2211  Torts 2 [Interviewing]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2212  The Constitution and the Australian Federation [International / Comparative I]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2213  Administrative Law 1: Judicial Review [Statutory Interpretation II]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2214  Property, Equity and Trusts  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2221  The Constitution and the Australian People [Indigenous / Social Justice I]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2222  The History of Legal Ideas [Research II]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2223  Administrative Law: Merits Review  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2224  Corporate Law 1 [Drafting]  (4.5 units)

Core - Year 3 topics

 LLAW3211  Corporate Law 2 [Ethics II]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3212  Civil Litigation  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3221  Real Property Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW7000  Practical Legal Training: Civil Litigation Practice*  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3223  Evidence  (4.5 units)
 LLAW7100A  Dissertation (Part 1) (4.5 units) #
 LLAW7100B  Dissertation (Part 2) (4.5 units) #
 LLAW7100C  Dissertation (Part 3) (4.5 units) #

# Pre-2015 students are only required to complete a 9 unit Dissertation and should enrol in LLAW7200 Dissertation (9 units) and complete 4.5 units of option topics.

Core - Year 4 topics

 LLAW7001  Practical Legal Training: Legal Practice Management [Research III]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW7002  Practical Legal Training: Transactional Legal Practice  (9 units)
 LLAW7003  Practical Legal Training: Criminal Practice and Advocacy  (4.5 units)