Social Justice Clinical Course - unit of study applications for semester 1 & 2, 2012

Students wishing to participate in the Social Justice Clinical Course must apply via the process below. For more information about this unit of study please see the Pre-Enrolment Guide.

New for 2012: The Social Justice Clinical Summer Course (SJCSC)

(Please note that this is not a “Sydney Summer School” unit of study and participation in the SJCSC will require enrolment in the semester length unit of study.)

Students who enrol in the Social Justice Clinical Course in 2012 may be able to complete the clinical placement and course assessment requirements over the summer. Pursuant to a Joint Venture arrangement entered into between the Law School and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), PIAC has agreed to provide clinical placements for up to 12 students over the summer period.

The Social Justice Clinical Summer Course (SJCSC) will involve two components: (a) a clinical placement component, in which students will carry out a clinical placement arranged by PIAC and (b) a teaching component, in which students will learn about public interest advocacy. This will also involve assessment. Thus, upon satisfactory completion of the SJCSC students will have satisfied the course requirements for the Social Justice Clinical Course for 2012.

Dates of the SJCSC 2012:
All students must attend the teaching and compulsory on-site component, which will be taught intensively for 6 days from 6-13 February (inclusive, but not including the weekend). Students may then choose between two options for completing the remainder of the clinical placement.

• Option 1 is to complete an intensive clinical placement from 14-27 February (inclusive).
• Option 2 is to carry out their placement one day per week over 10 weeks in Semester 1.

Please note: The application closing date for the SJCSC is now Wednesday 30th November 2011 (Late applications may be considered but this cannot be guaranteed.)

SOCIAL JUSTICE CLINICAL COURSE APPLICATIONS FOR 2012:

PLEASE NOTE: There will be ONE application period for both Semester 1 and Semester 2. Applications should be made during the pre-enrolment period beginning 4 October 2011.

The application closing date for both Semester 1 and 2 is 16 December 2011


** Students should enrol in their full load for the relevant semester and can discontinue another subject once successful applications have been announced. **

To apply please complete the Social Justice Clinical Course application form.

Applications should be submitted via email to the Academic Support Team Leader, Ms Caroline Dyson.

Applications for the David Burnett Memorial Scholarship in Social Justice and the Judicial Conference of Australia Scholarships are now open for semester one and two, 2012. See the Social Justice Scholarships information package

Selection Criteria

There are approximately 40 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 and final year Juris Doctor students;
• 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.

Assessment

The Social Justice Clinical Course is now a graded unit of study (as of Semester 2, 2010). The final grade will be based on

1. class participation and presentation of class seminar paper (30%);
2. evaluation of performance at clinical placement (30%); and
3. essay/research paper (40%).

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:

• Environmental Defenders Office (EDO)
• Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
• Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH)
• Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS)

Other law / social justice internships may be accepted in lieu of the above placements. Criteria for approval of these internships are being developed. Please contact Professor Cashman for further information.

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 (see placement sites above). 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:

1. enhanced their ethical, social and professional understanding of the practice of law;
2. improved their ability to recognise, define and analyse legal problems flowing from real case files, and to identify and create processes to solve them;
3. observed and practised communication and inter-personal skills involved in the practice of law;
4. been introduced to aspects of legal practice such as legal writing, research, client interaction and time management;
5. 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.

Scholarships

Two scholarships are currently available for students undertaking the Social Justice Clinical Course.

• David Burnett Memorial Scholarships in Social Justice: one $3000 scholarship available per semester.
• Judicial Conference of Australia Scholarship: five $1000 scholarships available per year.

Applications for 2012 are now open, closing on 16 December, 2011. See the Social Justice Scholarships information package