¾«¶«´«Ã½app

Staffing

Examiner:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: (LAW1111 and LAW1112) or LAW1201 or (LAW5111 and LAW5112)

Other requisites

Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at .

Rationale

This course will provide learning and teaching on key legal practice areas in which regional and rural legal practice is different to metropolitan legal practice. The typical law school curriculum does not actively deal with preparing graduates for employment within regional and rural community contexts. Currently, throughout Australia, there are recruitment and retention problems facing the rural and regional legal profession. At present, it is evident that there is a role for law schools, particularly regional and rural law schools, to use their curriculum more effectively to prepare students for employment as legal professionals in rural and regional contexts. This course provides a curriculum in which the theoretical components of the legal education curriculum can be utilised to ‘sensitise’ law students to the realities of rural and regional legal practice, better equipping them to serve these communities in the long term.

Synopsis

The practice of law in small rural settings is apt to be significantly different from the practice of law in large urban contexts. One of the variables is that it includes a unique client mix that is person-intensive; practice style is likely to be more entrepreneurial; and there is an emphasis of individual clients within a small intimate setting that would lead to a higher level of accountability. Within this context, the course will focus on introducing students to the institutions that are important for regional and rural legal practice; the diversity of legal practice and the need for innovative and entrepreneurial business models that may promote sustainable regional legal practice. Regional legal practice also involves particular ethical dilemmas for lawyers, as well as the need for adapted skills and sensitivities for the regional context. This course provides content on these aspects. The School of Law and Justice is situated amongst many regional law firms and community legal organisation, some of whom will be invited to speak directly to students on access to law and justice within the regional context.

Objectives

Topics

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

Reference materials

Student workload expectations

Assessment details

Important assessment information

1. Attendance requirements:
   
   Online: There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
   
   On-campus: It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
   
   
2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
   
   To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.
   
   
3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
   
   Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)
   
   
4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
   
   To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
   
   
5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
   
   The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the assessment items in the course.
   
   
6. Examination information:
   
   There is no examination in this course.
   
   
7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
   
   Not applicable.
   
   
8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
   
   Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
   
   

Assessment notes

1. Referencing in assignments:
   Students studying this course as part of a Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor must use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) style. Students who are not enrolled in either of these programs may use either Harvard (AGPS) or the AGLC in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. For AGLC style guide enquiries, consult the AGLC manual from the USQ Library's referencing guide at or contact the Law librarian. The Harvard (AGPS) style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide at .