MLL110 Legal Principles and Skills

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4 Tpic 1 The Law in Practice TB Chapters 1 & 14 Skills f a lawyer: (TB pp ) * Prfessinalism * Prblem slving * Cnflict reslutin and mediatin (mediatin is mandatry) * Cmmunicatin (paid fr ability t cmmunicate) * Legal research underpins degree * Legal writing and drafting * Peple management Career paths: (TB p. 611) Teaching & Research Legal Practise Slicitr (like the GP) Prvides legal advice abut transactins and disputes Drafts legal dcuments Cnducts legal negtiatins Barrister (like the specialist/surgen) Prvides specialised legal advice and pinins Specialises in representing clients befre curt r tribunal Takes briefs frm slicitrs Mixed rle Public sectr Federal and state gvernment Attrney generals department Victrian gvernment slicitrs ffice DPP/OPP Lcal cuncils Judges assciate Legal aid NGO ASRC Justice cnnect United natins Oxfam Amnesty internatinal Emplyability depends n: 1. Academic results 2. Scial media 3. Extra curricular activities 4. Wrk experience 5. Vlunteering 6. Scial netwrks Law as a Discipline

5 Prblem slving thinking like a lawyer: (TB pp. 4-5) Nn-assumptive thinking Nt jumping t cnclusins Facts ver emtins Detach frm persnal pinin Tlerance f ambiguity Accept there is n black and white answer and that law is frever changing Ability t make cnnectins between facts, dcuments and laws String surplus infrmatin t eventually link t ther inf Verbal mapping and rdering Express thughts and pinins rally in a structured manner Autmatic devil s advcate Presenting all pssible situatins whilst being argumentative ie. N psitin is fixed, all are arguable Steps t prblem slving (TB p. 45) I- identify the issues R identify the applicable legal rules A apply the law t the facts C reach a cnclusin ^ applied t writing ntes and cases but als analysing ther cases use IRAC when reading Tpic 1 cases Inductive and deductive reasning: (TB pp. 3, 6-7) Inductive Frm specific t general Using specific examples t create generalisatins eg. Apples rt. Pears rt. Therefre all fruits rt Reasning frm a minr premise t a majr premise Used when we perfrm case analysis Deductive Frm general t specific Using general thery t create and hypthesis. Hypthesis is then tested by specific bservatin in rder t validate the thery r nt Eg. All dgs bark. Rufus is a dg. Therefre Rufus barks. Syllgisms are cmmnly used > where a cnclusin is inferred frm tw premises eg. Majr premise (all humans are mrtal) + Minr premise (Scrates is human) = Cnclusin (Scrates is mrtal) TLOs (Threshld Learning Outcmes): (TB pp. 9-10) TLO 1: knwledge TLO 2: ethics and prfessinal respnsibility TLO 3: thinking skills TLO 4: research skills TLO 5: cmmunicatin and cllabratin TLO 6: self management Priestly 11: (TB p. 11) Crprate law: Rights and respnsibilities f cmpany directrs, emplyees, creditrs and sharehlders Real prperty law:

6 Legal rights in relatin t wnership f land and dwellings n them Trts: Negligence, trespass t the persn, gds and land, nuisance, defamatin, and allwable defences Criminal law and prcedure: Offences against the persn and prperty, and hw they are tried in a curt f law Administrative law: Legal mechanisms t make gvernment fficials wh exercise brad discretinary pwers accuntable Evidence: Legal requirements and standards fr prving facts Cnstitutinal law: The law under which the Cmmnwealth and states perate, including the basis f their pwer Prfessinal cnduct: Ethical respnsibilities and legal accunting Civil prcedure: Prcesses by which cases brught invlving private individuals and cmpanies are reslved in curts f law Equity and trusts: Legally binding prmises and the issues that arise frm breach f them Cntracts Injunctins, specific perfrmance f bligatins, and legal tls t separate legal and equitable wnership f prperty Graduate attributes: (TB p. 12) Characteristics and qualities, skills and capabilities that students shuld pssess by the time the cmplete their degree An understanding f fundamental legal cncepts and principles An appreciatin f the brad framewrk f law An awareness f the significance f law and the rule f law An aptitude fr law refrm The acquisitin f cmparative law perspectives The ability t critically interpret, analyse and cmment Research skills The ability t draw n and apply knwledge Cmmunicatin, interpersnal and rganisatin skills Blm s taxnmy: (TB p. 14) 1. remembering being able t describe cncepts, principles, terminlgy, classificatins 2. understanding cmprehending by rganising, interpreting, cmparing, explaining 3. applying using the knwledge in cmparable r new situatins, such as t slve prblems 4. analysing breaking dwn t the elements, identifying relatinships, drawing interferences 5. evaluating critiquing, justifying r defending an argument r interpretatin 6. creating cmpiling the elements in a new way, develping new idea, prducts Bigg s structure f the bserved learning utcme: (TB p. 15) Prestructural misses the pint Unistructural identifies, des simple prcedures Multistrutural describes, lists, cmbines Relatinal discusses, cmpares, cntrasts, applies, analyses Extended abstract reflects, therises, hypthesises, generalises

7 Law and Ethics The law and ethics Legal rules can influence the develpment f ethical rules. Ethical rules can influence the develpment f legal rules. What happens when ethical rules and legal rules cnflict? A chice maybe legal but unethical. A chice maybe ethical but illegal. Ethics and prfessinal respnsibility? ACADEMIC INTEGRITY (TB p. 47) Adpting an ethical apprach t law studies Eg. Behaving hnestly and aviding cheating/plagiarising Is bth inherent (mral cmpass) and learned (refrencing etc) THE ETHICAL DUTIES OF LAWYERS The Law Institute f Victria has excellent resurces abut ethics It is free fr law students t becme members f the LIV (highly recmmended!) Each jurisdictin f the legal prfessin is regulated by practice rules. Prfessinal Cnduct and Practice Rules 2005 Re Liveri [2006] QCA applied t the Bard and in ding s, disclsed her academic miscnduct made against her by James Ck university - she submitted an assignment as her wn wrk hwever was almst identical t an article published n the internet - fur days after this allegatin she requested t be able t submit her riginal assignment - external pressures lead her t plagiarising - the curt were lking fr this criteria: (i) plagiarism as disclsed in the first and secnd allegatins [referring t the Administrative Law and Law f the Sea assignments]; (ii) lack f insight int the nature and gravity f the findings against her in relatin t the first and secnd allegatin; (iii) insufficient explanatin fr the third incident [the Law f Trusts assignment]; (iv) cncerns as t the cnduct f the Applicant in relatin t the third incident;

8 (v) cncerns as t the frankness f the disclsure f the Applicant in relatin t the third incident. Re AJG [2004] QCA 88 - admissin was nt ppsed as it was a nce ff, was experiencing financial and dmestic stressrs Re OG (A Lawyer) (2007) 18 VR clluded in an individual assignment with anther persn (GL), with whm he cllabrated with in the grup assignment - GL disclsed the cllusin t the bard but OG did nt - OG disclsed he received a grade f zer, but nt that f cllusin - OG had been admitted int practice and certified as a fit and prper persn - OG s admissin was reverted Ian Freckletn Plagiarism in Law and Medicine PLAGIARISM Definitin: - theft f literary prperty withut attributin Fr unis why is it a prblem: - availability f infrmatin (prevalence), unis are signing ff that yu have an educatin and knw what yu re ding thus their reputatin is at stake Why d students plagiarise: - stress, time cnstraint, lack f understanding, t succeed/perfrm well, cnfidence, inadvertently nt understanding the requirements f the task Why is it a cncern t the legal prfessin: - cant admit smene wh desn t knw what their ding, ruins the prfessinalism f the firm, peple aren t fit and prper as they claim, every lawyer becmes distrusted and a steretype is created (inductive reasning)