Master of Laws (Advanced Legal Practice)

Course code: 3395 ~ Course abbreviation: LLM (Adv Legal Prac) ~ Total credit points required: 48 ~ 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time ~ Managing faculty: Law

Study mode and course location

On-campus (Melbourne city)

Course description

The Master of Laws (Advanced Legal Practice) focuses on the practical legal skills and professional ethics that tomorrow's legal practitioners may be expected to possess and follow. The course is highly innovative in its unique combination of practical skills training with academic research and excellence and provides an articulation into a practically-oriented masters degree from the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Skills and Ethics.

Course objectives

The Master of Laws (Advanced Legal Practice) aims to: enable students to develop and demonstrate advanced skills in research, analysis and the written or oral communication of complex ideas; enable students to develop and demonstrate advanced skills in research, analysis and the written or oral communication of complex ideas; enable students to develop and demonstrate a knowledge of law and the theoretical and policy framework within which the law operates; enable students to understand their ethical responsibilities and those which may affect their clients; equip students with a variety of techniques for dispute resolution; provide current and future practitioners in law with the appropriate theories and skills to deal with the legal challenges that arise in all areas of national and international activity; impart and develop further the practical skills essential to the knowledge and practice of law in the professional context; and develop Monash graduates' attributes.

Course structure

The Master of Laws requires the completion of 48 points. Candidates articulating from the Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Skills and Ethics may be given credit for up to 24 points.

Course requirements

This course may be taken in one of three ways:

a.) eight coursework units. Candidates must complete five units offered as part of the advanced legal practice specialisation. The remaining three units may be taken from any units offered in the masters coursework program

b.) four coursework units with at least two units from the advanced legal practice specialisation and a minor thesis of 25,000-30,000 words on an approved topic in the area

c.) six coursework units with at least three units in the advanced legal practice specialisation and a minor thesis of 12,000-15,000 words on an approved topic in the area.

Students who have been granted 24 points credit have the following options:

a.) four coursework units from the advanced legal practice specialisation

b.) subject to approval, two coursework units from the advanced legal practice specialisation and a 12,000-15,000 minor thesis on an approved topic in the area

Students who have been granted 12 points credit have the following options:

a.) six coursework units from the advanced legal practice specialisation

b.) subject to approval, four coursework units from the advanced legal practice specialisation and a minor thesis of 12,000-15,000 words on an approved topic in the area

c.) subject to approval, two coursework units from the advanced legal practice specialisation and a minor thesis of 25,000-30,000 words on an approved topic in the area.

The units in the advanced legal practice specialisation will be those which are specified from time to time by the faculty board on the recommendation of the Postgraduate Studies Committee of the faculty. For further information regarding specialisations, visit http://www.law.monash.edu.au/postgraduate/units-specialisations.html.

Contact details

Postgraduate program coordinator LLM, telephone +61 3 9641 6206, email graduate@law.monash.edu.au or visit http://www.law.monash.edu.au/postgraduate.