units

LAW4309

Faculty of Law

18 September 2017 25 April 2024

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This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

Monash University

6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Law

Offered

Clayton

  • First semester 2016 (Day)
  • Second semester 2016 (Day)
  • Summer semester A 2016 (Day)
  • Summer semester B 2016 (Day)

Synopsis

Topics include: history, organisation, education, functions and regulation of lawyers in Victoria and elsewhere; reform issues; nature and significance of a profession; independence of courts and lawyers; changing face of dispute resolution; the cost of justice and different modes of legal service delivery; standards of professional conduct including basic trust accounting, complaints and disciplinary procedures; ethical rules and moral values, with a particular emphasis on identifying and resolving ethical issues. The unit meets the requirements of the Council of Legal Education for admission to practice in Victoria in the area of 'professional conduct' (including basic trust accounting).

Outcomes

Students successfully completing this unit should:

  1. have an understanding of the legal profession in its historical and societal contexts and issues surrounding the regulation of the profession
  2. be able to analyse critically the role of the lawyer in the Australian legal system with reference to questions such as the independence of courts and lawyers, the adversarial nature of the system, dispute resolution, the cost of justice and different modes of legal service delivery
  3. have examined and understood the concept of trust in the lawyer-client relationship
  4. have developed skills in recognising and distinguishing types of professional and personal conduct and questions of moral, ethical and legal obligation
  5. have developed skills in applying the law of contract and torts in relation to lawyer-client duties, breaches and remedies
  6. have enhanced skills in critical analysis and presentation of argument.

Assessment

Summer: Research assignment (compulsory) (2000 words): 40%
Examination (60%) - 2.5 hours writing, 30 minutes reading and noting
Semesters 1 and 2:
Video presentation: 10%
Research Assignment (Compulsory) 2000 words: 40%
Examination (2 hours plus 30 minutes reading and noting time): 50%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

Summer: Ms Oyiela Litaba
Semester 1: Ms Oyiela Litaba
Semester 2: Mr Ross Hyams

Prerequisites

For students who commenced their LLB (Hons) course in 2015 or later:
LAW1111; LAW1114; LAW1112; LAW1113; LAW2101; LAW2102; LAW2112; LAW2111

For students who commenced their LLB course prior to 2015:
LAW1100 or LAW1101 and LAW1102 or LAW1104; LAW2100 or LAW2101 and LAW2102; LAW2200 or LAW2201 and LAW2202

Co-requisites

For students who commenced their LLB (Hons) course in 2015 or later:
LAW4332; LAW3111; LAW4303