COMMUNITY
FREE MODELS
HOW TO STUDY LAW
CAREERS GUIDE
CHARITY
FREE MODELS
'cause lawskool gives a damn!
The following are excellent examples to help new students learn techniques of legal writing and analysis. All model answers are of Distinction quality or higher. They are to be used as guides only.
LAWSKOOL DOES NOT ENCOURAGE PLAGIARISM. IT IS DISHONEST, UNETHICAL AND CAN BE ILLEGAL!
Want more? Check out Lawskool's summaries, model exams and mind maps.
HOW TO STUDY LAW
By M & M
Introduction
Work in spurts
Teamwork
Become well-rounded
Lectures
Exams
'cause lawskool gives a damn!
Introduction
You don't have to be born brilliant to succeed at law school. It helps, but it's not mandatory. M & M were the 'Jamaican bob-sled team' of their law school. They started at the back of the pack, not very sure of themselves to begin with. But with a lot of determination and teamwork they built momentum, powered home and finished the race, having a lot of fun along the way. M & M graduated and scored interesting jobs where they are well-valued by their team.
First year at law school can be a stressful and demoralising experience for students straight out of college or high school, with a substantial dropout rate being a feature of many law schools around the country. lawskool is committed to helping early year law students’ benefit from our five years of ups and downs at law school.
Perhaps this is you. You worked hard at school and have ambition to succeed in a challenging and rewarding career. You may not know exactly what you want to do career-wise. You have the marks to study law and decide to enroll in law because 'what the hey, it sounds kinda cool'. Is it for me you may be asking yourself?
The job market in the early 21st century is as tough as it has ever been. For a young person who is not all together sure where he or she is going career-wise, securing a solid, well-rounded tertiary qualification is a wise path to follow. A law degree, combined with another undergraduate degree (Arts, Economics, Commerce, Sciences, Asian Studies) is arguably as valuable a degree as one could attain. A law degree will give you the reading, writing, problem solving, and teamwork skills that today's employers hold in high regard. In other words, there are definitely worse ways to spend 4-5 years of your life. A law degree will open doors. It's as simple as that.
Of course in order to secure that valuable piece of paper you have to go some serious 'hard-yards.' Full-time tertiary studies are far more onerous than they were in your parents' era. Due to job insecurity there's much more pressure these days to go to uni, work hard and get a solid degree so you can secure a good job. The vast majority of students have to work part-time to support themselves, some even working up to 20hrs a week. Many academics either don't seem to realise this or don't care and pile on the assignments regardless. On the whole, law is a strict, traditional discipline where there is a great bulk of work to get through and extensions for assignments are rarely granted. Students must learn to work hard and prioritise tasks.
Have a read of the following points. Think about them, put them into practice and keep coming back to them to refresh your memory. Consciously acting on the principles below will make your law degree a rewarding and pleasurable experience and you will come out the other end well rounded and highly employable. In essence, you must work hard and smart.
Work in spurts
While student life can be stressful, lets face it - who can complain when you have 3 months of holidays each summer?! Don't become one of those latte-sipping law students who sit around all day whining about their lives. Get in there and work hard. Once those exams are over you'll have 3 months to do whatever takes your fancy. Go traveling, work an interesting summer job, bum around. The choice is yours!
Teamwork
Developing a network of good friends is vital to success at law school. Going it alone for five years straight will just stress you out. It's so much easier to have a group of like-minded peers who you can draw strength from and share the ups and downs with. We always found end of semester study groups to be indispensable and even lots of fun. Discussing the law and solving problem questions together really is the best way to learn it. There are good people everywhere. You just have to seek them out. Go to the social events in your first year, be open and friendly and you'll have no problems. If you have moved to uni from interstate and are living in a college on campus, try not to just hang around your non-law college friends. In the end, employers are looking for graduates who are well rounded and who can communicate with a wide variety of people.
Become well-rounded
Most employers would favour a well-rounded graduate with teamwork skills and a strong work ethic over an unsociable person with a comprehensive knowledge of the law. There's plenty of time to learn the nuts and bolts of the law once you start full-time work. Don't spend all your time studying because any employer will tell you that marks aren't everything. It’s important to work part-time jobs throughout your degree so you can show employers that you can balance your workload. You can play sport for your uni and go to your uni gym between classes. There are always plenty of clubs and societies on campus as well. Volunteer work is a great idea. Most cities have some sort of community legal project that is often staffed by law students. You really should make the most of your uni years.
Lectures
A law lecture is an hour of your life that you will never get back. Some win in that hour and some lose. Spend that time wisely. You don't want to get into the habit of 'attending' lectures and walking out having achieved nothing. It’s best to concentrate fully and take comprehensive notes that you can synthesise into study notes later on. It is very important to do at least some reading before class so you know what to expect. It’s usually impractical to read everything that the lecturers expect you to read but reading the relevant section of your lawskool.com.au summary before class will be greatly beneficial to you. Read the summary before class, listen attentively in class and then do your set class reading after class, focusing on the key points that were emphasised in class. Most students learn best by repetition, which wears 'grooves' of knowledge in the brain. Thus, it's a good idea to read through your summary regularly throughout the semester. Come exam time you will have a broader conceptual understanding of the course and be well prepared to start tackling problem questions.
Exams
Exams cannot be avoided at law school, but don't let them get you down. There are three crucial steps for exam preparation:
Keep up with the work during the semester i.e go to all classes and do the relevant reading.
Revise and synthesize your class notes and notes from other texts with a lawskool summary, to create your own summary.
Do lots and lots of practice exams!
This third step is the real key. Before you sit your exam you must be confident that you can apply the law to any question your lecturer might throw at you.
Lawyers solve people's problems so law exams are designed to test your ability to apply the law you have learnt to a hypothetical fact situation and come up with a solution for your hypothetical client. As such, legal analysis is very pedantic. In an exam you will have to answer questions in order and focus on the significant issues. There are often multiple answers to problems and to get the best marks you will have to tease out the best possible solution to your client's problem. Above all make sure you answer the question and don't waffle on about irrelevant things. Markers will look favorably upon short concise answers that cover the major points.
We sincerely hope that the above guide helps you to get the most out of your time at university. We welcome feedback from current and former students so that we can add more hints and tips. Right now you're probably more concerned about partying up your first year and rightly so. As long as you come back and re-read this guide occasionally, you'll be in good stead to cruise through your degree with ease.
Best of luck!
CAREER GUIDE
'Your legal future'Other options
Summer Clerkships
Law Graduate Employment Scheme
Other Graduate Programs
Job-hunting skills
Recruitment firms
Useful contacts
Useful web links
Recommended Reading
Your Legal Future
Law students are discovering that the traditional route of landing a summer job at a law firm and practising as a solicitor is only one of many ways to begin an exciting and rewarding career in law. A law degree, combined with another undergraduate degree is arguably as valuable a degree as one could attain. Employers hold in high regard the reading, writing, problem solving, and teamwork skills that law graduates can offer. A law degree will open many doors and not all of them will necessarily involve the practice of law itself.
Private Practice is a popular traditional career for law graduates. The work of a solicitor is quite varied. Solicitors provide legal advice, conduct negotiations, draft legal documents, and represent clients in court proceedings. Solicitors also deal with the public on a regular basis so excellent communication skills are essential. Being able to explain the law to clients and advocate on their behalf are valuable skills that an aspiring solicitor should be prepared to master.
Working as a solicitor for government agencies or local authorities is another option. Government lawyers provide advice to government departments, draft legislation and appear in court on behalf of the Crown. Other options for government lawyers include working for the Waitangi Tribunal, the New Zealand Police, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Barristers are lawyers who provide specialist advisory or advocacy services. These people typically love to win an argument and are energized by litigation. Graduates who are quick thinkers, persuasive and capable of attaining a firm understanding of the rules of evidence may make excellent barristers. Public speaking skills are essential for this line of work. In New Zealand, Barristers are usually engaged once advocacy before a court is needed by the client (including litigation). A Barrister has the right to speak in higher courts, whereas other lawyers have more limited access. A medical metaphor is commonly used to describe the difference between Barristers and Solicitors: a Solicitor is like a general practitioner (so they are the regular point of contact for a client); while a Barrister is like a specialist consultant. A client is only referred to a Barrister if specialist skills are required.
Corporate Law is an attractive option for detail-focused graduates with an aptitude for technical legal work. There are many jobs available for corporate lawyers in large companies and banks. Lawyers who succeed in the corporate world are typically ambitious and extroverted and can work well under pressure. Billable hours make corporate law a high pressure career option.
Working in a community legal centre is also a pathway for lawyers interested in using their knowledge and skills to help people directly. Community lawyers assist members of the public who are in trouble with the police, their landlords, or their employees.
Similarly, Legal Aid work can be a very rewarding field of work for graduates with a passion for social justice. Legal aid lawyers guide disadvantaged people through the justice system. Patience and highly developed communication skills are essential for this line of work.
Policy work is suited to law graduates who are interested in contributing to the improvement of the legal system. This line of work involves research, writing, and assisting in directing the implementation of important activities which government departments carry out. Policy professionals can find work in law reform, government, universities, industry, and commercial and community lobby groups; or as ministerial advisers.
Alternative dispute resolution is an interesting option for creative law graduates with outstanding communication skills who prefer to work in a non-traditional environment. Lawyers with minds that can easily see two sides of an argument and who enjoy resolving disputes and seeing paths for others may be natural mediators or conciliators.
Law graduates who enjoy research and study may be well suited to a career in academia . Academics enjoy flexible working hours and, compared to the demands of private practice or corporate law, a relatively relaxed working environment. However, the demands of lecturing and publishing articles can be quite stressful.
Strong written and analytical skills and the ability to meet set deadlines are essential for a career in legal publishing . Legal editors often specialize in particular areas of law. Also, employers recognize that the research, and investigative and writing skills that students acquire in studying law can make them excellent journalists.
Law and justice courses taught in high schools and colleges are becoming increasingly popular. Teaching can be a rewarding career for law graduates with high level communications skills and a genuine interest in imparting their knowledge to young people and being a positive influence.
Also, a career as a law librarian may suit organized graduates who thrive on legal research and assisting others to find information.
Finally, graduates with a curious and creative mind may enjoy working as a professional legal researcher. Legal researchers provide specialist legal research, writing, and analytic support to practising lawyers and government legal departments. They search cases, statutes, and other sources of law; draft legal memoranda, briefs, and submissions. They research and analyze legal policy options and research facts relevant to litigation, such as information on products, litigants, companies, and expert witnesses. Being a professional legal researcher requires much more than knowledge of modern research tools and techniques. Most legal research is about thinking creatively, drawing relationships, and being persistent.
This non-exhaustive list of career options is a useful reference point for students who are contemplating their future legal career and are wondering where to begin the job hunt. Students who have neared completion of their studies have probably narrowed down their interests and discovered their strengths. This self-analysis will help guide career decisions. It is comforting to know that legal skills are highly transferable. The directions that a career in the law can take graduates are really only limited by a law graduate’s imagination, persistence and his or her willingness to work harmoniously with others.
Other Options
The following list is a selection from a 2005 survey on the careers that New Zealand law graduates pursue:
Administration and Marketing Assistant;
Accountancy;
Customs Officer;
Intelligence Analyst;
Immigration Consultant.
Of course, another common option for LLB graduates is to undertake further study to enhance their Bachelor’s degree. Master of Laws (LLM) programmes are offered at Auckland, Victoria, Canterbury, Waikato and Otago Universities. More information on these, and on international postgraduate programmes, can be found at the LLM guide online .
Summer Clerkships
Every year many law firms recruit students to work at their firm during the summer. The number of positions available differs from year to year, and selection procedures are generally fairly rigorous. However, attaining a summer clerk position can offer considerable opportunities for educational and professional development, and may lead to fulltime employment in the future.
Check out cvmail for an easy way to keep track of applications for summer clerkship positions at the big law firms.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of the larger firms that participate in this summer recruitment process:
FIRM
AREAS OF PRACTICE
DATES
Offices in Christchurch, Dunedin & Queenstown.
Resource Management, Corporate & Commercial, Litigation, Property & Personal Client Services.
Programme begins in mid-November.
Offices in Auckland & Christchurch.
Financial Services, Construction & Infrastructure, Property Development, Retail, Retirement Villages, Technology, Manufacturing.
Offices in Auckland & Wellington.
Banking & Finance, Property, Corporate, Employment, Government, Insolvency, Technology, Litigation, Tax.
Programme begins in mid-November.
Applications open in March.
Offices in Auckland, Wellington & Christchurch.
Banking & Finance, Company & Commercial, Dispute Resolution & Litigation, Education, Employment, Health, e-commerce, Infrastructure, Intellectual Property, Media, Public, Property, Resource Management, Taxation.
Applications open in March.
Offices in Auckland, Wellington & Christchurch.
Competition, Corporate & Commercial, Energy & Natural Resources, Environment, Planning & Resource Management, Finance, Government, Intellectual Property, Investment, Litigation, Trusts, Property, Insolvency, Tax, Technology.
Applications open in March.
Offices in Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney & Wellington.
Administrative, Finance, Renewable Energy, Competition, Commercial, Corporate, Forestry, Government, Health, Human Rights, Information Technology, Insurance, Intellectual Property, International Trade, Litigation, Privacy, Taxation.
Programme begins in mid-November.
Applications open in March.
Offices in Auckland & Wellington.
Small-Medium Businesses, Government & Associations, Individuals, Corporate Entities, International Clients.
Applications open in March.
Offices in Christchurch & Queenstown.
ACC, Banking & Finance, Competition, Conveyancing, Electricity, Family, Franchising, Intellectual Property, Public, Sport, Wills, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Company & Commercial, Education, Employment, Fisheries, Health/Medico-Legal, Insolvency, Litigation, Resource Management, Trusts.
Offices in NZ: Auckland & Wellington.
Biotechnology, Antitrust, Finance, Banking, Climate Change, Commercial Litigation, Competition, Corporate, Education, Electricity, Employment, Environment, Government, Health, Infrastructure, Insurance, Intellectual Property, Trade, Privacy, Property, Securities, Sport, Tax, Tourism.
Applications open in March.
Programme runs between November & February.
Offices in Wellington & Auckland.
Competition, Corporate, Employment, Finance, Litigation, Property, Resource Management, Public, Tax.
Applications open in March.
Offices in Auckland, Wellington & Christchurch.
Banking & Finance, Biotechnology, Climate Change, Commercial, Competition, Employment, Energy, Forestry, Franchising, Government, Health, Insurance, Intellectual Property, Trade, Property, Resource Management, Superannuation, Tax, Technology, Trusts, Wills, Estates.
Applications open in March.
Other Graduate Programmes
Admittance to the New Zealand Bar
If you wish to be admitted to the bar in New Zealand, you must have completed both a Bachelor of Laws (including a course on Ethics) and a professional studies course. You will need to be admitted to the bar if you wish to practise as either a barrister or solicitor. Two professional studies courses are offered in New Zealand: one by the Institute of Professional Legal Studies; and the other by the College of Law.
Job Hunting Skills
In today’s competitive job market law graduates are in a prime position. Employers value the analytical, research and writing skills that law graduates can bring to the workplace.
The key to landing a great job is your ability to sell yourself to potential employers. Employers are looking for graduates who are adaptable, hard-working and who have strong communication skills and a desire for life-long learning. The following web sites provide information about the skills that employers are looking for in graduates:
Recruitment Firms
Useful Contacts
Student Organisations:
Auckland University Law Students’ Society: +64 9 3737599 ext 85603
University of Canterbury Law Students’ Association: +64 3 3642987 ext 8816
Email: lawsoc@canterbury.ac.nz
Email: souls@otago.ac.nz
Legal Aid Offices:
Whangarei: +64 9 4304490
Auckland: +64 9 4885440
Waitakere: +64 9 8379860
Manukau: +64 9 2627750
Hamilton: +64 7 8346124
Rotorua: +64 7 3501090
New Plymouth: +64 6 7590451
Napier: +64 6 8337750
Wellington: +64 4 4729040
Christchurch: +64 3 3636500
Dunedin: +64 3 4775035
Community Legal Centres:
Youthlaw: +64 9 309 6967
Waitakere (Auckland): +64 9 8352130
Hamilton: +64 7 8390770
Wellington: +64 4 4992928
Canterbury: +64 3 3666870
Dunedin: +64 3 4749521
Useful Web Links
Recommended Reading
Deborah Schneider and Gary Belsky, Should You Really Be A Lawyer?: The Guide To Smart Career Choices Before, During & After Law School , Lawyer Avenue Press, 2004.
National Association for Law Placement, The Official Guide to Legal Specialities , Harcourt Legal & Professional Publications, 2000.
Sources Used
Faculty of Law 2009 Handbook , Faculty of Law, University of Otago.
Careers in the Law Industry , New Zealand Law Students’ Association Incorporated.
Career View , Victoria University of Wellington, 2006.
CHARITY
Lawskool sponsors a Cambodian child named Rout Ruon via Plan. Lawskool encourages students to get involved and sponsor a child as well. Visit the Plan website for more info.
Plan is an international, child-focused, aid organisation with staff and volunteers working out of national offices in 16 countries, to help children, their families and communities in 45 developing countries, to reach their potential.
Lawskool chose Plan to facilitate our sponsorship because we believe that Plan is fully committed to its mission. We are guaranteed that 80% of the money raised by lawskool.com.au will go directly to Rout (the remaining 20% goes towards fundraising for special Plan projects).
Some Background on Rout
Eight year old Rout Ruon lives with his mother, father, two brothers and a sister in the Cambodian township of Peak Sneng, close to the awe-inspiring ruins of Angkor Wat at Siem Reap. Children like Rout in the developing world grow up fast and must play a part in the family's progress and survival. Although he still has time to play, Rout must also help with the daily chores. He helps to take care of his younger siblings, to look after domestic animals and to fetch firewood for the house. In his spare time, Rout enjoys dancing and playing with cars.
Rout enjoys school and always looks forward to reading, drawing, and arts and crafts. Rout aspires to study hard and become a government worker when he grows up. lawskool.com.au's contribution will help provide Rout with the educational opportunities necessary to assist him realise his potential. Cambodia is in desperate need of dedicated workers to help it rebuild after decades of civil war. With Plan's help, Rout may one day make a vital contribution to his country's development.
Plan is working with Rout's family and all families within Peak Sneg to identify their most basic needs which may be in health, education, housing or income. Each individual will play a role and contribute what they can in terms of manual labour, local materials, technical expertise or financial contributions to ensure a brighter future for Rout and other children like him.
Some Background on Plan:
Plan raises money from donations and child sponsorships from within Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Thailand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and applies it to projects to benefit children, their families and communities in developing countries;
Money raised through child sponsorship benefits whole communities, not individual children;
Plan 's work is based around five key areas - health, learning, habitat, livelihood and building relationships (between a child and their family, a community and its region, Plan and its partners and sponsors and their sponsored child);
Plan works with communities to identify their needs - such as safe housing, accessible schools, reliable income and health care - then sets about fulfilling them. Examples of projects include building schools, building wells, building health clinics, provision of life skills and work training and vaccination programs, just to name some (see separate list of projects);
Plan conducts special projects dealing with complex and sensitive social and cultural issues including female infanticide, the dowry system, birth registrations, female genital mutilation, child labour, trafficking and prostitution, paedophilia, exploitation of women forced into overseas labour contracts, violence against women, HIV-AIDS;
Once Plan's work is done in a community - sometimes after as long as 10 years or so (sometimes longer) - and the community is considered to have the skills and knowledge to be able to sustain itself and the desire to build a better life for their children, Plan withdraws and moves to a new area;
Plan employs more than 150 field officers who liaise between the organisation and the communities. Most have been employed out of the communities in which they work; and
Plan helps children by helping their families and communities.
Plan's income is used in three ways:
80 per cent on running programs to improve the health, education, homes and livelihoods of children and families and the costs of providing smooth communication between sponsored children and their sponsors and running child rights projects. This includes the cost of management, vehicles for reaching communities and staff to manage and co-ordinate work in the field;
10 per cent on fundraising and other costs associated with attracting new sponsors and other supporters;
10 per cent on operational costs - staff, office, building and management costs not directly related to the communities such as finance and information technology.