UNSW Faculty of Law

History

On 13 July 1964, the University's Council approved the creation of the UNSW Faculty of Law. On 24 January 1966, the Foundation Chair of Law was created, with the appointee to also be the Dean of the Faculty of Law. On 8 September 1969, Wootten was appointed to this position, where, in 1971, he would oversee the first teaching classes in the faculty.

The Faculty opened on 1 March 1971 with 219 undergraduate students. Prior to this, only the University of Sydney offered law degrees in New South Wales. The task of establishing the new law school was given to John Halden Wootten QC, a former judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, who was appointed Foundation Dean in 1969.

In 1976, the Faculty moved to occupy five floors of the UNSW Library Tower on upper campus. In 2006, the Faculty moved to a new law building on lower campus. The official opening took place on 21 September 2006 by the then Chief Justice of Australia Murray Gleeson. A quotation from Hal Wootten, Founding Dean, is set out on a wall of the law building: "a law school should have and communicate to its students a concern for those on whom the law may bear harshly."

Currently the Faculty teaches approximately 2,675 students.

Standing and rankings

In 2015 and 2016, an ATAR mark of 99.7 was required for entry to the undergraduate program at UNSW Law, the highest entry requirements for admission to a combined law program in Australia.

In 2013, the QS World University Rankings placed UNSW Law School 12th on its list of the best law schools in the world, and in 2016 it was ranked 13th in the world. The UNSW Law School was noted as one of the primary faculties in helping to place the University 1st in Australia and 33rd in the globe for most millionaires produced.

In the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Good Universities Guide, UNSW was the only law school in Australia to receive top ratings across all criteria, which include: teaching quality, generic skills, overall satisfaction, and success in obtaining a job. From 2006 to 2009, the Federal Government's assessment of excellence in tertiary education found that the Faculty lead all Australian universities for the quality of learning and teaching in law.

Among the Go8 law schools, UNSW Law topped the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) 2014 survey, conducted and funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training, which measured the perspectives of recent students and graduates on experience as students and employment and salary outcomes. UNSW Law achieved the highest percentage in each of these categories, and continued to do so as of 2016.

The Faculty distinguishes itself from other Australian legal education bodies by its small and interactive classes, an aspect of its teaching for which it has long been recognised.

Student achievement

In the past three years, four UNSW law graduates have won Rhodes scholarships.

UNSW law students have achieved success in a number of international advocacy competitions, including:

Location

The Law Faculty is situated in the Law Building on the University's main campus in Kensington, Sydney.

The building is four levels high and was designed by Melbourne architects Corbet Lyons. Features of the building include light-filled atria space, open staircases, landscaped courtyards and an agora running up through floors. There are 13 classrooms with 40-plus seats, two Harvard-style lecture rooms with 90 seats and a 350-seat auditorium. Other features include a new Moot Court and student lounge. The Law Library is occupied over two levels.

In addition to the main campus in Kensington, the Faculty of Law also offers classes, predominantly to those in postgraduate coursework programmes and those in later years of law degree programmes, at its CBD Campus located within Sydney's legal and financial district, on levels 6 and 7 of 1 O'Connell Street, Sydney.

Curriculum and classes

The Law Faculty offers both an undergraduate and a graduate law program, namely the combined Bachelor of Law (LLB) with a Bachelor in another discipline, and the graduate Juris Doctor (JD) program.

After an extensive curriculum review, the Faculty introduced a new curriculum in 2013.

Combined law curriculum

The combined law program, which involves a five-year undergraduate course of study comprising a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor in another discipline, is made up of the following course study structure:

Juris doctor curriculum

The Graduate Juris Doctor program, which involves a three-year graduate course of study, is made up of the following course study structure:

The academic study load of the JD program differs from that of undergraduate dual law program in that for a full-time study mode it requires a full study load of four law subjects each semester in contrast to only part law study load each semester in the undergraduate dual law program.

Electives for the JD program are selected from postgraduate subjects such as those within but not limited to Master of Laws (LL.M). Core subjects in the program are taught solely within the JD cohort, with postgraduate electives taught with the postgraduate cohort and standard electives (if chosen) taught with the undergraduate dual law cohort.

Class format

The Law Faculty does not use a lecture and tutorial system common in faculties in England and still used by some other Australian law schools. Rather, the Faculty has long conducted classes in a seminar-format, similar to American law schools. Students are asked to contribute to class discussion using Socratic method; basic learning is done through reading materials prior to class, and class time is devoted to examining the complexities and critical exploration of the material, though the level of Socratic questioning varies between teachers and courses. First year classes ordinarily have a maximum of 28 students. Most upper-year classes have a maximum of 44 students. Some upper-year courses have up to 90 students.

Overseas exchange programs

The Law Faculty offers a number law subjects taught at overseas institutions through international arrangements, including courses at Columbia Law School, UC Berkeley School of Law, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. It also offers exchange programs at over 60 universities, including Sciences Po, Panthéon-Assas University, University College London, Tilburg University, McGill University, National University of Singapore, University of Hong Kong, Tsinghua University, Peking University, and others.

Admissions

In 2015 and 2016, entry to the undergraduate combined law program required an ATAR mark of 99.7, the highest entry requirement for admission to a law degree in Australia.

From 2017, entry into the undergraduate combined law program will be based on both an ATAR or academic result, as well as the results from a Law Admission Test (LAT) (not to be confused with the Law School Admission Test used in the United States). The test will consist of two questions requiring written responses. It is designed to assess aptitudes and skills that are relevant to success in the law program, including critical thinking and analysis, and organising and expressing ideas in a clear and fluent way. Applicants will have two hours to complete the test. The first LAT test will be held on Monday 26 September 2016 for entry into 2017 admission. LAT results will be valid for two years.

The UNSW JD (Juris Doctor/J.D.) is the professional law degree for graduates of disciplines other than law, or with a law degree from an overseas institution. It is the equivalent of the undergraduate Bachelor of Laws for the purpose of admission as a legal practitioner, but is only open to university graduates. Entry into the JD program is based on academic results in previous university degrees earned by the applicant. The JD is also open to international applicants. The average annual intake of domestic students into the UNSW JD is approximately 200 students. Approximately 33% of cohort holds postgraduate qualifications.

Tuition fees

The undergraduate law program offers Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP).

The Juris Doctor program offers both Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) and Full-Fee places. Commonwealth Supported Places are offered to the most competitive domestic applicants and the remaining eligible domestic applicants will be offered a full-fee place in the JD program. As a guide, to be competitive for a CSP, applicants would have achieved at least a distinction average in previous Bachelor or master's degree. Applicant's eligibility to be offered a CSP place may be improved if they have also completed an optional honours year or research degree.

Tuition fees for 2016:

FEE-HELP is a Commonwealth government loan available to help eligible students pay part or all of their tuition fees. FEE-HELP is available only to domestic students on CSP or Full-Fee places. In 2016, the FEE-HELP limit is AU$99,389.

Kingsford Legal Centre

The Faculty hosts the Kingsford Legal Centre which is both a teaching centre offering clinical legal education and a community legal centre which provides free legal advice and referral and ongoing assistance to the residents of the local area in relation to legal problems. The Centre takes on cases where there is no other source of assistance or where acting for the client will benefit the community by achieving change in the law or government policy. The Centre advises on matters including domestic violence, debt, criminal law, employment law, legal aid, victim's compensation, motor vehicle accidents, consumer matters and accidents and injuries. It has a statewide specialisation in discrimination law.

Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII)

The Australasian Legal Information Institute is operated jointly by the Faculties of Law at the UTS and the UNSW. AustLII offers free access online to case law, legislation and other primary legal resources and is "Australia's largest online legal public library."

Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law

The Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law is a research centre based around a team of scholars working at the Faculty who specialise in constitutional and administrative law, Indigenous legal issues, and human rights. The Centre's Advisory Committee is chaired by Sir Anthony Mason, former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia.

The Centre has hosted a number of projects, including: the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship: Anti-Terror Laws and the Democratic Challenge Project; the International Refugee and Migration Law Project; the Charter of Human Rights Project; the Referendums project; the Electoral Law Project; and the Federalism Project. The Centre also hosts an annual Constitutional Law Conference and Dinner attended by practitioners, academics, and judges involved or interested in public law issues.

Other research centres

There are a number of research centres attached to the Faculty of Law, including:

Faculty publications

The Faculty publishes the UNSW Law Journal, one of Australia's leading academic, peer-reviewed legal journals. The journal is produced entirely by a voluntary student board, selected on academic merit and editorial skills, and assisted from time to time by faculty advisors. Submissions for publication are received from local and international academics, judges, and legal professionals from a wide range of practice areas. The journal is distributed among a diverse set of subscribers, including judges, government departments, non-government organisations, law firms, and more than 250 universities worldwide. Four editions are published each year.

Other Faculty publications and journals include: Australian Indigenous Law Review; Australian Journal of Human Rights; Australasian Journal of Natural Resources Law and Policy; Human Rights Defender; and Indigenous Law Bulletin.

Student organisation

The UNSW Law Society is the peak-representative body for students in the Faculty of Law and is responsible for coordinating a variety of events and initiatives for law students. Some of the events include: an annual Law Ball, JD black tie dinner, end of year drinks, drinks and games nights, cocktail events, an annual ski trip, first-year Law Camp, UNSW Law Revue, the valedictory dinner, and a law student talent quest ('Lawlapalooza'). The Law Society also runs a mentoring program, supported by the Faculty of Law, which aims to assist first year students in their transition from high school to university life.

The Society also organises a number of competitions: mooting, client interviewing, negotiation, witness examination, and paper presentation.

The Law Society attracts a variety of sponsorship from national and international organisations.

Notable alumni

A number of judges or former judges are alumni of the Law Faculty. In the Federal Court of Australia these include Annabelle Bennett, Anna Katzmann, Brigitte Markovic, and John Nicholas. Alumni who have sat on the Supreme Court of New South Wales include Tony Meagher (in the Court of Appeal), Natalie Adams, Elizabeth Fullerton, Megan Latham, Lucy McCallum, and Stephen Rothman. A number of UNSW alumni also sit or have sat on other courts, including the Family Court of Australia and the District Court of New South Wales—including the first indigenous judge in Australia, Bob Bellear.

Internationally, alumni of the Faculty who have gone on to become judges include: Barnabas Wah Fung, judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court of Hong Kong; Aruna Ranasinghe, on the High Court of Sri Lanka, and David Wong, a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Federal Court of Malaysia.

Alumni who have served as Attorneys-General include Robert McClelland (Commonwealth), Brad Hazzard (NSW), and the current Attorney-General of New South Wales, Gabrielle Upton. Alumni who have served as members of Australian parliaments include Jason Clare, David Coleman, Michael Foresaw, Peter Garrett, Melissa Parke, Marise Payne, Eleni Petinos, and Eric Roozendaal.

Other notable alumni include: businessman David Gonski; Global Managing Partner of King & Wood Mallesons, Stuart Fuller; barrister Stuart Littlemore; journalist Monica Attard; and the head of Macquarie Funds Group, Shemara Wikramanayake.