Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Neil Watt
Contact via neil.watt@mq.edu.au
TBA - see iLearn page
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
((Admission after 2014 to GradCertLaw or GradDipLaw or JD) and corequisite LAWS600) or (admission to JD in 2014) or (admission to LLM)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
In this unit students will be encouraged to develop an ethical approach to the study and practice of law. Ethical problems may present in diverse ways, including problems of confidentiality, access to justice or conflict of duty and interest. The lawyer's role in the resolution of these problems is examined in the context of the common law, statute, professional rules of conduct and diverse theoretical approaches to legal ethics. The lawyer's relationships with their client, the court and other legal practitioners as well as with the general public are strengthened through development of skills such as listening, interviewing and negotiation. The unit also emphasizes continued improvements in academic writing skills, concentrating on structure, legal language and issues of academic honesty.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Tutorial participation | 30% | No | Ongoing |
Essay | 40% | No | Monday, 14 January 2019 at 5pm |
Quiz | 30% | No | 21/01/2019 |
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 30%
Active participation
'Active participation' means much more than simply turning up for the on campus sessions. Students will also be assessed on:
This unit works best when all students attend and give the entire group the benefit of their views based upon the readings and their experience.
ONLINE FORUM DISCUSSIONS: All students are expected to join in the online Forum discussions. You may respond to the questions or observations made by others, or post your own question or discussion point about the law or some legal issue currently in the news. The point is to get involved in the discussion! Hopefully we'll have some fun with it as we learn from each other.
TOPICS 1-13 on iLearn cover the material normally taught over 13 weeks. Specific readings and exercises are set for each Topic. Students should work through each topic making sure to read the set readings, watch the lectures and make any notes or questions you would like to discuss in class. If there are things you don't understand, post your question on the Forum.
ON CAMPUS PROGRAM: A program for the on campus sessions will be posted on iLearn. All students are required to attend the sessions on 12-14 December 2018.
Students are required to participate in the role plays, online and face to face discussions, debates, reflective exercises and other activities. The tutor will engage in ongoing assessment of student participation. A rubric will be provided on iLearn.
ON CAMPUS PREP: Students will notice that under each TOPIC heading there is an 'On Campus Prep' section which involves an activity to complete. These will be discussed in class BUT SHOULD BE REVIEWED BEFOREHAND. Some of this work from WEEKS 1-3 will be collected by your tutor and will count towards your participation mark. At the on-campus session,
ABSENCES: If you cannot attend an on campus session you must apply for Special Consideration and support your application with the appropriate documentation. Applications for Special Consideration are made online at ask.mq.edu.au.
Due: Monday, 14 January 2019 at 5pm
Weighting: 40%
In this paper students will be asked to provide a response to a question of legal ethics. Students will be required to be familiar with a variety of models of applied legal ethics in order to justify their ethical decision making choices.
Student responses are expected to be well researched and to critically reflect upon and analyse both the law and theory of professional responsibility for lawyers.
Students will also be assessed on their written communication skills, particularly their ability to write in plain English.
The maximum word count for this assessment is 2000 words.
Assessments will be submitted online via Turnitin and must comply with the Macquarie University Policy on Academic Honesty
The complete question will be released on iLearn.
Due: 21/01/2019
Weighting: 30%
Weighting: 30%
This is a time limited multiple choice exam of one hour to test students' understanding of the law of professional responsibility. All material from Topics 1 to 12 is examinable.
NOTE: This is a timed assessment and no late submissions will be accepted.
Students can open the exam at any time after 3pm on Monday 21 January 2019. The exam will automatically shut down at 9pm. Students will have one hour to complete their answers from the time that they open the paper. When one hour has expired, or the time is 9pm, all saved answers will be automatically submitted.
Some of the questions will relate to a problem scenario that will be released for reading 24 hours prior to the quiz in the Assessment block.
This Assessment Task relates to the following Learning Outcomes:
30 questions will be randomly assigned to each student and the order of the questions and answers will also be shuffled.
Some of the questions will begin with the words "In relation to the problem question:" The problem question will be posted in the assessment block at 3pm on Sunday 20 January 2019.
The instructions below will still be available to you once you have started the quiz. However, to save time, you should be thoroughly familiar with them before you move on.
Firefox is the recommended browser to use (please update your browser regularly). Do not use the browser Back or Forward buttons whilst in the quiz.
Once you begin your quiz attempt you will see the timer begin in the top right corner. You will have one hour to complete the quiz.
The quiz will shut down at 9pm Sydney time. You must commence the quiz by 8pm if you wish to have the full hour to complete it.
Please use the Save and Next button at base of screen to save and move to the next page of question/s. This will finally take you to a Summary screen which indicates the questions you have answered. If you have missed any questions (or you would like to review a question), providing you have time remaining, you can click on these to return to the quiz. Then click Save and Review at top right to return to the Summary screen. When you are happy that all questions have been answered please click the Submit button at the base of the Summary Screen.
(Note: if you need to leave the quiz during the attempt you can log back in and resume provided there is time remaining on the timer. The timer countdown is not paused when you leave the quiz)
Choose the most correct answer for each question.
This unit is delivered in two ways:
1) via online learning content that includes recorded lecture material, readings, quizzes, discussions and links to external resources such as videos and blogs
2) a three day intensive seminar for all enrolled students from 12-14 December 2019
The required text is: Lise Barry (ed) Lawyers: Roles, Skills and Responsibilities (3rd ed, 2017) Thomson Reuters. Available from the Macquarie University Co-op Bookshop.
Additional reading will be available via iLearn and e-reserve.
Students require access to a computer and a secure and reliable server. All Unit requirements and a weekly teaching schedule are outlined in iLearn.
All assessments are to be submitted electronically via Turnitin.
The schedule is outlined in detail on the iLearn site for this unit
Topics to be covered online and at the block session include:
Professionalism
Normative and applied ethics
Duties to the client: fiduciary duties, duty of confidentiality, duty of care, conflicts of interest, duty to account, costs
Duties to the Court: ethics in criminal law, duties of candour, duties of prosecutors, dealing with witnesses, undertakings
Communication skills: esp listening, client interviewing, negotiation
Duty to the community: Access to justice, pro bono service
Duty to the profession: professional courtesy
Professional regulation and discipline
Admission to the profession
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues
This graduate capability is supported by:
Date | Description |
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16/11/2018 | 2nd contact removed |