Students
LAWS1100 – Law, Lawyers and Society
2021 – Session 1, Special circumstances
Notice
As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.
To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.
General Information
Download as PDF
| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor
Amanda Head
Contact via iLearn
Consultation: Wednesday 12pm-1pm or by appointment
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|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
10
|
| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to LLB
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
LAW115 or LAWS1000
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
In this unit students are introduced to applied legal ethics and the law that governs the roles and responsibilities of solicitors and barristers in Australia. The unit covers the history and profile of the legal profession, the development of ethical reasoning and application of ethical systems to legal practice. Students will study the legal and philosophical problems confronting lawyers, including confidentiality, access to justice, truth in the adversarial system, conflicts of interest and relationships between lawyers, clients and the community. They will learn how the legal profession is regulated and analyse the effectiveness of the professional disciplinary regime. The unit also introduces students to general skills of ethical problem solving and to the importance of sound communication skills for the practice of law. |
Important Academic Dates
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- ULO1: Describe and explain the role of the lawyer in Australian society.
- ULO2: Identify different theoretical approaches to legal ethics and relate these approaches to a range of problems and settings.
- ULO3: Explain and apply the law of professional responsibility that regulates the practice of law in Australia, including duties owed to the court, to the client, to practitioners, and to the community.
- ULO4: Explain and apply communication skills required for ethical practice, especially listening skills, interviewing skills, cross cultural communication skills, negotiation skills and writing skills, with an emphasis on plain English.
General Assessment Information
Students should be aware of and apply the University policy on academic honesty.
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.
All assessments are submitted electronically. Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments.
Students should carefully check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as no re-submissions will be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file in error.
Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked. Footnotes are to be used only for referencing. Referencing must conform to the requirements set out in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.
Marking of all assessments is moderated through a process of blind marking and the use of detailed marking rubrics.
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participatory tasks | 10% | No | ongoing |
| Applied Skill Based Legal Ethics Essay | 20% | No | video 26/3/21 (5 marks) essay 1/4/21 (15 marks) |
| Legal Ethics Essay | 40% | No | 21/5/21 |
| Multiple Choice Quiz | 30% | No | 2/6/21 |
Participatory tasks
Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 24 hours
Due: ongoing
Weighting: 10%
A series of role plays, debates, problem solving and writing activities
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Describe and explain the role of the lawyer in Australian society.
- Identify different theoretical approaches to legal ethics and relate these approaches to a range of problems and settings.
- Explain and apply the law of professional responsibility that regulates the practice of law in Australia, including duties owed to the court, to the client, to practitioners, and to the community.
- Explain and apply communication skills required for ethical practice, especially listening skills, interviewing skills, cross cultural communication skills, negotiation skills and writing skills, with an emphasis on plain English.
Applied Skill Based Legal Ethics Essay
Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: video 26/3/21 (5 marks) essay 1/4/21 (15 marks)
Weighting: 20%
Research Essay
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Describe and explain the role of the lawyer in Australian society.
- Identify different theoretical approaches to legal ethics and relate these approaches to a range of problems and settings.
- Explain and apply the law of professional responsibility that regulates the practice of law in Australia, including duties owed to the court, to the client, to practitioners, and to the community.
- Explain and apply communication skills required for ethical practice, especially listening skills, interviewing skills, cross cultural communication skills, negotiation skills and writing skills, with an emphasis on plain English.
Legal Ethics Essay
Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 21/5/21
Weighting: 40%
Research essay
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Describe and explain the role of the lawyer in Australian society.
- Identify different theoretical approaches to legal ethics and relate these approaches to a range of problems and settings.
- Explain and apply the law of professional responsibility that regulates the practice of law in Australia, including duties owed to the court, to the client, to practitioners, and to the community.
- Explain and apply communication skills required for ethical practice, especially listening skills, interviewing skills, cross cultural communication skills, negotiation skills and writing skills, with an emphasis on plain English.
Multiple Choice Quiz
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 1 hours
Due: 2/6/21
Weighting: 30%
Multiple Choice Quiz
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Explain and apply the law of professional responsibility that regulates the practice of law in Australia, including duties owed to the court, to the client, to practitioners, and to the community.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
- the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
- the Writing Centre for academic skills support.
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Delivery and Resources
There are pre-recorded lectures for this unit. Students are expected to listen to the lectures and work their way through the other materials on a weekly basis.
There is a weekly two-hour face to face tutorial from weeks 1-12 for students. This will be either face to face or online via Zoom.
The required text is Lise Barry (ed) Lawyers: Roles, Skills and Responsibilities (Thomson Reuters, 3rd ed, 2017). It can be purchased online.
Additional reading will be available via iLearn and the unit reading list maintained by the library.
Students require access to a computer and a secure and reliable server. All Unit requirements and a weekly teaching and reading schedule are outlined in iLearn.
Unit Schedule
Topics to be covered in the live lectures, online lectures and tutorials in this unit include:
What it means to be a professional
An overview of the profession
Introduction to Legal Ethics
Overview of regulation of the profession
Retainers
Legal Writing
Lawyers and Mental Health
Duty to the client
Fiduciary duties and the duty of care
Duty to the Court and administration of justice
Conflicts of interest
Confidentiality and privilege
Duty to the court
Ethics in criminal law
Duties of prosecutors
Ethics in negotiations
Duty to the community
Pro bono work
Access to justice
Costs
Duty to account
Duty to the profession
Admission requirements
Discipline and regulation
Lawyers and technology
Policies and Procedures
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
- Academic Appeals Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progression Policy
- Assessment Policy
- Fitness to Practice Procedure
- Grade Appeal Policy
- Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
- Special Consideration Policy
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
Student Code of Conduct
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
Results
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Student Support
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Student Services and Support
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
Student Enquiries
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
IT Help
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.
Changes since First Published
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 08/02/2021 | The unit guide incorrectly referenced the co-op bookshop. The text can be purchased online. |
Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook