Bachelor of Laws

2016 Deakin University Handbook

Note: You are seeing the 2016 view of this course information. These details may no longer be current. [Go to the current version]

Year	2016 course information
Award granted	Bachelor of Laws
Campus	Burwood (Melbourne) Waterfront (Geelong) Warrnambool (first three years of course only)
Cloud Campus	Yes
Duration	4 years full-time or part-time equivalent (or 3 years full-time or part-time equivalent - graduate entry^) ^Please note that graduate entry is subject to Deakin's Credit Transfer and Recognition Policy.
CRICOS course code	026686F
Deakin course code	M312
..

Course sub-headings

Course overview

Deakin’s Bachelor of Laws (LLB) is designed to turn you into a first-class lawyer with a commercial focus.

The course provides the robust training and recognised qualifications you need to launch your career as a first-class legal practitioner. You’ll get sound university training in all of the major areas of legal practice, such as contract, torts, business, and criminal law. Throughout the degree you’ll develop legal skills including negotiation, mediation, preparing for court appearances, legal drafting, and statutory interpretation. You will also benefit from professional work experience and law clinics.

Deakin’s Bachelor of Laws satisfies the university component of the requirements to become an Australian Lawyer. You will then complete an additional year of work placement as a legal trainee, or undertake a practical legal training course.

This comprehensive course provides in-depth studies in each of the major areas of legal practice, and emphasises practical legal skills training.

You’ll study many areas of law including core units in commercial law, criminal law, criminal procedure, constitutional law, contract, legal practice and ethics, taxation, civil rights, property, and more.

A law degree gives you enormous flexibility and the ability to work in a huge variety of professions.

Indicative student workload

As a student in the Faculty of Business and Law, you can expect to participate in a range of teaching activities each week. This could include classes, seminars, practicals and online interaction. You can refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information. You will also need to study and complete assessment tasks in your own time.

Professional recognition

Deakin’s Bachelor of Laws is designed to satisfy the university component of the requirements to become an Australian Lawyer set by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board (VLAB). In addition to completing an approved LLB degree, a person seeking entry is required to work for one year as a legal trainee, or to undertake a practical legal training (PLT) course.

Features of the Program

Orientation towards commercial law
A distinctive feature of the Law Program is its deliberate orientation towards commercial law. The Deakin LLB degree course is one of the few in Australia with a specific and exclusive focus. This has been achieved by including several core commercial units in the course, plus offering an elective program that consists predominantly of units drawn from the area of commercial law.

Practical course requirements

Professional Experience
You will be required to complete 30 days professional work experience in a legal environment to gain experience on how the law operates in practice. This practical experience will provide you with an enriched formal legal education and prepare you for employment in the industry. For more information https://www.deakin.edu.au/buslaw/law/students/professional-exp/index.php

Legal Internship

In conjunction with Community Legal Centres and other legal organisations, Deakin Law School offers a clinical skills unit. This involves students working in private law firms, companies employing in-house counsels, public legal centres and statutory bodies under the supervision of a legal practitioner. You will assist the practitioner to take instructions and to advise and represent clients. Clinical training of this nature is designed to teach you skills such as interviewing, counselling, negotiation, communication and advocacy. Deakin’s Legal Internship enables you to gain an appreciation of certain aspects of legal practice and to extend and deepen your theoretical knowledge and critical thinking skills while working in a legal environment. Quotas apply and enrolment is via application.

For more information, please visit: https://www.deakin.edu.au/law/students/legal-internship

Admission to legal practice

At present, to qualify for admission as a barrister and solicitor in Victoria, university graduates are required to complete legal traineeships (previously known as articles of clerkship) for one year or to complete a legal practice course. Institutes that offer Practical Legal Training are:

The College of Law Victoria: Victorian Professional Program
The Leo Cussen Institute [which holds a seven month full-time practical legal training course], plus an alternative on-line course.
Australia National University Practical Legal Training Course offered in Melbourne.

LLB combined with another degree

Students enrolled in a Law degree combined with another degree in Arts, International Studies, Commerce, Criminology, Information Systems, Property and Real Estate or Science, must complete units totalling 40 credit points for the combined course. For the LLB degree component of the combined course students must complete 24 credit points of Law units, including 21 credit points of core units, 3 credit points of elective Law units and professional experience requirements.

For the other degree component students must complete 16 credit points as prescribed for the relevant degree. Refer to Course Structures for combined courses and for bachelor degrees in Arts, International Studies, Commerce, Criminology, Information Systems, Property and Real Estate or Science.

Course of study

The Deakin Law Program is designed to satisfy the university component of the requirements to become a barrister and solicitor in Victoria set by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board. Study may be undertaken on either a full-time or part-time basis.

Course Learning Outcomes

Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline specific knowledge and capabilities	Integrate theoretical knowledge and understanding of a coherent body of knowledge, including: (a) the fundamental areas of legal knowledge, the Australian legal system, and underlying principles and concepts, including international and comparative contexts, (b) the broader contexts within which legal issues arise, and (c) the principles and values of justice and of ethical practice in lawyers’ roles
Communication	Justify and communicate well developed communication skills, including: a) communicate orally, in writing, and by any interpersonal means effectively, appropriately, and persuasively for both legal and non-legal audiences, and b) collaborate effectively, using technologies where the demonstration of autonomy, well developed judgement and responsibility takes place.
Digital literacy	Use technologies to identify, locate, evaluate information for problem solving scenarios as well as communicating legal solutions, including: a) identify, research, evaluate and synthesise relevant factual, legal and policy issues, effectively using technologies where appropriate. b) find, use, and disseminate information using technologies. c) the use of digital sources to organize and present information in authentic and complex legal situations.
Critical thinking	Exercise critical judgement with the ability to problem-solve in unpredictable and sometimes complex scenarios, including: (a) identifying and articulating legal issues, (b) applying legal reasoning and research to generate accurate and relevant responses to legal issues, (c) engaging in critical analysis and making a choice amongst alternatives using legal reasoning, and (d) thinking creatively in approaching legal issues and generating appropriate legal responses.
Problem solving	Create solutions to a wide range of legal problems, utilizing analytical and critical thinking with the ability to problem-solve, including: (a) identifying and articulating legal issues, (b) applying legal reasoning and research to generate accurate and relevant responses to legal issues, (c) engaging in critical analysis and making a choice amongst alternatives using legal reasoning, and (d) thinking creatively in approaching legal issues and generating appropriate responses
Self-management	Reflect on performance feedback to demonstrate long term development and to facilitate self-improvement, including: (a) lifelong learning and working independently, (b) reflecting on and assessing capabilities and performance, and making use of feedback as appropriate, to support personal and professional development. (c) taking responsibility for personal actions.
Teamwork	Collaborate and communicate in teams, including: (a) communicate in ways that are effective, appropriate and persuasive for legal and non-legal audiences; and (b) collaborate effectively with others from different disciplines and backgrounds
Global citizenship	To be aware of and apply legal knowledge in different environments and global contexts, including: (a) an understanding of approaches to ethical decision-making, (b) an ability to recognise and reflect upon with a developing ability to respond to ethical issues likely to arise in complex professional contexts, (c) an ability to recognise and reflect upon the professional responsibilities of lawyers in promoting justice and in service to the community, (d) an ability to exercise professional judgement, (e) an ability to recognise and reflect upon cultural and community diversity.
Approved by Faculty Board October 2014

Course rules

To complete the Bachelor of Laws, students must attain a total of 32 credit points. Most units (think of units as 'subjects') are equal to 1 credit point. Most students choose to study 4 units per trimester, and usually undertake 2 trimesters each year.

To complete the course you must include:-

21 credit points of core units
11 credit points of elective units
a zero credit point induction unit
prescribed Professional Experience

The 11 credit points of elective units must include:-

a minimum of 3 credit points of law electives

a minimum of 4 credit points of non-law electives (these may be selected from any undergraduate units offered by the University, subject to eligibility)

Course structure