成人大片

The majority of seminars for this unit will run out of the training rooms of the Law Society of South Australia, Level 10 178 North Terrace, Adelaide, SA.

As course staff work in the South Australian legal profession all communication should be directed to the GDLP Coordinator, Desiree Holland in the first instance: gdlpenquiries@lawsocietysa.asn.au

The GDLP Coordinator will contact the appropriate course staff as necessary.

Course Supervisors:

Anne Najjar: Interviewing and Advising
Claire Clutterham: Legal Writing and Drafting
Joelie Cook: Practical Legal Research
Greg Rooney: Negotiation and ADR
Elizabeth Griffith: Advocacy
Julie Van der Velde: Taxation

Course Coordinator (UA Law School): Margaret Castles

This course will be taught intensively. Full details of seminars and activities are made available on MyUni course website
prior to the course commencing.

Students are required to attend all seminars.

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1	Identify the purpose, audience and structure and construct concise and cohesive written letters, arguments, and submissions etc for a client/legal/professional/general/mixed audience in the context of social and cultural diversity.
2	Prepare, conduct and analyse real or simulated client interviews clarify instructions and provide follow-up and advice, if applicable, having regard to the circumstances, good practice and the requirements of the law.
3	Structure and sustain concise and cohesive written arguments about case analysis, statutory interpretation and relevant law using plain English principles.
4	Conduct practical, workplace based legal research, and present results on the basis of that research.
5	Prepare and analyse appropriate strategy and tactics to be used in the effective negotiation of client matters as required by law or good practice in the circumstances of the case.
6	Reflect on their abilities to effectively undertake work as an individual.

No textbooks are assigned for GDLP courses.

Seminar resources and readings are available on MyUni ONLY. Students must bring electronic devices to seminars to access seminar materials.

Due to an emphasis on current legal practice other materials may be added after the course outline has been posted. Students are required to check MyUni daily to keep up to date.

Most course resources are provided to students online via MyUni. Relevant legislation can be accessed online via:




MyUni will be used to post announcements, post additional lecture materials (including slides, and where available, audio recordings of lectures) and announce assignment tasks. It will also contain electronic copies of the Course Outline, Lecture and Seminar Guides, and
Course Materials.

Students are expected to check MyUni daily to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course.

The course is supported by the MyUni course website. The website contains the following resources:

1. Course information – including seminar schedule and assessment outline.
2. Course materials – such as lecture presentations, seminar materials, readings and resources.
3. Assessment – items of assessment and online submission.
4. Grade centre – where students’ results for assessments are entered.

MyUni will also be used to post announcements in both the course and GDLP Essentials. Students are expected to check MyUni daily to keep up to date.

Students should check daily their 成人大片 email.

The course will be taught intensively. Compulsory face to face interactive, problem-solving seminars and practical exercises are supported by online lectures and readings. 

Students must come prepared for seminars and, where applicable, having listened to online lectures, undertaken prior reading and developed draft responses to seminar questions.

A reminder that students must bring along electronic devices to the seminar so they can access the seminar materials electronically. A limited number of hard copy resources may be available.

Attendance at seminars is necessary to ensure that students are part of the interactive and reflective learning environment (which enhances learning outcomes) and provides students with the ability to develop their collaborative and oral presentation skills. Students are expected to behave in an ethical and professional manner as would be expected in the workplace environment (as per the professional conduct rules and standards). 

Full details of seminars and activities are made available on the MyUni course website prior to the course commencing. 


In most cases assessment tasks are linked to seminars activities.

By the end of this course students should be able to competently:

1. Writing Letters

identified the need for, and purpose of, the letter.
written the letter in plain English that conveys its purpose clearly and could be understood by the person to whom it is sent, acting reasonably.

2. Legal Writing

2.1 Communicating effectively

identified the purpose of a proposed communication, the most effective way of making it, and the content of the proposed communication.
presented thoughts, advice, and submissions in a logical, clear, succinct and persuasive manner, having regard to the circumstances and the person or forum to whom they are made.

2.2 Cross-cultural awareness

identified and appropriately dealt with verbal and non-verbal aspects of cross-cultural communication

3. Interviewing and Advising

prepared for the interview properly, having regard to relevant information available before the interview and all known, relevant circumstances.
conducted, participated in conducting or observed, the interview, using communication techniques appropriate to both the client and the context.
ensured that the client and lawyer have both obtained all the information which they wanted from the interview in a timely, effective and efficient way, having regard to the circumstances.
ensured that the lawyer and client left the interview with a common understanding of the lawyer’s instructions (if any) and any future action that the lawyer or client is respectively to take.
made a record of the interview that satisfies the requirements of law and good practice.
taken, or participated in taking, any follow-up action in a timely manner.

4. Legal Drafting

identified the need for, and purpose, of the document.
devised an effective form and structure for the document having regard to the parties, the circumstances, good practice, plain English principles and the relevant law.
drafted the document effectively having regard to the parties, the circumstances, good practice, plain English principles, and the relevant law.
considered whether the document should be settled by counsel.
taken every action required to make the document effective and enforceable in a timely manner and according to law (such as execution by the parties, stamping, delivery and registration).

5. Practical Legal Research

establish a strategy to undertake systematic legal research
use paper and electronic resources to efficiently research legal and factual problems involved in a matter
keep your research up to date
present the results of your research

6. Negotiation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

prepared, or participated in the preparation of the client’s case properly having regard to the circumstances and good practice.
identified the strategy and tactics to be used in negotiations and discussed them with and obtained approval from the client, or been involved in or observed that process.
carried out, been involved in or observed, the negotiations effectively having regard to the strategy and tactics adopted, the circumstances of the case and good practice.
documented any resolution as required by law or good practice and explained it, or been involved in the process of explaining it, to the client in a way a reasonable client could understand.

7. Facilitating early resolution of disputes

identified the advantages and disadvantages of available dispute resolution options and explained them to, or been involved in explaining them to, the client.
performed in the lawyer’s role, or been involved in or observed that performance, in the dispute resolution process effectively, having regard to the circumstances.
documented any resolution as required by law or good practice and explained it, or been involved in explaining it, to the client in a way a reasonable client could understand.

8.Advocacy

observed the etiquette and procedures of the forum.
organised and presented in an effective, strategic way:
factual material;
analysis of relevant legal issues; and
relevant decided cases.
prepare and present a submission to a senior member of the legal profession taking into account the instructions given and advocacy skills to examine the use of a case concept and presentation styles
made submissions effectively and coherently in accordance with law and good practice.

9. Taxation

develop an understanding of the taxation areas which underpin other GDLP courses: Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Stamp Duty (SD) and Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Contact time

This course will be taught intensively. 

Preparation time

In addition to attending formal classes it is anticipated that students will do substantial independent work to prepare for classes and to complete the course assessments.


The University expects full time students, in particular those enrolled over a 6 month rather than 12 month period, to devote in excess of 15 hours per week to their studies. 

Learning activities will involve an intensive seminar series as well as online lectures and materials to be used in preparation for the seminars. 

- Lectures are a teacher-driven learning activity; relaying of knowledge and information. 
- Seminars are more interactive than lectures. Students are expected to prepare answers to seminar questions to facilitate useful in-class discussions between peers. As such, seminars are largely student driven. Seminar leaders are learning facilitators. 

Assessment tasks are also learning activities. 

A detailed seminar schedule will be posted to MyUni prior to the course commencing.

Topics covered:
1. Communicating effectively
2. Cross-cultural awareness
3. Interviewing clients
4. Writing letters
5. Drafting other documents
6. Negotiating settlements and agreements
7. Facilitating early resolution of disputes
8. Representing a client in a legal forum

The course is based on the rules of the Legal Practitioners Education and Admission Council (LPEAC) 2018 which specifies the expected competency standards for entry level lawyers at the point of admission. 

In this course, the following elements of the National Competency Standards for Entry Level Lawyers are embedded:

• Ethics and professional responsibility
• Lawyers skills
• Problem solving
• Work management and business skills 

Students are required to demonstrate, where appropriate, the following:

• Punctuality
• Workload management and ability to adhere to deadlines
• Active engagement in practical activities
• Respectful behaviour towards others
• A high level of confidentiality at all times
• Satisfactory completion of prescribed exercises

Assessments will be made available to students, prior to the nominated deadline. Assessment deadlines will be posted on MyUni prior to the course commencing.

All assessments are competency based (non-graded pass). Competence must be demonstrated in ALL assessment tasks and activities. 

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting	Length	Learning Outcome
Interviewing and advising	Individual	First week	n/a	See Assessment Detail	1-3
Legal drafting	Individual	First week	n/a	See Assessment Detail	1-5
Negotiation and ADR	Individual	Second week	n/a	One page	2-3
PLR research	Individual	Assessed in seminar	n/a	n/a	4
Taxation activities and scenarios	Individual	Assessed in seminar	n/a	n/a	4
Advocacy -Oral presentations	Individual	Per appointment time	n/a	n/a	5-6
Advocacy-case concepts	Individual	4 days after Advocacy oral presentation	n/a	n/a	1,5

In this course, the following elements of the National Competency Standards for Entry Level Lawyers are embedded:

• Ethics and professional responsibility
• Lawyers skills
• Problem solving
• Work management and business skills

Students are required to demonstrate, where appropriate, the following:

• Punctuality
• Workload management and ability to adhere to deadlines
• Active engagement in practical activities
• Respectful behaviour towards others
• A high level of confidentiality at all times
• Satisfactory completion of prescribed exercise

* Assessment deadlines will be posted on MyUni prior to the course commencing.

.

Assessments will be made available to students, prior to the nominated deadline. Assessment deadlines will be posted on MyUni prior to the course commencing.

Assessments guidelines will be provided for each assesssment task. Unless otherwise stated, there will be no prescribed word limit for assessments. This is because the purpose of the GDLP program is to facilitate your transition from undergraduate academic law studies to the legal professional employment environment through the demonstration and practice of professionally-based skills and competencies. 

All assessments are competency based (non-graded pass). Competence must be demonstrated in all assessment tasks and activities.  MyUni requires a numerical value to display that competency has been demonstrated. Please note:

1 – Competency has been achieved (non-graded pass)
0 = Competency has not yet been achieved (re-submission required).

In this course, the following elements of the National Competency Standards for Entry Level Lawyers are embedded:

• Ethics and professional responsibility
• Lawyers skills
• Problem solving
• Work management and business skills

Students are required to demonstrate, where appropriate, the following:

• Punctuality
• Workload management and ability to adhere to deadlines
• Active engagement in practical activities
• Respectful behaviour towards others
• A high level of confidentiality at all times
• Satisfactory completion of prescribed exercise

Seminar Attendance

Missing seminars will put you at a severe disadvantage in completing the requirements of the course. In most cases, assessment tasks are strongly linked to seminars activities with some assessments occurring during seminars. 

All assessments are competency based (non-graded pass). Competence must be demonstrated in all assessment tasks and activities.  MyUni requires a numerical value to display that competency has been demonstrated. Please note:


Assessment Detail

Interviewing and advising

1. Letter confirming client’s instructions. Length Max 3 A4 pages.
2.  Letter to Other Party’s - Solicitor. Lengeth Max 2 A4 pages

Legal Drafting
   
1. Pre -attendance Short answer questions. Length - Rewriting paragraph in plain English
2. Interlocutory application - Length - Form 1 - Approved Disstrict Court Civil Form
3. Affidavit - Length - Form 1

Negotiation and ADR

1. One page reflection - Length is one page only.

Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

All assignments in this course are to be submitted electronically through Turnitin. Submissions to Turnitin are to be in Microsoft Word format (NOT in pdf)’.

Students work will be marked in accordance with the marking rubric. 

Resubmission 

Students are required to demonstrate competency in all elements of the national competency standards and failure to do so will result in the relevant assessment being marked as non-competent. If the assessment is deemed non-competent students may be offered the opportunity to revise and resubmit the assessment. In most cases only the parts of the assessment that do not attain competence will be required to be resubmitted. Only ONE opportunity is provided for resubmission. 

In 2019 a supplementary teaching day will be offered. Students who will be allowed to resubmit may attend this day, though it is not compulsory to do so. Resubmission of the assessment will be allowed after this additional teaching day. If a student is unable to demonstrate competency after this resubmission then they will need undertake the course again and pay additional fees. Please note that all final fails are double marked before the results are released to students.

Extensions 

Requests for extensions must be made electronically via GDLP Enquiries GDLPEnquiries@lawsocietysa.asn.au  Students MUST apply for an extension prior to the deadline. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate
grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.

Late Submission 
Assignments submitted late will not be marked.

In this course all assessment and course results are competency based (non-graded pass) as per the table below.

Competence must be demonstrated in all assessment tasks and activities.

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

Grade	Grade reflects following criteria for allocation of grade	Reported on Official Transcript
Fail No Submission	No work submitted for assessment	FNS
Fail	Competency not demonstrated	F
Non-Graded Pass	Competency demonstrated	NGP
Result Pending	An interim result	RP
Continuing	Continuing	CN
No Formal Examination	No formal examination	NFE

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as CEQ surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at least once every 2 years. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

The provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the 成人大片.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our , and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Honesty

Academic dishonesty is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.

Academic dishonesty is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic dishonesty (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia.

Academic honesty is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.