Did you know that 70% of graduates with legal degrees do not strictly practice law? Or that a business law double degree can provide a real head-start in corporate and finance law? Legal graduate James Maher speaks to Dave Drayton about the ins and outs of studying law.
What legal courses have you studied?
I had previously completed an advanced diploma at Ultimo TAFE in conveyancing, which is property law and transactions, which was good as it is a link between high school classroom environment and the lecture theatres of uni.
I am now doing a double degree of social science and law at UWS [University of Western Sydney]. I have pretty much just stopped doing my social science courses because they are a joke, I could only see social science being used in a law degree to better understand criminal defendants.
What did those courses involve?
TAFE involved a couple of assessments ranging from written reports and essays to presentations. It also had exams which are Board of Education approved. Most of the learning was sit-down high-school type classes.
Uni depends on the subject but mostly assessments, both written and oral, and exams for every subject. These subjects are mostly seminar based which is the length of a lecture but with the numbers of a large tut class. Group work and general discussion is always encouraged but it’s mainly independent study. We have weekly readings that are generally about 50-100 pages a week per subject.
There are also moot court presentations which are a modified court appearance in the moot court. They involve preparing matters either for or against and allow you to get used to a court setting and the pressure of answering questions on legal matters.
Would you do something differently looking back? Was there another course or study option better suited to where you want to work?
I would have done a business course instead of social science as a legal understanding without a conceptual understanding of how the businesses you act for work is highly detrimental especially if you want to do corporate or finance law.
Any tips for future Law students?
Be prepared for a lot of reading, look out for the daily emails that are sent out from your Uni as they will have internships which although may not pay much, or anything for that matter, are really important. The more you have on your CV and the more active you are the more attractive you will be to a future employer. I would also suggest volunteering at the legal aid commission, even if you just shadow people to get an understanding how the workings of the inner sanctum work.