LAW4544: Challenging Government: Law Reform and Public Advocacy

RECORDED LECTURES

No.

PROVIDED LECTURE SLIDES

Yes.

TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS OF LECTURES RELEASED PER WEEK

3.

ESSENTIAL READINGS 

Yes.

HELPFULNESS OF READINGS ON A SCALE OF 1-5

3 (on average).

HOURS SPENT STUDYING THIS UNIT PER WEEK

5 hours (on average).

TUTORIAL CLASSES

No.

WHAT WAS THE IN-SEMESTER ASSESSMENT?

Written Assignment and a Mid-Semester Test.

FINAL EXAM

Take-home exam consisting of problem and policy questions.

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY ON A SCALE OF 1-5

2 (on average).

QUALITY OF ENJOYMENT ON A SCALE OF 1-5

4 (on average).

DO ANY UNITS WORK WELL WITH THIS UNIT?

It worked very well with Administrative Law as there was some cross-over.

TIPS FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

Start the analysis early!

Student Reviews

#1 Semester 1 2023

This is a fantastic unit if you are interested in public interest law. Not only do you get to explore a wide range of topics (e.g. lobbying, ombudsman, law reform bodies, constitutional reform, using the courts for reform, political donations, etc) but you also get to discuss what types of careers this could lead to. This unit was the most practical unit I have done so far in terms of learning where law can take me and what type of work I can expect if I work in any of these fields. Half way during the semester, we had guest speakers who have worked on law reform commissions who gave us insightful knowledge into what they do and how they ended up in their career.

It is a unit with a lighter load and if you have studied politics you will already have a very good foundation for this unit. The major downside was the lack of recorded lectures. During the lectures, half the time was spend doing worksheets, so if you are unable to attend you can easily catch up. Despite the lack of recordings, it is not detrimental if you do not attend class because the slides covered everything you need to know.

The mid semester test was relatively straightforward, although the analysis was marked quite harshly and the word count was very tight. The questions to pick from for the analysis were also extremely open ended, which made it hard to know what to focus on. The take home exam was easier than I expected and I thought it was marked quite fairly. Overall, it is an 'easier' unit to take if you want a lighter workload, are unable to attend classes consistently, and are not interested in pursuing commercial law.