Student Law Internship
For any subject enquiries contact the Student Law Internship Unit Convenor, Mr Tony Kidney.
Alternatively with any enquiries you can contact the Faculty of Law by emailing law.enquiries@canberra.edu.au
1. Student Law Internship
The law internship unit offers students an opportunity to work in a legal professional environment and to provide a legally based research project, which is of value to the specific workplace. The unit requires and develops legal knowledge, analysis, problem identification and a range of other important legal skills.
At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the practice of law within a legal environment;
- Demonstrate how practical skills such as legal analysis, research and writing are put to use;
- Demonstrate an ability to apply theoretical knowledge to legal problem solving;
- Reflect and think about how social or ethical issues of the workplace impact on the practice of law.
What does the Student Law Internship Unit involve?
In order to meet university requirements for completion of the unit a student is required to:
-
Maintain a journal of your work experience. The journal should be submitted on completion of the internship.
- Complete a report (a topic which is approved by your work supervisor and the course convenor); It should not exceed 2,500 words in length
- Attendance at workplace: As part of their assessment, students are required to complete the internship by working 40 hours in the student's deignated internship area during the semester.
- Seminar presentation of your report. Each student will be allowed 15 minutes to present their reports.
Special requirements
Even though there are no lectures in this unit you have certain responsibilities in undertaking this unit. One, to complete, at the appropriate time, the following forms
-
Law Internship Objectives between the student and your workplace supervisor Form A.
-
Confidentiality Agreement between the student and your workplace supervisor Form B;
-
Law Internship Agreed Report between the student, your workplace supervisor and the subject convener Form C;
-
After completing the unit, an Evaluation of the internship Form D;
-
After completing the unit, ensuring that your workplace supervisor completes an evaluation of you Form E.
The second special requirement is to:
-
Work for approximately 40 hours in a legal environment and during that time behaving ethically and in a manner which upholds the good name of the Law School at University of Canberra;
-
Adhere to legal professional ethics and codes of conduct;
-
Advise your workplace supervisor and the unit convener of any fact that may affect their capacity to undertake the internship.
Who is eligible to enrol?
A student must have must have obtained a credit average or more in their law degree, and be in their final year, or have a maximum of 4 units to complete in their law degree in order to enrol.
How to apply?
To be considered for a placement, students are required to submit to the subject convener, Mr Tony Kidney, the following:
-
Brief explanation of why you seek to do a work placement, and your preliminary ideas about the issue/s you are interested in exploring in your report
-
Academic Transcript
-
Curriculum vitae
If you have been selected for a law internship at a workplace, the unit convenor will notify you. It is only then that you should formally enrol in the unit.
Only a limited number of places are available
It is not guaranteed that you will be offered a work internship.
There are only a limited number of practical internships with private firms, government departments and non-government legal agencies. If last year were any guide, we would expect to be able to offer this opportunity to approximately 10 students.
Recently a number of enrollees have found their own workplace placements, e.g., in firms or departments in which they are already employed, f/t, or p/t, and such arrangements will generally be considered favourably, provided all the required criteria are satisfied.
How will I know if I have been successful?
The unit convener will make the initial decision as to whether a student is eligible for the Student Law Internship Unit, based on the application, your explanation of why you seek to do a work placement, and your preliminary ideas about the issue/s you are interested in exploring in your report, academic transcript and the mix/match of student to a particular placement option.
After the unit convenor has selected students eligible to participate in the program he will then contact one or several work places, and forward the student information to the workplace supervisor, for their consideration. It is then up to the workplace as to whether you will be nominated to work in their workplace.
If you have been selected for a Student Law Internship at a workplace, the unit convener and the supervisor of the working area will notify you.
It is only then that you should formally enrol in the unit.
Work Placement and Practical Legal Training (PLT)
After meeting the academic requirements, the second eligibility requirement to become a solicitor is the satisfactory completion of approved or corresponding Practical Legal Training requirements.
In contrast to the broad theoretical knowledge gained at university, Practical Legal Training provides instruction in a wide range of tasks and procedures, such as:
- legal research
- fact and legal analysis
- problem solving
- legal writing and drafting
- interviewing and oral communication
- advising
- advocacy
- dispute resolution
The Professional Program at the College of Law consists of three components:
- Coursework Component: 15 weeks of full-time or 30 weeks of part-time study, offered via Distance Online or On-campus courses.
- Work Experience Component: consists of 75 working days of work experience in the legal services industry under the supervision of an experienced legal practitioner and may be completed full-time or part-time (at least two days a week).
- Continuing Professional Education Component: consists of two self-assessable parts being a Workbook and seminars (accessible online).
Students seeking credit for this unit in the work experience component of the practical legal training requirements, such as with the College of Law, should also fill out the relevant documentation, as soon as possible.
Practical experience is a component required for the award of the Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice granted upon completion of your Practical Legal Training (PLT) Program. For more information, see the Work Experience Component Rules (NSW).There are a number of steps involved in successfully completing the Work Experience Component. You are required to:
- read the Work Experience Component Rules for your jurisdiction below
- find a work experience placement (or placements) with a supervisor who meets the requirements specified in the Work Experience Component Rules
- submit your Application for Approval of Work Experience Placement or
- request that your supervisor complete the Supervisor’s Undertaking in Relation to Work Experience Placements included in the Application for Approval of Work Experience Placement
- receive a written approval from the Work Experience Committee for each placement
- complete a total of 75 working days at your approved work experience placement (or placements), and
- submit a Work Experience Declaration Form for each work experience placement that you complete
All the forms can be found on the College of Law website
Other PLT providers (and other jurisdictions) may have different requirements, and so you should follow the procedures outlined in relation to the provider you anticipate enrolling for PLT.