Course COORDINATOR

Name: Dr Joanna Howe
Location: Room 312, Ligertwood Building
Telephone: 8313 0878
email: joanna.howe@adelaide.au

This course will be taught intensely in the first three weeks of term, with up to 7 contact hours in these weeks. Thereafter the course will be taught in a 1 hour lecture and a two hour seminar weekly until the end of week 10. A full timetable for the course is available on the MyUni course website.

Both Seminars and Lectures begin in Week One. It is essential that students attend from week 1. Those who miss the first three weeks will be unable to catch up with the course and attendance requirements.

The course introduces students to a range of foundational skills that are necessary for the successful study of law.

1. A student successfully completing the course will be able to:
2. Understand the sources of law in Australia including the development and operation of common law, precedent and court hierarchy, and the roles of parliament and the courts;
3. Read and analyse cases, with an understanding of ratio and obiter dictum, and a knowledge of the methods that can be used to apply and distinguish cases;
4. Understand some basic strategies that can be used to solve legal problems;
5. Read, analyse and apply statutes using the appropriate methods of statutory interpretation;
6. Conduct basic legal research, including by using legal databases to research case law, legislation and scholarly journal articles
7. Appreciate the ethical dimensions of the role of lawyers, and the functioning of law and legal systems;
8. Understand and discuss core legal theories;
9. Work in groups to solve problems, prepare written documents, and prepare and present a debate on a topic in legal theory;
10. Use legal citation conventions in the course of legal writing.

• Cook, Creyke, Geddes and Hamer, Laying Down the Law (8th ed, 2012)
•  Foundations of Law, Lecture and Seminar Guide (Available for free at the Image and Copy Centre, and downloadable from the MyUni website. The Image and Copy Centre is on Level 1, Hughes Building, University of Adelaide. It is open from Monday to Friday 9.30am - 4.00pm)
•  Foundations of Law, Course Materials (Available for purchase at the Image and Copy Centre)
• Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth). This is available online from the ComLaw website: http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ (You can link to this website via the Law Library Home page under ‘Legislation’. Once you reach the ComLaw database select ‘key resources’. A link has also been placed in the ‘Additional Materials’ folder on the MyUni subject website.)

• Australian Guide to Legal Citation (3rd ed, 2010) Melbourne University Law Review Association, Melbourne (available for viewing on the web at mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/go/AGLC3 and available for purchase, (eg, from Unibooks). A link has also been placed in the ‘Additional Materials’ folder on the MyUni subject website).
• A dictionary of legal terms such as Lexis Nexis, Concise Australian Legal Dictionary (4th ed, 2011) or
• Oxford, Australian Law Dictionary (2010). Again this is a resource students will find useful throughout their degree.

Reference Texts (available library reserve)

• Milne and Tucker, A Practical Guide to Legal Research (2nd ed, 2010)
• Parker and Evans, Inside Lawyers’ Ethics (2007)
• Carvan, Understanding the Australian Legal System (5th ed, 2002)
• Parkinson, Tradition and Change in Australian Law (4th ed 2010)
• Sanson, Anthony, Worswick, Connecting With Law (2nd ed 2010)
• Enright, Studying Law (5th ed, 1995)
• Bott, Nemes and Coss’ Effective Legal Research (4th ed 2010)
• Meehan, Tulloch, Grammar for Lawyers (2nd ed 2007)
• Butterworths, Concise Australian Legal Dictionary (3rd ed, 2004)
• Oxford, Australian Law Dictionary (2010)
• Hall and Macken, Butterworths Guide to Legislation & Statutory Interpretation (2008)
• Pearce and Geddes, Statutory Interpretation in Australia (7th ed, 2006)
• Meyerson, Essential Jurisprudence (2006)
• Williams, Glanville Williams: Learning the Law (13th ed, 2006)
• Dworkin, Law’s Empire (1986)
• Marr, The Henson Case (2008)

The course is supported by the Foundations of Law MyUni website. The website contains links to the following resources:

1. Course information, including the Course Profile and the seminar and lecture guide.
2. Course materials – such as items of assessment, lecture PowerPoint slides, and other course materials which will be posted from time to time.
3. Lectures – audio streaming of lectures and video streaming of lecture slides will be posted (where available) under the Course Materials link as soon as possible after each lecture.
4. Discussion Board – This is available for students to discuss the course among themselves and to communicate with academic staff in relation to administrative or substantive questions about the course.
5. Grade book – where students’ grades will be entered for each assignment.

MyUni will also be used to post announcements, and assignment tasks. Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course.

Students should also regularly check their email.

This course will be taught intensely in the first three weeks of term, with up to 7 contact hours in these weeks. Thereafter the course will be taught in a 1 hour lecture and a two hour seminar weekly until the end of week 10. A full timetable for the course is available on the MyUni course website.

Lectures and seminars commence in the first week of semester (week beginning 4 March 2013). To be eligible to sit the exam, students must attend 9 of the 12 seminars (see 5.2 below).

Lectures will be audio-streamed (technology permitting) and PowerPoint slides supporting the lecture will be available the day before. Seminars examine and apply the material addressed in the lectures and in the readings, as well as covering new material that is better taught in a ‘hands-on’ way, such as legal research. It is essential to prepare for the seminars by undertaking the prescribed reading for the week and preparing the exercises.

Students must attend the seminar class for which they are enrolled.

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 assignments. Students should expect to spend about 4 – 6 hours a week reading and preparing materials for lectures and seminars. In addition, students will expect to spend between 4-6 hours attending Court and preparing a report, 3-5 hours preparing for and completing the quiz, 10-14 hours preparing the Analysis and Interpretation assignment, and 4 – 8 hours preparing the Group Debate. Students will require about 18 to 25 hours to prepare for the exam.

The University expects full time students (those undertaking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies.

Schedule

Week	Lecture	Seminar A	Seminar B	Assessment
MODULE A: SOURCES, LAWYERS AND CASES
Week   1:   Mon   3   March	Tues 4pm: The Concept of Law/Sources of Law Thurs 11am: Legal research and writing	Introducing law school/planning your court report	Understanding the concept of law
Week 2: Mon   10   March	Tues 4pm: The Legal Profession/Case Analysis (Part 1) IN LECTURE SHORT ESSAY ASSESSMENT- 5% Thur 11am Case   Analysis   (Part   2)	Sources of Law	Legal Research
Week 3: 17th March	No Lecture	Understanding the legal profession/How to cite	Case analysis (Part 1)	FOL case report due
MODULE B: STATUTES
Week 4 24th March	Tues 4pm: Statutory interpretation Thurs 11am: Statutory interpretation	Case Analysis (Part 2)		FOL Research quiz open open Monday 25th at 9am until Friday 29th March at 5pm
Week 5 31st March	No lecture	Statutory interpretation
Week 6 7th April	No lecture	Statutory interpretation
MODULE C: LEGAL THEORY
Week 7: Mon 28th	Thurs 11am Legal Theory	No seminar	No seminar	FOL Analysis and Interpretation Assignment due
Week 8: Mon 5th May	Thurs 11am Legal Theory	Understanding legal theory
Week 9: Mon 12th May	Thurs 11am Revision and exam	Understanding legal
Week 10: 19th May	No lecture	No seminar	Applying legal theory to practical problems: debates
Week 11: 26th May	No lecture	No seminar
Week 12: 2nd June	No lecture	No seminar
There   are   no   additional   requirements   for   completion   of   this   course   other   than   described   elsewhere   in   this   document.

Assessment   Item	Percent   of     final   mark	Dates	Group   or     individual	Length	Redeemable   in     the   exam
Court   Report	5%	Due     Tuesday   18   March     at   2   pm	Group	750     words	Yes     redeemable   (40%   or     bona   fide   effort)
In Lecture short essay	5%	Tuesday 11 March, 4pm-6pm	Individual	10     questions	Yes     redeemable   (40%   or     bona   fide   effort)
Analysis   and     Interpretation   Exercise	40%	Due     Tuesday   29   April     at   2   pm	Individual	1250     words	Yes     redeemable   (40%   or     bona   fide   effort)
Exam	50%   or   100%	In     the   Examination   Period	Individual	Exam     Period 90     minutes   in   length     and   10   minutes     reading   time	N/A

To be eligible to sit the exam, students must attend 9 of the 12 seminars. If students do not make this minimum requirement for whatever reason (including ill-health), they will be required to complete a 500 word assignment for each seminar below the minimum. (ie if a student attends 7 seminars, they will be required to write two 500 word assignments. The assignment must be to a satisfactory standard as judged by the course coordinator.


In order to redeem interim assessment marks a student must achieve 40% or a bona fide effort as assessed by the course coordinator in each piece of interim assessment. A failure to submit or a poor effort (below 40% or no bona fide effort) in any piece of interim assessment means that the examination counts for 100% of the final mark for the subject.

Marks achieved in the interim assessment will be added together and make up the interim mark in the subject. The interim mark will count for 50% of the final mark with the examination result making up the other 50%. If students perform better in the examination (or are not entitled to redeem as set out above) their final mark will be their examination mark.

Court Report (5%)

Student groups are required to observe a South Australian Court while in session and each group must submit a report based on their observations that responds to specific questions. Instructions and questions to be answered will be posted on MyUni in week one. The reports must be submitted by Tuesday 18 March at 2 pm and are worth 5% of the grade for the course. The report will be assessed on a pass/fail basis.

Short Essay (5%)

Students are required to complete a short essay that assesses writing skills and the ability to understand secondary materials. The essay will be completed in the second half of the lecture in week 2 of the course on Tuesday 11 March from 4pm-6pm.
The short essay is worth 5% of the grade for the course.

Analysis and Interpretation Exercise (40%)

The Analysis and Interpretation Exercise comprises two parts. In part 1 students will be given a passage from a judgment in a case relating to legal and professional ethics, and will be required to answer questions similar to those modelled in the seminars on case analysis.
In part 2 students will undertake a simple process of statutory interpretation in a form similar to the exercises undertaken in seminars.
Detailed instructions with marking criteria will be distributed with the Exercise. The assignment must be submitted by Tuesday 29 April at 2 pm.

Exam (50% or 100%)

The exam will have two sections. The first section will have an analysis and interpretation exercise. The second section will test student understanding of legal theory. The exam is 90 minutes in length with 10 minutes reading time. It will be held in the University Examination Period. Court Report (5%)
Student groups are required to observe a South Australian Court while in session and each group must submit a report based on their observations that responds to specific questions. Instructions and questions to be answered will be posted on MyUni in week one. The reports must be submitted by Tuesday 18 March at 2 pm and are worth 5% of the grade for the course. The report will be assessed on a pass/fail basis.

Unless otherwise advised, all assessment must be submitted in BOTH hardcopy and electronically via Turnitin by the due date. This means that all papers will be electronically checked for plagiarism. In the absence of a Turnitin receipt the grade attained for that assignment will be withheld until the receipt is received. Absence of a Turnitin receipt will also result in an automatic 5% penalty.

There are specific Law School requirements for the submission of hardcopy assignments. They are as follows:

1. Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
2. All individual assignments must be attached to an Assignment Cover Sheet which must be signed and dated by the student before submission. Lecturers will withhold student’s results until such time as the student has signed the Assignment Cover Sheet.
3. Markers can refuse to accept assignments which do not have a signed acknowledgement of the University’s policy on plagiarism (refer to policy on plagiarism above).
   

Extensions

Extensions beyond the due date will only be granted in the case of serious and unforeseen incapacity. 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. If you require an extension, you will need to use the on-line application form available on the law school website
(http://www.law.adelaide.edu.au/student/forms/) as soon as you are aware of the need for an extension, and before the due date of the assignment.

The course coordinator will reply by email, determining whether an extension is warranted, what evidence is required to verify the student’s incapacity, and the length of the extension. Evidence of the incapacity must be submitted with the assignment, and must be consistent with details in the email requesting the extension. If the details of the request for an extension, and the medical or other evidence verifying the extension are not consistent in all respects, the extension is nullified, and the assignment may be penalised.

All written work in the Law school is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Penalties:

1. Late Submission: 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that submission is late, including each day on a weekend. For example, an essay that is submitted after the due date and time but within the first 24 hour period, and that has been graded at 63%, will have 5% deducted, for a final grade of 58%. An assignment that is more than 24 hours late will lose 10%, etc. Hard copy submissions made after 5.00pm on a Friday will be assumed to have been submitted on the next business day and will be penalised accordingly.
2. Word Length: Assignments which exceed the allocated length (word length ) will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks possible per 100 words or part thereof (ie with a word limit of 1,250, an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 1,251 words long, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 1,351 words long, etc). Words are calculated including all footnotes and headings within the text but excluding cover page information. Quotations and all referencing information are included in the word count.
3. Failure to lodge a hard copy with a Turnitin receipt will mean that your assignment has not been validly submitted and a special penalty of 5% may be applied.

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

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.

For more information please check out the Writing Centre website at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/

Plagiarism and other forms of cheating

Plagiarism is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the Adelaide Law School Enrolment Guide 2014, and should note in particular the sections relating to plagiarism, grievance procedures and academic conduct within the Law School and the University.

Plagiarism is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Please be aware that “academic dishonesty” (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to refuse 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.