A full timetable for the course is available in the Lecture and Seminar Guide on the MyUni course website.

Both Seminars and Lectures begin in Week One. It is essential that students attend from week 1. 

The course introduces students to a range of foundational skills that are necessary for the successful study of law. A student successfully completing the course will be able to demonstrate an ability to:

1. 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, and the role of the law of contract in particular within the Australian legal system;
2. 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;
3. Understand some basic strategies that can be used to solve legal problems;
4. Read, analyse and apply statutes using the appropriate methods of statutory interpretation;
5. Conduct basic legal research, including by using legal databases to research case law, legislation and scholarly journal articles;
6. Appreciate the ethical dimensions of the role of lawyers, and the functioning of law and legal systems;
7. Understand and discuss core legal theories;
8. Work in groups to solve problems, prepare written documents, and prepare a presentation or debate on a topic in legal theory;
9. Use legal citation conventions in the course of legal writing.

• Foundations of Law, Lecture and Seminar Guide
• Foundations of Law, Course Readings
• Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) and Acts Interpretation Act 1915 (SA)
• Catriona Cook et al, Laying Down the Law (LexisNexis, 9th ed, 2014).

• Australian Guide to Legal Citation (3rd ed, 2010) Melbourne University Law Review Association, Melbourne (available for viewing on the web at http://law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/aglc/about and available for purchase). 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.

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) on MyUni as soon as possible after each lecture. (Please note: it can take up to 72 hours for the lectures to be uploaded.)
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.

Lectures and seminars commence in the first week of semester. 

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.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
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.

Assessment Item	% of final mark	Dates	Group or Individual	Length	Redeemable in the exam
Court Report	5%	To be handed to your seminar leader at the start of the seminar in week 3	Group	3 pages	Yes redeemable (40% or bona fide effort)
Research Quiz	5%	To be completed between 9am Monday 5pm Friday Week 7	Individual	10 questions	Yes redeemable (40% or bona fide effort)
Advocacy Exercise (Presentation/Debate)	10%	Week 12	Group		Yes redeemable (40% or bona fide effort)
Analysis and Interpretation Exercise	30%	Due Friday Week 10 at 2 pm	Individual	5 pages	Yes redeemable (40% or bona fide effort)
Exam	50% or 100%	In the Examination Period	Individual	Exam Period 120 minutes plus 10 minutes reading time	N/A

1. Attendance

Students must attend 9 of the 12 seminars. Students should let their seminar leader know if they are unable to attend a seminar. Student will be expected to work in small groups in the seminars. Assessment tasks (such as the Court Report and Legal Theory Presentations) will be conducted in groups.

2. Redeemable grades

In order to redeem interim assessment marks a student must achieve 40% or a bona fide effort as assessed by the course coordinator in the interim assessment.

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 are entitled to redeem their interim assessment mark, and they perform better in the examination, their final mark will be their examination mark (ie the exam will count for 100%).

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 at the start of the seminar in Week 3.

Research Quiz (5%)

Students are required to complete a 10 question quiz in Week 7 to test their research skills.

Advocacy Skills - Debate/Presentation (10%)

In the seminar in week 12 students will participate in an advocacy exercise. The exercise will take the form of a debate or presentation and students will apply legal theory to practical problems. This exercise will be conducted in groups.

Analysis and Interpretation Exercise (30%)

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 Friday of Week 10 at 2 pm.

Exam (50% or 100%)

The exam is 120 minutes in length with 10 minutes reading time. It will be held in the University Examination Period.

Submission requirements for each piece of assessment will be set out in the information provided when the assessment item is released. Students should read the information on MyUni carefully in relation to submitting each piece of assessment and follow the instructions.

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 Unified 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:
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.
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.

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/ 

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus was founded in 2013 by Adelaide Law School Wellbeing officers Ms Corinne Walding, Ms Kellie Toole and Dr Mark Giancaspro. Lex Salus is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at raising law student awareness of the importance of mental, physical and nutritional health across all year levels of the degree, and of the various counselling, disability and equity services both within and outside the University that can provide help. Research shows that law students, both in Australia and in many jurisdictions around the world, experience the highest levels of stress, anxiety and depression out of any other discipline. Many do not get enough sleep, maintain a healthy diet or achieve a realistic work/life balance. Making matters worse, they are unwilling or afraid to speak up for fear of feeling 'weak' or because of the negative stigma that attaches to seeking help. Lex Salus is dedicated to tackling these problems head-on.

Counselling Service

The University Counselling Service provides a free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Counselling service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life. More information is available at https://www.adelaide.edu.au/counselling_centre/. 

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, 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.