LAW 3609 - Legal Practice Internship

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2022

This course supports students undertaking internships with a legal practice to appreciate the operation of the law in practice and develop their practical legal skills, while undertaking academic assessment on topics related to legal practice. Students are responsible for obtaining their own placement of at least 20 days in a legal practice, where they are required to participate actively in all aspects of the work at the office, such as client interviewing, research, drafting and case file management. This course provides a compulsory induction equipping students with basic skills that will form a foundation for the internship and assessment which follows.

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Course Details

Course Code	LAW 3609
Course	Legal Practice Internship
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Law School
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate Law (LLB)
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 36 hours
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange
Assessment	Typically a combination of a placement report, video on substantive law and legal practice, and a research report

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Ms Cornelia Koch

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

This course does not have any formal classes, but students are required to complete a compulsory induction and 150 hours of internship placement.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. Actively apply theoretical legal principles to client legal casework
2. Demonstrate legal practice skills in dealing with clients, colleagues and the courts, through appropriate professional activities such as drafting legal documents, conducting client or witness interviews, undertaking practical legal research, providing legal advice (to colleagues not clients), or engaging with opposing lawyers and the courts
3. Exercise forensic judgment and make informed and considered decisions in a legal practice environment
4. Work effectively and reliably in a professional environment, both individually and as a member of a team
5. Demonstrate reflexive learning practices.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.	1, 2, 3
Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.	1, 2, 3
Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.	2, 4
Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.	2, 3
Attribute 7: Digital capabilities Graduates are well prepared for living, learning and working in a digital society.	2, 4
Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.	5

Learning Resources

Required Resources

All materials required for this course will be provided via MyUni.

Online Learning

Course materials and assignment instructions will be made available on MyUni.

All students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with announcements during the semester.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

Students will complete a compulsory induction prior to commencing their internship.
Students will attend their internship for a minimum of 20 days.

Workload

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

Students will complete the compulsory induction, and 150 hours (20 days x 7.5 hours per day) of internship placement, plus preparation of assessment items.

Learning Activities Summary

Through the induction students will be introduced to various aspects of working in a professional legal environment.

There are no scheduled learning activities for this course. Instead, students will be involved in the day to day activities of their host legal practice. The course coordinator will provide regular feedback on students’ interim assessment as well as assistance in framing the topic for their Project Report.

Specific Course Requirements

The induction is critical for students' preparation for dealing with clients, colleagues and the courts, and so completion is compulsory. Students cannot pass the course without completing the induction.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Redeemable	Length	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Video 1	Individual, summative	After completion of 10 days of internship	no	10 minutes	25%	2, 3, 5
Video 2	Individual, summative	After completion of 15 days of internship	no	10 minutes	25%	2, 3, 5
Performance on placement	Individual, summative	NA	no	NA	PASS/FAIL	1, 2, 3, 4
Project Report	Individual, summative	4 weeks after completion of internship placement	no	Max 2,500 words	50%	1, 5

Assessment Related Requirements

HURDLE REQUIREMENT

To pass the course, students MUST achieve a PASS for their Performance on Placement. This is necessary because the course learning outcomes require evidence of a professional standard of competency in a practical legal setting.

Students must undertake 150 hours of supervised placement.

Assessment Detail

Video 1
Students are required to create a 10-minute video on an aspect of any area of substantive law where their practical experience will assist other students to understand the relevant substantive law. As well as submitting the video for assessment, students are required to submit the video to the relevant course co-ordinator for consideration for inclusion in materials for the course. The mark will not be affected by whether or not the course co-ordinator chooses to make the video available to students.

Video 2
Students are required to create a 10-minute video on an aspect of any area of legal practice where their practical experience will assist other students to prepare for transition to the legal profession. It could relate to ethical issues, office protocols, communication with supervisors, etc. As well as submitting the video for assessment, students are required to submit the video to the Law School Career Readiness team for consideration for inclusion on the Next Steps Youtube channel. The mark will not be affected by whether or not the Career Readiness team chooses to make the video available to students.

Performance on Placement
The student’s internship supervisor will assign the student a Pass or Fail grade for their performance on placement, assessing the following learning outcomes:

1. Actively apply theoretical legal principles to client legal casework
2. Demonstrate legal practice skills in dealing with clients, colleagues and the courts, through appropriate professional activities such as drafting legal documents, conducting client or witness interviews, undertaking practical legal research, providing legal advice (to colleagues not clients), or engaging with opposing lawyers and the courts
3. Exercise forensic judgment and make informed and considered decisions in a legal practice environment
4. Work effectively and reliably in a professional environment, both individually and as a member of a team

Students will be assessed using a rubric available on MyUni.

Project Report
Students are to prepare a report addressing some aspect of their experience or learning from the internship. The topic should be negotiated with the course coordinator no later than at the completion of the internship. The report should link the student’s experience of legal practice with relevant principles of law, ethical constructs and/or theories of lawyering or other topic agreed on with the course co-ordinator.

Submission

Videos and Project Reports are to be submitted electronically on MyUni.

Late Submission Penalties: When an assessment is submitted after the due date, without an extension, 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that the assignment 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 essay that is more than 24 hours late will lose 10%, etc.

Word Length Penalties: 5% of the total mark possible for a written assessment will be deducted for every 100 words (or part thereof) by which it exceeds a stipulated word limit. For example, a 3,000 word essay graded at 63% will have 5% deducted if it is between 3,001 and 3,100 words long for a final mark of 58%. If the essay is between 3,101 and 3,200 words long, 10% will be deducted for a final mark of 53%, etc. Word limits include all words in the text, in headings, in quotations, but exclude citations in footnotes. Any separate cover page, table of contents, bibliography or list of sources is excluded from the word limit. If the word limit is misstated, this may be regarded as academic dishonesty.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

Student feedback
The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider.
Student Support
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.

The centre offers 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.

Lex Salus Program
Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support
The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Academic Integrity
All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. Academic Misconduct is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic Misconduct (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia. Academic Integrity 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.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator