There's Always a Precedent: Student Publications at Law School

EMMA SHORTT
Volume 1, Issue 1 (Originally published 27 February 2011)
 
THE Law School at the University of Melbourne has produced many publications throughout its existence. From the likes of the rigorous Melbourne University Law Review (MULR) to the humorous Purely Dicta.
 
Each publication has gone through many incarnations. MULR began in 1935 as Res Judicatae, a peer-reviewed student publication modelled on the Harvard Law Review. In 1957 it was given it’s current name. By 1998 the editorial staff were producing two editions each year while gaining renowned as Australia’s foremost legal journal.
 
The Summons was a quarterly magazine first published in 1891 with a 12 year run, a disappearance, then a revival in 1963. This paper seeks to fill a role similar to what had been De Minimis, a Newsletter published by the Law Students’ Society from 1948-1976. That is, to inform students of the goings-on at the Melbourne Law School, including weekly events, perhaps a gossip column here and there (fully researched of course to maintain at least some semblance of validity), study tips, the “real reasons” you read a newspaper (Sudoku, the crossword, the equivalent of TheAge quiz) and opinion pieces on anything and everything.
 
Emma Shortt