Quick Thoughts on the Curriculum

THIBAUT CLAMART

Vol 11, Issue 1 
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In this short article, I intend to share what I consider to be gaps in the curriculum and subject matters I wish I had studied more in my first two years of the JD.

First, you (live, don’t sleep much, study and work too hard) vote in Victoria (I cannot yet so no fines for me!).  As such, studying and understanding the Constitution of our state would be sensible. I would also add that, based on my short-lived experience as a high-flying commercial law clerk (ie an intern who drinks too much), Victorian laws are as important as federal laws. It is however true that clients are unlikely to seek advice as to whether a reform of the Constitution Act 1975 (Vic) was done in the due form and manner. I suppose that one could still be interested in becoming a well-rounded lawyer (or a lawyer at all since state constitutional law is included in the Priestley 11). In any event, I wish I had studied and had been assessed on the Victorian Constitution more.

Second, I find the name of the criminal law subject (‘Criminal Law and Procedure’) slightly misleading. I am still unsure whether I studied criminal procedure at all, but studying criminal law was great! On a side note, who needs to learn anything about murder, theft, or rape in a criminal law subject?

Otherwise, and I mean it, I think the curriculum is well designed with subjects organised in semesters that nicely build upon each other.
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Thibaut Clamart is a third-year JD Student 


The rest of this issue:

• Remembering the Hanged Man
• High School Advice on Friendship for Postgraduates
• Is There a Conspiracy Against Elective Enrolment? Equity Uncle Responds 
• The Urban Jungle: Ticket Inspectors
• What the Fair Work Penalty Rates Decision Means for Melbourne Law School