School of Law
Faculty of Business and Law
All law students must complete compulsory dispute resolution units as part of the Deakin University law degree. Students cannot graduate without completing these units.
*Each of the dispute resolution units have a co-requisite unit (listed above). This means students must undertake the unit at the same time as, or after completing the co-requisite unit. This will ensure students you have the necessary knowledge to be able to effectively complete each assessment task.
Approximately 900 students will undertake dispute resolution assessment and all classes are cancelled for the week to allow students to spend time preparing. Assessment is undertaken at the Melbourne Magistrates Court, the Geelong Magistrates Court, the Warrnambool Magistrates Court and at the Burwood and Geelong campuses. Students are expected to dress as though they are attending Court. Lecturers and members of the profession are appointed as Judges for this task and witnesses are appointed to take part in the Witness examination activities. For some students it is a nervewracking preparation, but many find it a great challenge and it is very rewarding for those who do it well. The feedback given by the Judges is invaluable.
The program is designed to give you an insight into the law in practice and to teach skills which will enable you to work co-operatively and effectively as members of a team, as well as equipping you with a broad technical competency, a specialisation in commercial law and an appreciation of how the law operates in practice. This approach to legal training is a hallmark of our LLB program and reflects our commitment to integrating practical legal training alongside theoretical training in our LLB program. For this reason, there are no exemptions from the practical legal skills dispute resolution program units and graduation will not be permitted without completing the required dispute resolution practical legal skills units and the prescribed professional experience.
Assessment
These units are offered wholly online. This means all materials and resources are located on DSO. Assessment is undertaken in teams of two or three. Students are required to form their own team and sign their team up on DSO by the end of week 1 (5pm Friday 25 July). Students who do not form their own team, will have a team formed for them. These students must then contact their team members via DSO. Assessment is undertaken during Professionals Week (18-22 August 2008).
Each assessment task (Moot, Mediation, Arbitration & Witness Examination) forms 100% of the assessment for the unit. Students will receive a mark out of 10 and those students who successfully complete the assessment task by receiving a mark of more than 5 out of 10 will receive an ungraded pass ‘UP’ which will appear on their academic transcript.
Students who fail the assessment task by receiving a mark of less than 5 out of 10 will receive a fail grade (N) and will be required to repeat the unit. In this case the fail grade (N) will remain on their academic transcript and cannot be removed. Students who fail to appear for their assessment task at their scheduled time will also receive a fail grade (N).
On campus students will be scheduled to undertake their assessment task during Professionals Week (18-22 August) at their campus of enrolment or the relevant Magistrates Court (see below). During Professionals Week all other Law classes are cancelled to allow students to spend extra time in preparation and to appear at their scheduled assessment time.
Off campus students can choose to undertake their assessment task during Professionals Week at any of the available locations or during the Professionals Week weekend session, which will run at the Burwood Campus in Melbourne on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 August. Students indicate their preference during registration on DSO. Off campus students who live remotely are permitted to apply for the option of undertaking their task via e Live. Contact the unit chair if you are considering this option.
A great way to prepare for your activity is to take the opportunity to participate in the DLSS Moot competitions that are run in semester 1. For further details go to www.dlss.org.au.
Further Information
For further information regarding the Dispute Resolution Program contact:
Claire Macken
Practical Legal Skills Coordinator
telephone 03 9244 6184 email claire.macken@deakin.edu.au
Kylie Wiffen
Administrative Officer
telephone 03 5227 2625 email kylie@deakin.edu.au
