Issue 10 – December 2013

As we come to the end of 2013, I have been reflecting on how much I have enjoyed meeting up with alumni this year in our many events in Melbourne, and also in Sydney, Perth, London, Geneva, Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore, Hong Kong and New York. Every time I meet with a new group of alumni, I am impressed by how much they have achieved across a diverse range of careers both inside and outside the law. In this issue, I hope that you enjoy reading about the career path of Elizabeth Proust, who is an outstanding example of someone who has been very successful outside the legal profession, but who continues to use many of the skills that she learnt at law school.

One of Melbourne's leading business figures, Elizabeth Proust AO, shares her reflections on a career that has spanned the public and private sector.

The 'milk war' between suppliers and supermarkets after Coles began selling milk at just over $1 a litre has divided opinion in Australia, and shown the considerable power that major supermarkets wield over food production, distribution and consumption.

Few law students have the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of the most vulnerable in our society while still at university. But a group of Melbourne JD students has moved beyond classrooms and casebooks to facilitate justice for members of the community experiencing financial and social disadvantage.

Thirty years after the High Court sat in Brisbane to hand down its decision in Commonwealth v Tasmania on 1 July 1983, Melbourne Law School hosted a symposium to commemorate and reflect on the significance of the Tasmanian Dam case.

This year Melbourne Law School launched a new blog focussing on cases of the High Court of Australia. Martin Clark argues that Opinions on High is the latest digital manifestation of the duty to bring accessible legal commentary to the public, a tradition of public engagement first embraced by the High Court in the 1980s.

A gift to create Melbourne Law School's first endowed chair in human rights law will see the school advance understanding of a body of law that promotes dignity and equality for all.

Professor Dianne Otto has been named the inaugural Francine V McNiff Chair in Human Rights Law. The establishment of this endowed Chair in perpetuity enables the Law School to further promote this important area of law.

In 1956 the American jazz singer Nat King Cole was visiting Melbourne when he found himself playing an unexpected role in one of the highlights of the social calendar for the Melbourne Law Students' Society (LSS).

Dr Francis Gurry (LLB(Hons) 1973, LLM 1975) is Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This year he visited Melbourne Law School to deliver the fifth annual address in the lecture series named in his honour, the Francis Gurry Lecture on Intellectual Property. This is a summary of the lecture given by Dr Gurry in Melbourne and Sydney in August 2013.

Traditionally, intellectual property (IP) has played an important, but somewhat hidden, role in the legal and economic system.

A partner at Davis Polk in the US, Frank Azzopardi (LLB(Hons) 1997) has travelled from Melbourne's north to New York, a place he never expected to be.

Why law?

I think it has always been about the idea of being able to help people solve their problems. I always thought that law school was empowering. It changes the way you think, the way you present yourself, the way you problem solve and ultimately, the way you are perceived.

Law School graduates were part of the University's largest ever special gathering of alumni at Wilson Hall this year, a celebration hosted by Chancellor, Elizabeth Alexander AM.

The occasion attracted more than 420 alumni and guests, with some alumni having attended the University as far back as the early 1930s. For many, the event was a rare opportunity to reconnect on the grounds of their university campus, which is much changed over the past 50 years.

A new philanthropic gift represents a forward-looking approach to one of the biggest challenges for the Australian legal profession and public in the 21st century: understanding and engaging with the legal systems on our doorstep.

Melbourne Law School Professor Lee Godden has been appointed as a Commissioner to lead the inquiry by the Australian Law Reform Commission into the Native Title Act 1993.