Message from the Dean

By Carolyn Evans
Dean, Melbourne Law School
Harrison Moore Professor of Law

There is nothing more satisfying in my role as Dean than hearing the stories of members of the MLS community who have achieved success and made a difference to the world.

In this edition of MLS News you will see many such stories of the way in which studying law helped MLS graduates to reach their goals and to contribute back to society. I know that you will enjoy hearing the story of Matt Pierri, who impressed his fellow students and teachers alike as 2015 MULSS President, and has been awarded the Victorian Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. Matt will be just one of a number of MLS students who have obtained places at leading universities around the world, including Oxford, Cambridge, NYU and Harvard.

We wish them all well.

Our staff have also been recognised for their excellence. Professor Sundhya Pahuja was awarded the Fulbright Senior Scholarship to take her to Harvard later in the year – where she will cross paths with Professor Tim McCormack who is just returning from Harvard having won the Fulbright last year. Professor Anne Orford was awarded a Laureate Fellowship by the Australian Research Council and you can read more in this edition about her important project on civil war intervention. A newly arrived teacher, Dr Scott Stephenson won the Chris Holt prize for his manuscript on comparative constitutional rights, which will be published by Federation Press later this year. These are just a few examples from the many outstanding staff we have here at the Law School.

Of course, the value of a legal education at Melbourne continues to resonate long after people graduate and it is always interesting and inspiring to see the wide variety of pathways that our alumni have taken. In this edition, you will read about the Law School’s growing connections in India; the role that many of our alumni are playing on boards; the impact of humanitarian work by a student on the frontline of the refugee crisis in Lesbos; and get an insight into how MLS alumni have forged successful careers in the dynamic, emerging legal market in the Middle East. We celebrate all these varied contributions to the world made by our alumni.

This year we were again honoured to be ranked as the best law school in Australia and the eighth best law school in the world. These rankings systems rely heavily on reputation, including the reputation of our graduates and alumni as employees. I know that the quality of our alumni has played a critical role in establishing our reputation and I hope that you share my pride in the results that we have achieved together.

This article originally appeared in MLS News, Issue 15, June 2016.