Melbourne Law School

Technology is transforming healthcare research and delivery. But is the law keeping up? A new research team at Melbourne Law School is exploring the key legal challenges and opportunities.

A new centre which will focus on the plight and rights of stateless people was officially launched at Melbourne Law School on Monday 26 March.

In 2018, first year Melbourne Juris Doctor (JD) student Kate Mak became the inaugural recipient of the Melbourne Law School Yao Yi & Xu Bin Asia Leaders Scholarship, an initiative made possible through the generous support of Beijing-based MLS alumni Yao Yi and her husband Xu Bin.

For much of the early part of the last decade the focus of Australian competition law and enforcement has been on the introduction and implementation of criminal sanctions for individuals for cartel conduct, introduced in 2009. Almost ten years on, a critical review of civil penalties for companies is timely.

Professor Gillian Triggs, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Melbourne and former Australian Human Rights Commission President, delivered the annual Integrity/Jim Carlton Lecture, which is jointly hosted by the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies (CCCS) and the Accountability Round Table (ART), at Melbourne Law School this evening.

Bachelor of Commerce graduate Emily Mackay moved from Perth to study the Melbourne JD.

Melbourne Law School congratulates a number of our alumni who were recently recognised in the 2018 Australia Day Honours list. It is a tribute to the dedication and commitment of these members of our community who have worked tirelessly in their fields.

Nick Felstead commenced the Melbourne JD in February 2017. He reflects on his experiences in his first few weeks of law school.

Professor Pip Nicholson commences as Dean of the University of Melbourne Law School this week.

Dr Sally Cockburn and her daughter, Amelia Edwards, celebrate their graduation from the Melbourne Law Masters program together.

In his spare time, MLS alumnus Mark Tyndall hosts a podcast exploring the hidden talents, projects and stories of lawyers.

For lawyer Rowan Kendall, working in Brisbane, London and now Myanmar has been no barrier to completing Melbourne Law School’s Master of Competition and Consumer Law.

Professor Pip Nicholson has been appointed the new Dean of Melbourne Law School.

Dylan Tromp (BA(Hons)/BSc 2005, MPub&IntLaw 2010) has built a career working for the United Nations and other international organisations. He is now passing his experience along to a new crop of JD students through the MLS Mentor Program.

MLS alumni Nick Boyd-Caine and Zan Mazharullah have established a scholarship in memory of their classmate and good friend, Daniel Wright.

Speaking at the MLS Alumni Breakfast Seminar in November, Executive Director and Co-Head of Macquarie Capital Tim Joyce (BCom, LLB(Hons) 1998) shared his insights and commentary on the impact current economic trends are having on Australian businesses.

New research projects to be conducted by Melbourne Law School academics have been awarded major funding in the latest round of Australian Research Council (ARC) grants.

The Honourable Justice Julie Dodds-Streeton joins Melbourne Law School as the latest judge in residence.

Media personality, writer and MLS alumnus Tony Wilson offers his top tips on public speaking.

Speaking at a public lecture at MLS, US Defence attorney Dean Strang reflected on the importance of defending the ‘indefensible’.

MLS student John Zhang relocated from China to study at the University of Melbourne. Now in his second year of the JD, John is the International Student Representative on the Law Students’ Society and is passionate about enriching the University experience for his fellow students.

MLS students heard from alumni working in the technology and start-up space at the latest Beyond Law School panel.

From working on health care reforms in Indonesia to delivering waterpark projects in Latin America, MLS alumnus Sahil Sondhi (JD 2013) has already worn many hats during his career.

The University of Melbourne Law School has been ranked seventh in the world and first in Australia in the Times Higher Education World University 2018 Subject Rankings for Law.

Scholarship donors, recipients and guests assembled at the RACV Club on 12 September 2017.

A new scholarship for Melbourne JD students celebrates the significant contributions of Robert Richter QC to the law.

In July 2017, Liza Maimone (BE(ChemEng)(Hons) 1993, GDipEnergy&ResLaw 1998) was appointed Managing Partner of PwC Consulting in Australia. Having worked more than twenty years in consulting, Maimone has a wealth of experience and career advice to share.

Second year Melbourne JD student Cassandra Hamill is consumed by a passion for social justice. As her primary interest both inside and outside the law, it is no surprise that she applied for the JD in order to pursue public interest law.

For second year JD student Mariah Cartsidimas, seeking advice and gaining insights are key components in successful legal studies.

Melbourne Law School’s work advancing legal innovation in education has received industry recognition, with former MLS Dean Professor Carolyn Evans named in the 2017 Legal Innovation Index.

Melbourne Law School’s JD elective New Technology Law gives students the opportunity to explore the challenges and the potential of innovative technology in the law.

JD students enrolled in the MLS elective subject Start-Up Law have been given a front-row seat to pitches from the Melbourne Accelerator Project (MAP) start-up finalists.

Karri Walker is one of 25 students who just returned from Geneva, where she took part in Institutions in International Law, a two-week study intensive and a flagship subject in the Melbourne JD program. She reflects on her experience.

Speaking to a full house in a public lecture at Melbourne Law School on Monday 7 August 2017, Professor Philip Alston predicted that human rights are not going to disappear, but they will become increasingly difficult to defend and to uphold.

The boundaries of public law are increasingly becoming a point of contention amongst legal scholars across the globe.

Rajesh Gounder recently travelled to the United States for Global Lawyer, a two-week study intensive that gives Melbourne JD students unparalleled insight into the US and international legal spheres. He shares his story with MLS.

MLS alumna Gaayathri Periasami (BCA 2007, JD 2010) is Compliance Manager for Superannuation at Bendigo Bank, a mother of two and an entrepreneur with a successful online business. Though moving to regional Victoria has not been without its challenges, Gaayathri’s positive attitude and the skills she gained through her studies have ensured the rewards of regional life have been great.

Jordan Osrin relocated from Perth to study at MLS. Since arriving in Melbourne, Jordan has made the most of his JD experience.

With his JD studies drawing to a close, Matthew Acciarito sought to diversify his industry experience by interning on the Metro Tunnel Project.

MLS academic Dr Alysia Blackham has been named runner-up in the 2017 UK Society of Legal Scholars Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship. This is the second consecutive year that an MLS academic has been recognised by this prize.

University of Melbourne students participated in the #BreakingLaw Corporate Law Hackathon presented by King & Wood Mallesons and Melbourne Law School.

Senior Lecturer Kate Fischer Doherty is Director of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) at MLS. For Fischer Doherty, a highlight of her role is helping students put their learning into practice in the community.

Final-year JD student Thibaut Clamart is a passionate advocate for international students. He shares his story with MLS.

Méabh Loughnane has spent the last three years balancing her studies in the JD with her role as Co-founder and CEO of Chalk Circle | The Gender Literacy Foundation. Her work in the primary prevention of domestic violence across Australia has informed her newfound passion in law: family law and child protection.

Jason Bosland is a Senior Lecturer at MLS and is Deputy Director of the Centre for Media and Communications Law, researching principally in the areas of defamation, privacy and open justice. He has seen first-hand how research can lead to legal reform.

Melbourne Law School Associate Professor Sunita Jogarajan spent a year studying medicine before she discovered a passion for accounting and law. Now Associate Dean of the Breadth program at MLS, Jogarajan loves inspiring undergraduate students to consider their own pathways in the law.

MLS Associate Professor Joo-Cheong Tham is interested in the complex relationship that the law has with justice and democracy. For Tham, key to the role of an academic is harnessing research to contribute to the betterment of society.

Second-year JD student Tess McPhail never imagined that studying law would lead to an interest in podcasting.

Joshua Quinn-Watson was living and researching in India when he developed a keen interest in the law.

MLS alumnus Yifan Wang (JD 2016) came to Australia from China for an internship during his undergraduate studies, and now calls Melbourne home. While studying at MLS, one lecture in particular had a dramatic effect on Yifan, broadening his understanding of the importance of the law and its real-life ramifications.

A packed theatre at Melbourne Law School had the honour of hearing first hand from the Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, in conversation with Professor Carolyn Evans, at a public event in late July.

Second year MLS student Maddie Smith is proving that there is plenty of room for creativity in the law.

The Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) can seem daunting. But it doesn’t have to be. When we asked some current JD students to share their wisdom and advice, the top tip was preparation.

The law governing adverse events in medical treatment is one of the fastest developing areas in the legal sphere, and MLS Senior Fellow Bill Madden is at the heart of it.

Established in 1967, the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was created to foster greater cooperation in economic and security affairs between its members. Fifty years later, MLS academics are playing a key role in helping the ASEAN states develop their competition and consumer policy and legal regimes, integral to achieving the region’s economic aspirations.

The 25 Melbourne Law School students undertaking the JD elective Global Lawyer have completed their two weeks in the United States with Professors Andrew Mitchell and Bruce Oswald CSC.

For Dr Nicole Woodrow, obstetrician and gynaecologist, the intellectual challenge of the Master of Medical and Health Law has been the highlight of the program.

Working in the Australian outback means Rhys Aconley Jones (JD 2014) never knows where his day will take him.

New Melbourne Law Masters student Philip Chan has dedicated his short but successful career to human rights and the rights of children. Now, having been selected as a Westpac Future Leaders Scholar, he has the opportunity to expand his expertise at Melbourne Law School.

25 Melbourne JD students have finished their first week in the United States undertaking the elective Global Lawyer, which Melbourne Law School Professors Andrew D Mitchell, Bruce Oswald CSC and Tania Voon have been running each year together since 2011. The class has been engaging closely with a wide range of current transnational legal issues, including in discussions with experts on international humanitarian law and international economic law.

Melbourne Law School (MLS) staff, students and friends gathered last Wednesday to celebrate NAIDOC week and view the first in a series of images installed as part of the MLS Classroom Photo Initiative.

For Tasmanian based student Rebekah McWhirter, the flexibility of the Melbourne Law Masters program has enabled her to combine her job in cancer research with further study in health and medical law.

MLS alumnae Jennifer Lim (BA(Media&Comm) 2011, LLB 2011) and Natalie Campbell (BA 2009, LLB 2009) met while working as Associates at the Federal Court of Australia. While chatting over their lunch breaks they discovered many shared interests, having gone to the same law school and worked at the same firm; but it was their shared passion for addressing the mental health risks facing lawyers that led them to create a new podcast, ‘Compos Mentis.’

Melbourne Law School was one of 14 teams in the inaugural ICC Asia Pacific Commercial Mediation Competition, held in Melbourne from 7 July to 9 July.

Our 25 Melbourne JD students have ended their two intensive weeks in Geneva, studying Institutions in International Law with Professors Bruce Oswald CSC and Tania Voon.

MLS had the honour of hearing the Honourable Justice Geoffrey Nettle of the High Court of Australia deliver the 2017 Harold Ford lecture at the end of June.

25 Melbourne JD students have completed their first of two intensive weeks in Geneva, Switzerland, as part of the elective subject Institutions in International Law, which Melbourne Law School Professors Andrew D Mitchell, Bruce Oswald CSC and Tania Voon have been running successfully together each year since 2007.

MLS has a long history of mooting – a law school competition where students prepare written submissions and face off in mock trials. Applications to represent MLS in the 2017-2018 Jessup Competition, the world’s largest mooting competition, are now open.

Melbourne JD student Ruben Clark has been involved in theatre since the age of four.  Now in his third year of law, he has taken his passion for performance into the courtroom, participating in and judging the Melbourne Law School Witness Examination competitions.

Phoebe Lin is a current 2nd year MLS JD student. Jorden Lam (BCom/LLB 2010, LLM 2014) is the Company Secretary and General Counsel for HESTA, the industry super fund for health and community services. They met in 2016 through the MLS Mentor Program, in which many MLS alumni like Jorden take part. Phoebe and Jorden reflect upon their participation in the program and share their story.

Melbourne JD student Stephanie McHugh chose to study law for the intellectual rigour of it. Now, as she prepares to sit her final exams, Stephanie believes she has gained not only knowledge, but also the practical skills to make a positive impact in the world.

For Melbourne JD student Maxine Radwan, choosing to study law was driven by the diversity of career paths – both in Australia and overseas – that a law degree would open.

Melbourne JD student Rachel Cashmore always wanted to help people, which is why she has wanted to study law since childhood.

Enforcement-based responses to issues of homelessness and poverty are ineffective, says Lucy Adams (BA/LLB(Hons) 2005), Manager and Principle Lawyer of Justice Connect Homeless Law.

London-based MLS alumnus Nick Petrie (LLB/BA(Media&Comm) 2010) will soon commence his PhD at Cambridge University, where he will explore the extent to which the common law can protect human rights. For Nick, it’s timely research as the UK government negotiates its exit from the EU.

MLS alumni, staff, students and friends celebrated the 160th anniversary of Melbourne Law School at a gala dinner on Saturday 3rd June.

For someone who picked law as a “second choice,” second-year Melbourne JD student Eugene Teo has found his home at Melbourne Law School.

Melbourne Law School congratulates a number of our alumni who were recently recognised in the Queen's Birthday 2017 Honours list. It is a tribute to the dedication and commitment of these members of our community who have worked tirelessly in their fields.

New research fellow Dr Tom Gerald Daly has hit the ground running since arriving at Melbourne Law School in March.

Competition law and policy expert Jose Antonio Batista de Moura Ziebarth was a key architect of MLS’s first fully online masters program. For José, the importance of competition policy stems from its ability to impact people’s everyday lives.

Peter and Ruth McMullin intend to make one of the most significant gifts in the history of Melbourne Law School to establish the world’s only academic centre devoted to the problem of statelessness.

Second year student Wendy Li came to Melbourne Law School from China because she thought an Australian law degree would benefit her professional career. Little did she know she would be part of MLS’s first LawWithoutWalls X team – a four month-long competition in which students from law schools around the world collaborate to solve legal problems through innovation.

Third year JD students Annika McInerney and Gabrielle Verhagen have been united together in their dual Melbourne University Law Students’ Society (MULSS) roles by a common interest: the fight for women’s rights through law. As the LSS Women’s Officers they are working together to improve opportunities for women at MLS, and they both hope to go on and help women through their careers in law.

A bilingual web application which everyday Victorians can use to get more information about their court proceedings has been named the winner of the 2017 Law Apps Bake Off at Melbourne Law School.

Dean Professor Carolyn Evans tells ABC News that legal education in the age of digital disruption must balance tradition with innovation.

In his third year of the JD, Arj Wijegunaratne enrolled in Law Apps to equip himself with the skills he saw as important to the future of the legal services industry.

With every federal budget, there are inevitably winners and losers. This year, MLS Professor Ian Ramsay was among the clear winners, with all 11 of the recommendations of a panel chaired by Professor Ramsay adopted by Treasurer Scott Morrison.

Digital and Technology Law Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Cameron Whittfield has spent over twenty years working at the intersection of law and technology. This year, he is co-teaching a new subject at MLS: New Technology Law.

JD student Danielle El-Hajj has seen first-hand the lingering effect that armed conflict can have on people’s lives. When given the opportunity through final-year elective Law Apps to work with a not-for-profit organisation, she was drawn to the work of Refugee Legal.

MLS alumna Rachel Varghese (BA 2012, JD 2015) took inspiration from an entrepreneurial family member when carving out her own career pathway. She enrolled in Law Apps in her final year of the JD, hoping to widen her legal skill set and gain insight into technology and the law. She hasn’t looked back.

Melbourne Law School students and recent graduates were recognised at the MLS Prize celebration on Monday evening.

Melbourne Law School Dean Professor Carolyn Evans has been appointed University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Provost with responsibility for graduate education.

Leading global law experts in health, technology, ethics and international law have been named as the first Distinguished Visiting Fellows at Melbourne Law School (MLS).

MLS alumna May Low (LLB/BSc 2008) is Legal Counsel at Melbourne City FC. She shares her story with MLS.

Second year JD student Stephen Lee was the perfect candidate to help investigate subject material for the new MLS subject ‘New Technology Law’. With an undergraduate in Business Information Systems and experience as an IT consultant at KPMG, he has been able to bring together his experience with technology and his studies in law to turn the stuff of science fiction movies into a cutting edge JD elective. Stephen tells MLS all about his work on the new subject.

MLS JD student Dominic Fajardo was one of 22 students who took part in last year’s Economic and Business Law in Asia (EBLA) subject, a two-week intensive course taught between Hong Kong and Shanghai. From eating siu mai on the streets of Hong Kong to learning about the legal challenges in developing an oil refinery, Dominic gained a better understanding of the economic opportunities across the region.

Two new scholarships offered at Melbourne Law School will equip students from Asia with the skills and training to become leaders in their communities.

When he was 19, Matthew Acciarito started his own business supplying fruit and vegetables to the hospitality industry. Taking an interest in legal subjects in order help grow his enterprise, Matthew discovered a passion for commercial law.

JD Student Kit Mun Lee reflects on what he learned during his summer spent working with PwC’s new digital and technology law team headed by Cameron Whittfield. During the MLS initiative to develop a new cutting edge subject in Technology, Innovation and the Law, Kit found a pathway that brought his experience in technology and law together with his passion for collaborative film making production.

Tilly Houghton is one of an increasingly large group of Melbourne JD students who have completed an undergraduate degree at another university. Reflecting on her transition between universities, Tilly says that her teachers and peers are the main reason that coming to MLS has been such a positive experience.

MLS students convert their legal training into community action as part of the Law School’s Public Interest Law Initiative.

A new research partnership between Renmin University of China Law School and Melbourne Law School will help facilitate strong connections and build research capacity.

The Public Law Conference series is the pre-eminent regular forum for the discussion of public law matters in the common law world.

MLS alumna Janaline Oh (MPub&IntlLaw 2006) has just returned to Australia after having spent more than three years in Hong Kong where she worked as the Australian Deputy Consul-General and then Acting Consul-General. Her twenty year career in foreign affairs and diplomacy has seen Oh work all over the world, with different postings in Papua New Guinea, Brussels, and Beijing.

For all her success during her distinguished career, The Honourable Allyson K. Duncan has had to battle through her share of challenges as well. In the 2017 Seabrook Chambers Public Lecture, she reflected on the importance of diversity in the legal profession.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, CEO of Save Children International, spoke about education and the refugee crisis at the 2017 Allen Hope Southey Memorial Lecture.

Auckland-based barrister and Melbourne Law Masters student Yvonne Yue Wang recently undertook an internship at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (the BIICL). Little did she know she would return home with a new vision for her legal career.

Recent MLS graduate Scott Colvin has spent the past three months working as an intern with the United Nations in New York City. He shares his experiences.

The opportunity to combine her law studies with an overseas experience in her birth country of the Netherlands was a natural fit for Melbourne JD student Kirsten Sugden.

Emily Buchanan (BA 2002, LLB 2002) is the Senior Criminal Lawyer at Fitzroy Legal Service. Emily shares her story with MLS.

An MLS team representing Australia in the 15th Commonwealth Moot has won the competition and secured Australia the Commonwealth Shield for the first time since 2007.

One of the world’s leading law schools, Melbourne Law School (MLS), will offer a new scholarship to be awarded for the first time in 2017 to students from India.

Melbourne Law Masters student Phoebe Blank is successfully juggling her study with full time work and her new role as President of the Law Institute of Victoria Young Lawyers (YL).

As a child, Michael Kirby AC CMG was faced with the inevitable task of deciding what he wanted to do with his life. He said he either wanted to be a bishop or a judge. As someone who went on to serve on the High Court of Australia for 13 years, few could argue that he made the wrong choice.

Melbourne JD student Jordan Osrin moved to Melbourne from Perth so he could study at MLS.

Inaugural fellow of the University of Melbourne’s Pathways to Politics Program for Women and MLS alumna Sarah McNicol (Law(Hons) 2008, Arts(Hons) 2009, LLM (Berlin) (2013), MPPM (2016)) says a legal background serves as a good foundation for a political career.

An insatiable appetite for international law and a burning desire to help people less fortunate than herself has taken MLS Master of Public and International Law graduate Sangeetha Yogendran all over the world.

Meng Yuan’s only knowledge of the law before starting law school came from her favourite television series - Suits, The Good Wife and How to Get Away with Murder. Now in her second year of the Melbourne JD, she is hoping to embark on a lifelong career in Australian law.

Louise Bell is a senior associate at Herbert Smith Freehills in Brisbane, Australia and her classmate Boniface Kamiti lives in Nairobi, where he is the Manager of Consumer Protection at the Competition Authority of Kenya.

She may have first studied law because she “got the grades”, but for competition law expert Professor Caron Beaton-Wells, life at the Bar would prove life-changing

With 20 years of professional legal experience spanning commercial law, the Australian Public Service (APS) and her current role as a full time member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), Justine Clarke (BA(Hons) 1998, LLB 1998) brings an impressive diversity of experience to her new role on the Melbourne University Alumni Council.

Samoa is a home away from home for MLS PhD student Anna Dziedzic. “It is the first place I have visited that I absolutely knew I would come back to again and again,” she says.

The fifth edition of Administrative Law has been published by Oxford University Press. The new edition is co-written by Melbourne Law School Associate Professor Jason N.E. Varuhas and Professor Mark Elliott, Professor of Public Law at the University of Cambridge.

MLS PhD student Jan Mihal has an unusual way of staying motivated while writing his PhD thesis, which delves into the philosophical side of law.

Melbourne Law School congratulates a number of our alumni who were recently recognised in the 2017 Australia Day Honours list. It is a tribute to the dedication and commitment of these members of our community who have worked tirelessly in their fields.

As a mother of two, PhD candidate Rasika Jayasuriya knows just how important close family ties are. Working in the labour migration field in Sri Lanka in 2006, she was exposed to many of the difficulties migrant workers and their families face.

The University of Melbourne will this year celebrate 160 years of legal education.

As the co-founders of tech start-up Big Apple Buddy, MLS alumni Ben Chaung (LLB (Hons), BCom 2007) and Phillis Chan (LLB (Hons), BCom 2009) are part of a new wave of Australian innovators.

MLS alumna Alexandra Richards QC (LLB, BA 1979) was on holiday in Morocco when she decided to take a desert sabbatical after 30 years as a practising lawyer in Melbourne.

New academic staff commencing at the Law School in 2017 bring with them a wealth of knowledge and expertise in areas as diverse as intellectual property, equity and trusts, sports, emerging health technologies, natural resources and historical comparative law.

The eighth in the biennial Obligations Conference series was held in July at the University of Cambridge.

Speaking at the final Judges in Conversation event for 2016 last week, Professor Ratna Kapur of Jindal Global University said human rights interventions sometimes harm more than help.

On Monday, MLS welcomed Chief Economist at the UK Intellectual Property Office Pippa Hall to give the 2016 Francis Gurry lecture, with a talk titled ‘What does a good IP system look like? Good for whom?’

The Society of Construction Law Australia held its annual conference in Canberra from 3-5 November 2016.

A comprehensive survey of 2014 Melbourne Law School JD graduates has revealed an employment rate of 98 per cent, 18 months after completing law school.

For Binny De Saram, it is the capacity of law and lawmakers to create social change that motivates her work as a policy solicitor and in her masters studies at Melbourne Law School.

Five years ago, having taught at the Law School for 25 years, MLS Professor Ian Malkin established an eponymous scholarship, to allow students to overcome financial barriers and engage in volunteer legal experience.

Melbourne Law School is delighted to congratulate our alumni who have recently been elected to the Victorian Bar Council for 2016-2017.

When she started a cadetship with a top-tier professional services firm in 2009, Aria Wong (BCom 2012, JD 2015) expected she was embarking upon a lifelong career in accounting. Instead, it was there that she first fell in love with the law.

A young Robert French was in the third year of his science degree when he gave a presentation on research that demonstrated a relationship between certain mathematical groups and elementary particles.

Melbourne Law Masters student Rami Marginean’s passion for construction law was something he discovered by chance.

A new book, Remaking Law Firms, co-authored by Melbourne Law School Senior Fellow Dr George Beaton and Dr Imme Kaschner (JD 2013) is the world’s first comprehensive analysis of the challenges facing BigLaw firms.

For 2015 MLS graduate Nick Kotzman (BA(Media&Comms) 2012, JD 2015), the study and practice of law all comes down to one thing: words.

New research projects to be conducted by Melbourne Law School academics have been awarded major funding under the latest round of Australian Research Council (ARC) grants.

It’s an age-old adage that you never stop learning. But for Rachel Amamoo, Managing Principal Solicitor at the Victorian Government Solicitor's Office, this is a saying that holds true with respect to her current masters studies at Melbourne Law School.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) legal adviser Jean-Marie Henckaerts delivered a lecture at Melbourne Law School yesterday, to mark the launch of the updated Commentary on the First Geneva Convention.

A hands-on approach to the interpretation of contract clauses by the courts is creating a challenging environment for parties seeking to agree on a contract, according to Professor Sarah Worthington of the University of Cambridge.

MLS alumnus David Glasgow (LLB(Hons) 2007, BA 2007) has recently taken up the role of Executive Director at NYU School of Law’s new Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. MLS talked to David about the pathway which led him to this role and the importance of breaking down barriers to equality.

Melbourne Law School put forward a strong contingent at the second biennial Public Law Conference, held at the University of Cambridge in September.

JD student Kalia Laycock-Walsh is heading to the University of Oxford to complete the Bachelor of Civil Law, the most highly esteemed masters-level qualification in the common law world.

If you ask a US academic and an Australian judge to discuss the worst features of criminal law, what do you get?An hour of discussion, comparison, not infrequent disagreement, and some extremely insightful observations about the pitfalls currently built into the US and Australian systems.

The inaugural Holt Prize book launch last week celebrated the publication of MLS Senior Lecturer Dr Scott Stephenson’s book From Dialogue to Disagreement in Comparative Rights Constitutionalism.

Associate Professor Jason N. E. Varuhas’s book, Damages and Human Rights (Hart Publishing 2016), has been awarded the UK Society of Legal Scholars’ Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship for 2016.

It started with three knocks.“All rise. The High Court of Australia is in session.”

A passion for problem-solving is what drives Melbourne Law School graduate Nicholas Baum (BA 2010, JD 2013) in his legal career.

A fair process for refugees and asylum seekers can only be guaranteed through political will, according to MLS alumna Kristen Walker QC.

Crisis.This one word has become almost synonymous with discussions of the global refugee issue.

On 13 September 2016, MLS Directors of Studies for Construction Law, Matthew Bell and Wayne Jocic, ran an Academic Forum at the International Construction Law Conference hosted by the Society of Construction Law Brazil in São Paulo.

Third year JD student Kenji Yamada took part in a recent hackathon designed to bring together students from a range of disciplines to develop solutions to real world corporate law challenges. He reflects on his experience.

What exactly do bookshelves have to teach us about the independence of the judiciary? Believe it or not, the early history of the High Court of Australia was played out through arguments over bookshelves, tipstaff and telephones.

Over the winter break, I travelled to Geneva with 25 other Melbourne Law School students for the elective Institutions in International Law.This subject gives students the chance to consider the role of international institutions within the international legal order, while gaining valuable practical experience.

Three significant alumni are seeking contributions for a publication on the history of the Melbourne University Law Students' Society (MULSS).

MLS students Karina Bradley and Jeremy Roe have been selected to attend the 2016 Herbert Smith Freehills/National Law University of Delhi International Negotiation Competition.

Speaking at the Sir Anthony Mason lecture at Melbourne Law School last Thursday, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Professor Gillian Triggs, criticised Australia’s commitment to human rights.

Law students seeking to enter the legal profession need to better understand the roles and responsibilities of lawyers acting in a global context.

Melbourne Law School alumna and Australian Olympian Kim Brennan won gold in the women’s single sculls rowing event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

MLS alumni Claire Thompson has been recognised as one of Australia's best rising lawyers, after she was announced a winner in the Mergers and Acquisitions category of the Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 awards.

Third year JD student Anna Belgiorno-Nettis has been selected as a finalist for Lawyers Weekly's 2016 Law Student of the Year.

With Australia on the cusp of Asia both geographically and economically, it makes sense that many law graduates dream of advancing their careers by working in international firms across the region.

The harms of consensual, but unwanted, sex is an under-explored issue, according to the Frederick Haas Professor of Law and Philosophy at Georgetown University Law Center Professor Robin West.

The Australian media needs to demonstrate a greater commitment to diversity and inclusion, according to author and MLS alumna Alice Pung.

Melbourne Law School welcomes the Honourable Marcia Neave AO as its newest Judge in Residence.

Student camaraderie at Melbourne Law School is a common theme in the memories of our alumni community and current students. Graeme Rees-Jones RFD ED (LLB 1960) and Melbourne JD student Anna Francesca Belgiorno-Nettis have 60 years between their respective elections to Secretary and President of the Melbourne University Law Students’ Society (MULSS), but student gatherings, fun and humour, amidst the pressures of studying hard, stand out for both.

The Society of Construction Law Australia offers the Brooking Prize annually for 6,000-word essays in construction law. The Prize is named after the Hon Robert Brooking AO QC in recognition of his Honour’s pioneering contribution to the study and practice of construction law in Australia.

On 13 July 2016, Professorial Fellow Doug Jones AO  provided detailed insights into a key issue within contracting in construction  projects and beyond: the penalties doctrine.

Melbourne JD student Mary Connellan grew up in South Africa during apartheid, and she says her parents involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle shaped her life.

A passion for helping others took Melbourne JD graduate Sophie Parr to the frontlines of the refugee crisis in Europe.

Melbourne JD graduates Andrea Henson and Peter Botros were inspired to pursue careers in the community legal sector after studying Street Law at Melbourne Law School.

Poverty is largely ignored as a human rights violation, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Professor Philip Alston.

LinkedIn is fast becoming a crucial means of communication and connectivity.

There is a need for further conversations about mental health in Australia, according to MLS alumnus and CEO of SANE Australia Mr Jack Heath.

More than 70 participants from around the globe gathered to discuss new generation trade and investment treaties including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at a symposium at Melbourne Law School last month.

Few lawyers have been a subject of law in as many varied and conflicting ways as anti-apartheid activist Dikgang Moseneke, the recently retired Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

Nominated as a "Leader of Tomorrow", Melbourne JD student Scott Colvin participated in the 46th St. Gallen Symposium in Switzerland last month, a global gathering that draws together students and top decision makers to debate contemporary economic and political issues.

Undertaking a Master of Laws at Melbourne Law School was a transformational experience for Clare Lakewood, helping her launch an international career in environmental law.

Technology skills are increasingly essential for law graduates. Melbourne Law School's Mr Gary Cazalet is addressing this need with Law Apps, a subject where students design, build and release a live legal expert system that can provide legal information to non-lawyers.

A collaborative research project focusing on how support systems can be improved to prevent disability-based discrimination in the criminal justice system was launched recently at a workshop held at Melbourne Law School.

One of MLS's defining characteristics is the passion and energy of its teaching staff. Few embody this passion like Professor Ian Malkin, who this week celebrates 30 years with the faculty.

A website created by a team of MLS students that helps Victorians navigate the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) appeals process was named the winner of the Law Apps Bake Off at Melbourne Law School on Monday night.

A new book by Melbourne Law School Associate Professor Jason N E Varuhas aims to fundamentally reshape thinking on how courts ought to approach the award of damages for breaches of basic rights.

Melbourne Law School has had the privilege of its rich history and teaching and learning environment being shaped by leading figures in the law.

The University of Melbourne has welcomed the Federal Government's announcement that the Juris Doctor qualifications of 10 Australian universities, including Melbourne, will now be recognised in Singapore.

Melbourne JD student Sarah Mercer has traversed the globe in pursuit of her passion for international law and human rights advocacy.

The Honourable Elizabeth Curtain has recently joined Melbourne Law School as its newest Judge in Residence.

Increasing cultural awareness in the courtroom was the key focus of a recent workshop delivered to current sitting judges of the Commercial Court of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

This month JD student Marcus Roberts was awarded the prestigious Governor-General's Prize for his essay on the Magna Carta and its ongoing significance in Australia.

Speaking to a full house in an exhibition moot on earlier this week, the four student members of the MLS Price Media Law Moot team proved they are ready to head to Oxford.

For globetrotting Melbourne Law School graduate Lior Hameiri, studying at Melbourne Law School and living in Melbourne is a standout of his life in the law.

Recent times have witnessed a number of high-profile instances of the use of courts and arbitral tribunals to resolve sporting disputes.

The Hon Lindsay Tanner MP says it is not the democratic constitutional structure that is in crisis, but the ideas that govern it.

Launching in October 2016, it is the impressive expertise and innovative use of technology that sets Melbourne Law School's new Global Competition and Consumer Law masters program apart.

Semester one is underway for our new Melbourne Juris Doctor cohort, with more than 300 students attending orientation earlier this month and currently undertaking Legal Method and Reasoning (LMR).

Melbourne Law School would like to acknowledge and congratulate our alumni who were awarded 2016 Australia Day honours.

The irony of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei using a Lego-type product to create a room-scale installation focusing on human rights and freedom of speech has not been lost on Melbourne Law School’s Professor Di Otto.

Melbourne Law School’s Jessup Moot team knows there is still much hard work to be done between now and the national championship to be held in Canberra in February next year.

Executive Director of the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School and Melbourne Law School alumnus Edward Tudor is helping to support Indigenous students as they transition to education away from home.

Who is responsible for a defamatory comment posted to a public Facebook page the author, the page administrator, both?

A big thank you to the MLM mentors. As the year winds to a close, the MLM takes the opportunity to thank the many friends and supporters of the Melbourne Law School who have given their time to mentor international MLM students.

The new Victorian Jewish WWI and WWII Memorial was unveiled and consecrated at Ripponlea on Sunday, 15 November to commemorate those Jewish servicemen fallen in conflict.

Dominique Simsion saw going on exchange during her Juris Doctor as a way to appease the regret she held for not doing it during undergraduate studies.

Working as an Associate Appeals Council at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UNICTR) was a valuable experience for Master of Public and International Law student Amy Barber to work at the cutting-edge of the law at an international level.

A Melbourne Law Masters degree is not just for lawyers as the Grattan Institute's Danielle Wood proved upon completion of her Master of Competition and Consumer Law recently.

Third year JD student Annamiek van Loon has seen first hand how policy can be used to effect change.

Melbourne Law School's Asian Law Centre last week welcomed more than a dozen Chuo Law School students, marking the 10th anniversary of the cross-cultural legal education partnership.

A program that gives underrepresented and disadvantaged high school students an insight into university life has once again proved successful.

Doping. A subject that was once taboo in sport is now in the headlines as often as there is an international competition.

A rich program in Public Law will be offered in the MLM in 2016.

Whoever and wherever we are, we should all have the same rights.

With the JD now in its 8th year, it is an appropriate time to review the curriculum and teaching methods to see whether there are areas for improvement. This comes in the context of a degree that has had strong feedback as to quality from both students and employers.

Vidit Mehra has landed his dream job at a magic circle law firm earlier than he expected.

This month, the Melbourne University Law Students' Society (MULSS) Committee, led by the MULSS Queer Portfolio, voted to endorse marriage equality and to advocate for its legalisation in Australia.

The remarkable legal career of Alan Goldberg AO QC and his contribution within and beyond the Australian legal profession has been acknowledged in the establishment of the Alan Goldberg Scholarship at Melbourne Law School.

Melbourne Law School students battled it out last Thursday 17 September at the Federal Court at the Grand Final of the Melbourne University Law Students' Society Mooting Competition.

William Partlett of Melbourne Law School and Eric C. Ip of The Chinese University of Hong Kong have just released a paper for the New York University Journal of International Law and Politics (JILP).

Is the law fulfilling its duty in relation to the attribution of illegal actions of an individual acting on behalf of a company?

Courses and subjects on offer in the MLM in 2016 are now available online and in our printed prospectus. We have an exciting program in store, offering more than 165 subjects for credit towards the LLM or one of our 36 specialist graduate diplomas and masters, or for single subject study.

American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law: 2016 International Scholar in Residence Program.

The tension between the democratic right of the majority to exercise political power and the democratic need of individuals and minorities to have their rights secured is "very far from being reconciled," The Right Hon Lady Hale said.

Australian federalism needs revitalisation, MLS constitutional law expert Professor Cheryl Saunders told the near-300 people audience at a federalism reform discussion in Bendigo recently.

By the time I started my third year at Melbourne Law School, I thought I had learnt a thing or two about the law.

Melbourne Law School's new subject, the Disability Human Rights Clinic (DHRC), addresses discrimination on the basis of disability head on.

Bachelor of Arts student Louka Ewington-Pitsos says enrolling in a Breadth subject at Melbourne Law School has helped him decide what he wants to do next.

"We have an awfully long way to go", Chief Justice Diana Bryant AO, Family Court of Australia, said when discussing the 35.6 per cent pay gap between women and men's salaries in the legal industry.

A radical attempt to improve access to justice in intellectual property cases in England and Wales has been a success, The Hon. Justice Colin Birss said.

Registrations for this year's final Law School Admission Test (LSAT) close this Friday, 4 September.

Innovation is the key to disrupting an industry in the digital age, according to Melbourne Law School alumnus and online retailer Kogan executive director David Shafer.

Lily Fajardo could have undertaken her Master of Laws at Georgetown or New York University - she was accepted into both.

Joel Barolsky, Senior Fellow of the Melbourne Law School, was the lead author of a new report into the Australian commercial legal market. The report was the product of a collaboration between Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor, the Melbourne Law School and Barolsky Advisors. Melbourne JD student, Christopher Langton, provided research assistance. Mr Barolsky discusses the key findings below.

Alex Hammond graduated from Melbourne Law School in 2001. After working for several high profile law firms he left the profession to pursue a career as a novelist. He has written two legal thrillers, Blood Witness (2013) and The Unbroken Line (2015) which follow the life of fictional Melbourne criminal lawyer Will Harris.

Capital punishment does not deter serious crime, the former lawyer of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran said.

You are approaching that semester period every law student knows well: the end of exams. You are faced with the classic paradox of, on the one hand, having spent so long studying that you need a break from any space that looks remotely like a library. However, on the other hand, the number of hours you've put into exam preparation are a clear sign that you are dedicated to giving this degree all you've got. So you are looking for a way to recharge that does not involve case summaries, but does add to your degree.

Melbourne Law School congratulates MLM Sports Law student Danielle Wood on the publication of a new journal article.

An increased demand from potential students will see Melbourne Law School offer a standalone Master of Human Rights Law from next year.

The skillsets of lawyers can be invaluable additions to company boards, according to non-executive director Catherine Walter AM.

What is the relationship between international law and the institutions that work within it? Can international trade affect peace and security? How do different institutions approach dispute resolution?

Indonesia could become a pioneer in the abolition of capital punishment and an example for other Muslim countries to follow, according to former Indonesian judge Professor Jimly Asshiddiqie.

The Melbourne University Law Revue, the annual sketch comedy show written, directed and performed by students, kicks off its 2015 season of hilarity, 'On Ice', this Thursday.

Third year JD student Claire Wong shares her week as a law student.

Recommended listening for all constitutional law students!

Final year Juris Doctor student Claire Wong's passion for social justice led her to study the law.

"If your rights are written down in constitutional form, you know where your rights are and what your rights are."

Phanna Sok believes in the transformative power of education.

The Melbourne Law School community is mourning the loss of alumnus and champion of human rights Dr Samuel Pisar AO (LLB(Hons) 1954) whose death on July 27 was announced this morning.

The University of Melbourne has recently launched the Indonesia at Melbourne blog, a new platform for analysis, research and commentary on contemporary Indonesia by academics, experts and students affiliated with the university.

A University of Melbourne alumnus (BA/LLB 2001), Andrew Hudson is an international human rights lawyer with more than 15 years of varied UN and international advocacy experience. Based in New York City, he was recently appointed Executive Director of Crisis Action, an organisation that works with individuals and other organisations from global civil society to protect civilians from armed conflict.

"If you can't find the fun in it, give it up. I found the fun in it."

The CCCS has made a submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security regarding the Inquiry into the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill 2015.

Dr William Partlett has just published a piece on ConstitutionNet.org, entitled 'Agendas of Constitutional Decentralization in Ukraine'. Read Here

Japanese insolvency laws are finally functioning effectively after a century of failure, according to former Acting Chief Judge of Tokyo High Court Takashi Sonoo.

Associate Professor Jeannie Paterson has big plans as the new Associate Dean of the Melbourne JD.

A family trip to South Africa as a child sparked what has been an ongoing interest in human rights and social justice issues for second-year Melbourne JD student Claire Poyser.

An open discussion into democratic federal reform was launched by Melbourne Law School Laureate Professor Cheryl Saunders AO in an interview with political journalist Jonathon Green at the 2015 John Button Oration last night.

Juris Doctor student, Mark Johnson, aspires to combine his legal studies and his technological expertise by creating a legal podcast.

Melbourne Law School graduate Dr Wendy Ng has won the University of Melbourne Chancellor's Prize for Excellence in the PhD Thesis 2015 in the Humanities, Creative Arts and Social Sciences category for her thesis The Political Economy of China's Anti-Monopoly Law. This is the fifth consecutive year in which a Melbourne Law School graduate has won the Chancellor's Prize.

Melbourne Law School will host the 2015 Evatt competition, continuing its long-standing relationship with UN Youth Victoria (UNYV).

Part of a significant donation of $4 million by former staff member and Magistrate, Ms Francine McNiff, The University of Melbourne has established the Francine V. McNiff Chair in Criminology, a first for the institution. Professor Alison Young has been appointed in this role.

"I've always had the privilege of great mentors in my life."Jon Anstey is paying it forward.

Anne Orford, Michael D Kirby Professor of International Law at Melbourne Law School, has been awarded an ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship.

Fifteen Melbourne Law School alumni were recognised on this year's Queen's Birthday Honour Roll for their contribution to Australian society.

Barrister Peter Billings enters his chambers, a small cluttered room with ceiling-high bookshelves and aged leather sofas. He's an officer in the Royal Australian Navy, a family man and a seasoned traveller. He moves aside some papers and extends the invitation to take a seat.

Prominent barrister and Melbourne Law School Senior Fellow Dr Matt Collins QC and his partner Leonard Vary have gifted $20,000 to award a scholarship in Dr Collins' late father John's name.

Melbourne Law School's Professor Anne Orford has received an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship to conduct research into the legal issues involved in intervention by external actors in civil wars.

Melbourne Law School alumnus and Landcare Australia co-founder Phillip Toyne is being remembered as a passionate and pragmatic environmentalist after he passed away earlier this month aged 67.

Cheryl Saunders has made a submission to the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, entitled 'Indigenous Constitutional Recognition: the Concept of Consultation'.

Asia is embracing competition law, and a Melbourne Law School PhD graduate is at the forefront of research and training in its rise into legislation across the continent.

The Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies has submitted a review of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic).

In late 2013, Melbourne Law School, with the support of the Society of Construction Law Australia, launched a research project investigating current practice in relation to standard forms of contract in the Australian construction industry. We are delighted to announce the publication of our findings.

Governments must embrace social media and use it to engage with the public in what Melbourne Law School alumna and experienced company director Dr Nora Scheinkestel believes are disruptive times in which to govern.

Melbourne JD graduate Douglas Porteous has been awarded the Supreme Court Prize for having the highest grade average of his cohort, placing the young lawyer in esteemed company.

Do you want to do study law at Melbourne Law School in 2016?

Melbourne Law School alumna and former Supreme Court of Victoria judge, The Hon Justice Marcia Neave AO, is leading the State Government's Commission into Family Violence.

From what a was a fleeting introduction to intellectual property as an undergraduate, Mollie Tregillis, an IP Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright, has established herself as a young leader with considerable achievements in the field, as her nomination as a finalist in Lawyers' Weekly's 30 under 30 illustrates.

The law has the power to change our society and is far more dynamic and creative than many people understand, guest speaker Norman O'Bryan AM SC told those in attendance at the Melbourne Law School annual awards ceremony last night.

Husband and wife Jimmy and Gertrude Elai have relocated to a new country to undertake their Master of Commercial Law at Melbourne Law School.

Stories of days gone by at Melbourne Law School flowed freely at this year's Golden Alumni reunion, with more than 85 former students who graduated more than 50 years ago in attendance.

Poverty and disadvantage are the largest drivers behind the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in imprisonment rates across Australia.

Aidan Clarke does not want to be a lawyer but he can still see the benefits of undertaking the Breadth program's law stream throughout his undergraduate studies at the University of Melbourne.

After being accepted to study at a number of law schools around the world, Alessandra Gai chose Melbourne Law School to undertake her Master of Health and Medical Law.

Hundreds of students, community lawyers, politicians and others walked today to demonstrate their support for fairness, access to justice and a thriving pro bono culture.

Melbourne Law School has again been recognised as Australia's number one law school in the 2015 QS World University Rankings by Subject.

Ms Stacey Steele, Associate Director (Japan) at the Law School's Asian Law Centre, caught up with the Centre's 12th Japanese Judge-in-Residence after a recent presentation at MLS. Judge Kobayashi shares her views about her life in Australian and her preliminary thoughts about Australian class actions.

Few educators can boast of a standing ovation following one of their lectures but it was not uncommon for Professor Robin Sharwood AM, who passed away on April 12, aged 83.

Melbourne Law School is assisting the Australian Taxation Office's efforts to reclaim revenue lost by businesses engaging illegal phoenix activity.

Starting one of Australia's first virtual law firms, Nest Legal, was not high on Laura Vickers' agenda when she graduated with an LLB from Melbourne Law School in 2006.

Melbourne Law School congratulates the Hon Michelle Gordon of the Federal Court on her appointment to the High Court. Justice Gordon, also a Senior Fellow at MLS, will replace the Hon Justice Kenneth Hayne, who reaches the compulsory retirement age of 70 on June 5 this year.

Melbourne Law School has added to its suite of international dual degrees, partnering with the University of British Columbia's Peter A. Allard School of Law (Vancouver, Canada) to offer a Juris Doctor/ Law Masters partnership program.

Melbourne Law School launches the MLS Running Club for 2015 this Thursday, 16 April.

The Melbourne Law School community is deeply saddened to hear of the death of Professor Robin Sharwood AM on Sunday, 12 April. He was 83.

Passionate about addressing the "visible inequality in education in Australia," it was the capacity of law and law-makers to create social change that attracted second year student Morgan Koegel to the JD.

Professsor Adrienne Stone with Anna Dziedzic and Alexandra Harrison-Ichlov, prepared a submission on freedom of speech to the Australian Law Reform Commission's Inquiry into Traditional Rights and Freedoms.

An LLB graduate (Hons 2007), Dalit Kaplan did not expect her career to turn out the way it has; she has practiced in Australia, worked with immigrants in New York, and has now taken a step back from the law and into motherhood, as well as producing a weekly community radio show focusing on gender issues.

Video of Cheryl Saunders lecture 'Devolution. Federation. Constitution. From Here to Where?

Not every law student gets to attend briefings on terrorist organisations with US Senator John McCain, or work with one of President Barack Obama's campaign speech writers.

Melbourne Law School Juris Doctor student Kate Fitzgerald was today awarded the 2015 Chief Justice's Medal for Excellence and Community Service.

Melbourne Law School student Mohamed Khairat is not content with his online news source, Egyptian Streets, clocking up 800,000 unique views last month.

The Asian Law Centre hosted two prominent visitors from the Supreme Court of Japan's General Secretariat Family Bureau at the beginning of February.

Melbourne Law School is delighted to welcome over 340 JD first-year students this week, as they begin their journey in the study of law.

Professor Philip Britton, a teacher in the Melbourne Law Masters, has been announced as the joint winner of the Society of Construction Law (SCL) Hudson prize for 2014. His winning essay is entitled 'Adjudication and the "residential occupier exception": time for a rethink?' and is expected to be presented in London and then published on the Society of Construction Law website later this year.

Melbourne Law School is set to welcome the newest Judge in Residence, The Hon Peter RA Gray AM, who has recently retired from the Federal Court of Australia.