Meet your JD academics

Arlen Duke
Associate Professor, Associate Dean, The Melbourne JD

What subject you teach in the JD?

I regularly teach two compulsory subjects “Obligations” and “Contracts”.  I also teach an elective subject “Competition Law”.

What inspired you to study law?

At high school, I always enjoyed debating and public speaking.  Whilst I have since learnt that there is much more to being a good lawyer (such as the ability to closely and critically read legal texts, dealing with the uncertainty inherent in the law), my public speaking skills have served me well in my academic career.

How does your research or your disciplines research contribute to society?

I research in the areas of competition and consumer law.  Competition laws aim to preserve and promote competitive markets.  Competitive markets bring about many benefits, including but not limited to cheaper prices for consumers as well as the development of new and improved products and services.  Consumer laws aim to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable people, and also provide consumers with statutory protections against faulty and/or dangerous products.

What do you enjoy about teaching into the JD at Melbourne?

I find working with students in their first semester of law studies very rewarding.  In addition to ensuring students are on top of the substantive material, I really enjoy assisting students to develop legal skills that will benefit them throughout the degree.

Sunita Jogarajan
Professor at Melbourne Law School

What do you teach in the JD?

I teach Legal Research in the JD with a specialist area of taxation. Many students discover they enjoy learning about tax (much to their surprise!) as tax affects all our lives in many different ways. Legal Research is a final year JD subject which all JD students must undertake. In my legal research stream, students undertake research on issues which affect individual or small business taxpayers and come up with proposals to make the tax system better. This research is presented to the ATO and will hopefully lead to change in the future.

What inspired you to study law?

I didn’t initially plan to study law. I started my university life as a medical student before switching to law and I've been very happy with that decision. I liked being able to come up with different arguments to issues, based on the law and still do!

How does your research contribute to society?

My research is in the area of taxation law and as I always say to my students, "tax makes the world go around". Tax is such a fundamental part of society and impacts on every aspect of our lives. My research in this area relates to improving the tax system for all or understanding the historical reasons as to why the system is as it is so that we can make it better.

What do you enjoy about teaching into the JD at Melbourne?

Teaching legal research in the JD is a completely different experience to my undergraduate teaching. I find it really rewarding and enjoyable. Students in my legal research stream are already very interested in tax and I enjoy guiding them on research that has the potential to make a difference to society.

Eddie Cubillo
Associate Dean (Indigenous Programs), Senior Indigenous Fellow

What do you teach in the JD?

I regularly guest lecture in many units across the JD - Treaty, Equality and Discrimination, Disputes & Ethics,

What inspired you to study law?

Being an Indigenous man from the NT I saw many discriminatory practises that targeted my people. Indigenous Territorians made up 85% of the prison population as well as health equity having huge deficiencies.

How do you hope your research will contribute to society?

Over 20 years I have fought for Indigenous rights in the justice system and recently to put this into practise I handed my thesis in to be accessed. My question - What is the Value of Culturally Competent Legal Services to Indigenous Australians? The research hopes to analyse the complex factors characterising the environment in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services have survived, and continue to survive, and continue to achieve just outcomes for Indigenous people in Australia’s justice system.

What do you enjoy about teaching into the JD at Melbourne?

I enjoy giving an Indigenous viewpoint on white settler law and the inequalities and the impact they have on Indigenous people. I also enjoy learning from the students in their quest to understand the legal system of this country and the way they think the legal system deals with Indigenous people.

Hilary Charlesworth
Harrison Moore Professor of Law and a Melbourne Laureate Professor at Melbourne Law School

What do you teach in the JD?

I’ve taught Legal Research in the JD and you’ll probably meet me lecturing about my passion of international human rights. Global human rights law plays a complex role in international society. Human rights often frame national and international discussions about justice and fairness. Formally inaugurated with the founding of the United Nations in 1945, the international human rights system comprises institutions, declarations, treaties, court cases and practices. It is fair to say that human rights law has been a source of inspiration as well as profound disappointment. Its principles appear to promise a great deal, but it has been difficult to realise this potential.

What inspired you to study law?

I fell into the study of the law really by accident and it took me some time to start enjoying it (this was long ago!). It wasn’t until I started graduate study in law that I realised what an intriguing field it was: law does not provide all the answers to respond to injustice, but it is a powerful language to identify and remedy failures of justice.

How does your research or your disciplines research contribute to society?

As an international lawyer, my interest has been in the way that international legal standards are devised and then translated into national contexts. In Australia, international law has been an important source of human rights norms, appealed to by marginalised communities.

What do you enjoy about teaching into the JD at Melbourne?

It is wonderful to teach highly engaged students, who have already done an undergraduate degree. The maturity and idealism of the JD cohort always inspires me.

Christine Parker
Professor, Chief Investigator, Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making + Society

What do you teach in the JD?

These days I'm teaching a new JD elective Animals and the Law, which is all about how the law treats animals and what we can do to make it better. When I get a chance, I also teach JD Legal Research streams on corporate regulation and corporate social responsibility; and on animals and the law.

What inspired you to study law?

I really wanted to work in law reform and social research, so I was really inspired by the need for criminal justice reform at the time. I was planning to do an Arts degree in social science, but my school careers counsellor told me that given my grades and interests, I should consider Arts/Law.

So I did!

How does your research or your disciplines research contribute to society?

I've been lucky to be able to undertake a lot of law and social science research to understand how the law really works in society and particularly how it works or doesn't work to reign in business misconduct and translate this into law reform recommendations. Some of the things I've looked at is how legal profession regulators can help make law firms more compliant with ethical obligations, what works and what is counter productive in the way the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission enforces competition and consumer protection law. Lately, I've spent a lot of time looking at how food labelling and regulation works in practice, particularly misleading animal welfare claims and over hyped health claims.

What do you enjoy about teaching into the JD at Melbourne?

My favourite thing is helping JD students identify and define their own legal research project to research and write up in Legal Research. I find that most students have something they really care about where they think the law could do a better job.