Claire Wong - A week in the life of a MLS Juris Doctor student

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

Monday

• Advocacy – learning the art of communication and persuasion. Otherwise known as lessons in how to keep the jury awake!
• Coffee with friends to chat as well as to try out methods of examination and methods of asking non-leading questions
• Public Interest Law Clinic class

Tuesday

• Legal research – often this may be independent research
• An afternoon working as a paralegal at a specialist criminal defence law firm. Here I work on analyzing briefs of evidence, reviewing CCTV footage and police interviews, assisting with client interviews

Wednesday

• Advocacy workshop – where you deliver a prepared section of a mock trial, followed by feedback from the MLS judge in residence
• Legal Ethics class
• Spend a relaxing evening watching a legal drama like Silk

Thursday

• Spend the morning at the in-house clinic at the Victoria Legal Aid city office, seeing clients for the Infringements Court. This is followed by a quick lunch and then down to the Magistrate's Court to act as part of the duty lawyer service, interviewing clients and then representing them in the Special Circumstances List.

Friday

• A morning of study
• Tango dancing class
• Legal Ethics class in the afternoon
• Dinner and a night out on the town with friends