What to Expect as a Law Student

by Daniel

in Miscellaneous

The Faculty of Law is unlike any other course on offer in Australian universities. Due to the importance of lawyers in our society, there is a lot of pressure and attention placed on law students.

This begins in your first class, where you are warned about the legal consequences of plagiarism (You will be barred from practicing as a lawyer if you are found guilty of plagiarism). In order to avoid this punishment, make sure you double check every citation you offer in your essays.

Law students can expect to read an immense number of legal cases throughout their studies. The vast majority of assignment will be essays and this can be slightly monotonous, although you will be writing on different topics (Property Law versus Insurance Law for example). You will also be visiting the law courts quite a bit to gain some much needed practical experience.

Exams are open book, which means you can take notes into the exam. This is a huge advantage if you have excellent note taking skills; you can literally pass the exam through your notes alone. Make sure you label your notes very well so you can access the required section easily and quickly during the exam.

As a final note, in Law it is of vital importance to gain an internship early in your career. By your second year, you should be actively pursuing law firms for an internship. Considering how competitive internship are with post-graduates, the early you get in there the better.

Law is a very demanding course, but for the committed student it is extremely rewarding. If you apply yourself, you are sure to have a bright future in Australian Law.

Photo source: Flickr

Leave a Comment