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NEW ELECTIVE FOR SPRING SESSION 2009
PUBLIC INTEREST LAW

(incorporating the Practising in the Public Interest Program (PIPI) Winter School Program – a 5 day intensive run by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Public Interest Law Clearing House, 20-24 July 2009)

Aims

This elective subject will provide an opportunity for later year students to apply the knowledge, skill and attributes developed in their previous law studies to the question of the capacity of law and legal strategies to support public interest and social justice campaigns and projects.  Students will experience a combination of intensive training (by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), and clinical placement in a legal practice or other organisation (facilitated by the Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH), and will complete a supervised research project on a public interest topic.

The aim of this subject is to introduce senior law students to systems advocacy and public interest law, to expose them to organisations that are directly involved in public interest and pro bono litigation and activities, and to give them the opportunity to demonstrate their research and other skills in the context of a project that benefits the non-profit community sector. The subject challenges students to think creatively about ways in which the law and related skills can be used strategically to achieve the changes that promote a just society.

Phase 1: The PIPI Program

The 09 Winter School will run over five days (20-24 July: the week before Spring Session classes begin) and consists of three days training and two days placement to extend the learning that has taken place at the training days. Presenters and facilitators include PIAC staff and guest speakers. 

Days One and Two: Training

Course topics for the first two days of training include:

• introduction to advocacy in the public interest;
• introduction to a range of advocacy strategies including communication, political, bureaucratic, legal and media strategies;
• bureaucratic strategies: government structure, and opportunities and strategies for influencing policy and law making;
• political strategies: using the parliamentary process in campaigning;
• lobbying skills and strategies;
• public interest litigation strategies: test cases, class actions, amicus curiae, and using international human rights mechanisms;
• practising in the public interest: who does it? an introduction to community legal centres, pro bono schemes, Legal Aid, private law firms, court-appointed schemes.

Days Three and Four: Placement

The aim of the placement component of the program is to expose students to organisations that advocate for and work in the public interest, including the NSW Legal Aid Commission, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, and Aboriginal Legal Services and private law firms engaged in public interest work.  The placements provide an opportunity for students to take the knowledge they have acquired during the training and explore the opportunities for its practical application and effectiveness. Students are encouraged to observe and analyse the range of public interest strategies used in the placement organisations and evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies. Efforts are made, where possible, to offer each student a one-day placement in a law firm and a one-day placement in a public agency.

Day Five: Placement Presentation and Case Studies

The focus of Day Five of the course is for students to draw together the course training and placement experience and demonstrate through presentations that they have achieved the following learning outcomes:

• understanding of issues involved in systemic advocacy;
• awareness of a range of strategies that can be used to further the public interest;
• demonstrated knowledge of advocating within formal decision-making structures;
• recognising the benefits, risks and uses of public interest litigation.

Each student delivers a brief presentation analysing their placement experience.

A number of case studies are then presented, by PIAC and other organisations, on public interest advocacy campaigns, analysing the range of strategies employed and the effectiveness of those strategies.

The students’ final task is to present the case study they have been working on throughout the training days, exploring the range of strategies available to public interest advocates.

Presentation

There will be a combination of informal lectures, interactive discussions, small group exercises, panel presentations and video.

Attendance

Attendance for the full 5 days of the PIPI Program is a mandatory requirement of enrolment in the Public Interest Law subject.

Phase 2

During Spring Session 2009 students enrolled in Public Interest Law, who have completed the PIPI Winter School, will be required to complete two assessment tasks:

• 1000 word reflective report on PIAC training and PILCH clinical placement (30%)
• 5000 word assignment on a ‘real world’ public interest research project (70%)

(Note: topics will be selected in conjunction with the Illawarra Legal Centre and Volunteering Illawarra, and projects will be supervised by a member of Faculty of Law academic staff.) 

How to apply for a place in this subject

Because places in the PIPI program are strictly limited, only six students will be permitted to enrol in Public Interest Law for Spring Session 2009. Applications will be assessed by the Subject Coordinator, Professor Luke McNamara. Preference will be given to final year students, but all students who will have completed 90 LLB credit points by the end of Autumn Session 2009 are invited to apply.

To apply, email the following details to Liz Mazar: lmazar@uow.edu.au

Your Name:
Student No:
Current contact details:
Evidence of commitment to public interest law:
Electronic copy of your Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Closing date: 1 June 2009