Week 7 - 9

Chapter 14

This chapter held my interest. I always find is fascinating to learn about how other parts of the world operate. Also why they operate the way they do and some of the history behind it.

The volunteering with the UN was very detailed regarding future employment with them. It was good to know about how long you had to wait to apply with them if you volunteered first, and what was required academically to be considered for a position. 

I have a friend who did a law degree and then took 6 months off her job to go and do volunteer legal work in Ghana. She had a great time. In places it was scary and dangerous but she learnt so much about law overseas, and about herself. If law was my main area of study, something like that would definitely interest me.

Being ‘globally minded’ linked well with my business degree. Often in management courses and human resources courses, it teaches about being culturally aware and being able to adjust and adapt. To be successful in any large business role on a global scale, I think it is very important to possess these skills.

Chapters 1, 2 & 4

This chapter I had read earlier in the term. I found this book useful for both assignments. I really like how it gives hypothetical situations to be able to grasp how to apply concepts. It is helpful to be able to look at all angels of a situation and then learn how to break down what is relevant and what can be applied.

Some of the search sites suggested in this chapter I used for the assignments. I knew of AustLii from a previous subject so it was good to learn about alternative ones.

Chapter four is good for more information on how to use the various search cites available to students. I feel though these chapters would have been of more benefit if read in the first few weeks of the term along with ‘The New Lawyer’ readings. I know I used this book a lot and particularly these chapters to help me with my research. I found the clarification on the citations also useful to refer to, in regards to referencing.

Chapters 3 & 5

Again these chapters were good for assignments. Particularly the second assignment based on legislation. The explanations of the search engines available and how to best use them really helped me when I got stuck. I spent many hours stuck on some aspects that I knew should have been straight forward. And as advised by someone as to not ‘over think’ it, I whipped out these chapters and found other paths to go down to try and find answers to my questions I was stuck on. I think I got about 90% of it this way so I was happy with that.

I found the hints throughout these chapters were good ones to remember. For example, when referring to native title, or sex discrimination policies, where to refer to. However I did find all the options described, somewhat overwhelming! It as a lot to read over and try and remember which site was best for journals and which site was best for cases and legislation. But it also reinforced for me, that it is important to think outside the box, and consider all legal aspects applicable to a case or research.

Weeks 4-6

Chapters 8 & 11

In this section I found it was useful to learn a few methods such as IRAC and CREAC, as these are the foundations of answering law assignments. I have followed a similar one provided in another law subject, and come exam time I find it very helpful to know little methods like these ones. It helps to break down the situation and what to apply and how to apply it and why.

I also found the section on critical thinking very handy as it would be useful in all uni subjects. Learning how to critically analyse and think is something always needed in essays and reports. I have lots of highlighter in this section as I plan on referring to it many times!

I thought it was good to see the concept of creative thinking introduced as it shows how the legal system is evolving. Our legal system is not perfect and has many flaws. We apply law from when Australia was first settled, however times are very different and we cannot keep approaching current issues with outdated procedures. We need to find a balance of traditional law mixed with appropriate applications for the era we now live in.

‘Being realistic’ felt very philosophical to me. The content of the chapter was more a background of who thought what, when, where and why, and how you could apply to your personal views. It was a ‘many ways to skin a cat’ chapter and matched the creative thinking. It was a chapter to make you think outside the box. It opens a few cans of worms in this chapter, however it does not hold my attention as much as reading about a case.

 

Chapters 9 & 10

These two chapters I felt were teaching basic life skills. Yes, it is important to know as legal minded students, how to think and prepare,  but it is also so important to apply these things to everyday. People could avoid a lot of stress and dramas if they applied some of these communication skills.

 I found the context of these chapters were helpful to apply to assignments and writing. Collaborating, I applied that to the task of this blog. I have said it before and I will say it again. I hate blogs. I have found them time consuming and not everyone gets on board and ‘collaborates’ the way they are meant to. There is always a handful of proactive team members that do the work but often it is not enough (in my opinion) to be seen as collaborating. For example last term, I had to maintain yet another blog. Only one person wrote on my blog. And I wrote on hers every week. Both of us went and visited blogs all the time and no one had done the work. We left comments for people to try and expand our group but we got nothing in return for it. I get immensely frustrated when blog work is worth a heavy weight for an assessment and it depends on students ‘collaborating’ for me to achieve my grade. This term I started off the same way visiting people’s blogs and leaving comments. And yet again no one has stopped by mine. Until the last week before it is due and everyone decides to panic. But I understand everyone is busy and may not like the task either.

 So team work and collaboration I am usually good at, but when it comes to blogs, I will avoid it like the plague! And to be honest I nearly pulled out of this course when I saw it had a blog and interact with peer’s assessment!

However, all the context of the chapters were so relevant to put into student life. Assignments come in all forms these days and being able to have tips to tackle listening and speaking and presenting are essential! And I met all the criteria for being stressed ha! Show me a distance student with a family that doesn’t meet most of those criteria! Self-management skills I call survival skills. To tackle any study you have to be able to manage and balance and survive.

Chapters 12 & 13

 Justice raised a few points in my mind. It is known that if you are well off you can afford to take legal action, and if you are low income, then you go to legal aid. Access to justice is difficult for majority of people. Only a small amount of people can afford quality legal advice or representation. However if you are middle class you are stuck. If you do not meet the criteria to qualify for legal aid, and you cannot afford the ridiculous amount for legal fees, you are stuck. You either keep getting screwed over in the pickle you are in, or you try and represent yourself. Which as the chapter points out, never really goes well.

 I have been in this situation. I was a sole parent working full time. I earned too much in the eyes of legal aid (in my mere retail job), and I could not afford legal help. I had to bite the bullet and go and see someone. I was very lucky as this law firm did payment plans. I paid $100 a week for some time for a legal professional to send two letters. Two letters cost me a large amount of money. This firm was so good that when I had paid too much they gave me back the difference! So it never hurts to ask. It was a family law issue and these days, people in family law are aware of the economic status people are in. It is hard being middle class (the lower end of) because access to services is not easy, and discrimination is everywhere.

The part regarding immigrants is a touchy point for most Australians. Not many fence sitters on that one. It is either one side or the other. The media has such a large influence on this topic that people without seeing for themselves would not know the facts. The detention centres are not jail. They are a decent set up and they get provided with more than our own homeless people do! We help them financially when they are granted permission to live here. Everyone has their opinons on this. Unless we know the facts about where each person has come from and the conditions that made them flee, I think we should not judge. I always say to my husband “If Australia had become dangerous, and you put me on a boat with the kids to go across to New Zealand so we can live and be safe and alive, would you want New Zealand to reject us safety or for their people to bad mouth us and make settling into life there hard?” It usually keeps the hubby quiet but then old opinions eventually come back. The people making the decisions on what to do with the asylum seekers and illegal immigrants have a tough job.

The chapter on ethics I found interesting. I enjoy learning about different cultures and their beliefs so reading about what different religions and their morals and ethics were was enjoyable. I didn’t like Aristotle’s hierarchy order. Maybe if he was about today he would make the first two levels of the pyramid ‘humans’ instead of ‘men’ followed by ‘women’. ;)

I laughed at the animals and humans arguments over the pages it covered. Humans are animals. And the fact so much time and thought has gone into these arguments to make humans superior is amusing. We may be evolved and materialistically based, but we have a duty to our fellow animals to keep them safe and treated humanely as we do ourselves. I have heard many views over the years including a Christian point of view believing that god chose humans to be evolved therefore god gave humans the right to choose to kill animals where they deem fit. Religion and law do not go together. Too many religions under one law system per country. That is hard to maintain order. Ethics is so broad it would be hard to make the laws in place for such things as animal cruelty. However I am disgusted by the slaughter and treatment of farm animals that is still allowed. As an animal lover that does not sit well with me at all, that due to some religons, it is acceptable to slaughter an animal inhumanly or castrated it. Makes me cringe! That is my rant on that one. Ethics will bring it out in people I guess.

Weeks 1 - 3

Chapter 1

This chapter I felt was good to get a feel of what areas of the law anyone can car branch into and what it involves. I cannot say I agree that it is glamorous and assume that law work involves high wages. I felt that was very stereo typical. I think that if someone has such a strong passion for their line of work, then to them that is glamorous and they are happy with that. It is all about different perceptions.

I liked the term ‘effective advocate’ and now will use that when describing my line of work when I fill out forms. Usually I would put things like ‘CEO of Johnson enterprises’ and ‘skills in dispute resolution, task and time management’. I write this instead of ‘housewife’ or ‘stay at home mum’. So now I will use ‘effective advocate’ in that skills list! It just sounds good.

Whilst I am doing law subjects as electives, I do not want a career as a lawyer. I am broadening my options with my business degree, so if a situation arises in a career that needs some legal going over, I can have some understanding and grasp it, instead of be in a job and have no idea.

When reading the areas of law that are available to specialise in, I found myself thinking I could not handle family law or anything that involves personal situations. Although it would be handy to pull some people I know into line! I did introduction to contract law in term 1 and I found that really interesting. So of the lines on offer, contract and commercial law would be my point of interest.

Chapters 2 and 3

This chapter felt like revision for me of what I learnt in term one. I found the diagrams in this chapter helpful and simple to follow to separate areas of law into public and private, and civil and criminal.

Because a lot of what was in this chapter I had covered previously, I found myself (exhausted from a toddler that just does not sleep at night) falling asleep and my eyes getting heavy! I know it is all important and I cannot remember all of it, but still ‘Murphies Law’ got me on this one!

The history is important to understand how and why we run as a country today, but it was so much to take in as it went so far back.  I have noticed some people comment on the section of customary law. This was not all new to me as in Far North Queensland we have such a diverse demographic that this is something that is spoken of here. Also people that travel over from the Northern Territory speak of customary law. Our history shows how naive the English were, however at that point of time they honestly believed they were doing the right thing as ordered by the Crown. Now time has changed many people recognise that yes, this was not a good approach and our development as a country came at the cost of the people who already occupied the land. It is classic ‘if we knew then what we know now’.

It becomes hard with two sets of laws being applied to one culture. It can open up that can of worms. I feel that over time, with the past acknowledged by the government that it was wrong, we need to go forward to combine these laws. We need to merge so that Indigenous Australians are not faced with a doubled edged sword. Or faced by only customary law, and not our current law system under the Crown. It is something that is messy and will take time and patience.

Reading about the stolen generation made me feel sick. It really did. My oldest son’s great grandmother was part of the stolen generation. In reality it was not that long ago that our legal system did this.  It is things like this as to why I could not engage in things like family law or personal law as it is too sensitive for me. Give me a dodgy company or a bad contract or bad employer instead of personal matters.

Chapter 4

Wow. It is hard to keep up because we don’t have the same system in every part of Australia. We are so spread out and have different runnings, that do eventually combine, but it just seems messy instead of simple. For example I grew up in Tassie, and the road rules there are different to Queensland where I live now! So many times I say to my Husband 'that's illegal' and he says 'no it isn't'. It is so confusing with in each state and territory.

One thing that stood out for me is the section of the cabinet. It made me remeber how mad I was when Tony Abbott did not appoint a minister for tourism and claimed that it fell under trade. They are two different aspects of economics with in this country. Both concern making money for our country but so differently. Both are very large areas that need separate ministers to oversee them.

The other thing that made me think was the industry ombudsman’s. Which one would be the busiest?  I reckon the telecommunications and the fair work ones would be flat out. Seriously, who do you know that has never had a whinge about their phone company or something wrong at work?

Chapter 5

Now the chapters are getting a bit more into the nitty gritty for my liking. Not so much shutting of the eyes now! The process in which the court system works is not simple. Telling someone ‘Take them to court’ is far easier to say then actually doing it. It is time consuming, its costs, and its personally demanding.

Even protesting to get something amended, wow what a process that is as well! But the red tape needs to be in place otherwise legislation would be getting changed everytime a new party came into power, and everyone would be taking everyone else to court.

I did find it handy to note the exceptions of not having to do jury duty. The final one claims ‘students sitting exams’. This is good to know! I have been called up once about 6 years ago for jury duty. At the time my first son was about 5 and we were on our own. It was not possible for me to commit such long days everyday and shove him care. It would be neglecting the child to serve on the jury. So amazingly I did not have to do that as they accepted my letter stating I was unable to find child care that operated and had vacancies for the times and days required. So the law is understanding!

A lot of this chapter was also revision for me which is good. It helps reinforce what is stored somewhere in the back of the brain somewhere from term 1.

Precedent cases...if you are new, these are important! Especially in an exam. It is very handy to know cases you can refer to in short essays.