Tertiary and Continuing The Law Thread

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Nov 24, 2003
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#impunity
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For all the law students, this is what working in law does to you. After being forced to attend English vs. American spelling courses as a grad. Or working for a crazy partner who loses his s**t and forces you to work past midnight because you used "obligated" rather than "obliged".

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Shoei

Norm Smith Medallist
Sep 26, 2011
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So its that time of year again! The semester draws to a close and I don't have any clerkships to do :cry:

I'm almost at the end of my degree with only 4 units left! Any tips on what I can do to snag some kind of legal work/training?? I've been working in a community legal centre for over a year but I really want to start finding paid work or at least volunteer work that is actually going to be highly appreciated.

I'll be picking up extra Mandarin lessons over the Christmas break and hope to be at a pre-intermediate level by February.

Do government departments take on people for work experience? Local councils? Smaller Law firms?

I'm going to start visiting all the firms in Perth and seeing if I can whore myself out to one of them!
 

TheMightyEagles

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Aug 8, 2010
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If you have any friends or family in the legal profession, maybe try to leverage those connections. It may also be worth applying to firms that cater to Chinese clients given your Mandarin skills.
 

Hank Skorpio

Draftee
Oct 24, 2014
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G'day guys, you might know something about this.

Had a little incident with the police on Sunday morning. I had a dispute with the manager of a popular King St night club because the bartender gave me incorrect change (I am 100% certain of this part of the story). I was fairly unhappy with how this was getting treated, and eventually got kicked out because I kept arguing with him (not over the top, but quite firm). I lingered in the area and try to get back in, only to be intercepted by the bouncer. I talk to him outlining why I was unhappy, again firmly but not over the top, and after a few minutes where I refused to leave, he calls a group of cops over and I am questioned. My memory is a little hazy at this point- I definitely had too much to drink- but while being upset, I remember complying fully with the police. One asks for my licence and takes down my details, and the other tells me it is probably best if I catch a cab home, which I do.

I understand that refusing to leave a licensed venue can get you an infringement notice. I did not receive an on-the-spot fine, but should I be expecting one in the mail? I read that the fine is the same as for the other cases here for 'being drunk in a public place', ~$580. I do not specifically remember being told I was being fined (or cautioned), but they did take my details before sending me on my way. If fined, how long would it take to come via the post?

I have a clean adult record but got driven home once as a kid for being too drunk. Would this come into play?
 
Oct 4, 2005
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G'day guys, you might know something about this.

Had a little incident with the police on Sunday morning. I had a dispute with the manager of a popular King St night club because the bartender gave me incorrect change (I am 100% certain of this part of the story). I was fairly unhappy with how this was getting treated, and eventually got kicked out because I kept arguing with him (not over the top, but quite firm). I lingered in the area and try to get back in, only to be intercepted by the bouncer. I talk to him outlining why I was unhappy, again firmly but not over the top, and after a few minutes where I refused to leave, he calls a group of cops over and I am questioned. My memory is a little hazy at this point- I definitely had too much to drink- but while being upset, I remember complying fully with the police. One asks for my licence and takes down my details, and the other tells me it is probably best if I catch a cab home, which I do.

I understand that refusing to leave a licensed venue can get you an infringement notice. I did not receive an on-the-spot fine, but should I be expecting one in the mail? I read that the fine is the same as for the other cases here for 'being drunk in a public place', ~$580. I do not specifically remember being told I was being fined (or cautioned), but they did take my details before sending me on my way. If fined, how long would it take to come via the post?

I have a clean adult record but got driven home once as a kid for being too drunk. Would this come into play?

They might have just taken your details because you were making a complaint against the bartender or otherwise just to record what happened.

I doubt given your story that the police would want to fine you. They're trained to be pretty sensible and reasonable. Looks like they just noted the situation for their records and sent you on your way to diffuse it.
 

The Coup

Premiership Player
Sep 4, 2014
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Police in the CBD are allowed to ID anyone they like and move them on, the anti-working class laws that Doyle and Baillieu brought in.

If you were going to be fined you'd know.
 

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Donners

Cancelled
Ex-Moderator
Sep 1, 2002
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So its that time of year again! The semester draws to a close and I don't have any clerkships to do :cry:

I'm almost at the end of my degree with only 4 units left! Any tips on what I can do to snag some kind of legal work/training?? I've been working in a community legal centre for over a year but I really want to start finding paid work or at least volunteer work that is actually going to be highly appreciated.

I'll be picking up extra Mandarin lessons over the Christmas break and hope to be at a pre-intermediate level by February.

Do government departments take on people for work experience? Local councils? Smaller Law firms?

I'm going to start visiting all the firms in Perth and seeing if I can whore myself out to one of them!

Local legal clinics are a decent option. That's how I got my start, many years ago.

Keep an eye out for judge's associate positions when you get near the end too - or even now if you can study off-campus/part-time.

It may also be worth applying to firms that cater to Chinese clients given your Mandarin skills.

A few practices immediately come to mind. I don't know what they're like to work for, but I certainly know a few horror stories about dealing with them - including one from first-hand experience.
 
Jun 24, 2009
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Tip away!

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Oct 4, 2005
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So where are these tips at?

Don't leave me hangin!

There's a lot to explain. I don't know about being a clerk because I am not one, but IP is an interesting area. Things like licences and contracts would be pretty familiar from your law degree, and designs and trade marks are decently easy to pick up on a basic level.

Patents can be more complex and things like patentable subject matter are never quite clear especially in computer and gene related inventions. You would often need a little knowledge of science/engineering for arguing the issues relating to a patent in depth, but you would normally get assistance from patent attorneys on that, and even scientists and engineers don't really know other fields but their own in depth.

I'm guessing you'd be involved in some litigation. In patent infringement proceedings expert witnesses are often used to determine what a skilled person in the field would believe the person writing the patent specification meant with certain phrases or words in the patent claims. Basically, they first need to determine the scope of the monopoly defined in the claims of the patent by doing this. Then the parties would argue other issues, for example, the alleged infringer might argue that the patent is invalid because the monopoly is claimed for something that was already known or obvious when the patent was filed or argue that the patent is deficient in some other way. On the other hand, the party bringing the infringement proceedings would be establishing that the actions of the alleged infringer infringes the monopoly defined by certain claims of the patent and justifying that these claims are valid, if that is in question.

There's also other commercialisation related issues like passing off and deceptive and misleading conduct, for example, by competitors to cash in on reputation or through counterfeit products. Getting injuctions like in the Apple and Samsung cases. Plus there is the assignment of ownership of intellectual property, disputes regarding entitlement to the IP, etc.

Probably a lot more I could tell you, but not sure what you are wondering about specifically or what is helpful at this stage. What are you interested in doing?
 
Last edited:

Shoei

Norm Smith Medallist
Sep 26, 2011
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Perth
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There's a lot to explain. I don't know about being a clerk because I am not one, but IP is an interesting area. Things like licences and contracts would be pretty familiar from your law degree, and designs and trade marks are decently easy to pick up on a basic level.

Patents can be more complex and things like patentable subject matter are never quite clear especially in computer and gene related inventions. You would often need a little knowledge of science/engineering for arguing the issues relating to a patent in depth, but you would normally get assistance from patent attorneys on that, and even scientists and engineers don't really know other fields but their own in depth.

I'm guessing you'd be involved in some litigation. In patent infringement proceedings expert witnesses are often used to determine what a skilled person in the field would believe the person writing the patent specification meant with certain phrases or words in the patent claims. Basically, they first need to determine the scope of the monopoly defined in the claims of the patent by doing this. Then the parties would argue other issues, for example, the alleged infringer might argue that the patent is invalid because the monopoly is claimed for something that was already known or obvious when the patent was filed or argue that the patent is deficient in some other way. On the other hand, the party bringing the infringement proceedings would be establishing that the actions of the alleged infringer infringes the monopoly defined by certain claims of the patent and justifying that these claims are valid, if that is in question.

There's also other commercialisation related issues like passing off and deceptive and misleading conduct, for example, by competitors to cash in on reputation or through counterfeit products. Getting injuctions like in the Apple and Samsung cases. Plus there is the assignment of ownership of intellectual property, disputes regarding entitlement to the IP, etc.

Probably a lot more I could tell you, but not sure what you are wondering about specifically or what is helpful at this stage. What are you interested in doing?


Well since i start clerking on the 5th of Jan i would like to know whats expected of me? I'm worried i'm going to be asked to do something i have no idea of and end up looking like a right tit.
 

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