Preface vii
About the authors viii
Part 1 Knowing 1
Chapter 1 The life of a lawyer 2
Introduction 3
1.1 Being a lawyer: myths and realities 3
Myths about being a lawyer 4
The realities of legal practice 6
1.2 A diversity of career options 9
A changing profession 9
Traditional career paths 10
Work sectors 12
1.3 Your legal education 19
Legal education in Australia 19
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on legal education 24
Making the most of your legal education 25
1.4 Developing a professional identity 32
What is a ‘professional identity’? 32
The importance of a positive professional identity 33
Academic integrity 33
Key terms 37
Exercises 38
Acknowledgements 38
Chapter 2 Fundamental legal concepts 39
Introduction 40
2.1 Law 40
What is ‘law’? 40
The categories of law 42
The need for law 46
The changing law 49
2.2 Law and extrinsic standards 51
Natural law theory 51
Legal positivism 56
2.3 Law and liberal values 59
Liberty 61
Reason 64
Rights 67
Private property 69
Equality 73
Key terms 76
Exercises 77
Acknowledgements 78
Chapter 3 A history of Australian law 79
Introduction 80
3.1 First Nations Australians and the law 81
Who are the First Nations Australians? 81
Customary law 82
Terra nullius 83
3.2 The development of British law 86
Early British history 86
The rise of parliament 87
The social contract 88
Common law and equity 90
3.3 The development of Australian law 92
Colonial law 92
Federation 94
3.4 The law today 96
First Nations legal issues 97
Recent developments 101
Key terms 105
Exercises 106
Acknowledgements 106
Chapter 4 The Australian legal system 107
Introduction 108
4.1 Seven key characteristics 108
The rule of law 108
A liberal democracy 109
A common law legal system 111
A constitutional monarchy 111
A federation 112
The separation of powers 112
Responsible government 113
4.2 The Australian Constitution 115
Structure of the Constitution 115
Constitutional conventions 116
Federal and State relations 117
Residual powers 121
Regulating the Territories 122
Rights and freedoms 123
Changing the Constitution 124
4.3 The State constitutions 125
Similarities and differences between the State constitutions 127
4.4 Executive government in Australia 128
The Governor-General and the State Governors 129
The Executive Council and the Cabinet 130
Challenging the executive 132
Key terms 136
Exercises 137
Acknowledgements 137
Chapter 5 The sources of law in Australia 139
Introduction 140
5.1 Legislation 141
What is ‘legislation’? 141
Parliamentary sovereignty 142
5.2 The structure of parliament 142
Federal Parliament 143
State and Territory parliaments 144
The role of the Crown in parliament 145
Parliament in operation 145
Types of legislation 150
Delegated legislation 151
5.3 Case law 155
What is ‘case law’? 155
Court systems 155
Court processes 162
The doctrine of precedent 173
Key terms 177
Exercises 180
Acknowledgements 180
Part 2 Doing 183
Chapter 6 Thinking skills 184
Introduction 185
6.1 Legal reasoning 185
What is ‘legal reasoning’? 186
The IRAC method 186
Legal reasoning and logic 192
Legal reasoning and policy 201
6.2 Critical thinking 203
What is critical thinking? 203
Criteria-based judgement 203
Three types of critical thinking for law 205
An act of thoughtful disobedience 207
Becoming a critical thinker 208
6.3 Creative thinking 216
What is creative thinking? 216
Creativity in law school and legal practice 217
Becoming a creative thinker 218
Key terms 220
Exercises 221
Acknowledgements 221
Chapter 7 Legal research skills 223
Introduction 224
7.1 Adopt a systematic approach 226
Plan your research 227
Undertake some background reading 229
Think carefully about your search terms 230
7.2 Know where to look 232
Primary and secondary sources 232
Legal research tools 233
Finding secondary sources 235
Finding case law 236
Finding legislation 238
7.3 Access good-quality information 240
Online versus hard-copy sources 241
Use current information 242
Use authoritative information 242
Use relevant information 243
Be patient 245
Know when to stop looking 246
7.4 Read actively and efficiently 246
Reading actively and efficiently 247
Reading case law 249
Reading legislation 250
7.5 Apply your research 251
Applying research to legal problem solving 251
Applying research to writing a paper 251
Citing your research 252
Key terms 256
Exercises 256
Acknowledgements 256
Chapter 8 Interpretation and application skills 257
Introduction 258
8.1 Reading the law 259
Legislation 259
Case reports 264
8.2 Interpreting the law 272
The need for interpretation 272
Statutory interpretation 273
8.3 Interpretation in practice 294
Meaning and intent 295
Text, context and purpose 296
Using ambiguity 296
A practical guide to interpretation 297
Statutory interpretation problem-solving examples 301
Key terms 311
Exercises 312
Acknowledgements 313
Chapter 9 Communication and collaboration skills 315
Introduction 316
9.1 Communication skills 316
The importance of effective communication skills 316
The objectives of legal communication 317
Understanding the audience 323
9.2 Communicating effectively 325
Written communication 325
Oral communication 333
Non-verbal communication 338
9.3 Collaboration skills 342
The importance of effective collaboration skills 342
Collaborating effectively 343
Key terms 348
Exercises 348
Acknowledgements 348
Chapter 10 Self-management skills 351
Introduction 352
10.1 The importance of self-management 352
Mental health and wellbeing 353
10.2 Six self-management skills 355
Independent learning 356
Reflective practice 360
Using feedback appropriately 362
Resilience 365
Hope and optimism 369
Mindfulness 372
Key terms 374
Exercises 374
Acknowledgements 374
Part 3 Being 375
Chapter 11 Being realistic 376
Introduction 377
11.1 Formalism vs realism 377
Strict formalism 378
Moderate formalism 379
Legal realism 383
Judicial activism 384
11.2 Law and power 386
Marxist legal theory 387
Critical legal studies 388
Postmodern legal theory 390
Feminist legal theory 395
Critical race theory 400
Key terms 402
Exercises 402
Acknowledgements 403
Chapter 12 Being committed to justice 405
Introduction 406
12.1 The nature of justice 406
Theories of justice 406
Types of justice 407
12.2 Access to justice 414
The problem 414
Some solutions 419
Key terms 427
Exercises 427
Acknowledgements 427
Chapter 13 Being ethical 429
Introduction 430
13.1 Ethics 431
What is ‘ethics’? 431
Knowing the ‘right’ thing to do 432
The relationship between laws and ethics 436
Extending moral status 438
13.2 Professional ethics 448
The duties of a lawyer 448
Ethical rules 449
Conflict between professional and personal ethics 452
Ethical considerations for a sustainable future — environment, social and governance issues 456
Key terms 458
Exercises 458
Acknowledgements 459
Chapter 14 Being future-ready 461
Introduction 462
14.1 Disruption and transformation 463
Globalisation 463
Diversification 464
Emergent technologies 466
The end of lawyers? 468
14.2 Preparing for the future 469
Be flexible and open-minded 470
Be committed to lifelong learning 470
Service skills 471
Be globally minded 472
Be positive and optimistic 484
Key terms 489
Exercises 490
Acknowledgements 490
Index 493
