Allen’s
Peppercorn.
Contents 3
‘LSS Bans Tickets’ DAN TREVANION
4 ‘President’
DAN TREVANION
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‘Joe Cinque’s Consolation’
HARRY McLAURIN
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‘Education’
BRYCE ROBINSON
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‘Social Justice’
DAN McNAMARA
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‘The Gibbs Moot’
JAMES BARRETT
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‘Events’
EDEN LIM
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‘Wellbeing’
RHEA NAIR
22 ‘Careers’
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RACHEL HAO
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‘Finance’
ELLEN TREVANION
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‘Competitions’
SORIN ZOTA
Sponsors
LSS Bans Tickets Dan Trevanion
LSS President 2016
The ANU LSS is conscious of the progressive use of tickets in its elections over the past 3 years. The existing electoral by-laws of the Society did not adequately address the use of tickets and so I felt it was necessary for the Society to either formally accept or reject tickets in our elections. I believe the motion to reject tickets was correct for two main reasons. First, that tickets create the perception of a closed system, dissuading students from running for a position if they have not been sought by a ticket. Our committee discussed this aspect in detail, and in my opinion, correctly concluded that even initiatives like the ANUSA expression of interest form do not dispel this perception. The ANU LSS operates on the trust its members place in us as their representatives. Encouraging an election that perpetuates a perception of exclusivity undercuts our ability to act as representatives of our community. Second, that tickets fundamentally align students with a certain policy or ideology. The ANU LSS, as successful as it has been in carving out an advocacy role, is at its core a functional body that operates through events.
For this reason, individuals that have strong organisational skills, communicative ability and work-ethic are needed. These capacities are personal and are not strengthened by running together with other students. Instead, running as a ticket is more likely to push these personal attributes to the background and bring group policy to the fore. To ensure the Society operates with the best personnel in the future it is critical that our elections encourage students with the appropriate attributes to run and allows for students to distinguish themselves on the basis of these attributes. I encourage people to read the minutes of the meeting on the 21st of August for some of the other opinions offered: http://www.anulss.com/ committee-meeting-minutes/ Our elections will begin in early October and we encourage all law students to be involved. We will be holding an information session with current committee members in the lead up to nominations. Keep a look out for the time and date at https://www.facebook.com/ANULSS/ .
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LSS Reports President
Dan Trevanion
The ANU Law Students’ Society (ANULSS) is one of the largest, oldest and most active societies at the ANU. The objects of the ANULSS generally boil down to improving the university experience of ANU Law Students. In 2016, I can express to our members that we have achieved that objective. I would like to thank the committee for their hard work in ensuring the success of the ANULSS. All of our events and initiatives are a result of the time you have taken out of your lives as law students to volunteer. Internal Policies Establishing strong foundations and internal regulations are key to the success of any society. In the latter half of 2016 we have continued to update out non-constitutional documents to reflect better practice. A notable example of this has been the removal of tickets in our election by-laws.
and his team in the running of our internal competition. If not for his professionalism and organisation of the internal competitions to such a high standard we would not be able to focus on external competitions as we have. Equally, the work of Tony as the inaugural external competitions officer has been integral to getting our external competitions program off the ground and running successfully. In my tenure as President the cabinet in the new Law Foyer has seen an additional five trophies swell its ranks. If I can hang my retirement hat on any change to the ANU law student experience it is that we now enable our students to distinguish themselves among our national peers. And our students are making us proud. I am incredibly humbled and honoured to have had the opportunity to work with my peers and colleagues in 2016. I am a better person for meeting you all. I hope I was able to return the favour. I would like to thank the Executive committee of Eden, Sorin, Bryce, Ellen, Tara, Rachel and Dan M for contributing to the overall success of the ANULSS. It has been an unforgettable experience to work closely alongside you all. It has also been of great personal enjoyment to see you develop into outstanding individuals in the process.
Lastly, I would like to thank my close friend and Competitions In 2016, the LSS formalised its support of external Immediate Past-President Jordan Qian. I thought you had run away to China and left me in the lurch competitions. but you were always watching over me and the ANULSS. You messaged me when the role was at In particular, the LSS supported teams in the folits most isolating and provided me with the suplowing competitions: • ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Mock port that only someone with the lived experience could provide. It’s a testament to your modesty Trial; and commitment that you were the only one on • The Castan Human Rights Moot hand to pass out bread for snags as I and four • The Baker & McKenzie Womens Moot first year reps were struggling with a fire pit and • The Kirby Contracts Moot • The Administrative Appeal Tribunal Competition swarms of students. I know you will continue to assist the ANULSS, as you have since you were • ANIMAL Moot; a first year rep, so I won’t formalise such a curse • The Sir Harry Gibbs Moot; and with the term ‘life member’. You will, however, be • The ALSA Conference Competitions a lifelong friend and on behalf of the ANULSS I truly thank you for your service. Given my background it was inevitable that my focus would be pulled towards the ANULSS’ competitions. I’ve had the pleasure to work with Sorin 4
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Revi
Harry McLaurin In October 1997, ANU law student Anu Singh was charged with the murder of her boyfriend, Joe Cinque. Killed as part of a sordid suicide pact of which Cinque was an unknowing participant, Singh twice injected Cinque with potentially lethal doses of heroin while he was asleep, having first drugged his coffee with Rohypnol. Cinque’s prolonged death came despite a number of friends being aware of Singh’s disturbing plan. Singh and a fellow law student, Madhavi Rao, were put on trial for Cinque’s murder. Singh was found guilty of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and Rao was acquitted of all charges. Singh served four years in prison where she completed her law degree before going on to do Masters degree in criminology and then a PhD on female offenders. This angering and troubling tale was originally given a voice in Helen Garner’s book Joe Cinque’s Consolation, which explores whether the single-judge trial at the ACT Supreme Court truly brought justice to Cinque’s grieving family. It examines the greater question of morality beyond the letter of the law and seeks to preserve Cinque’s life in memory and provide justice to his brother and parents whose lives were also destroyed by the actions of Singh’s hideous actions. Sotiris Dounoukos’s adaptation, which shares the same title, examines what happened before the murder. Investigating the mentality and conflicted morals of the friends who were aware of Singh’s plot yet said nothing, and the gradual mental deterioration of Singh which led her to commit such a heinous crime. In that sense, it is a story of ethics, culpability and relationships.
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‘Joe Cinque’s Filmed at ANU and around Canberra, the campus and city play as much a role in the story as the characters. The quiet middle-class suburban setting in which most of the events take place contrast strikingly with the intense drama that unfolds between Singh and her inner circle. While Canberra locals will be able to spot obvious inconsistencies between the cityscape and the film’s 90s setting, Dounoukos does his best to capture the life of an ANU student involving in the underground drug culture of the time. Indeed, the sheer mundanity of the setting acts as the impetus for the casual drug use which takes place, as the psychedelic effects become an escape for the lonely, desperate and bored. The quiet serene beauty of the ANU campus, which at times resembles a university marketing video, is also at odds with the complexity of the characters and the mental trauma that takes place. Indeed, the film feels very close to home. There are shots in Chifley, Coombs lecture theatre (renamed ‘University Moot Court’), the law school lawns, Sully’s Creek and University Avenue with the fluff falling from the trees. The fact that these events occurred within this tranquil space is deeply disturbing and unnerving. Singh, portrayed by Maggie Naouri, conveys a compelling combination of beauty, narcissism and destructiveness. From her first interaction with Cinque in a bar to her final chilling telephone call to the emergency operator after Cinque’s death, you sense the underlying disturbances present in every action she takes. Naouri is believable as we all know someone with her outward characteristics – her intelligence, her somewhat shy demeanour, her beauty and her selfishness.
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Consolation’ ‘ Yet it is a shock to believe that such a monster could be hidden beneath this everyday personality in a sophisticated and highly educated setting such as ANU. Naouri does an excellent job at showing how Singh’s bodily insecurities spiral out of control into borderline personality disorder, severe depressive disorder and psychotic delusions. Her manipulation of Cinque is painful to watch, but you are given a glimpse into the reason underlying her actions. Her delusions about her own terminal illness and the need to end her and Cinque’s lives may provide consolation to those angered by the original trial judge’s seeming leniency towards Singh in finding manslaughter rather than murder. Yet understanding the purpose for Singh’s actions no doubt provides little consolation to Cinque’s family given the film’s graphic portrayal of Cinque’s death and the difficulty in empathising with Singh. Indeed Singh is given few redeeming features. As a result you leave the film angered and confused, yet perhaps this is the outcome Dounoukos is seeking – which perhaps mirrors the sentiment felt by Cinque’s family. Cinque himself, played by Jerome Meyer, displays the gentleness, loyalty and decency that has been attributed to the young engineer. While his seeming ignorance of Singh’s premeditated plot to kill him is explained by his trust and dedication, you gain the sense that his passive presence on screen is designed to deflect attention from him to the actions of his killer and her friends. As a result you gain a deep respect and admiration for Cinque and a deep loathing of Singh.
The most troubling aspect of the film comes from the culpability and moral apathy of the friends who were aware of Singh’s plot. The role of Singh’s enabler, Rao, who purchased the drugs and set up the ‘farewell’ dinner parties on the pretext that Singh was committing suicide was shocking. It is horrifying when not one guest seeks to confirm the plan with Cinque, with each friend wilfully turning a blind eye to the warning signs of his impending death. The bystander effect, displayed on screen by the worried glances, unease and discomfort of the characters, serves as a lesson for people to seek help for friends struggling with mental illness. While some friends express reservations and seek to intervene, the lack of resolve which you would expect of a person in this situation leads you to resent these characters almost as much as Singh. While Singh is mentally unsound, the stoned, entitled and cavalier attitudes displayed by this group offers little consolation. Joe Cinque’s Consolation is a mesmerising and saddening film displaying the worst of human nature. While it may contribute to preserving Cinque’s memory into the future, it leaves you yearning for justice to be served to those morally culpable for Singh’s crimes.
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LSS Re Education
Bryce Robinson
Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA)
Expert Panel
Since the last AGM, Dan Trevanion and I have represented ANU on the ALSA Council at both the July Conference in Hobart and the September Council in Adelaide. Our JD Director (Education), Olivia Sparrow, was also in attendance in Hobart as a general delegate, and several other ANU law students have been present in their capacity as either national competitions finalists or members of the ALSA executive/committee.
In Week 8, the Education Portfolio held our Law in the Digital Age Expert Panel. This was our third forum event this year, following our highly successful JD Staff-Student Forum earlier this year. The panel was composed of experts (both ANU-based and external) on the use of technology in legal practice, the legislative framework surrounding the collection of metadata, and crimes relating to harassment over social media.
Our attendance has ensured that ANU is represented in the development of ALSA’s advocacy strategies, and has also enabled Dan and I to create meaningful connections and gain valuable information from how other LSSs around Australia organise their societies and their activities. This information has been fed back to individual members of the LSS Executive in personalised summary reports, outlining recommendations specific to their portfolios. Pre-exam Tutorials At the end of Semester One, the Education Portfolio held our biannual Pre-Exam Tutorials for all compulsory subjects in the SWOTVAC period. The tutorials were largely successful, with the vast majority of completed feedback surveys expressing very positive sentiments about the quality and usefulness of the tutorials. Sem 2 tutorials have been organised and will be happening in the SWOTVAC period.
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The evening was a great success, with a solid turn-out, fantastic talks given by our speakers, and brilliant engagement from students in the subsequent Q&A segment. . Electives Guide The Education Portfolio is proud to announce the re-introduction of the Electives Guides, which has not been produced since 2014. We have developed a survey designed to gather information that students would not gain from the Programs and Courses website, to ensure that our students have up-to-date, honest accounts of the electives on offer. For both environmental and financial reasons, the Guide will be released only as a digital publication, ready for students to enrol in electives in the new academic year.
eports Social Justice Dan McNamara
This year, the Social justice portfolio upheld old traditions and introduced a variety of new ones. The Women in Law Breakfast sponsored by Clayton Utz expanded to include five speakers from a variety of corporate and academic fields, and completely sold out.
Lastly, keep an eye out for the Social Justice Dinner, to be held on October 21 at the Canberra Rex Hotel! It will focus on Indigenous Australians and the Law and will feature distinguished ANU academics.
However, the Social Justice portfolio’s primary focus and success this year has undoubtedly been the Law in Action: Cambodia Outreach Project. This December, 18 ANU Law students will be travelling to Cambodia to gain a handson experience with the Cambodian legal system, and the nation’s rebuilding after the Khmer Rouge regime. Preparation for the trip has included fundraising events and a speaker series about the Cambodian legal system.
Social Justice Cambodia Outreach Team fundraising
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LSS Experiences The Gibbs Moot James Barrett
Overall Experience
Moots
We had fun and are grateful for the experience. The competition was excellently hosted and friendly. It was nice to see the Melbourne University faculty, local barristers and former judges involved and willing to chat to competitors at length. We highly recommend this competition. This brief piece serves as an honest reflection on our experience and advice to future competitors.
The standard of oral presentation was high and the preliminary judges’ expertise in the area varied. We realised it was best to start by assuming nothing of the judge, gauge how to work with them during the moot, and state the flaws in opposing arguments simply, ruthlessly and respectfully. Our key strength was collective depth of research. This meant we could: (1) pick the best arguments early; (2) resort to on-point authority in tricky situations; (3) understand the underlying principles and debates; (4) react to the other side’s arguments put at their highest, within our own structure. Those strengths helped our delivery. We honed our use of authority towards the judges’ backgrounds, without just saying they should accept things because they had said them before. In the grand final both teams had amazing presentation but our strengths made the difference.
Accommodation and Transportation We flew from Canberra. The inconvenience of flying from Sydney didn’t appear cost-effective. We arrived about 3pm the day before registration. We left the afternoon after the competition. This was ideal. We booked an AirBnB place near Queen Victoria Markets about 12 minutes’ walk from Melbourne Uni. There was no stress with transport, and although there some tight turn-arounds between commitments, we had time to drop our stuff at home, refresh, work there and use Melbourne Uni facilities when needed. Written Submissions Here we focus on teams that clearly put in much effort. The difference in memorial quality – both in depth of research and answering the questions – was obvious only to better competitors and judges. Some judges said, fairly, our memorials were dense, with lots of work done through footnotes. Judges who weren’t well acquainted with the area missed nuances and liked readability. It was a good lesson in persuasive writing: in order to show the reader with your strengths you 14
Team Dynamics By rotating speaking roles between the three of us in the preliminary rounds we balanced fatigue-management with expertise on particular roles. For the finals, we unanimously chose speakers with greatest depth of knowledge and therefore the best ability to react to questions which were hard or sniped weak spots in our arguments. We were friends before the competition, but there were tense times. We gave constructive feedback when appropriate, with the mutual understanding that it was for everyone’s benefit.
One universally useful tenet was to ‘keep perspective’. We needed to detox from the competition sometimes. This brings us to: Social Events and Activities We hit Lygon Street a few times. Once we went to a homely Italian restaurant. Another time we brought food back, chatted and watched TV. There was a nice cocktail event where the break was announced. We took a breath and feigned socialising but our heads were in the game.
Thanks We extend our gratitude to Associate Professor James Stellios, our coach, for taking the time to provide feedback on the merit of our arguments, organise practice moots and judge us. We thank Doctors Dominique Dalla-Pozza and Ryan Goss for judging those moots and supporting us. James Barrett Prashant Kelshiker Will Randles
The gala dinner was ‘black tie’, but most people were dressed as if for law ball. Ladies went through slightly less trouble for obvious reasons. Everyone looked hot. People were fairly friendly. Most were tired, so there was no expectation to be very social or kick on. Will and Prashant went to bed around 10.30pm. Nerds.
James Barrett, Prashant Kelshiker and Will Randles, winners of the 2016 Gibbs Constitutional Law Moot
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LSS Re Events Eden Lim The Events team worked hard to ensure a jampacked LSS calendar which accomplished maximum inclusivity and variety. The ‘Yule Ball’, held at QT Canberra, was a triumph, with tabling selection and ticket purchase working much more smoothly than in past years. Inclusivity was achieved by the lowered ticket prices, higher capacity and tickets limited to ANU students. The theme was the second winner, with ‘a touch of elegance’ decorations and a Polyjuice Potion or truth serum cocktail given upon arrival to the after party at Acads. Well done guys! Other events included the much more chill ‘End of Sem 1 LSS Pancake BBQ’, held on the law lawns with fruit (a hit!) and pancakes, and the Sem 2 Lunchtime Sport team, which saw 62 members involved. Not only does the high demand demonstrate sufficient interest to expand the initiative, but it furthers the wellbeing aspect the LSS is aiming for.
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The JD Social portfolio flourished, with both semesters’ welcome events a success; semester one’s drinks and trivia at Fellows doubled expected attendance and semester two’s gala drinks was supported and attended by faculty. The JD social portfolio also collaborated with the Education portfolio for a JD consultation evening, and the entire Events team worked with the Wellbeing portfolio for Mental Health Week events. Finally, the Events portfolio is hopeful of a rebirth of the 2013 pub crawl, however this might be more likely to pop up next year
2016 LSS Law Ball: Yule Ball Em Roberts Photography
eports Wellbeing Rhea Nair The Wellbeing Director this year, Rhea, has continued the work of the Wellbeing Committee established in 2015. The Facebook page has been promoted to sharing resources regarding reaching out, seeking help and providing support. They’ve also put on several events with the campus-wide Mental Health Week in collabora tion with the Events and Careers
portfolio, including the Wellbeing Breakfast with Batyr and Sly Fox Coffee, and the Reality Check: Legal Careers event. The second event in particular was designed to focus on long-term and real-life anxieties facing law students as they can investigate options outside of the highly competitive and cutthroat corporate world.
LSS Wellbeing Breakfast: Mental Health Week 2016
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LSS Re Careers
Rachel Hao
The Careers portfolio has fulfilled on initiatives proposed in 2015, most notably the firm visit with King & Wood Mallesons. This was a highly successful and in demand event that provided insight into corporate firms and allowed students to hear from partners in different areas of the firm as well as current graduates. It looks likely to be expanded on next year.
LSS Clerkship Evening 2016
The Reality Check: Legal Careers was run in conjunction with the Wellbeing Committee, and gave insight into a range of different legal career options, including the public service, corporate firms, research and legal aid.
eports Finance
Ellen Trevanion
This year’s LSS budget continues to be in a good position. Our projected 2016 income was $167,111.49 and our projected 2016 expenditure was $103,425.00. While to-date we have exceeded that expenditure by about $20,000, we continue to be operating in the black. Greater than projected administration, events and
miscellaneous is the cause of this, however we expect that reduced costs in the other portfolios will improve our position over time. I would like to thank the Committee for a great year and wish Sheng all the best in his role as VP Finance for 2017.
King & Wood and Mallesons JD Welcome
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LSS Reports Competitions Sorin Zota
We have had another big semester in the Competitions portfolio. The winners of our senior internal competitions competed at the ALSA conference in Hobart over the semester break. Big congratulations to Charlie Austin and Annabelle Klimt for winning Client Interview. We have also published our Competitions Guide and sourced new expert tips from our ALSA competitors. This is available on our website. This semester we have been running our novice internal competitions: Ashurst Mooting, Clayton Utz Negotiation, Gibert + Tobin Client Interview and Witness Examination. These competitions displayed the incredible talent on offer at ANU and we congratulate all those who made it through to the final rounds. However, teams dropping out has still been an issue throughout the preliminary rounds. It is unclear whether this can be better dealt with in the future, as implementing a code of conduct has done little, so any suggestions are welcome.
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Tony Zhang has been overseeing the external competitions, namely the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Moot, the Animal Law Moot, the Castan Centre Human Rights Moot, the Gibbs Constitutional Law Moot, the Kirby Contract Law Moot and the Baker & McKenzie National Women’s Moot. Going forward it would be great to incorporate other external competitions like Negotiation into our offering, however our ability to do so is constrained by the budget. The ANU College of Law may be better placed to offer these opportunities to students. I would like to finish by thanking the Competitions team for doing such an amazing job this year, as well as offering my sincere thanks to everyone who assisted us in any way, whether as judges or clients. Katherine Duffy and Elizabeth Harris, winners of the 2016 Gilbert + Tobin Novice Client Interview Competition, and finalists Rose Bruce Smith and Matthew Mewing
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Allen’s
Peppercorn. EDITORIAL TEAM Rose Bruce-Smith Kanika Kirpalani Harry McLaurin Lucy Peel
COVER ILLUSTRATION Kanika Kirpalani
PUBLICATION DESIGN Kanika Kirpalani
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