Skills Guide 2026

D L S S

2026

Skills

Guide

A comprehensive guide of skills and resources required to navigate Deakin Law School 1

DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Acknowledgments Design & Editor: Vicky Lu Editor in Chief: Diya Matthew

Contact us Email: feedback@deakinlss.org Website: deakinlss.org

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Foreword This publication is provided free of charge from the Deakin Law Students' Society (DLSS) on the understanding that the editors, all contributors and any other persons related to this publication are not responsible for the actions of readers based on the information, error or omission in the publication. The views given in the publication do not necessarily represent the views of the editors, DLSS or Deakin Law school. This publication is copyrighted. Except where permitted under the Copyright Act; no part of this publication may, in any form or by any means (electronic or otherwise) be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any person, without special written consent of the Deakin Law Students' Society.

Acknowledgment of Country We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the DLSS is founded, the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. We recognise their continued connection to the land and waters. We pay our respects to Wurundjeri Elders past andpresent and extend this respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Elders and people from other communities.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

CONTENTS The DLSS President’s Welcome Our Law Librarian Deakin Library Deakin Library Resource Guides Legal Research Databases Legal Research Skills Legal Note-taking Legal Writing and IRAC Legal Referencing (AGLC4) Study Tips Resources Study Support Career

5 6 8 10 11 13 14 16 17 18 20 21 22 23

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

The DLSS The Deakin Law Students' Society ('DLSS') is a student-led organisation operating on behalf of the Deakin Law student cohort. As one of Deakin University's longest standing student societies, it is our goal to facilitate and allow Law students to maximise their university experience through social events, competitions, publications, panels, workshops, and work experiences.

As a member of the DLSS, you not only have access to discounted tickets to the hottest events in the Deakin law calendar, but you also gain access to a wide range of career-based initiatives and join a beautiful community of law students.

Become a member and get: Access to Career Page with member-only jobs opportunities Exclusive member discounts and perks Career and networking opportunities Monthly newsletter with events updates and recaps

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

President’s Welcome Welcome to the Deakin Law Students’ Society’s 2026 Skills Guide. My name is Sami Pauliuk, and I am proud to be the President of the Deakin Law Students’ Society this year.

As I enter my fifth and final year of a Bachelor of Laws/Arts, I reflect on a journey that has been anything but easy. Like many students, I have experienced every stage of law school uncertainty - struggling to understand AGLC4, over-editing cover letters in fear of getting them “wrong, ” balancing work and study, and learning, often the hard way, how to take care of myself while still striving to succeed. As the first person in my family to attend university, and the first to study law, navigating this path has been a significant challenge. Throughout it all, the DLSS has been a constant source of support, helping me build the skills, confidence, and resilience that have shaped my law school experience.

This Guide is one way we hope to offer that same support to you.

Whether you are just beginning your law degree or approaching its final stages, law school can feel both exciting and overwhelming. It challenges you to think critically, write precisely, manage heavy workloads, and engage with complex ideas - all while discovering the kind of legal professional you want to become. This Skills Guide has been designed to support you through each stage of that journey.

The Deakin Law Students’ Society exists to represent, support, and empower Deakin law students throughout their time at university. As a student-run organisation, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive, and academically enriching community.

Our role extends beyond advocacy and events; we aim to ensure students are equipped with the tools, knowledge, and confidence needed to succeed at law school and beyond.

Law school is about more than memorising cases and legislation. Success also depends on developing foundational skills: legal research, problem-solving, written and oral communication, time management, and, most importantly, resilience. These skills are not always intuitive, and many students are left to learn them through trial and error. This Guide exists to bridge that gap, offering practical advice, clear guidance, and studentfocused strategies to help you feel more confident and supported in your studies.

Designed with you in mind, this publication brings together practical tools and insights to help you navigate law school with confidence. From legal writing and assessments, to study strategies, mooting, interviews, and internships, the Skills Guide is intended to be a resource you can return to whenever you need guidance, reassurance, or direction.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Importantly, this Guide recognises that every student’s law school journey is different.

Many students balance study with work, family responsibilities, or other commitments.

Others may be the first in their family to attend university or to study in Australia, or may be adjusting to a new academic environment. The DLSS is proud to support a diverse student community, and this publication reflects our commitment to accessibility, inclusivity, and practical support. There is no single “right” way to succeed in law school, and this Guide is here to help you find what works for you.

As President of the DLSS, I am continually inspired by the passion, resilience, and ambition of our student community. Developing strong skills early in your degree not only supports academic success, but also empowers you to pursue your broader goals, whether in advocacy, social justice, commercial practice, policy, or community service.

The skills you build now will shape how you think, communicate, and contribute long after graduation.

I encourage you to engage with this Guide openly and revisit it as your studies progress.

Remember that seeking support is a strength, not a weakness. The DLSS is here to support you through initiatives like this publication, alongside our events, competitions, wellbeing programs, and advocacy efforts. We are committed to ensuring every Deakin law student feels informed, supported, and capable of reaching their full potential.

I would like to acknowledge the DLSS Communications team, led by Diya Matthews and supported by her officers, for their dedication and hard work in bringing this Guide together. I hope it becomes a trusted companion throughout your law school journey and beyond.

Samantha Pauliuk 2026 President Deakin Law Students’ Society 7

DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Our Law Librarian Mrs. Michelle Bendall is our esteemed law librarian. She is your goto person for any legal research or referencing relevant queries.

The following interview includes a few questions regarding her advice and tips on supporting students in their law degree.

Contact your Scholarly Services Librarians for any legal research queries or request to meet us in person for a legal research consultation: scholserv-hass@deakin.edu.au .

What is your favourite aspect of your role in being Deakin's law librarian?

Michelle Bendall Scholarly Services Librarian, Law BA (Legal Studies), Grad. Dip. Inf. Serv. FHEA

Guiding first-year law students through the great legal research subscription databases available via Deakin Library. A good understanding of these databases will make researching more efficient in later year units. We cover these great resources in your first-year legal research units. These are extensive and authoritative resources to support you to develop your legal research skills throughout your law degree, which is an essential graduate skill too.

How can students get the most out of the library?

Take the time in your first year to gain a good understanding of the Deakin Library’s Law & Legal Research guides.

Return to these guides each time you undertake any legal research assessment.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026 What is one law research/referencing habit that you hope all law students develop early?

When researching for case law make sure you use authoritative legal databases (such as Lexis+ Australia and Westlaw Australia), and use a case citator to check if the case is reported in an authorised law report (Hint: AGLC4 rule 2.2.2). Always read the case in full and quote the relevant passages that will best support your proposition in an assessment. Do not assume that an assessor will know the cases you are listing in footnotes, or why you are citing those cases.

What is one library resource that you recommend to all law students undergoing legal research or legal referencing?

The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition) [aka AGLC4]. This is the legal referencing style for all law units. Read Part 1 and then refer to the relevant rules each time you need to reference a source. Do not be overwhelmed by its size. Treat it like a ready reference manual.

What is something you wish law students would ask you more? And any final tips?

I wish they’d ask about using Google or Generative AI for research. Always start with our Deakin Library subscription databases for your legal research. Only turn to Google when you are looking for known government legal information websites. Google Scholar is not comprehensive enough for Australian law journal articles. I do not recommend Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT/Gemini/Claude/Copilot) for undertaking legal research. Ask me why anytime.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Deakin Library

The Deakin Library is home to a plentitude of resources that can help you in your studies. The best place to start is almost always the Deakin Library Resource Guides.

These guides are tools tailored to support you through your study and assignments in your law unit, preparing law students for tasks such as using legal abbreviations, legal researching, and legal referencing. Included are links to some of the many guides at your disposal accompanied by an overview of when each could be useful.

The Law and Legal Research Hub is home to shortcuts to all other law guides. This is the perfect place if you are unsure of which guide will best suit your needs.

The Library can provide advice and assistance with: Accessing and searching for legal resources Evaluating legal resources Developing legal research skills Legal referencing

These guides will help you build essential legal research skills that are crucial in undergoing your studies and future legal career.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Deakin Library Resource Guide

The Legal Research Basics Guide takes you through the different types of sources at your disposal, legal writing skills, and when to use, and not to use, Google.

The AGLC-4 is the accepted Legal referencing standard in Australia. The Legal Referencing Guide will help you contextualise and use the AGLC4 in your law assessments and is a brilliant point to get started when referencing.

The Legal Abbreviations Guide contains a list of the most commonly used legal abbreviations that you will likely come across when undertaking legal research 11

DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Deakin Library Resource Guide

The Researching Case Law Guide teaches you how to use case citators databases for legal research, provides tips on finding cases and finally also how to reference cases.

The Researching Secondary Law Resources Guide covers how to find secondary sources beyond the prescribed textbooks including books, journal articles, news and media sources. It also goes into how to cite them.

The Researching Legislation Guide includes how to locate authoritative legislation such as Acts, Statues, Bills and subordinate legislation with examples of how to reference them.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Legal Research Database When undertaking Legal Research, properly understanding which databases to use will elevate your research and legal knowledge. There are two main databases which Deakin Law students have access to through Deakin Library Westlaw Australia and Lexis+ Australia. Other resources such as AustLII and Halsbury Laws of Australia are also useful and accessible through the library.

Comparison table between Lexis+ and Westlaw Australia

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Legal Research Skills

In order to conduct meaningful research you should attract relevant sources of information.

To do this you should identify key words and phrases relating to the topic you are researching.

Deakin Library allows you to save sources found in your search so you can easily find them at a later time. You can group these sources to keep them together for assignments.

Searches can also be limited by source type, campus location, field of study, or date range. Sources can also be sorted by relevance and date of publication.

Boolean operators Using boolean operators refines the results yielded from your search.

Boolean operators increase the specificity of your results by narrowing or broadening the scope of the search. Using boolean operators ensures that the sources yielded from your search are relevant to the work you are doing.

The following image identifies some of the most commonly used ones.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Legal Research Skills Helpful Skills Synonyms can be used to expand your search results. Synonyms can be used by using the advanced search tab when searching.

Using quotation marks around a phrase will ensure the words are grouped as one term in the search Filtering by 'peer-reviewed' sources will yield credible results from your search.

Remember to keep a record of where and what you have searched to avoid repeating it.

Having an organised record of your sources would also make it easier for referencing later on.

Tips

CRAPP Test Consider the below factors when doing legal research to ensure your sources are appropriate and relevant

Remember to dedicate plenty of time for legal research, do not underestimate it.

Engage in searching for a variety of secondary sources and primary sources, often secondary sources include relevant primary sources and case law.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Legal Note-taking Note-taking is a necessary skill for law students and graduates. There is no set structure for note-taking as long as it works for you. Making study notes is a process completed over time, do not leave it to the last minute as creating notes from the first week of study will help you consolidate your knowledge. Ensure you regularly review your notes and that it is in your own words.

Legal Notes Legal notes should be structured around the overall legal issue and the elements that make up it (subsidiary issues). For example, the main heading would be Defamation Law and the subheadings are the elements that need to be established (such as serious harm to reputation). Under that would be the legal propositions and rules that are backed by legal authorities such as principles, factors and tests applied by the court. Where appropriate, relevant key findings and facts of cases can demonstrate how the element and legal propositions is applied in practice.

Having clear headings and sub headings as well as colour coding is very helpful in organising your notes and is highly recommended.

Case Notes Below is a simple format that you can use for your case summaries Citation (to confirm jurisdiction) Procedural history (if relevant) Facts Legal issue/s Legal reasoning Decision

Exam Notes

Law exam notes should aim to be concise and not too lengthy as you don’t want to spend too much time reading and searching for the information. It should include key legal principles, legal issues and cases.

Having sentence starters for IRAC can also be useful. Practice answering legal questions using your notes, this will allow you to see if they are sufficient and require any changes.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Legal Writing and IRAC

The IRAC method is commonly used when answering legal problems.

It helps organise your answer and ensure that all elements are addressed. The order does not matter. Planning out what legal issues needs to be addressed and what you are going to write is recommended before going straight into writing. Highlight all the important material facts to help you.

Legal writing Legal writing should be clear and in plain English to ensure it is easy to understand.

Do not use overly fancy or colloquial language. Full sentences, correct grammar and punctuation are all essential. Legal writing is formal so avoid contractions. Always back up your argument and point with an authority (source of law). You should also consider all sides of an argument for your advice to be proper and accurate.

Tip Use headings and subheadings in your body paragraphs to make the legal issues clear to the marker

IRAC Issue: Identify the legal issues raised by the problem question Rule: State the rule(s) or propositions of law that are relevant to each legal issue Apply: Apply the relevant propositions of law to the facts of the problem question Conclusion: Provide a conclusion to your answer

When doing practice questions, compare and check your answers with the answer guide that has been provided on the unit site. Note down anything that you missed.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Legal Referencing The Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4 (AGLC4) is the golden resource for law students when undertaking legal research. This referencing guide is vital in ensuring that the referencing you do in assignments is adequate so take the time to familiarise yourself with it, as referencing is taken very seriously in law. These page provides some very basic and common AGLC4 rules for bibliography and footnotes, it is by no means inclusive. For referencing cases, acts and bills, see the previous Deakin library resource guides.

Bibliography Referencing similar to footnotes except: List entries alphabetically under each section of the bibliography, disregarding 'A', 'An or 'The'.

No full stops after entry.

Order works alphabetically according to the family name of the first-listed author.

Author’s family name first, followed by a comma and the given name or initials.

Footnotes

Footnotes are used when ideas and sources are paraphrased, quoted or summarised.

Superscript number is placed after any punctuation Footnotes end with a full stop.

Author’s given name should be provided before the family name All titles have the first letter of significant words capitalised Titles of journals, books and cases and Acts are formatted in italics

Bibliography sections A Articles/Books/Reports B Cases C Legislation D Treaties E Other Note that in law exams you do not need to cite according to AGLC4

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Legal Referencing Repeat citations Ibid can be used when the immediate preceding footnote is from the same source.

Add pinpoint if different. n can be used for sources that were previously cited in a footnote Author/case, (n number of first citation) pinpoint (if different).

Pinpoint references Multiple Authors For two or three authors, they are all listed with ‘and’ in between the last two For more than three authors, name the first only followed by ‘et al’

The Deakin’s Guide to AGLC4 is a great place to start if you are overwhelmed by the AGLC4. It breaks down what you need to know with examples.

pages are indicated through page number only paragraphs are indicated by paragraph number in square brackets sections are cited by ‘s’ followed with space and section number, sub section is ‘sub-s’ chapter is referenced by ‘ch’ followed with space and chapter number multiple pinpoint references are listed with comma

Quotes Use quotation marks for quotes that are less than 3 lines.

For longer quotes, they must be started on a new line, in a smaller font and indented without quotation marks.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

StudyTips Try to stay on top of your work as much as possible. Falling behind in attending class, watching recordings, taking notes and completing readings will make it very difficult to catch up later on.

Start assignments and exam revision early and always leave extra time just in case. Time management is a very important skill in law school, having a study planner or schedule is a great idea to space out your work.

Use all the resources that are available to you. Take the time to explore your unit site, Deakin library and keep an eye out for the DLSS instagram for any revision lectures. These are all here for you to use and support you in your studies.

Practice questions are vital. Doing them over time consistently is the best way to improve your answers, familiarise yourself with answering legal questions and increase your efficiency.

Finally, law school can be quite dry and overwhelming. Remember to take care of yourself, stay in touch with your support system and maintain free time for yourself.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Deakin Legal Writing Resources

Click on the below links to access these helpful writing resources!

Writing a Case Analysis guideline

Memorandum of Advice guideline

How to Write a Good Research Essay

How to Read and Summarise Cases

How to Answer Legal Problem Questions

How to Prepare Notes for Studying Law

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Study Support Click on the below links to access these helpful writing resources!

Turniturn

Peer mentor

Turnitin is a service which upholds academic integrity by checking for any unoriginal or potentially plagiarised material present in your work. This is a brilliant resource to use before submitting an assessment. It is best to allow a 48 hour gap when using Turnitin to receive your result prior to submission.

Peer mentoring sessions are available for students from Week 1-5 every trimester either online or on campus. They offer advice covering topics such as choosing your major, effective study notes, and general wellbeing. It is a wonderful way to begin law school.

DeakinTalent

DeakinTALENT is a hub for all things career, professional development, and practical legal experience at Deakin. students can apply to jobs, internships, Work Integrated Learning and more through the site. It also provides access to resume and cover letter templates for law students, as well as a Resume Review function that gives your advice and feedback on your resume.

Handbook The Handbook outlines the rules and requirements surrounding your course including compulsory units, trimester dates, student rights and responsibilities, and detailed information about each degree. It is very important you follow it to ensure you are able to graduate smoothly.

Writing mentor Writing mentors are experienced students who can offer you free personalised writing support.

They are available where students need help with assignment questions, research, academic writing and referencing.

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DLSS Skills Guide 2026

Career Networking Law school is not just about studying. Take the time in law school to meet fellow peers and future colleagues as networking is a necessary step for law students.

Having professional connections is highly beneficial for your career. LinkedIn is one way to connect with professionals so ensure that you have an up to date and active LinkedIn profile. The DLSS and Law Institute Victoria (LIV) holds networking events and workshops for law students. Becoming a member of both provides you with lots of opportunities.

Legal experience Legal experience is very important and will make you more employable when seeking work in the legal field. It would allow you to work with professionals, develop skills and gain connections and insight into the legal field.

While you will complete a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) unit as part of your degree, additional legal experience would make you stand out. Volunteering at Community Legal Centres, interning at law firms and clerkships are all valuable experience that employers seek. Keep an eye out for opportunities through DLSS Instagram and DeakinTalent.

Interview Tips Research the organisation Prepare mock questions and answers Practice Dress appropriately Ask auestions

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