2013 Student Guide

Notre Dame Sydney Law Society

STUDENT GUIDE 2013

Notre Dame Sydney Law Society

Welcome!

Welcome to the Notre Dame Sydney Law

Our annual Student Guide is your road map

Society! Firstly, congratulations on becoming a

for making your way around law school, as

law student here at Notre Dame! Whilst your

well as the action packed society you are now

next three, four or five years here will be full

automatically a part of. We’re here to help, so

of P’s, C’s, D’s and HD’s (hopefully more of the

read on to find out more about us!

latter), we’re here to show you all the other fun, exciting and challenging opportunities you can take part in as a Notre Dame Sydney law

Caroline Michel

student!

Publications Director

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Notre Dame Sydney Law Society

Who are we? enriching the student experience

The Notre Dame Sydney Law Society is a student society completely dedicated to enriching the university experience for all law students at the University of Notre Dame!

The society is completely run by students, for students. We are here to help you get the best out of your law degree and university experience through an array of academic and social activities. We are here to help you survive and enjoy your first year as a law student.

Over the next year we will be running various student competitions, social events, study help sessions, social justice initiatives, publications and a careers workshop. We believe that education in law at Notre Dame goes far beyond the lecture hall, so don’t be afraid to get involved!

2013 committee

Eden Christopher President

Natalie Baladi Vice-President

Daniel Austin Secretary

Jacob Deigan Careers Director

Julia Lavers Competitions Director

Aidan Williams Education Director

Caroline Michel Publications Director

Sean D’almada-Remedios Treasurer & Fourth/Final Year Rep

Alexander Carlos Marketing Director

Dominique Hermo Rachel Bennett Lauren Absalom Social Director Social Justice Director Sponsorship Director Photo Currently Unavailable

Shelby Van Ooran Second Year Rep

Peter Gray IT Director

Caitlin Gallagher Third Year Rep

Lisa Summerhayes Graduate/Mature Age Rep

First Year Rep is vacant!

Read on for information on how you can get elected!

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Notre Dame Sydney Law Society

Our brand new website launched on 18 February 2013 after months of hard work.

What’s new?

2013 promises to be an incredible year for the NDSLS as it enters its eighth year. The NDSLS committee this year is looking to continue on the great work of past committees and build upon our already strong reputation.

A strong focus has been placed on social media this year.

In early January, we launched our brand new Facebook page and we encourage you to ‘Like’ so you don’t miss out on any of the activities we run throughout the year.

We also launched our Twitter page for instant updates and our YouTube page to provide you with videos and tutorials.

Our website at www.ndsls.org went under a complete redevelopment, led by IT Director Peter Gray, where we’ll be posting all our major announcements and information about the NDSLS.

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A few other things: • We’ll be bringing you NDSLS apparel in Semester One and will look to expand our offerings in Semester Two. • Taking a photo? Tag us on Facebook or share it with us, we’d love to see your photos.

• Once again, always check our Facebook, Twitter, website, the Obiter (fortnightly newsletter) and your email for all the latest news about the NDSLS. Have a question?

Contact Alex Carlos at marketing@ndsls.org

Notre Dame Sydney Law Society

Our Activities Competitions Participating in competitions at Notre Dame is a great way to gain experience in practical legal situations, improve your research and writing skills and learn things about law and the practical legal profession that can not be taught in a classroom. It’s also a great opportunity to meet other students and teachers.

The NDSLS hosts several in-house competitions over the year: Client Interview, Negotiation, Moot, and Paper Presentation. First years are welcome and encouraged to participate in competitions, especially

Client Interview where you can participate as a client and get a feel for the competition and what is required so you can be an expert in later years!

Be sure to jump online at www.ndsls.org/competitions/ for more information and access to the Competitions Guide.

Have a question?

Contact Julia Lavers at competitions@ndsls.org

Careers Each year, the NDSLS runs a Career’s Week in Semester One. We invite many representatives from various legal firms, agencies and educational facilities to come and speak to us, provide useful information and answer any questions you may have.

Career’s Week is always a fantastic and popular event that provides all students a chance to meet legal professionals and get a greater understanding of the many career paths and avenues open to law students. Career’s Week is for everyone, so don’t worry about being a first year - it is never too early

to start making connections, or finding out which path you might like to pursue after university.

Stay tuned for more information about Career’s Week at www.ndsls.org/careers/.

Have a question?

Contact Jacob Deigan at careers@ndsls.org

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Notre Dame Sydney Law Society

Education We believe that your education as a law student here at Notre Dame goes beyond the classroom and lecture hall, so the NDSLS have planned some great educational initiatives and opportunities.

We plan on bringing back the popular ‘Study Boot Camp’, which ran last semester during ‘STUVAC’.

Study Boot Camp provided students with a chance to study and be motivated before exams in the library with other law students. General feedback of the program was that it was very successful in motivating students to keep working and not be distracted if they were otherwise on their own. This year we plan to hold two forms of the event; Study Boot Camp Lite (one day in the mid-semester break) and Study Boot Camp (two days during STUVAC) in both semesters.

This year we are also participating in the Australian Law Students’ Association’s (ALSA) annual conference.

This year it will be held in Perth from 9 - 16 July. The conference includes social events, legal education, competitions and more! We send a few select students to participate as competitors every year and other students are given the opportunity to attend as general delegates.

For more information on this portfolio and the planned education review, visit www.ndsls.org/ education/ Have a question?

Contact Aidan Williams at education@ndsls.org

Social Events One of the most exciting and enjoyable ways to enhance your experience at university, meet new people and forge friendships is through social events!

This year the NDSLS are planning a vibrant and exciting social calendar that will help you enjoy your first year as much as possible!

The largest and most anticipated event we organise is the annual law ball. The law ball is always a great night where you can dress up, eat, drink, dance, be a little bit fancy and have fun! Food, drinks, live entertainment and a DJ are included, and guests are more than welcome!

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Make sure you pay attention to our Facebook page for details on the date, location and how you purchase a ticket to the one event where everyone goes.

We will also be running a special first years event early in the semester, which is a great opportunity to meet your cohort and make new friends! Further details to come via www.ndsls.org/social-events/.

Have a question?

Contact Dominique Hermo at social@ndsls.org

Notre Dame Sydney Law Society

Publications The NDSLS release several publications throughout the year to keep you in the know! Here’s a run down of the publications you can receive and even contribute to: The Obiter: The Obiter is the NDSLS’s own fortnightly newsletter.

It will be bigger and better than ever this year, with more opportunities for student contributions, as well as regular features from both our NDSLS president Eden and editor Caroline. The Obiter is also the place to find out about upcoming events and ongoing initiatives in greater detail.

To all keen writers, listen up! You can contribute to The Obiter whenever you like, it’s easy. This year we are accepting a range of submissions, whether they are small articles, longer essays or anything in between! As long as your piece is related to a legal topic/issue we would love to include it in our publication. All you have to do is email your submission to Caroline at publications@ndsls.org.

Annual Student Guide This is what you’re reading right now!

Careers Guide Published in Semester One to support our annual Career’s Week. The Careers Guide provides students with information about the different firms and legal agencies you can see on campus during the week,

as well as useful information about the many career options and paths you can take!

Competitions Guide Published annually in Semester One to support the beginning of competitions season. You can find details on what each competition entails as well as important dates and deadlines.

The Final Verdict The Final Verdict is our annual end-of-year publication that wraps up the events of the year. It includes many original articles, essays and pieces from students, lecturers and professors. While the Final Verdict will be published and released at the end of Semester Two this year, we welcome submissions as early as possible! If you’re a keen or budding writer don’t hesitate to send an original piece into us for inclusion in The Final Verdict. It is also sent to our sponsors, so contributing is a great opportunity to get your name out there and make an impression!

For more information on all of these visit www.ndsls.org/publications/.

Have a question?

Contact Caroline Michel at publications@ndsls.org

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Notre Dame Sydney Law Society

Want to be on the Committee?

We need a First Year Rep! We are looking for a new First Year Representative to join our team! Being on the committee is a great opportunity to become more involved in the events we run. It’s a great way to get to know your cohort, and have lots of fun as well. Any first year can apply; this is all you have to do: 1. Write a short paragraph outlining why you want to become part of our committee as the first year representative.

2. Email your submission directly to our President, Eden Christopher, at president@ndsls.org by Friday 1st March (end of Week One).

Make sure to include your full name in the email.

3. That’s it!

It’s easy and takes no time at all so why not have a go?

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Notre Dame Sydney Law Society

That’s all folks!

L-R: Caitlin Gallagher, Lauren Absalom, Daniel Austin, Aidan Williams, Natalie Baladi, Eden Christopher, Shelby van Ooran, Sean D’almada-Remedios, Alexander Carlos, Jacob Deigan, Caroline Michel, Peter Gray

Writer / Editor: Caroline Michel, Publications Director Contributions / Design: Alexander Carlos, Marketing Director Special Thanks: Peter Gray for IT assistance and Aidan Williams for specific information about education initiatives.

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