Julian Porter
Suncoast Community
Legal Service Inc.
David Knobel
President of the USC Law
Students’ Association
I started Law at UQ, but the long
commute and large class sizes got
me looking at other options. When
USC launched its Law School right
here on my doorstep, I jumped at
the opportunity. I was attracted by
the practical course structure that
encourages every student to complete
a work placement in their first year.
I did my work placement
at the Law Clinic in my
first semester, which
built my skills and
the experience helped
land me a part-time
job at a local law firm.
The USC Law School has been
constructed with a deliberate focus on
a very important and practical outcome:
to create graduates who are useful to
our community.
The model is elegantly simple—the
courses give students as much
experience and exposure as possible
to the types of legal issues that arise
in the community. From the very first
term, students integrate their university
learning with practical work-based
placements at organisations like ours, so
they gain an insight into the issues and
practicalities of law from the very start.
The practical skills they pick up don’t
just help the students—they also help
the community, because the students
provide capacity to work on cases that
otherwise would not get heard.
The USC approach is markedly different
from the lecture-based teaching in play
at most larger universities. At USC, it is
impossible not to have direct contact
with tutors and lecturers, and the
program is sized responsibly to produce
the right number of graduates to fill jobs
on the Sunshine Coast.
That’s not to say graduates will be
restricted in where they can practice
—the degree is accredited just the
same as any other law degree, so
students can work anywhere
they wish in the world.
“USC has fostered a unique relationship
with the Suncoast Community Legal
Service to provide a big dose of ‘real’
from the first year.”
Professor Anne Rees
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