bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Motivated to Collaborate: A Self-determination Framework to Improve Group-Based Learning
Authors: Rogers Justine , Nehme Marina 
Published: June 2021

Before they enter practice, law students need to be able to work effectively in groups. This reality has been acknowledged by the universities and legal professional bodies. The Threshold Learning Outcomes (TLOs) for the Australian Law degree stipulate, for instance, that law students must acquire and be able to demonstrate skills in collaboration and communication. Meanwhile, a growing body of research is establishing the positive links between group work and a range of benefits, including achievement, critical thinking, problem-solving ability, creativity, wellbeing and satisfaction. Not only does group work enhance a student’s experience and individual performance, it also equips them with critical practice skills. Despite this, law students typically dislike and resist group work, which means they may not be achieving important professional competencies. Nevertheless, to force students into group learning would seem counterproductive. As we examine in this paper, students’ aversion to group work likely signals low intrinsic motivation – where intrinsic motivation means doing something because it is in itself enjoyable or optimally challenging; and where extrinsic motivation, by contrast, means doing something because it leads to or avoids a separate outcome. Making group work assessable as the primary way to induce student collaboration, or otherwise simply mandating it, means participation rests on external rewards and punishments. Extrinsic teaching approaches usually result in less effective learning. We argue in this paper that when designing group work, it is essential to consider and apply theories of learning motivation. This article asks the following: How can we increase the likelihood that law students positively engage in collaborative learning? To address this, the article draws on a theory of motivation, Self-Determination Theory (‘SDT’), to propose a framework and set of strategies for effective group-based learning in legal education. Pintrick and Schunk describe SDT as ‘one of the most comprehensive and empirically supported theories of motivation available today.’ It has been used in other legal educational areas, including curriculum design and assessment, and ethics and wellbeing. However, we consider it especially useful for group-based learning. The article adds to the small but growing legal education scholarship on teamwork, and makes distinct contributions in its motivational theory dimension, setting up an SDT framework designed to promote collaborative learning.
Student evaluations: Pedagogical tools, or weapons of choice?
Authors: Fisher Warwick , Orr John , Page John , Pelizzon Alessandro , Walsh Helen 
Published: June 2021

In this paper, we survey the recent literature of student evaluation surveys (‘SETs’) in the university sector, in so doing identifying a number of diverse issues that this literature reveals, and contextualising its general findings to the teaching practices of a regional Australian law school. This article argues that, contrary to their original intention, SETs are more often used as blunt instruments than nuanced pedagogical tools. Case studies drawn from Southern Cross University’s School of Law and Justice corroborate the general tenor of the literature, namely that there is ‘little evidence that study findings are being used to change or improve the student learning experience.’ Rather, these increasingly streamlined surveys provide online opportunities to take the subjective ‘pulse’ of student satisfaction, momentary snapshots that often generate instant heat, but shed little light. We argue that SETs need to be seen in context, as part of a wider and more pedagogically informed measure of good teaching. While it seems unlikely that SETs in their present form will disappear overnight, their continuing validity requires current teaching evaluation to be itself evaluated, the first priority being the paring back of survey questions to only those factors capable of objective and verifiable measurement.
A Conspiracy of Paper? William Paterson and the Mysterious Origins of Banking and Company Law
Authors: Farrar John 
Published: June 2021

This article examines the creation of the Bank of England and other contemporary banks, the Scottish Darien Scheme and the South Sea Bubble. It considers the role of William Paterson, a progressive Scottish merchant and economist, in all of these and the negotiations over the Act of Union of England and Scotland. The article reflects on the use of legislation and royal charters, together with the idea of joint stock and negotiability. It seeks to untangle the complex relationships of the Darien Company and the South Sea Company to banking operations of the time. Although Paterson had a minor role in the South Sea company, it was based on some of his ideas but he opposed the ultimate scheme to take over the national debt in exchange for stock which followed the policies of his compatriot John Law for France. Law in his turn had been influenced by the Bank of England and the Darien Scheme fund raising. The Bubble Act 1720, responding to the panic caused by collapse of bubble companies, was passed a year after his death and impeded the development of company and banking law for over a century. What this history demonstrates is the difficulty in benefitting from innovation. How the idea of projection or promotion began as something which was thought of in dubious terms. Vested interests were keen to exploit innovation after they initially fought hard to resist it. Then speculative mania took over. The history also reflects a surprisingly high fiduciary duty on a director based on guild ideas before the modern concept developed. Notwithstanding this conflict of interest was practised by influential people often with impunity until it became a political issue when the results were draconian but not necessarily consistent in the absence of modern winding up laws and insolvent trading. A similar picture is illustrated by the experience of John Law in France with the Banque Royale and the Mississippi Company. Their writings represent some of the earliest theorising on economics, banking and international trade more than fifty years before Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. It was not simply a conspiracy of paper
The Importance of Inculcating the ‘Pro Bono Ethos’ in Law Students, and the Opportunities to Do It Better
Authors: Corker John 
Published: June 2021

This paper argues why it is vital to inculcate law students with a pro bono ethos on their journey through law school to becoming a lawyer, and suggests ways that we might do this better during a student’s legal education and practical legal training in Australia. Based on the argument that professionalism is more than ever under threat and its survival in the law, as much as anywhere, seems increasingly fragile, it makes the case for the importance of this issue and suggests practical opportunities for students, law schools, providers of practical legal training, and regulation to better inculcate law students with the pro bono ethos, and to enhance the ethical value of lawyers providing ‘public service’. The paper examines what we might mean by the pro bono ethos, the current ways that this issue is approached in Australia and compares student pro bono, clinical legal education’ pre-admission rules, and other initiatives in the USA, Canada and the UK, as well as the Australian regulatory framework, to arrive at conclusions about opportunities for change.
Translation and the Divorce Lawyer: Simulating the Law and Society Interface
Authors: Ingleby Richard 
Published: June 2021

In this paper I discuss the use of simulation to explore the role of the legal profession in the resolution of matrimonial disputes. Two points are assumed. The first is the importance of the legal profession to both theoretical and practical aspects of family law.The second is the relative and possibly related dearth of empirical research about the legal profession. Some empirical studies have appeared in response to Mnookin and Kornhauser’s complaint that, “in view of the critical role of lawyers and the disparate functions they may perform, it is startling how little we know about how lawyers actually behave.” But there is no shortage of material explaining the reasons for the paucity of empirical data. The absence of much empirical research on the day-to-day activities of the legal profession is a serious gap in our legal knowledge. The traditional family law concentration on statute and precedent detracts from the dynamic nature of family law and neglects the role of the legal profession in out-of-court activity. Yet how can out-of-court activity be taught in the classroom? It does not exist in as convenient a form as the print of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). Students can draw on their personal experiences with the law and from television series or literature, whether these deal directly with the legal profession or present situations with which lawyers have to deal. Oliver Twist reveals one possible alternative to the legislative schemes for state protection of children who are deemed to be in danger. Television series such as “Home and Away”, “E Street” and “LA Law” present an impressive array of issues in relation to almost every aspect of a family law course. There may be a feeling that references to the popular media make issues less important than they would be if discussed solely in terms of the legislative provisions. But the importance of the link between students’ experiences and the learning process cannot be underestimated. (See all references in the article)
Preparing a Teaching Pohtmlolio for Law Educators
Authors: Weeks Patricia 
Published: June 2021

AIMS The aims of this article are to assist teachers of law to begin a process of self-reflection about their teaching, identify areas of strength and begin to develop a teaching profile. WHAT IS A TEACHING PORTFOLIO AND PROFILE? There seems to be some confusion in the literature regarding what a collection of evidence about teaching should be called. In some instances it is referred to as a profile, in others a dossier or portfolio. For simplicity portfolio will be the term used for the collection of data on your teaching. A summary of this information can then be used in conjunction with a curriculum vitae and will be termed a teaching profile. INTRODUCTION — PLAN There are long standing conventions on how to present academic qualifications, research and publications, however, there are few such conventions on presenting information about excellence in teaching. Throughout the decade there have been calls for greater efficiency and effectiveness in higher education and as in many other areas, teaching performance has come under close scrutiny. No longer, it seems, is it enough to merely assert one’s ability to teach. Evidence is now required to support that assertion. Whether you are a lecturer or tutor in law you will be aware of how difficult it is to actually present evidence of your ability to teach. This article outlines a process to assist you in the preparation of evidence in supporting claims about your teaching ability. Integral to this process is the asking of questions to enable you to critically reflect about what you do when you teach. These questions are only intended as a framework for you to begin keeping evidence and documenting what you are doing or have done. So that you can become familiar with the process, you are invited now to commence a self-evaluation of your performance.
Scholarship in Perspective
Authors: Phang Andrew 
Published: June 2021

Extract: Although it is a trite fact that legal scholars ought to be concerned about the status and future of legal scholarship, it is rare to find an article that grapples with the problem in an honest and unambiguous fashion. This is why I found Professor Lasson’s commentary on “Scholarship Amok: Excesses in the Pursuit of Truth and Tenure” most instructive and thought-provoking. The commentary touched, in fact, upon many personal concerns that have long troubled me about legal scholarship generally (indeed, it should be mentioned, many of the issues canvassed in the commentary can be generalised, with modifications of course, to apply to many other disciplines as well). These concerns, as well as the fact that the commentary has (to the best of my knowledge) received little comment, have prompted the present response. In deference to the general thrust and tenor of Professor Lasson’s commentary, however, have refrained from using many footnotes; I have in fact, ensured that the various arguments are as highly condensed as possible. It is also hoped that, if nothing else, this brief response would have achieved two broader objectives — that it will be of at least some interest to readers of the Legal Education Review; and secondly, that Professor Lasson will be gratified by the fact that his views are being taken seriously by academics outside the United States of America. There are many things to applaud in Professor Lasson’s commentary — above all, his timely reminder that “law review scholarship” ought not to be the sole determinant of one’s status in the academy. His honesty, albeit tinged with a sharp edge at times in the style of the late Professor Rodell, is, as already alluded to above, refreshing and his wry humour (witness for example, his “elaborate” graph at note 60 which is reminiscent of Robin Williams’ putdown of “mechanistic poetry” in “Dead Poets Society”) is more than welcome. What is disturbing, however, is his very sweeping and all too reductionist view of legal scholarship. He does not persuade me why his rather drastic observations (mostly negative) ought to prevail. The fact that law reviews will probably continue to thrive (as Lasson himself admits) does not, of course, swing the argument the other way either. I thus propose to briefly review the main thrust of his piece in order to demonstrate why it does not hold, in the final analysis.
Viva the Viva: Oral Examinations in Contract Law
Authors: Butler Des , Wiseman Leanne 
Published: June 2021

In light of the dependence of lawyers upon the spoken word, whether it be in presenting argument in court, conducting negotiations, or conveying advice to clients, it is perhaps surprising that traditionally law schools assess students primarily on their written rather than their oral expression and presentation. Commonly the emphasis is upon methods of written expression such as examinations and research assignments. Assessment of oral expression, if present at all, is usually through participation in a moot as a barrister or presentations to or participation in class. Oral examinations (“viva voce”) are seldom an option and are reserved, if at all, to the role of being a supplement to some other form of assessment. At the Queensland University of Technology Law Faculty, assessment of the 300 first year students enrolled in the unit Contract Law prior to 1993 comprised of two examinations (a mid year examination worth 30% of the total marks and an end of year examination worth 50% of the total marks) and a written 2,000 word assignment (worth 20% of the marks). Students could choose to participate in the Faculty’s mooting programme as either a solicitor or barrister in lieu of submission of a written assignment, although the number of moots in Contract Law was restricted to three. Accordingly, there was a limit of 24 places for mooters in Contract Law, of which only 12 were available to students wishing to act as counsel. In 1993 the four members of the Contract Law teaching team decided to provide more opportunity for assessment of students’ oral expression and presentation. In addition to assessing performance in small group tutorials, a formal programme of oral examinations by panels each comprising two academics was introduced as an alternative to written research assignments and moots. Thus, rather than fulfilling merely a secondary role, vivas were presented as a direct alternative to written assessment by way of assignment, and provided a forum in addition to the limited opportunities available in moots in which students could display oral skills.
An Integrated Approach to Teaching and Learning Law: The Use of Student Peer Mentor Groups to Improve the Quality of Student Learning in Contracts
Authors: MacFarlane Peter JM , Joughin Gordon 
Published: June 2021

Increasing student numbers and decreasing education funding threatens to perpetuate a number of significant, interrelated problems in undergraduate legal education. These problems are epitomised by the following characteristics of teaching and learning which we believe are not uncommon in Australian legal education: Teaching occurs in large classes (which are at their largest in the crucial first year). Students are given little opportunity for interaction, self-direction, cooperative learning, or for debating ideas among their peers. Students often feel alienated, conscious of their perceived “lack of knowledge” and, in spite of their obvious success in previous study, concerned about meeting the high expectations placed on them. Teaching methods centre on lectures as a focus for transmitting instrumental knowledge, supplemented by seminars or tutorials, which often develop into mini-lectures. Students constantly look to the academic for “answers” as to “what is the law”; they often commit the resulting information to memory and regurgitate it in examination scripts, before forgetting it. The students move on to the next year, often with their first love of learning lost. Legal educators are faced not only with these problems but also with growing demands to address issues concerning the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects. And while traditional methods such as the lecture and seminar continue to dominate undergraduate legal education, increasing use is being made of less traditional, more innovative teaching and learning methods, exemplified by the use of materials-based learning (using computers and other media), the development of real life as well as simulated clinical situations and the introduction of more active learning methods within the classroom. It was against this background of well recognised problems1 and the search for solutions, that the Contracts subject in the Queensland University of Technology’s LLB course was redesigned.2 This commitment to doing something about the problems outlined above coincided with a major review of the LLB curriculum, making the environment ripe for developing teaching and learning methods more appropriate for first-year law students. This paper reports on this redesign, first by considering the total teaching and learning environment of the subject and then by focusing on that aspect of the new environment which we consider unique to legal education in Australia — the student peer mentor group.
Academic Lawyers and Legal Practice in England: Towards a New Relationship?
Authors: Partington Martin 
Published: June 2021

The theme of this conference — legal academia — raises for discussion and analysis basic questions about the current state and status of the legal academy. It implies historical questions: how have we arrived at the position we are in today? It implies predictive questions: how are we likely to develop in the years ahead? How should we be developing? It also implies comparative questions: is what we do here similar/dissimilar to what goes on in other common law countries? In the civil war jurisdictions? In the (former?) Eastern Bloc countries? A complete and comprehensive analysis of all these issues would require a substantial research agenda. Despite the potentially vast scope of the enterprise sketched out above, this paper addresses a narrower set of issues that revolve around the questions: what should the status of the legal academic be? What should the relationship be between the legal academic and the legal practitioner?l In what follows there will inevitably be a rather narrow focus on the position in England.2 Nevertheless, the conference agenda does suggest that some consideration of the matters discussed here form at least part of the agenda in Australia and New Zealand as well. It must also be acknowledged that much of the inspiration for developments occurring in England derive from experience and expertise developed in Australia and New Zealand. The Paper falls into two main parts: Part One looks at developments at Higher Education policy in Britain and the responses of law schools to them; Part Two explores the changing relationship between legal academics and legal practitioners in England. Finally some conclusions are drawn.
Indigenous Australians and Legal Education: Looking to the Future
Authors: Douglas Heather 
Published: June 2021

Indigenous people are under-represented in the Australian legal community. Some Law Schools have attempted to address the issue by increasing the opportunities for Indigenous students to obtain places in law schools. However, the high attrition rates among Indigenous students continue to undermine the efforts of these Law Schools While providing increased access to Indigenous students is an important starting point, the continued high rates of attrition highlights the fact that addressing access issues is not in itself sufficient. If law schools provide alternative entry programs to Indigenous students they must also provide a system of support for those students. In order to give Indigenous students the opportunity to succeed, formal access issues must be tackled at the same time as the more substantive issues of on-going support. The Pearce Report notes that experience in law schools has shown that merely to admit Indigenous students without more is unsatisfactory. This is reinforced by experience in American Universities which suggests that special admission programs have resulted in high attrition rates where the students are left unsupported after entry In most Australian law schools affirmative action programs in relation to access are an integral part of the university and the focus in Australia has gradually shifted from emphasising access issues to improving success rates in students’ studies through on-going support programs. The objectives of this article are twofold. The first objective is to discuss the theoretical justifications for structural and institutional reforms that may be needed to improve legal education for Indigenous Australians. Secondly, this article aims to identify the steps that might be taken by law schools to improve opportunities for access and to reduce attrition rates for Indigenous law students. The relevant steps may be classified as structural (such as pre-law programs and tutorial support) or institutional (for example, curriculum initiatives).
The Case for Taxing Consumption
Authors: Lang Joachim 
Published: June 2021

This article deals with fundamental and topical problems of taxation policy, viewing the subject from both a German and an international perspective. Traditional income tax regimes in developed countries with their progressive tax rates are still based upon the redistributive philosophy which arose in response to the disadvantaged position of workers in early industrialised societies. The author considers that this philosophy is now outdated, for the main problem of the 1990’s is how to discourage excessive consumption with its detrimental impact upon the environment and its negative implications for future generations. He advances weighty arguments for confining progressive income tax regimes to that part of income which is appropriated to consumption whilst exempting from them that portion which is used for the formation of capital. Whilst conceding that such a radical scheme cannot be fully implemented at this stage, he urges that these two portions of income be subjected to separate tax regimes, Tax rates could then be so structures as to encourage capital formation. The author’s proposals raise matters of obvious importance to a ‘savings-poor’ country like Australia. A second part of the article considers how the dual tax regime which the author favours could be put into practice.