For the academic and administrative staff of the School, it is always a pleasure to welcome a new intake of individuals of richly varying backgrounds. We hope that you enjoy your time at the School and that it proves to be an intellectually stimulating experience in which your personal talents find rich and fulfilling expression. Not all law schools are alike. Each has its own distinctive ethos and aspirations. Let me outline those which shape UNSW and will affect your experience here.
Some qualities relate to curriculum and teaching methods.
One important feature of the School is its insistence on active learning. Lectures to large groups of students are unknown. Although resource constraints occasionally compel us to teach some subjects in slightly larger groups, the bulk of our teaching is done in groups of no more than 40. We call on students to prepare material before classes and to participate actively in classroom discussions. We are convinced that this is not only the right educational approach for intending lawyers, whose future careers will regularly make demands on their capacity to explain and argue about the law in an articulate way, but that it also develops superior skills of analysis, understanding and facility with legal materials.