Subject Outline - 70103 2021 PDF

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Subject Outline...

Description

SUBJECT OUTLINE 70103 Ethics Law and Justice Course area

UTS: Law

Delivery

Autumn 2021; City

Credit points 6cp Requisite(s)

(70102c Foundations of Law OR ( 70120 Legal Method and Research AND 70115 Perspectives on Law)) These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. There are also course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Result type

Grade and marks

Subject coordinator Kathryn Greenman Lecturer [email protected] 9514 3715 Note: Please use the subject e-mail as first point of contact: [email protected]. Students must use their UTS email address. Consultation welcome by appointment.

Teaching staff Kathryn Greenman Lecturer [email protected] Patrick Lenta Associate Professor [email protected] Jackie Jones Clinical Practitioner [email protected] Matthew Walsh Lecturer [email protected] Neil Watt Casual Academic [email protected] Costa Avgoustinos Casual Academic

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[email protected]

Subject description This subject engages students with an awareness and understanding of the role of ethics and justice in the legal system and in the legal profession. Students are introduced to theories of values, morals and ethics within the context of professionalism. The ethical responsibilities of legal practitioners, established through the common law, legislation and conduct rules, are addressed. An understanding of the role of lawyers in society and in the promotion of access to justice enables students to reflect on their own ethical approach to being a law student and a member of the legal profession. The integration of practical and theoretical approaches to legal ethics provides a framework in which students can better integrate ethical priorities within their own moral framework. These approaches also include self-management strategies and skills to assist students to be resilient and reflective lifelong learners. Students are also introduced to effective legal writing in this Introductory level subject, which complements the subject Foundations of Law. Communication is an essential skill for law students and legal professionals. Your legal writing skills are developed throughout your degree.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs) Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to: 1. Reflect on, develop and articulate their principles of justice and response to the commitment and achievement of justice. 2. Recognise ethical issues and discuss the relationship between personal and professional attitudes, values and approaches to decision making, developing their own ethical framework. 3. Plan and complete a variety of critical legal writing tasks using academic styles, structures and expression, supported by accurate referencing. 4. Respond appropriately in group discussions, identifying different roles within the group dynamic and practising active listening; developing strategies and skills to collaborate effectively. 5. Analyse, plan, monitor and reflect upon their own performance, identifying appropriate resources and utilising feedback to improve self-management skills and to develop self-awareness and resilience.

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs) This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes which reflect the course intended learning outcomes: Ethics and Professional Responsibility A capacity to value and promote honesty, integrity, accountability, public service and ethical standards including: a. An understanding of approaches to ethical decision making and professional responsibility; b. An ability to recognise, reflect upon and respond to ethical issues likely to arise in professional contexts in ways that evidence professional judgment, promote justice and serve the community; and c. An ability to reflect on and engage constructively with diversity in practice. (LAW.2.1) Communication Effective and appropriate communication skills including: a. Highly effective use of the English language to convey legal ideas and views to different and diverse audiences and environments; b. An ability to communicate to inform, analyse, report and persuade; c. An ability to strategically select an appropriate medium and message; d. An ability to assess how messages are received and alter communication strategies accordingly; and e. An ability to be responsive and adaptive to the perspectives of collaborators, clients, counter parties and others. (LAW.5.1) Collaboration Effective and appropriate collaboration skills in working together to achieve a common goal in a group learning environment or the workplace including: a. An ability to give and receive feedback;

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b. Appropriate professional and interpersonal skills in working collaboratively; c. A capacity to develop strategies to successfully negotiate group challenges; and d. An ability to be responsive and adaptive to the perspectives of collaborators, clients, counter parties and others. (LAW.6.1)

Teaching and learning strategies Strategy 1: Students’ Preparation for Learning Students’ preparation, review and reflection outside the classroom are central to the learning in this subject. Students must manage their time so that they prepare successfully and consistently for seminars. There is considerable reading required and students need to ensure they allocate time to ‘make sense’ of the materials for each seminar and test their understanding by reflecting on and considering their responses to the questions for discussion each week. Materials students are expected to have read prior to class and questions for preparation each week are available on Canvas. Items such as recent cases, news reports, video clips and topical podcasts will be posted on Canvas and be referred to and discussed in seminars. Strategy 2: Collaborative seminar discussions This subject is based on learning in ‘small group’ seminars that are active, discussion based and collaborative. Students engage with one another and their seminar leader in discussion of ethical issues and questions to synthesise and elaborate upon their prior learning, reading and seminar preparation. This is where issues and questions from readings are addressed collaboratively and ethical and justice issues considered. Students are encouraged to ask any questions that arise from their reading. Students’ preparation, responses to discussion questions, and participation in weekly seminar discussions, form an important part of their learning. Preparation and seminar activities enable students to practise and test their capacity to apply an ethical framework to resolve ethical issues, and develop their communication, collaboration and self-management skills. Please Note: Consistently and actively participating in seminars throughout the session is an essential requirement of this subject. Strategy 3: Collaborative Project and activities Students also work in small teams on a range of collaborative activities to help them start developing and practising their strategies and skills for collaborative work. After the first few weeks, students are allocated to teams of 5-6 students and collaboratively prepare and present a Collaborative Justice Project to their peers. This project enables students to identify and reflect upon important contemporary issues of justice and on lawyers’ responsibilities for achieving justice; as well as test and gain feedback on their collaborative skills. Students will peer and self-assess their collaboration and participation in the Collaborative Justice Project and other activities throughout the session and receive feedback from their seminar leader. Strategy 4: Planning, Reflection and Feedback In Week Two students complete a short peer reviewed writing exercise in class which provides them with early feedback from peers. A range of additional peer feedback opportunities help students review, reflect and improve the skills they are practising. Throughout the session students will be reminded to plan and review their overall goals and progress by developing an individual self-management plan, then reflecting upon their learning and development. Each small group seminar also provides students with the opportunity for immediate feedback from their seminar leader and peers and to seek clarification of ongoing learning. Strategy 5: Legal Writing workshops and activities Legal writing is distinct from other forms of academic writing so a range of strategies are used to assist students to transition to the demands of academic writing at university and develop critical legal writing skills they will use throughout their law degree and career. Early in the subject students undertake a written task which is peer and seminar leader assessed and is worth five percent of their overall mark. Other seminar activities and discussions will provide opportunities to develop and test legal writing development. A recommended Legal Writing lecture is scheduled for Week 1 and Legal Writing workshops are also provided for this subject. These are designed to assist students to develop the specific written skills they will require for writing and assessment tasks in this subject (see Subject Delivery below). Online Post-Enrolment Language Assessment (OPELA) An aim of this subject is to help you develop academic and professional language and communication skills in order to 11/02/2021 (Autumn 2021)

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succeed at university and in the workplace. To determine your current academic language proficiency, you are required to complete an online language screening task, OPELA (information available here). If you receive a Basic grade for OPELA, you must attend additional Language Development Tutorials (from weeks 4-12) in order to pass the subject. These tutorials are designed to support you to develop your language and communication skills. Students who do not complete the OPELA and/or do not attend 80% of the Language Development Tutorials will receive a Fail X grade. Subject Delivery Canvas will be used to introduce the subject and for posting essential information, resources, news and announcements relevant to your learning. A copy of the Subject Outline and the readings and discussion questions for each seminar are also posted in specific folders on Canvas. Other relevant resources such as vodcasts and topical items will be posted on Canvas. Canvas will provide a platform outside the classroom for you to get to know your peers. Small Group Seminars: weekly three hour seminars commence in Week Two, with a maximum of 33 students. You need to enrol in a particular seminar and must remain in the same seminar throughout the session. These interactive seminars are not recorded. Seminar leaders keep records of attendance and participation throughout the session so please inform your seminar leader if you are unable to attend a particular seminar. Seminar Groups 03, 04, 09, 10, 11 and 14 will be delivered wholly online. Seminar Groups 01, 02, 05, 06, 07, 08, 12 and 13 will be delivered in a blend of online and on campus seminars as follows: Weeks 2 to 7 will be on campus, weeks 8 to 12 will be online. Recommended Legal Writing lecture and workshops: Regardless of your background, we strongly encourage you to attend our dedicated essay writing lecture and workshops conducted by Deborah Nixon, the Law Academic Language and Learning Advisor. Workshop times are outside of class times – see below and on Canvas. Location of lectures and workshops will be on Canvas. Legal writing is distinct from other forms of academic writing. Past success is often no indicator of ability within a legal context. Common errors for law students - at any stage - include: Failure to support statements with references Poor grammar Lack of formality in writing Lack of clear structure Offering unsupported opinion pieces rather than systematically argued legal essays. Indeed, these errors occur as often with students who are fluent English speakers as they do for students from a non-English speaking background. Further information will be available via Canvas. Recommended Referencing Workshop-Referencing with Australian Guide to Legal Citation Referencing correctly is extremely important at University. In Law we use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation. We strongly encourage you to attend one of the referencing workshops being conducted by the Library.

Content (topics) Introduction and Legal Writing Professional Identity. Resilience. Ethics, Justice and the Law. Access to Justice - Social/Cultural Issues. Judges. Admission and Regulation. Discipline. Access to Justice – Economic Issues. Collaborative Justice Projects 1-6. The Lawyer-Client Relationship: The Retainer & Duty of Representation. Duty to Account. Duty to Advise. The Lawyer-Client Relationship: Duty of Competence and Care. Duty of Loyalty. Duty to Court and the Proper Administration of Justice. The Lawyer’s Duty to Colleagues and Third Parties.

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Program Week/Session

Dates

Description

1

22 February

WEEK ONE - What You Need to Do: A. Introduce yourself - to your Seminar Group on Canvas. B. Attend - a Legal Writing Lecture via Zoom by Dr Deborah Nixon Tuesday 23 February at 10.30 am-12 noon; or Wednesday 24 February at 2 pm-3.30 pm; or Thursday 25 February at 5.30 pm-7pm C. Attend - a batyr session via Zoom Tuesday 23 February at 12.30-1.15 pm; or Thursday 25 February at 4.30- 5.15 pm D. Complete - (i) the Avoiding Plagiarism tutorials and then the Quiz – see page on Canvas – and (ii) the Online Post-Enrolment Language Assessment (OPELA) – see page on Canvas. Please see Minimum requirements information in Subject Outline. E. Seminar Preparation: Complete Week 2 Readings & answer questions. Refer to: the Seminar Preparation Instructions OR week 2 under the modules tab on Canvas; AND the ELJ Reader available on Canvas.

2

1 March

Seminar topics: Introduction to Ethics, Law and Justice Legal Writing, Referencing and Plagiarism Seminar preparation Complete required readings and answer questions Notes: Students must complete the Avoiding Plagiarism Quiz before submission of Assessment 1. Students must also complete the Online Post-Enrolment Language Assessment (OPELA) - see the page on Canvas - by Friday 5 March. See Minimum requirements information in Subject Outline.

3

8 March

Seminar topics: Professional Identity Diverse roles of lawyers Resilience Seminar preparation Complete required readings and answer questions Notes: Library workshop on referencing:

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will be available online. Details to be provided. NOTE: Students must complete the Avoiding Plagiarism Quiz before submission of Assessment 1. See Minimum requirements information in Subject Outline.

4

15 March

Seminar topics: What is ethics? Theories of justice. Seminar preparation Complete required readings and answer questions Notes: Library workshop on referencing will be available online. Details to be provided.

5

22 March

Seminar topic: Access to Justice - Social/Cultural Issues. Seminar preparation Complete required readings and answer questions Notes: Allocation of CJP groups Essay writing workshop - with Dr Deborah Nixon (online): Dates to be confirmed

6

29 March

Seminar topic: Access to Justice- Economic Issues Seminar preparation Complete required readings and answer questions Notes: Assessment Task 1 Essay due 6 pm Thursday 1 April via Canvas only. Refer to Assessment details on Canvas. Friday 2 April is a public holiday. Students attending Friday classes can attend a make-up class during Stuvac on Friday 9 April or attend any other seminar group in week 6.

STUVAC

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5 April

STUVAC

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7

12 April

Seminar Topic: Admission Regulation Discipline Seminar preparation Complete required readings and answer questions

8

19 April

Seminar topic: The Lawyer-Client Relationship The Retainer and Duty of Representation Seminar preparation Complete required readings and answer questions IN CLASS PRESENTATION Collaborative Justice Projects: CJP 1; CJP2: CJP 3.

9

26 April

Seminar Topic: Lawyer - Client relationship Duty to Account Duty to Advise Seminar preparation Complete required readings and answer questions. IN CLASS PRESENTATIONS: Collaborative Justice Projects: CJP4; CJP5; CJP6.

10

3 May

Seminar topic: The Lawyer - Client Relationship Duty of Competence and Care Duty of Loyalty Seminar preparation Complete required readings and answer questions. Consider questions for Hypothetical. IN CLASS PRESENTATIONS: HYPOTHETICAL 1 - CJP 6 students. Presentation to the class (15/20 minutes) HYPOTHETICAL 2 - CJP 5 students. Presentation to the class (15/20 minutes) Notes: Assessment Task 2 SPARKPLUS: evaluation CJP project: DUE: 9 am Monday 3 May.

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11

10 May

Seminar topic: Duty to the Court and the Proper Administration of Justice Duty to the Court Duty to the Proper Administration of Justice Seminar preparation Complete required readings and answer questions. Consider questions for Hypothetical. IN CLASS PRESENTATIONS: HYPOTHETICAL 3 - CJP2 students. Presentation to the class (15/20 minutes) HYPOTHETICAL 4 - CJP1 students. Presentation to the class (15/20 minutes)

12

17 May

Seminar topic: Duty to others Colleagues Third parties Seminar preparation Complete required readings and answer questions. Consider questions for Hypothetical. IN CLASS PRESENTATIONS: HYPOTHETICAL 5 - CJP2 students. Presentation to the class (15/20 minutes) HYPOTHETICAL 6 - CJP1 students. Presentation to the class (15/20 minutes)

STUVAC

24 May

StuVac Week

Final Assessment Period

29 May

Final Assessment Period Notes: Assessment Task 3: Final examination

Additional information Information relating to extensions, special consideration and other administrative matters are in the Law Student Guidebook available in Course Information on Canvas. Students are required to check this information, and if the information is not there or in this Subject Outline, to email [email protected].

Assessment Assessment task 1: Legal Writing Intent:

This task introduces you to legal writing and to essay writing at UTS:Law.

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Objective(s): This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 3 and 5 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: LAW.2.1 and LAW.5.1 Weight:

20%

Task:

Essay: Write an analytical essay about access to justice by responding to a question provided in Week 2 on Canvas (see Assignments tab). The task will provide an opportunity for students to work on developing coherent and persuasive written arguments and to receive feedback on their legal writing. Further instructions for the Essay and explanations of the assessment criteria at different levels will be available on Canvas (see Assignments tab).