Flinders Law - Practical legal training

Practical legal training as part of your degree

The practice of law is evolving and being legally literate has never mattered more. At Flinders we embrace innovation and change by equipping you with the attributes and skills to be the thought leaders of tomorrow’s legal profession.

The Professional Programs Unit provides you with an experiential and authentic Practical Legal Training experience designed to facilitate and ease the transition to legal practice or any chosen professional career.

Flinders is the only University in South Australia offering an integrated and accredited Laws and Legal Practice program so you can undertake your Practical Legal Training topics as the final part of your degree.

On completion, you can seek admission from the Supreme Court of South Australia to practise law.

Employability

Student experience

Professionalism

Practical Legal Training topics

LLAW7000 Practical Legal Training: Civil Litigation Practice

Be a Strategic Lawyer

In Civil Litigation Practice you will undertake an authentic litigation case file process in parallel with running a negotiation based dispute resolution process.

Will you be acting for the plaintiff or the defendant? Can you negotiate the best outcome for your client?

LLAW7001 Practical Legal Training: Legal Practice Management

Placement Opportunity

Legal Practice Management provides you with an opportunity to undertake a 225 hour placement with a law practice. This topic also provides you with knowledge and skills essential for undertaking the business of running a law practice such as business planning and trust accounting.

LLAW7002 Practical Legal Training: Transactional Legal Practice

Do the Deal

This 9 unit capstone topic will transform you into an emergent professional. Set in the context of a simulated, authentic legal transaction, you not only learn how to complete complex transactions but experience a professional learning environment with a focus on collaboration, professional identity formation and mentoring.

This topic is nationally recognised in the Law Capstone Experiences Toolkit and the Innovative Research Universities National Innovation Case Study Collection.

LLAW7003 Practical Legal Training: Criminal Practice and Advocacy

Advocate for your Client

Criminal Practice gives you multiple opportunities to hone your advocacy skills in front of experienced barristers and judges. Seek an adjournment, apply for bail, enter a guilty plea and go to trial.

Hear from our students

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I simply cannot recommend PLT (Practical Legal Training Program) at Flinders highly enough. It was, without a doubt, the most valuable learning experience of my law degree. While you may not appreciate it at the time, I promise you that when your placement supervisor or new employer instructs you to appear in court, complete a probate application or prepare a list of documents, you will be grateful for the PLT tasks you completed. Regardless of what area of law you wish to pursue, the skills you learn and develop in PLT at Flinders will equip you to perform your role better.

Employability

At Flinders we recognise that you need the knowledge, skills and attributes to succeed in your chosen career. By embedding professional skills, networks and capabilities in each Practical Legal Training topic, we aim to increase your employability profiles.

Working in a simulated legal practice environment, you will learn transferable skills such as collaboration, attention to detail, problem solving, advocacy, interviewing, communication and negotiation. Flinders is the only law program in Australia offering you an interviewing program using experienced simulated clients. Simulated clients are actors trained in feedback and assessment making this an authentic and effective way to learn key skills.

Exposure to emerging technologies, links with Flinders Careers and alumni networks, all provide you with positive opportunities to engage with your options for the future. Over 50 legal practitioners contribute to the Practical Legal Training program each year, providing you with exposure to potential mentors and employers.

Student experience

In our Practical Legal Training program you become highly engaged, motivated to learn and responsive to the rich experience this program delivers.

By using assessment for learning, our passionate staff create a safe space for you to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes in a challenging but achievable supportive professional environment.

All of our teaching staff have significant experience in legal practice, so we understand what you need to make the most of your future opportunities.

Student engagement, support and wellbeing are important to us.

All of our Practical Legal Training program topics are held at Flinders Victoria Square in the heart of Adelaide’s CBD legal precinct, providing you with access to excellent services and amenities.

Professionalism

A pervasive culture of professionalism throughout our Practical Legal Training program sets you up to be respected thought leaders.

You will work with legal practitioner mentors to develop an understanding of professionalism in practice.

Through initiatives, such as our 5 Star Professional Scheme and the Becoming a Professional online learning site, professionalism, risk management, ethics and reflection are embedded in the Practical Legal Training program.

Winners of a Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2015 and a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching 2016 “For innovative design and outstanding teaching in practical legal education, engaging students and encouraging transition from student to professional.”

We encourage and support you to develop your own professional identity and core values to create lawyers with the power to change.