LAWS12073 - Legal Practicum

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This capstone unit provides you with a choice of a domestic placement, social innovation project, international study tour, or workplace simulation. Placement opportunities available during Terms 1 and 2 are domestic placements, social innovation projects, and workplace simulations. Domestic placements will be facilitated by the Unit Coordinator and Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) team, or you may instead submit a placement that you have identified for approval. Social innovation projects will enable you to engage with pressing social issues and contribute to real-world outcomes. The workplace simulation will support the development of your practical legal skills (including advocacy, drafting, client interviewing, negotiating, file management, and problem solving) in the context of a simulated legal workplace. The content of the simulation may vary annually. In Term 3, the only placement option available is an international study tour, facilitated by CQUGlobal, to an international location in conjunction with an external partner organisation. International study tours will require you to pay for travel and accommodation; these costs may be offset by government scholarships such as the New Columbo plan. Prior to and during your placement, you will study cultural competencies, ethical responsibilities, and practical skills necessary to support your placement work. This capstone unit will enable you to apply your knowledge to legal problems in real-life environments. You will undertake legal and academic analysis, integrate reflecting thinking into your work, and present your ideas orally and in writing.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite: 24 credit points of law 

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School Optional Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2025

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 40%
2. Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books 60%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 29.79% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student feedback, self-reflection
Feedback
Review assessment timing
Recommendation
Assessment timing should be reviewed to identify potential opportunities to increase the time students have to build on feedback received.
Action Taken
This was actioned.
Source: Student feedback, self-reflection
Feedback
Integrate practical tasks
Recommendation
This unit teaches practical skills. Authentic practical tasks should be retained as an integral part of students' work in the unit.
Action Taken
This was actioned.
Source: Student feedback, self-reflection
Feedback
Introduce single source of truth for all assessment information
Recommendation
The assessment regime of this unit is complex, as it varies to cover a range of different placement learning experiences, and is overseen by multiple staff. A single source of truth should be introduced to ensure clarity and consistency.
Action Taken
This was actioned.
Source: Unit Coordinator
Feedback
Improve feedback on assessment items
Recommendation
To consider more constructive feedback so students are empowered to improve in a real and tangible way.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unit Coordinator
Feedback
Change the live zoom session time
Recommendation
To change the live zoom session from Friday 6pm to a time and day where more students are likely to attend.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Plan and prepare for a professional experience
  2. Effectively participate in a professional experience
  3. Communicate effectively about a professional experience

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Written Assessment • • •
2 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Communication • • •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking •
4 - Information Literacy • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • •
8 - Ethical practice •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10