Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2025 (28/07/2025 - 22/11/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Law School
This course provides students with information about the history and development of the legal profession, and current structures and bodies that regulate lawyers today. The course examines in detail the law, professional rules and values applying to lawyers, and explores ethical issues that arise in professional practice.
This course provides an introduction to:
•ﾠthe history, development and structure of the legal profession;
•ﾠtheories of professional regulation;
•ﾠsocio-legal considerations of the legal profession and lawyers’ role in providing access to justice;
•ﾠthe law and process of getting admitted and certified as a legal practitioner;
•ﾠmoral frameworks of legal practice;
•ﾠlegal practitioners’ duty to uphold the law;
•ﾠlegal practitioners’ duties to the court;
•ﾠlegal practitioners’ duties to clients, including duties relating to holding and dealing with trust money;
•ﾠspecific rules and duties imposed on legal practitioners relating to advocacy and representation;
•ﾠlegal practitioners’ duties to show competence and to maintain clients’ confidentiality and to avoid conflicts of interest;
•ﾠlegal practitioners’ duties to other practitioners and toﾠthird parties;
•ﾠlegal practitioners’ duties not to engageﾠin conduct which brings them or the profession into disrepute; and
•ﾠlaw associated with professional discipline and complaints handling.
The course is designed to provide an interactive forum in which students will learn about the law regulating lawyers and how ethical considerations influence the practise of law. Students' learning of theory and doctrine is specifically designed to ensure that they understandﾠappropriate future professional practice. Students will be provided with many real life and hypothetical scenarios to be explored with their peers and as directed by the teacher. These discussions are designed to expose students to, and to ask them to engage with, how law and ethical norms commonly impact upon howﾠlawyers make choices, and to provide good decision-making models. There will be frequent use of audio and visual material, and guest lecturers/teachers. The intention is to provide an environment of applied learning and to allow students to develop their understanding and application of legal ethics in a practical framework.
Workshops are designed to simulate a form of clinical education so as to encourage students to think deeply about how they might deal with certain situations that may arise in legal practice, building on the matters covered in lectures.
Course requirements
Assumed background
Students are expected to have a knowledge of the law of tort, contract, trustsﾠand fiduciary duties.ﾠ
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
LAWS1702, (LAWS2701 or 2708), LAWS2702 and (LAWS2704 or 2709)
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
LAWS4017 or 5217
Restrictions
LLB(Hons) and LLB(Hons) duals
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Associate Professor Francesca Bartlett
Tutor
Associate Professor Francesca Bartlett
Mr Jason Wang
Ms Anne Vi Tran
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
Teaching Mission Statement
The mission of the TC Beirne School of Law is to educate students in and about the law. We seek to assist you to think critically about the law and to investigate its structures, principles, policies, and values. This is achieved by engaging with you as fellow investigators in a range of critical and intellectual conversations about the law and its place in society. Our role is thus to guide you in your own intellectual journey in the law and to equip you with the necessary skills that will enable you to continue that journey long after you have left the School.
Course Aims
The broad aims of the course are to:
- understand and critically examine the various laws, rules, professional guidelines and regulatory processes which govern legal practice in Queensland and across Australia; and
- sensitise students to legal and ethical issues which may arise in practice; and
- equip students with strategiesﾠforﾠappropriate ethical decision-making in the practise of law.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the law and regulatory processes applicable to the legal profession and practice (with particular reference to Queensland), its structures and its rules of conduct.
LO2.
Demonstrate knowledge of the legal requirements applicable to lawyers for dealing with trust money.
LO3.
Apply knowledge of legal ethics to the practise of law, drawing on prominent philosophies and the moral and societal importance for ethical conduct by lawyers.
LO4.
Reflect on your personal ethical framework, how it relates to and impacts on important aspects of legal practice.
LO5.
Apply advanced decision-making skills to ethical issues arising in legal practice.
LO6.
Critically analyse and apply law and regulatory processes within the context of contemporary legal practice.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Proposal - topic and research methodology for essay
|
10% |
5/09/2025 4:00 pm |
| Essay/ Critique |
Research essay and personal reflection
|
40% |
10/10/2025 4:30 pm |
| Examination |
End-of-semester Examination
|
50% |
End of Semester Exam Period 8/11/2025 - 22/11/2025 |
Assessment details
Proposal - topic and research methodology for essay
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
5/09/2025 4:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L03, L06
Task description
For this first assessment piece in the course, you must:
- develop your own specific topic for the research essay (assessment 2); and
- set out a draft proposed structure for the research essay (assessment 2); and
- explain your methodology for undertaking research to develop a topic and to support your research essay thesis. This includes a brief explanation of key sources found so far and how they influence your thinking.
Finally, there are marks are allocated for good expression and proper citation. (Marking rubric provided on Blackboard.)
Format: There is no single right way to write the research proposal. A template for this proposal, as well as a few examples, will be available on Blackboard. The proposal word limit is 1200 wds (not including footnotes and references). Up to 1300 wds is permissible but after this the marker will stop reading. Please state the word count on the proposal. A significantly under-length proposal will not automatically result in lost marks but is likely to indicate that not all aspects of this assessment task have been completed or done in depth. Headings do not count in the word count (but please don't abuse this), and footnotes do not count in the word count (but please no substantive content in footnotes). No bibliography is expected or required.
What do I have to do for this research proposal?
This assessment measures your ability to:
1. apply your learning from the course on a particular topic to develop a specific thesis for a research essay;
2. to demonstrate your ability to craft a logical and appropriate essay structure; and
3. to adopt an appropriate research methodology (for finding relevant sources to apply to your argument in the essay (Assessment 2)); and
4. use appropriate academic writing style (ie. appropriate written expression and adopt relevant legal citation conventions).
How do I develop a 'specific topic'?
You are required to pick an area from the general areas for essays listed on Blackboard (under 'Assessment'). These topics are drawn from the first 5 weeks of the course and relate to areas of particular interest and debate in the professional and scholarly literature. They are deliberately drafted in a broad way to set the area of investigation but to allow you to narrow and focus this topic yourself. In class and additional training will be provided on how you develop a good thesis. In short, you want to find an angle that is interesting to you, is associated with a debate in the field or has some uncertainty about it or a gap in existing knowledge, and is also able to be approached with nuance and depth within the word count of the essay (Assessment 2, 2000 wds). You should be thinking about questions like: Why is this an important or interesting angle? What is the law, ethical rules and scholarship saying about the issue? Can I talk about the important issues, represent both sides of a debate and give my view in the words allocated?
For this marking criterion, we are assessing your clear understanding of learnings in the course on a particular topic, your ability to apply these to a speculative topic, your ability to position your topic in the context of existing knowledge, law or practice as you have identified it in your research to date, your ability to clearly identify the objective and scope of the topic, and your approach to finding further scholarship or professional discussion on the topic. All of this is represented in the marking rubric available on Blackboard.
What is a logical and appropriate structure?
While this is fairly self-explanatory, there will be discussion in class about structuring an essay in law and what is expected for the specific essay in this course. For instance, for this course, the essay must have a specific section which is devoted to your personal reflection (see description of the essay). For this assessment item, you are expected to provide a draft structure with suggested section headings. These may well change for your final essay as you develop your argument and understandings of the topic. The marking will reflect the learnings in the course about good essay structure and your proposal's approach to the topic.
What is an appropriate research methodology?
Again, training will be provided about undertaking legal research in the course. Please refer to the resources provided on Blackboard. Refer to Legal Research Skills: An Australian Law Guide – OER Collective (caul.edu.au)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct .
Submission guidelines
Submit your answer in Word format to Blackboard essay submission folder by the deadline. All answers are required to be submitted using Turnitin. You can submit a draft of your assignment to Turnitin prior to submission of the final assignment and receive a report.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Extension to Assessment Due Date
An extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered will generally be limited to one week in the first instance. In exceptional circumstances, approved extensions may be granted for more than one week but will not exceed four weeks in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should be advised to apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure.
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
Research essay and personal reflection
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Essay/ Critique
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
10/10/2025 4:30 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L03, L04, L05, L06
Task description
This assessment assesses your ability to independently research a topic related to legal professional ethics, and to demonstrate your ability to apply this research, as well as your learning from the course, in an in depth and critical way within an essay format. And to provide a personal reflection on a professional ethics issue.
This essay is therefore testing your ability to identify useful knowledge, explain it accurately and then apply these learnings to help you think about a topic in a critical but accurate and balanced way, and then provide your own conclusions about it. It is also asking you to apply the learnings in the course about how your personal convictions and experiences influence your approach to professional practice.
You should apply your learning from the course, as well as your own views and the thoughts of others in scholarly writing and/or case law. You must:
1. make some reference to, and reflect upon, the relevant law and professional norm associated with the topic; AND
2. provide a clear identification of the relevant ethical issue for a legal practitioner/law firm/legal profession; AND
3. demonstrate appropriate research undertaken for the subject of your essay; AND
4. reflect upon your own personal views on the ethical issue in the context of legal practice and how you might address it.
You should build on the topic and work undertaken in the first assessment, the research proposal. You are not permitted to change topic for the essay from the proposal (see assessment below) unless you are given express permission. Further explanation of how to build on the work of the proposal will be provided in the workshops and on Blackboard. It is expected that you will conduct further research after your proposal is submitted, and develop your argument on this basis. There are marks associated with identifying appropriate research in the field as well as applying this in the body of our essay. You are permitted to change the structure of the essay from the proposed structure provided in your proposal. The personal reflection section will be developed here, and is not an aspect of the proposal (except to have it as a section heading in the draft structure).
The essay should reflect your independent and original take on a specified topic, clearly express your own views and apply scholarship/law/knowledge from your research on the topic. It should be more than a description of a particular debate or issue and while describing what others have said in the area is important, you need to build on this with your own thoughts and connections between ideas. Be critical, but accurate, in how you consider the research material found. You must put forward points that support and oppose your views, even where you might provide more words and weight to your own preference. Explain why the other side is not convincing. The essay then must also have a section with a personal reflection.
The total word count for the research essay must not be more than 2,000 words (excluding footnotes (which must not contain substantive material)). Words in excess of the limit will not be taken into consideration in awarding a mark. Please state the total word count for your essay on the front page (excluding footnotes). Please provide a bibliography which is not included in the word count. Headings are not included in the word count. There is no minimum word length. However, you should be aware of the possibility that a significantly under-length piece submitted may indicate that the topic has not been covered in sufficient depth or with appropriate sophistication.
You are welcome to discuss your topic with anyone during or after the course. However, the essay is an individual piece of work. It must be entirely your own work in composition, writing and research undertaken. As usual, anyone else's work referred to must be properly cited. As for any essay, the marker will expect appropriate referencing of sources and communication of information and ideas according to UQ conventions for legal essay writing. (Please refer to the marking criteria below and rubric on Blackboard.)
There is no minimum or maximum number of cited articles/cases to satisfy the research element. However, to provide some general guidance, it is expected that more than two articles/secondary literature are used in your discussion. No marks are awarded for the number of articles referred to alone. Marks will be allocated for the use of the material found to add to your argument.
What does 'your own personal views' mean for the essay?
The personal reflection aspect of your essay means that you must explicitly refer to what you think about an issue, your personal values as they relate to the topic and (where relevant) what you would do in a situation. Essays that simply describe the situation or the law or literature, even expressing a view about the scholarly debate alone, will not be awarded any marks for this category. Refer to the marking rubric provided on Blackboard.
Your personal views must be either provided in a separate section. The expectation is that the reflection be a genuine attempt to reflect on and discuss the issue and think about how you would act or solve the problem in your work.
You are welcome to use "I" or, if you would prefer not to, you can use another third person way of expressing your views (eg. 'the author').
If you have a query or concern about the content of your essay, you should speak to the course coordinator well before the due date for the essay.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Submit your answer in Word format to Blackboard essay submission folder by the deadline. All answers are required to be submitted using Turnitin. You can submit a draft of your assignment to Turnitin prior to submission of the final assignment and receive a report.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Extension to Assessment Due Date
An extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered will generally be limited to one week in the first instance. In exceptional circumstances, approved extensions may be granted for more than one week but will not exceed four weeks in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should be advised to apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure.
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
End-of-semester Examination
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 50%
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
8/11/2025 - 22/11/2025
- Other conditions
- Secure.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L05
Task description
Students must undertake the end-of-semester exam worth 50% of the marks for the course. The in person exam will be administered by central Examinations. Further details of the assessment dates and delivery will be provided during semester as advised by the University.
Examinable topics
All aspects of the course are potentially examinable in the final exam except:
- general historical and demographic background discussed in Week 1 materials; and
- legal ethics theories and decision making approaches discussed in the course.
The material delivered by guest lecturers are examinable. All of the examinable topics are covered in the course Learning Guide. However, there is also an expectation that students read and refer to prescribed cases, as well as power point slides, as well.
Format and allowable materials in the exam
Any written or printed material is permitted in the exam; it may also be annotated. Answers should refer to and cite relevant case law and legislation/rules but should not include footnotes or a bibliography. There will be two questions of different weighting.
Students will be asked to consider two fictional scenarios and respond to the questions posed about them. The questions may ask students about legal liability and duty, as well as actions to be taken to respond to the facts or disciplinary process. There will be a total of 50 marks available.
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Calculator options | No calculators permitted |
| Open/closed book | Open book examination - any written or printed material is permitted; material may be annotated |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 19 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 2 (Fail) | 20 - 47 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 48 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Additional course grading information
A full statement of marking criteria and standards for each item of assessment will be provided to the students closer to the date of these assessments.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 13 |
Lecture |
Lectures
There is no lecture in week 9.
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L06 |
Workshop |
Workshops
NO week 8 or 9 workshop.
Learning outcomes: L01, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: