PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Written by Professor Jeff Giddings, President, Monash Law Clinics Management Committee.
Professor Jeff Giddings, President, Monash Law Clinics Management Committee.I am very pleased to provide this report on behalf of the Monash Law Clinics (MLC) Management Committee. There continues to be great work done by MLC students and staff.
The theme of my report is Transforming Lives, celebrating MLC’s work in the service of multiple communities. Across the 2023- 2024 financial year, we welcomed 628 Monash Law students to learn and work with us at MLC. Their involvement was central to our ability to provide a range of comprehensive legal services to our clients.
We can best transform the lives of MLC clients and the students we work with through working in partnership with other organisations and individuals. We work closely with a range of community legal centres, the broader legal profession,
the judiciary, a wide range of community organisations and government departments. The activities outlined in this Annual Report show MLC’s impact through the active engagement of our students, staff, partner organisations and supporters.
This year, Associate Professor Joel Townsend led the development of our National Disability Insurance Scheme Clinic, supported by the Perpetual Foundation. Associate Professor CY Tsang developed the FinTech Clinic in partnership with FinTech Australia and BlockChain Australia. Associate Professor Gerry Nagtzaam supervised a group of students working for the National Environmental Service of the Cook Islands (on behalf of the South Pacific Island States) undertaking research to support ongoing negotiations to create a Global Plastic Treaty.
Monash Law Clinic Awards
This year, the work of MLC has been recognised in various ways. In July 2023, Ross Hyams represented Monash Law Clinics and the Monash Law Clinical Legal Education Program to receive a 2023 Australian Legal Education Award. The Excellence in Teaching (Engagement) Award recognised the ‘local, national and international impact of the Monash Clinic Program’.
The Monash Clinical Program was also one of six national finalists in the Shaping Australia Community Champion Award. The judging panel advised that ‘The Monash Clinical Legal Education program is a truly outstanding example of exceptional service to the community. The difference the program has made not only to students but to everyday Australians is quite remarkable. It was a pleasure to learn about its broad- ranging impact.’
MLC’s work was also the centrepiece of the nomination of the Monash Clinical Program for the 2023 Australian Award for University Teaching for Programs That Enhance Learning. These awards and nominations provide important recognition for all involved in MLC – our staff, students, community partners, Law Faculty colleagues and Monash University.
Thanks to the Monash Law Faculty
The Monash Law Faculty makes the greatest financial contribution to the operation of MLC, employing many of the staff who work in our clinics. The MLC staff employed by the Faculty include the MLC Leadership Team, Associate Professor Joel Townsend (MLC Director), Melissa Fletcher (Senior Manager Partnerships and Clinics), Fay Gertner (MLC Clayton Practice Manager), Jennifer Lindstrom and Emily Singh (MLC Melbourne Practice Managers). The Management Committee thanks each of them for their work across the year.
The sustained commitment of the Law Faculty and Monash University across almost five decades has created a program that delivers great benefits for all concerned – students, clients, our partner organisations, the Law Faculty and the University. MLC brings together support from government, philanthropists, the legal profession and the University to serve the twin objectives of community service and student learning.
Many Monash Law colleagues contribute to MLC and the Monash Clinical Program.
I particularly thank Monash Law’s former Dean, Professor Bryan Horrigan for his vision and support for MLC and the broader Monash Clinical Program. Professor Horrigan’s 11 years as Dean saw the reach and impact of MLC grow dramatically with the expansion of MLC’s Clayton premises, development of MLC’s City Clinic and the introduction and consolidation of the Monash Law Clinical Guarantee.
A Distinctive Community Legal Centre
MLC is a distinctive community legal centre by reason of the strength of its commitment to law student learning. Our work is informed by clinical legal education pedagogy that highlights the value of experiential education in developing ethical, reflective professionals. Clinic provides students with unparalleled opportunities for ‘learning by doing and reflecting’ in the service of members of local, regional and international communities. MLC is now the lynchpin for legal and policy work across a broadening range of legal areas.
MLC also provides the platform for students to volunteer in several programs. MLC operates a volunteer service that enables more than 30 current students to contribute to legal advice sessions. We are grateful for the volunteer supervision provided
by Michelle Cohen, Charlotte Connolly, Stephanie Koumbarakos, Georgia Miller, Alexa Segerius and Jackie Weinberg. MLC also hosts the Monash Street Law Program in partnership with the Monash Law Students Society. See Transforming Community Legal Awareness in this annual report for more details.
The diversity of our work
The depth and breadth of our work is showcased throughout this annual report. With our Professional Practice units as our foundation, MLC offers a suite of In-House Clinical Placements:
- Anti-Death Penalty Clinic (with the Capital Punishment Justice Project)
- Climate Justice Clinic (with support from Russell Kennedy and Lander & Rogers)
- FinTech Clinic (with FinTech Australia and BlockChain Australia)
- Health Justice Partnerships (with cohealth)
- Human Rights Clinic (with the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law)
- International Economic Law Clinic (with TradeLab)
- Law Reform Clinic (with the Australian Law Reform Commission, the Victorian Law Reform Commission, the Australia Institute and the Parliament of Victoria)
- LawTech Clinic (with Lander & Rogers and KPMG Law)
- Lawyer Assisted Family Dispute Resolution Clinic (with the Sunshine Family Relationship Centre)
- National Disability Insurance Scheme Clinic
- National Justice Project Clinic (with the National Justice Project)
- Tax Clinic (with support from the Australian Tax Office)
- Technology and Access to Justice Clinic
MLC offers special thanks to each of our partner organisations and the many people who make these collaborations so successful. The expertise and enthusiasm that our staff and our partners share with our students is what enables us to assist the many beneficiaries of our work.
MLC was central to a major applied research project being undertaken by Monash Law Faculty. With funding from the Victorian Higher Education Strategic Initiative Fund, the project is considering how remote technologies can be used to enhance access to justice for victims and survivors of domestic and family violence in Australia. MLC staff, including Cate Banks, Jennifer Lindstrom and Jackie Weinberg contributed their expertise to this project.
I finish my report by offering some well- deserved thanks and congratulations. I thank all MLC staff for their hard work and dedication across the year. I offer special thanks to my Management Committee colleagues who have served MLC well since the 2022 AGM. The combination of members from Monash Law and graduates from our various programs continues to serve MLC well. I particularly note the great work of Lucy O’Sullivan, the Secretary of the Committee. The Management Committee continues to be well supported by the MLC Finance Sub-Committee and I thank Natalie Shanahan (Treasurer), Annette Antolino, Joel Townsend, Gab Webb and Melissa Fletcher for their contributions to the sub-committee.
MLC has much to look forward to in the coming year as Monash Law recognises 50 years since the establishment of its pioneering clinical legal education program in 1975 at the Springvale Legal Service. MLC (previously known as Monash Legal Service then Monash-Oakleigh Legal Service) has been pivotal to this program since it opened in 1978.
Professor Jeff Giddings
President, Monash Law Clinics Management Committee