The Susan Campbell Memorial Fund was established by the Monash Law Faculty to honour the contribution and memory of Professor Susan Campbell AM; to benefit the clinical legal education program and through it the Victorian community, and improve access and equity for students.
The fund provides for:
- the Susan Campbell Clinical Legal Education Visiting Fellowship, which allows the Faculty of Law to invite a distinguished practitioner to contribute their expertise to the clinical program;
- the Future Fund which allows the Faculty of Law to promote, develop and sustain the clinical legal education program in areas outside the Faculty's recurrent funding; and
- the Susan Campbell Equity Scholarship.
We are delighted to report that the Fund has raised over $100,000 so far and we are truly grateful for the generous support of so many alumni and friends. Funds are held in an interest bearing account administered by the University Treasury in the University's Common Fund pending expenditure for these purposes by the Monash Law Faculty, supported by an advisory board.
If you would like to honour the memory of a beloved colleague and mentor by contributing to the Susan Campbell Memorial Fund, please visit our donation portal or contact the faculty.
All gifts over $2 are tax deductible for Australian taxpayers.
About Sue
Starting her legal career in private practice, Sue commenced her long relationship with Monash in 1980. She quickly became one of the Faculty's most outstanding, respected and loved teachers, with a deep interest in each student as an individual, as well as in curriculum development, bringing strong and unwavering belief in social justice to each. Sue's commitment to quality education saw her granted a Vice-Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1993. As Chief Examiner and co-ordinator for the first year subject of Legal Process, as well as for the final year subject of Clinical Practice, many students saw Sue as a trusted friend and mentor throughout the duration of their degree.
Regardless of the subject, Sue recognised the importance of exposing students at an early stage to the best ethical practice, making the Faculty the leading centre for clinical practice in Australia.
"From the outset she threw a large part of her enormous energies in to the clinical program, bringing all her qualities of dedication, tenacity, creativity and enthusiasm to motivate and enthuse colleagues and students. Those who dared question the value of the program knew they would face the full force of her scorn, her great powers of persuasion and her ability to mobilise support in high places." - Yule and Woodhouse (2014). Pericleans, Plumbers and Practitioners; the first fifty years of the Monash University Law School
Sue's outstanding teaching abilities have had a lasting impact on many Monash alumni practising around Australia.
"What stands out of me from Sue's teaching was that she always wanted her students to think beyond their personal legal careers, to ponder how the law can be a process for progressive change in society, and how as lawyers, they can become important agents of that change." - Former student
"Sue was the one who kept me motivated when I found myself up against a wall. She made me believe I could do it, because she believed in me. Quite simply I wouldn't have gone on to become a lawyer if it weren't for Sue." - Former student
Since its inception in 1985, Sue was also a leading joint editor of the Lawyers Practice Manual (Victoria). Sue believed from that outset that although largely designed for students, it would become an essential part of every Victorian solicitor's library as it indeed has. Many lawyers, magistrates and students rely on its practical wisdom and breadth of topics to contribute to a just society, with royalties going to support Springvale Monash Legal Service and the Monash-Oakleigh Legal Service.
In 1999, Sue was integral in securing funding and court approval for the establishment of a self-help clinic for people involved in contested family court proceedings known as the Family Law Assistance Program or FLAP. FLAP has since evolved to become an innovative and holistic program consisting of more than 100 students and volunteers per year, assisting approximately 1800 clients per year, and with about 250 active cases at any one time. The FLAP program, like the rest of the Monash clinical program, has made significant differences and improvements to the lives of vulnerable Victorians who would otherwise miss out on legal assistance.
As well as having a profound influence on a generation of Monash law students, Sue also contributed significantly to the advancement of the profession. In 2006 she was commissioned by the Victorian Attorney-General to review the state's system of Articles and wrote the Campbell Report which led to the critical reform of training for Victorian lawyers. She was also on the board of the Judicial College of Victoria supporting decision-makers.
In 2007, Sue was acknowledged as a Member of the Order of Australia for 'Services to the law, particularly through the development of clinical legal education in Australia and community legal services in Australia'.
After 25 years dedicated to the clinical legal education program and social justice we are pleased to continue Sue's legacy through the Susan Campbell Memorial Fund.
The impact of the Susan Campbell Memorial Fund
The impact of the fund is in progressing Sue's passion for and commitment to clinical legal education and community benefit. In the three years since it was established, the fund has already provided these opportunities and benefits, which we aim to continue in future years:
2014 Visiting Fellow
Professor Frank Bloch, an internationally renowned expert in social security and other public benefit programs – including, most importantly, clinical legal education - was the inaugural visiting fellow in 2014. Professor Bloch's fellowship activities included clinical observations, training workshops, master classes, round table discussions, research activities and a public address.
2015 Susan Campbell Equity Scholarship Recipient
Throughout her career, Sue Campbell strived to increase access to legal education for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Whether through leadership of formal support schemes, or by supporting and encouraging countless individual students, Sue wanted to ensure that a law degree at Monash was about realising the potential of each and every student and broader benefit to the community. In memory of Sue, each year Monash will award an equity scholarship in Sue's name to a student who would otherwise face barriers to gaining a tertiary legal education.
"The scholarship has given me freedom. In this first year of trying to come to terms with university, its allowed me to enjoy the time that I have, be involved in a number of activities and events throughout the course of the year without the looming burden that financial problems can be." - 2015 Susan Campbell Equity Scholarship recipient
Professional Development
The Fund continues to provide targeted grants for clinical supervisors to further develop and share their teaching and research expertise both nationally and internationally.
2016 Visiting Fellow
Professor Peter Joy of Washington University, St Louis was the 2016 Susan Campbell Clinical Legal Education Visiting Fellow. Professor Joy is a former Vice-Dean of Washington University Law School, an internationally recognised clinician and author with an extensive history in clinical consultancy.
In 2016, Monash launched the inaugural Susan Campbell Oration with Professor Joy sharing his expertise with members of the wide community legal centre network. Professor Joy also provided valuable advice to the Monash Clinical Legal Education Team in relation to future directions for the Monash Clinical Program. His suggestions have been important to the development of the Monash Clinical Guarantee.
2018 Visiting Fellow
Leah Wortham, Professor Emerita of The Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C., is confirmed as the 2018 Susan Campbell Visiting Fellow. Professor Wortham is a leading international clinical legal educator. She taught the required legal ethics course at the Columbus School of Law of The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, DC from 1983 until she took professor emerita status in 2013. In addition to teaching Professional Responsibility, Professor Wortham served as CUA Law’s clinical program coordinator and director of the school’s externship clinical program from 1981 to 1990, Associate Dean from 1990 to 1995, and taught Criminal Law. In 2016 she was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit by the Republic of Poland for her contributions to legal education.
Professor Wortham will spend 3 weeks with the Faculty in April 2018. During her time at Monash, she will deliver the 2018 Susan Campbell Oration as well as work with the Monash Clinical Legal Education Team on the implementation of the Monash Law Clinical Guarantee and participating in a public event for the Sustainable Legal Practice Research Group in relation to technology and artificial intelligence in legal practice.
Testimonial
The fund is delighted to have the full backing and support of its patron Commissioner Marcia Neave AO. 
It gave Colin Neave and me great pleasure to make a gift to the Susan Campbell Memorial Fund. I understand the fund has been used to establish a Visiting Fellowship to support the clinical education programme, which is a bright star in the crown of Monash Law School and a substantial achievement for the whole university.
In my experience, the programme is regarded by the students who participate in it as one of the most interesting and fruitful aspects of their legal education. By learning how to interview clients with legal problems and giving legal advice under the supervision of a qualified practitioner, students see how the law operates in practice and appreciate both the importance and limitations of the law in solving human problems and disputes.
The legal education programme also gives something back to the community and helps to address the limited access which disadvantaged people have to legal advice.
I hope that lawyers and others who support these goals, and who may have benefited from the programme in the past, will give generously so that the important work done in the programme will continue and will be even better in the future than it has been in the past.
Thank you
We would like to thank the individuals and organisations for their generous gifts in support of the Susan Campbell Memorial Fund.
