Monash Law’s first two Rhodes Scholars report home - live from Oxford
In 60 years Monash Law has had two Rhodes Scholars - Nick Young in 2017 and Harrison Jones in 2023. Both currently studying at Oxford.
Nick completed an arts and law double degree at Monash Law before completing his Master in Law and Finance at Oxford. He’s now working on a DPhil in Law, exploring issues related to strategic climate change litigation and measuring the impact of that litigation.
Harrison followed a similar path to Nick with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws with Monash Law. He’s only just started studying a Bachelor of Civil Law at Oxford, but is already looking ahead to next year when he’ll choose between a Masters of Public Policy or a DPhil in Law.
Transformative experiences at Monash Law
So what was the most transformative experience they had at Monash Law that put them on their path towards a Rhodes Scholarship?
For Harrison Jones it was the Mooting Advocacy subject.
“The course convener put a team together and Monash flew us to Brisbane, where we spent an entire week preparing for the QUT Torts Moot,” recalls Harrison.
“It was a great experience to travel somewhere with Monash Law students that I’d never met before, spend an entire week deep in the intellectual process and stress of trying to prepare a moot. It’s definitely one of my fondest memories at Monash.”
Harrison also did the clinical internship program and spent a semester going one day a week to the Victorian Ombudsman.
“Hearing prisoners call the Victorian Ombudsman seeking help because prison guards have done XYZ and they want to challenge that. It was a great way of contextualising issues of law and regulation while seeing how public administration works.”
Harrison spent a year at the University of Leeds in England which was supported by scholarships from the Monash University Scholarships program. He also became deeply involved in the Monash Law Students Society.
“I was the Queer Officer of the LSS and I participated in lots of mooting and competition experiences that the LSS puts on, as well as many events that the faculty helps the society run,” remembers Harrison.
Nick Young was also heavily involved with mooting at Monash Law.
“The Vis Moot which was an amazing experience. I prepared for about 6 months on the topic with a team of 6 and we were lucky enough to compete in Australia, Hong Kong, Budapest and then in Vienna at what I suppose is the Olympics of mooting,” enthuses Nick.
Nick describes his experience with the Vis Moot as transformative for three reasons.
“First, the opportunity to have that intellectual deep dive on a problem for a long period of time was something that I’d never had in another context. Secondly, being able to meet peers, law students and educators from across the world at these various competitions. And third, the engagement with the legal profession, in Melbourne and across Australia in preparation for those moots was fantastic and gave me terrific insights,” outlines Nick.
“They were an incredible few years and only after leaving am I able to really appreciate the value of those opportunities relative to other law students I meet, even at Oxford.”
Nick also studied law subjects in Malaysia and at the Monash campus in Prato, Italy as well as undertaking a clinical placement, which were all experiences he regarded as transformative.
Impact of law reform resonates with Monash Alumni
Monash Law has a proud tradition of influencing law reform and increasing access to justice. When it comes to a personal assessment on law reform, both Harrison and Nick describe moments at Monash Law that continue to resonate with them today.
“I think for me it's things like being the Queer Officer of the Law Student Society and getting to invite trans leaders from Victoria to come and speak and hearing them first hand speaking in the Monash Law Faculty about what law reform needs to happen to be able to improve the experience for trans people in Victoria,” remembers Harrison.
“The thing that I reflect on most about what I enjoyed at my time at Monash was that there was a really strong sense of community around the law school. My closest friends that I have made in my life, I made at Monash law school.”
Nick agrees that there’s a great sharing of progressive, critical analysis of the law amongst all the students at the law faculty.
“I was fortunate enough to paralegal with Environmental Justice Australia and through that experience, to work on pieces of litigation and different projects relating to the environment and climate,” shares Nick.
“That experience, among others, indicated to me the importance of bringing a multidisciplinary approach to the law, and I think that applies to law reform as well.”
What does the future hold for our Rhodes Scholars?
It’s clear that studying law at Monash University and the peripheral experiences around those years of academic endeavour have built excellent foundations for our two Rhodes Scholars. So what plans do Nick and Harrison have for their time at Oxford and beyond?
“It’s an enormous privilege and something that neither of us take lightly,” declares Nick.
“The direct contribution that I hope to make through my Dphil is to our understanding of the phenomenon of strategic climate change litigation and the impacts it produces. How and under what circumstances can strategic climate change litigation be usefully employed as a regulatory tool in the governance of climate change?”
“This is a lifelong passion and commitment to thinking about the ways in which we can use law to decarbonise economic systems, to protect natural resources, and ensure that we have a sustainable future ahead of us,” confirms Nick.
Harrison has only been at Oxford for six weeks at the time of this conversation, so he’s keeping his eyes open to any opportunities.
“There's a cohort of 104 Rhodes Scholars this year, and we're often at Rhodes House studying together and having conversations over coffee. I know that those conversations and that my experiences over the next two years will guide me on a path that I might not know about yet,” ventures Harrison.
“If I stay in strict legal practice, it would hopefully be in the strategic climate environmental type space. So somewhere like Environmental Justice Australia.”
“But I also really love policy. I really enjoyed my time at the Victorian Ombudsman and experiences that I had with the Victorian government. If I shifted into a policy role, it would really be looking at the inequitable social effects of climate change, what it does to health, education, and Indigenous land rights, for example,” suggests Harrison.
“I’d hopefully be able to make some sort of dent in the climate injustice that's unfolding now and will continue to unfold for the next few decades.”
Nick Young and Harrison Jones are at the beginning of careers that will no doubt fulfill their promise as legal innovators. Theirs will be careers to follow and the Faculty of Law at Monash University looks forward to maintaining a strong connection with these two bright minds.