Ellie Filkin: Always open to challenge
50 Years / 50 Voices: Learning law and changing lives is a commemorative volume marking the 50th anniversary of the ongoing Monash Law Clinical Program, a pioneering initiative in clinical legal education undertaken by the Faculty of Law at Monash University. 50 alumni of the Monash Law Clinical Program shared their story with 50 current students of the same program. This is an excerpt from the book.
Read more about 50 years of Monash Law Clinics and buy 50 Years / 50 Voices here
In the summer of 2020–21, Ellie Filkin completed her clinical placement with the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), run through Monash Law Clinics.
This was one of her final subjects, and she was seeking to learn outside of the traditional classroom environment. She wanted to complete her placement at the ALRC as she had engaged with its reports when completing her Honours thesis.
Now a legal officer at the ALRC, Filkin says her time at the clinic was a philosophical turning point in her understanding of the law. She was struck by ‘the realisation that the law is sometimes outdated’. She also discovered that when you focus on an area of law that is in dire need of reform, you discover it can be quite fallible. ‘And sometimes end up so outdated it stops making sense and becomes impossible to apply in some aspects,’ she says.
Filkin saw that the law can never be above scrutiny. ‘The law is always deserving of respect, but it’s also always open to challenge, and we should never stop trying to improve it,’ she says. Filkin found that real-world legal research involves ‘a lot more rabbit holes and dead ends’ than are in research assignments.
After her placement, she was invited to apply to be a Federal Court judicial associate and ALRC research associate. At the time, the ALRC was based in Brisbane, so Filkin made the move interstate. She knew no one except her colleagues at the ALRC.
At the ALRC, Filkin has worked across several inquiries. She particularly enjoyed working on a financial services inquiry because it gave her an insight into the process of how legislation is designed and how it can be made more accessible.
Read more about 50 years of Monash Law Clinics and buy 50 Years / 50 Voices here
She also completed a background paper on post-legislative scrutiny, finding that laws can go unreviewed for decades while remaining on the books. Filkin raises the example of the UK’s Witchcraft Act of 1735, which was not repealed in the UK until 1951. As well as all the opportunities for professional development, Filkin thoroughly enjoys the ALRC because she gets to work alongside smart people who are also passionate about law reform.
Part of her role at the ALRC is to facilitate its internship program with Monash Law Clinics Reform Clinic. She is responsible for providing students with meaningful work. She facilitates students meeting people from across the ALRC to learn about careers in law reform.
Filkin suggests students engage with the clinical program to get hands-on experience and see how the law operates in the real world. She believes a law reform placement provides the opportunity to engage with stakeholders and submissions and think not only about how the law applies, but what needs fixing.
It brings to the forefront questions of how the law could be improved, whose interests are being served and which voices may be absent.
She says looking at the grey areas and complexities of the law provides students with new perspectives that can’t be found in assignments. Additionally, she suggests that it’s never too early to start learning about other people’s journeys in law and all the different pathways that are open to law students.
Filkin’s advice to students is: ‘Be brave and bold, apply for lots of different things and stay open to new opportunities. Also, put your hand up for things that sound a bit scary or uncomfortable because you never know where they’re going to take you, and sometimes they take you to great places.’
Read more about 50 years of Monash Law Clinics and buy 50 Years / 50 Voices here
Get involved with Monash Law Clinics
Monash Law Clinics combine legal education with real-world impact, supporting access to justice while equipping students with practical, ethical and professional skills.
If you are a student interested in undertaking a clinical unit as part of your studies, explore the available clinical placements and elective options.
Whether you’re an alum, practitioner or organisation keen to support the clinics through hosting placements, partnerships, volunteering or funding, there’s a way to be involved. To learn more, contact Emily Collard, Industry & Alumni Engagement Manager, at emily.collard@monash.edu.