Welcome from the Dean of Law

By Professor Bryan Horrigan

As we reach the end of yet another extraordinary year, we pause to reflect on what we have achieved together. You are part of our Monash Law community, and have played a role in supporting us to be a great law school, with ambitions to be even greater in 2022 and beyond.

At year’s end, the successes of Monash Law and its staff and students are even more noteworthy and satisfying than usual, given that they have been achieved while we have been operating as a virtual law school under COVID conditions for most of the last two years.

Under the University’s new strategy, Monash 2030, Monash Law continues to achieve its simply and powerful aim to be a leading international, clinical, and digital law school. We do so by addressing global challenges of the age through impactful world-class scholarship, transformational student experiences, and meaningful professional and community engagement, from multiple locations in Australia, the Indo-Pacific region, and the EU.

This year, we have taken our commitment to access to justice, student opportunity through legal education, and research that matters to new levels. We have been busy producing ground-breaking legal research in the areas of commercial law and regulation, justice and innovation, human rights, and capital punishment, amongst others.

Our online seminars by our research centres and emerging groups have kept hundreds and thousands of participants within and beyond Australia connected to specialised commentary on topical legal developments.

We continue to strive to provide our law students with the best experiential legal education in the country, through a broad range of electives, clinical and overseas opportunities, work-related mentoring and opportunities, organisational partnering, and access to leading scholars, teachers, and former judges in our law school community.

We renew our commitment to improving access to justice in our community, which we have done now for more than half a century. We are proud to announce a historic $3 million private philanthropic donation to Monash Law Clinics. This generous donation supports our work in offering Australia’s first Clinical Guarantee to all commencing LLB (Hons) and JD students, as part of our commitment to providing free legal assistance to thousands of the most vulnerable, marginalised, and poor people in the community.

You can read more about what we’ve been doing in this final e-newsletter for 2021 from Monash Law. It showcases our community and professional impact, student successes, event highlights, research expertise, and thought leadership.

I hope you have a safe, happy and restful summer break.

Kind regards,

Professor Bryan Horrigan

Executive Dean

Faculty of Law

Monash University