Learning Law

Learning Law is an indispensable guide for students beginning their law studies. It provides the foundational knowledge and skills required for the study and practice of law, and also instils in students a passion and excitement for the law. This text challenges students' traditional notions of the law and encourages them to think critically. Each chapter is supported by tools for self-assessment and self-reflection: review questions to revise complex concepts; 'Alternative Voices' breakout boxes, which provide a different perspective on each topic; and case studies, which illustrate how law qualifications can be applied in various settings, from traditional law firms to government and academia. Learning Law is written in an engaging and accessible style designed to demystify the law. This text is an essential and comprehensive resource that can be carried as a practical reference throughout a student's law studies.

Table of Contents:
Part I. Law, Lawyers and Justice: 1. Welcome to the law; 2. History and justice; 3. Parliaments and courts; Part II. Learning the Laws: 4. Categories of law; 5. Law made by judges; 6. Law made by parliaments; Part III. Research and Persuasion: 7. Frameworks for legal thinking; 8. Analysing and persuading; 9. Grappling with facts; Part IV. Profession and Community: 10. The ethical lawyer; 11. Equality, difference and law; 12. Lawyering in the digital world; 13. Influencing the law.

About the Author :
Anthony Marinac is a Lecturer in the School of Business and Law at Central Queensland University, Rockhampton. He also teaches online, reaching students all around Australia and the region. He was called to the Bar in Queensland in 2015, and maintains a part-time practice as a barrister and mediator, primarily in criminal and family law. He has previously worked as Counsel Assisting in Queensland's Office of the State Coroner, was a commissioned legal officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, and was Director of Research and a Senate Committee Secretary in the Department of the Senate, Parliament House Canberra. Brian Simpson joined the School of Law in 2006 as Associate Professor and was promoted to Professor in 2015. He was previously at Keele University in the United Kingdom. He has also held positions at Monash, La Trobe, James Cook and Flinders Universities. His broad research interests are in the areas of children and the law and the rights of marginalised groups in urban space. He has written on children's rights in fields such as television law, cyberspace, juvenile justice, urban planning and sexuality. His current research projects include: a book which takes a critical perspective on young people, law and social media; re-writing a High Court judgment for the Children's Rights Judgment Project which is based at University of Liverpool Law School, United Kingdom; the legal construction of childhood sexuality; and the connection between legal narratives and social memory. Caroline Hart is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law and Justice at the University of Southern Queensland. She has taught the core foundational law course, Australian Legal System, for over ten years. Prior to joining the University of Southern Queensland, Caroline provided legal, legislation and policy advice to state governments for over 15 years, including working on a number of commissions of inquiry. Caroline has provided consultancy training services to state government, and consultancy legal services to private law firms. Caroline has a Ph.D. in Sustainable Regional/Rural Legal Practice, and a Master of Law in government use of information technology. She is a member of the Queensland Law Society, the Downs and Southern Western District Law Society, the Australian Centre for Sustainable Business and Development Centre, the Institute of Resilient Regions, and is a director on the National Rural Law and Justice Alliance. Rhianna Chisholm is an Associate Lecturer at Curtin Law School at Curtin University, Perth. Rhianna has held this position since 2014 and has focused on developing expertise in teaching introductory law units to first year law students. Rhianna has a Bachelor of Laws from Murdoch University and a Master of Laws from the University of Western Australia. She is currently completing her Ph.D. at the University of Western Australia on the effectiveness of court-based diversion in Western Australia. Her research interests include mental health law and capacity, human rights, international law and criminal justice. Jennifer Nielsen is Associate Professor in the School of Law and Justice at Southern Cross University. She is an experienced legal scholar with expertise in discrimination and employment laws, critical race and critical whiteness theory, and social justice in rural, regional and remote communities. She has taught across the undergraduate law curriculum, and supervises honours and postgraduate candidatures. Jennifer is also active in community organisations in the Northern Rivers region in New South Wales, and is the current Chairperson of the Committee of Management, Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre. Before joining Southern Cross in 1994, she practised as a solicitor in New South Wales and Victoria, and worked in academic positions with both the Monash Orientation Scheme for Aborigines and the Faculty of Law at Monash University. Michael Brogan is Senior Lecturer and Director of Engagement in the School of Law at the University of Western Sydney. He has held numerous administrative positions within the university and has a long connection with community centres, community organisations and public health campaigns.