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page1obiterthe trimester 2 2011

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contents

acknowledgements

the obiter team would like to acknowledge the support of USALSA, Caldicott & Co, and ANU. We would also like to say thanks to the extended L&J group, the Amigos and the Thursday

Afternoon Worldsend Crew for providing some quality material and photographs.

The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and not those of the UniSA School of Law or USALSA

This edition’s cover image is a play on the Three Wise Monkeys... ‘See no Evil, Hear

no Evil, Speak no Evil.’ This is a take on the often misinformed public view of lawyers

- that they wilfully turn a blind eye to the actions of their clients when presenting a

case on their behalf.

Here at the Obiter, we know better than that.

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contentsEditors Note Royce Kurmelovs Our Team & Guest Contributors Coming Events

Changes to the Law Honours System Abigail Khoo

The Kirby Lecture Royce Kurmelovs

Law in the land of Toblerone Phoebe Bowden

Reflections of a Jessup Moot Observer Ryan Dow

Zombie Pirates in Space Russell Jones

Beginning Uni Abeir Zaid

The Ultimate Ambulance Chaser Matthew Doran

Law/Marketing Double Stephanie Hastie

welcome to the first edition of

the magazine for Law students at UniSA

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fromtheeditor

I am told we are in need of an editor’s note and since I’m

acting as editor for this issue, that job lies to me. So as cliché as it is, welcome to the first ever edition of The Obiter!

This project has been months in the making. From the first few meetings in coffee shops where our core conspirators laid out plans for a new UniSA Law Student magazine, to soliciting contributions and the growing excitement at seeing the magazine come together with the initial design work, what you are reading represents hours of slaving over hot keyboards and hasty late-night phone calls to find files.

The idea behind the creation of this magazine was twofold. It was generally agreed that the Law School, with its intense degree structure and unique university experience was in need of some kind of student publication. It was also clear to those involved that producing a publication provided an outlet for Law students to learn about the publishing process and develop specialised skills, while allowing others to submit

contributions and see their work in print.

This was all very ambitious, but here we are, with you reading these words and me and my fellow conspirators probably out somewhere still celebrating the launch with copious amounts of alcohol.

Well, let’s be honest, it’s probably the Worldsend.

And so, from the very cockles of my heart, I’d like to send out a huge public thank you to everyone involved, from USALSA, to the writers, to our sponsors and to everyone who has the good fortune to pick up this little magazine and who keeps reading to the final cover.

With your support we can bring you more Obiter goodness and continue to provide this amazing opportunity.

Royce Kurmelovs

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fromtheeditor ourteamRoyce Kurmelovs

EditorRoyce is a third year Law and Journalism (L&J) student. When not pursuing his evil, yet whimsical, plans for world domination, Royce enjoys sushi and hot-tubbing.

Matthew DoranDeputy Editor & Designer

‘Socks’ is another third year L&J gang member/student. When not making wise cracks about all and sundry, he enjoys long walks along the beach, drinking pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.

Abigail KhooWriter

Abi is the ‘nice’ one of the L&J cult. However, rumour has it that she has a dark and mysterious past involving insidious and despicable acts of debauchery and general hooliganism. Surely not true.

Phoebe BowdenEditor

What can you say about Phoebe? Not a lot really (she has threatened violence). A Law and Journalism student, Phoebe plays a mean game of twister and is well known as fashionable ninja.

Russell JonesWriter

Another of the despicable Law/Journalism gang, Russell is well known for his askew fringe and love of skinny leg jeans. He is currently wanted in three jurisdictions for money laundering.

Abeir ZaidWriter

Some say she is werewolf with a hair spray addiction. Others say that she enjoys games of Scrabble on cold Thursday nights at home. Credible accounts suggest Abeir is just another Law/Journalism student.

Guest Contributors this editionRyan DowStephanie Hastie

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comingeventsJulyJuly 8-15 - 2011 ALSA Conference

July 14 - Law Evening Research Seminar #4 - Dr Ping Xiong “Is the TRIPS Agreement in Conflict with the Right to Health? An Interpretation of the TRIPS Agreement in Relation to the Right to Health”

AugustAugust 15 - SWOTVAC Week Begins

August 22-September 3 - UniSA Law Exam Period (SP4)

SeptemberSeptember 8 - Law Evening Research Seminar #5 - Dr Steven Churches “Why We Love Policy, But Struggle With Its Recognition In The Law: Can We Bridle The Unruly Horse?”

September 19 - Trimester 3 (SP6) Begins

OctoberOctober 5 - Law Evening Research Seminar #6 - Dr David Plater & Sue Milne “The Implementation Of The Death Penalty In Early Colonial Australia: Decision By Lottery Or The Need To Make An Example of Enemies Of Society”

NovemberNovember 28 - SWOTVAC Week Begins

DecemberDecember 5-17 - UniSA Law Exam Period (SP6)

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comingeventsIt may soon be mandatory for all law students around the country to complete a

research thesis to qualify for Honours.

Changes proposed under the national Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) will require law students undertaking Honours to complete a research thesis during an extra year of study.

Melissa Coade, Vice-president for the Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA), the national body that represents Australian law students, has said the changes are unnecessary.

‘The LLB does not encompass different academic disciplines, unlike other more generalist degrees; it is a highly vocational degree.’

In a press release, ALSA argued against the changes saying it would create an additional financial burden to an already costly degree.

ALSA view the current cost, length and intensity of the law degree as features which make it appropriate to use academic distinction or at least a partial qualification for a grant of Honours, rather than an extra year.

Currently, the requirements for earning a law honours qualification are different among the three South Australian universities.

The UniSA honours program may be completed within a three year law degree. Students must obtain a GPA of 5 to apply and if successful they will enter the honours program which goes for two trimesters.

As the UniSA law honours program is equivalent to an extra year of study and requires students to undertake research, UniSA students are unlikely to be affected by the changes.

However, the proposed changes have raised concerns for other law schools within the state.

Adelaide and Flinders University Law Schools both award honours based on academic achievement at the time of graduation. Those who failed to get automatic honours may apply to complete extra study to obtain the qualification.

ALSA has argued for the status quo to be maintained and that any year-long program remains only an option.

Even though the University of South Australia Law Student’s Association (USASLA) agree with ALSA about the expense of an extra year, they have voiced their support for a uniform, research-based honours program that is not based solely on academic results.

They argue that a uniform standard will prevent an inequality developing between students from different universities.

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Honour amongst law degrees?

words Abigail Khoo

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For just a dollar a day, you could help law students like Nic integrate

into normal society...God knows they need all the help they can get

People Without Dignity(a subsidiary of Doctors Without Borders)

1800 NOR MAL(1800 667 614)

Please give generously

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12 16 18the Kirby Lecture

law in the land of toblerone

one moot to end them all

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Kirby

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Kirby

Kirby The man, the myth, the legendwords Royce Kurmelovs images courtesy of UniSA

When Former High Court Justice Michael Kirby visited the UniSA

Law School in October 2010 to give a public lecture on his career in the High Court, I expected pyrotechnics, thronging crowds and a raging mosh pit filled with people possibly out of their mind on hallucinogenics.

At the very least I hoped for crowdsurfers.

There was a certain sense of anticipation as people watched the man of average height in a fitted suit and pink tie stand to address the packed lecture hall.

He was to talk generally about his life as a High Court Justice and began his story at the end by discussing his busy post-High Court life and work relating to law and the treatment of HIV.

‘The law can sometimes be helpful in the struggle against HIV, but boy, it can sometimes be an impediment. The law on patents and the pharmaceutical drugs for example, can really be a problem.’

‘In many countries, the law provides an obstacle to people getting the health messages. The laws against sex workers, for example... They don’t call it the oldest profession in the world for nothing. It always will be there and it’s a question of how realistic we are going to be in dealing with sex work to ensure that sex workers are empowered to insist on the use of condoms.

‘That’s the bottom line.’

The cause for his popularity among law students and the general public was clear. It is not just his progressive values. It is his personality. On his appointment to office he says, ‘People say, you know, that it was inevitable that I would be appointed to the High Court. Rubbish! Nothing’s inevitable! Many people had equal claims and equal entitlements.’

But there’s an immediate change of tone and a wry smile.

‘Well, I don’t want to get carried away. I was the president of the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.’ He placed emphasis on the “was”.

‘The Attorney-General said to me I have the honour to invite you to accept appointment as a Justice of the High Court of Australia.’

Another wry smile.

‘I let a few seconds pass,’ he says and the audience laughs before he says innocently, ‘I mean, I didn’t wish to be vulgar. I didn’t actually ask what the salary was. I didn’t ask for the leave entitlements or the other perks.’

His tone reverts to one of seriousness and he is quick to stress the work, responsibility and honour associated with the position.

The audience then hears about life as a High Court Justice, the high standard of

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professionalism the judges kept after long days at the office and the untainted integrity of the Australian judicial system.

But it was the comments on how he lived that were the most telling.

‘I walked to work and I walked home. No security. The High Court doesn’t have x-ray machines and airport type of security.’

‘We decided not to do that because Canberra is such an exposed place, anyone could take a pot shot at me. They could get me walking along the lake.’

‘It would be a very beautiful scene,’ he says.

All the signs seemed suggest that former High Court Justice Michael Kirby is a rock star.

Just look at the facts.

In his early legal career he took time off to travel across Australia and throughout Asia in a Kombi van during the 1970’s with his long-term partner Johan van Vlotan.

In May 2007 he appeared on stage in an electric yellow suit with a dreadlocked Melbourne rapper, Elf Tranzporter.

Even if his staunch support for the monarchy may put him at odds with The Clash, he has fought the good fight to protect the rights of every human being throughout his career.

Then, during question time, he made a row of girls burst into giggles and whispers with the mere mention of the constitutional case of Roach.

Then there is the title, “The Great Dissenter”.

While he does not accept it and rightly observes that it may be used to undermine and delegitimise his positions, it does seem to capture the rebellious aspect of his essential character.

After all, his appointment to the High Court bench, at least according to an account by former Labour politician Garry Evans, was clinched by the very fact that he would be a hell raiser among conservatives.

Très rock and roll.

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theobiter

page15Kirby

A specialist criminal law firm

At Caldicott & Co Solicitors, we deliver unsurpassed levels of expertise and professionalism, yet maintain a friendly personalised service to our clients.

All the work undertaken by our Barristers and Solicitors is aimed at maximizing and achieving the best results for your case.

We are leading specialists in:• Traffic Law• Criminal Law• White Collar Crime Law• Civil Litigation and

Compensation Law• Wills and Estate Planning Law• Family Law

333 Brighton RdNorth Brighton

South Australia 5048Phone: (08) 8298 2066

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A Swiss Exchangean adventure you can bank onwords & images Phoebe Bowden

I visited Geneva’s tourism stand at the airport. Time to pull out the French I had learned on the plane. “Bawn-jaww. Parl-eeez-vouz ang-lez?” This heartfelt attempt was met

with “absolute pas” which, I think, means absolutely not. I stood there dumbfounded as the tourism woman pushed a brochure towards me, before turning her back and proceeding to read her magazine.

After the twenty-two hour plane trip, my mood was somewhat volatile. The brochure, outlining Geneva’s Large Hadron Collider and a 140m high fountain did nothing to ease my mind. Nor did my taxi driver, who was texting, smoking and listening to Hungarian folk music as he drove me to my new home, do anything to assure me that my decision to travel across the globe to study was a good one. However, lucky for me, bad luck comes in threes. Finally, after arriving and walking seven hours to find the local supermarket (one kilometre away), my bad luck was over, and my trip started to get better.

Geneva is home to over two-hundred international organisations including the United Nations European office, World Health Organisation, Red Cross, High Commission for Refugees and the International Labour Organisation. This made Geneva the perfect place to study Refugee law and Human Rights law through the International Human Rights Program in Geneva, run by Murdoch University.

The study consisted of research projects, mock inquiries and lots of visits to the surrounding international organisations. There were also many networking events with Australian expats, which provided a great opportunity to understand the realities of working abroad. Everyone I met, whether from the UN or as a member of a mission or the Red Cross, shared

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exceptional passion for their work and enjoyed obvious job satisfaction. While the content of my study was fascinating, it was the people I met, and the stories they shared that have made a lasting impact on me.

My study focussed on two areas in particular. Firstly, Refugee Law looked at Australia’s implementation of the international obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Specifically, research looked at groups or individuals in need of international assistance that were unlikely to meet the definition of a refugee. Secondly, Human Rights Law, concentrated on Australia’s treatment of Indigenous Australian and potential breaches of human rights. Both areas of study were fascinating and were complimented by meeting people working in those fields.

My time in Geneva was not all spent studying and networking. I was also fortunate to meet many other students, and together we explored Geneva and the surrounding towns. This included visiting the summit of Mt Blanc, swimming in lake Geneva and driving to the Montreux Jazz Festival. The French influence was everywhere in everything from the copious and affordable wine (25cents at the cheapest) to the abundance of pastries. And Geneva’s beauty is unsurpassed with its mountainous backdrop and lakeside setting

My time in Geneva taught me many things. While important, the most enduring lesson was not that regarding Australia’s breaches of human rights or the obligations attaching to Refugees. Importantly, what I will remember forever is so eloquently summarised by the words of Kofi Annan “To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.”

L-R: The entrance to the United Nation’s Geneva HQ; the picture postcard Swiss Alps; the courtyard at the UN HQ; Charlotte, Phoebe and Zoe, all UniSA students, studying hard while cruising Lake Geneva.

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Reflections of a Jessup Observer

words Ryan Dow images Ahmad Dostizada & HCA website

Together with Ahmad Dostizada, a fellow law student, we acted as bailiffs in overseeing the Jessup International Mooting competitions in Canberra for nearly

three days.

In some way, my experience of Canberra was an inter-mingling of geography, people and my perception of the mixing of these, leaving an un-detailed and imprecise impressionistic portrait.

Our environment is a metaphor for how we can find meaning. It implores us to look past the surface of things. No matter what our pre-conceptions of a place are, our experience will be different; our own.

The City

Canberra is derided as small but that is not my impression.

Yes, it has one night club. Yes, Rundle Mall is larger than their mall. Yes, Canberra has only one shopping centre, compared with Adelaide’s multitude of shopping malls and public institutions, but Canberra was more about what people did.

Culture centred on the idea of ‘less is more’. Canberra was abundant in what a city needed to establish an identity. Whether it was people who looked like jazz lecturers playing simply

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to create an atmosphere or an impromptu guitar busker outside Canberra’s only night club, there seemed to be a certain atmosphere. There was much less restriction.

A man-made lake rippled, its waves appearing oddly organic. The Art Gallery pretended to be French by housing Toulouse-Lautrec originals but retained a contemporary Aussie feel with a Triple J-sponsored exhibit featuring socially conscious graffiti.

The Defence Force complex stood tall before an eagle perched upon a massive column which our taxi driver told us was, unsurprisingly, gifted by the American government.

Indigenous dot paintings were an ironic centrepiece of the floor of the entrance of the security camera studded Parliament, contrasting with the makeshift embassy that still sits before the steps of Old Parliament House.

Most of all, I was surprised to find the Highest Court in our land with its entire front panel of windows smashed in. Meanwhile, Parliament was not in session when the largest contingent of law students entered the city.

”“Each mooter had their own inescapable style – their own way of seeing the world, but the most polished and refined speaker

was not necessarily victorious.

The Moot

The tension was high.

Teams approached Ahmad and I prior to the moots and requested extra time notifications, often careless to the degree of tact they applied.

Each mooter had their own inescapable style – their our own way of seeing the world, but the most polished and refined speaker was not necessarily victorious.

Yes, those teams who argued that there was no choice but to accept what they said as gospel received applause from the audience. Those more robotic speakers whose assertions were absolute and carried an undertone which suggested that upon their completion no questions are to be asked, were harmful to their cause.

There was no resonance, or belief in the heart of the listener. This was exactly their tactic. That assertion of rightness in a confident stance masked insecurity and frequent flaws.

It was those who spoke naturally, not lying, to show they were in fact a person, were the ones most able to connect with the audience – the true victors.

They were not infallible, or even majestic, but nervous each step of the way, reinforcing the notion that by no means is our journey of learning complete.

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a different perspective on all things law

words & images Russell Jones

The high pitched screech of the alarm pierced straight through the heart of my dinosaur adventure-laden dreams.

The gravity of my situation came flooding into my mind. I was about to embark on a task that many before me had undertaken, and many before me had failed. It was a task that had turned brave men into snivelling cowards. This task was a law exam.

I rose out of the bed like a phoenix from the ashes, full of confidence and excitement. I swiftly got changed and gathered my notes together in time to perform my exam day ritual of kissing my lucky amulet precisely seven times, playing guitar hero and eating a continental breakfast with my mother, sister and a small mountain goat from the misty landscapes of Puerto Rico (yeah apparently it’s misty over there from all the mountain goat fluff). After breakfast I began my descent into hell.

I had no idea how to get there. “For how does one get to hell?” he said philosophically while staring off into the distance.

Zombie pirates in space: Deconstructing the psychological state of an ambiguous legal mind.

And exams.

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”“

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Luckily, after driving around for about 30 minutes I had travelled through time to the 1970s where a very helpful musical ensemble gave me directions. The guitarist, who appeared to be wearing some sort of school uniform, pointed me to some sort of highway which would lead me to some sort of destination. I gladly took his advice and made my way there in no time.

I parked my car and took a minute to go over all of my notes and run through the content briefly. The cases and legislation leaped off the page and started caressing me while whispering sweet nothings into my ear. I knew they were on my side.

Confidence brimming I stepped out of the vehicle and into my destiny.

The faint breeze flowed through my hair as I strode towards the exam room. The closer I got the more desolate the landscape became; the bright blue of the sky had faded into a weary, pale grey.

From deep within the building the tortured screams of classes past were heard searching for their lost ratio decedendi.

A low drone from behind me began to get louder as I turned to find a lumbering herd of students heading towards the room with all of the enthusiasm and vigour of Chopper Reid heading to a Justin Bieber concert.

I followed the rush into the abyss.

I picked a chair, sat down and started unpacking my arsenal of notes and pens for the upcoming battle. In front of me lay the bane of my existence, the reason of all my fears and doubts.

There, my friends, lay the law exam paper.

Before I could properly gather my thoughts a timer rang and the thing had begun. I turned over the paper with my heart in my mouth and excitement pouring from every orifice (yes, you read that correctly). I was ready to tackle any demonic question that came my way.

That was the day my confidence died.

The question came at me. Attacked me like a panther. The one aspect that I hadn’t covered as thoroughly was the focus. They had discovered my weakness.

The principles and legislation once my friends seemed to turn against me through the oncoming doubt. The facts of the cases started to combine, twist and mutate until even my most trusted ally in Donoghue v Stevenson became about a giant snail that committed a death by dangerous driving offence after running over a doctor on Tapleys Hill Road with the brand new plane that he won in a contest from collecting Pepsi bottle wrappers.

I had to calm my nerves.

From deep within the building the tortured screams of classes past were heard searching for their lost ratio decedendi.

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I thought back to simpler times when I shared a glass of orange juice with Steven (the mountain goat whom I share a room with) to get my wits back. I got to work.

The battle raged on with many casualties. Once legible handwriting became Sanskrit and my sense of pride was replaced with shame as I attempted to solve the complex riddle that had confronted me. Eventually I found a comfortable rhythm.

I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel as the concepts started making sense once again and the belief I could do well returned. That was until I heard the most dreaded and panic inducing words in exam history;

“Ten minutes left”

Ten minutes to somehow get all of the thoughts and concepts in my head onto the exam page. To this day, what happened next remains a blur. A sudden surge in the tempo of my writing occurred as what can only be described as a spasm of my hand started to assert itself all over the paper.

Grammar, not did matter, legibilility didn’t matter, and even case citation didn’t matter. The only thing on my mind was to fill up the rest of that page. I had to let the examiner know I at least had a vague idea of all of the concepts, even if it made no sense in context.

“Five minutes” I heard as I went into overdrive.

My arm felt it was going to fall off as panic started to set in. It was a race against time as my standards for my work dramatically dropped, like Snoop Dogg when he’s given attitude by a rather unsavoury character of questionable morals.

Much like the dramatic yet unexplained rise in popularity of Lady Gaga, the end of the exam snuck up on me (most undeservedly I must say).

With one sentence to go the booming voice came echoing through the loudspeaker.

“Pens down.”

Son of a bitch.

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24 25 26entering the lecture theatre

the ultimate ambulance

chaser

selling a career in law

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the experiences of others

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words Abeir Zaid image the Obiter

University – chewing gum in class, wearing makeup, nail polish, thongs and jewellery, and having piercings in awkward places. Pure freedom.

The transition from school to university was a huge change in lifestyle.

No family or friends to nag me about the amount of work I should be doing and no parents to stop me from going out when I wanted, I looked forward to the freedoms of uni life. What I didn’t take into account was the study load.

I walked into my first law lecture with excitement, confusion and a stomach full of nerves.

Sitting in a room with people I had never seen in my life, as opposed to the friends I spent my school years with, was downright scary.

The first problem, finding a seat. It was life or death.

Where was I meant to sit? At the very back? In the front? In the middle? Do I sit next to someone else? What if someone sat next to me? Should I start a conversation? Are they just as nervous as me?

No longer surrounded by the somewhat comforting prison walls of high school, these are the panic-stricken questions that go through every first year student’s mind.

There was a friendly aura about the lecturer. As she spoke, her voice calmed my nerves. Her words however, scared me to death.

“Weekly readings…20 hours of study a week…2000 words assignments…oral presentations,” she said. Keeping up is going to be a major problem. What about the parties, my friends and my freedom? I went from simple six hour high school working days to studying in my own time. I wanted to throw my book at her, or at least a few offensive words…

I remember walking out of that lecture wondering if Law was really for me.

I still walk out of every lecture thinking the same thing.

Getting past those first lecture freak-outs and all those times you yell “I quit!” after pulling an all- nighter, you realise that what makes it all worthwhile is knowing that after all these years of studying, every time your parents call you lazy, you can wave that thin piece of paper that says “Bachelor of Laws” in their face!

A whole new world: Beginning University

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words Matthew Doran

Everyone asks you as you’re growing up, ‘What do you want to do at uni?’ and ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’

When I finished school, I hadn’t really settled on what I wanted to do with my life. To be honest, I don’t think I was ready to “grow up”.

I settled on studying a Law and Journalism double degree, for no other reason than it seemed like something I might enjoy doing, and soon found many people took great liberties to share their opinions on my choice of study.

To put it bluntly, I was to become the ultimate ambulance chaser.

At first, I wasn’t too sure whether or not this was true or not. Would I become someone who only ever profited from the misfortune of others, or would a career in either the law or in journalism provide me with something more?

I hoped for the latter

My first year at university was spent studying law. This came with both positive and negative consequences. There’s a certain mindset you find yourself with after studying law. No matter how hard you try, you can’t shake it.

This phenomenon became grossly apparent when faced I began my second year in 2010 as a Journalism student.

I found it very difficult to think like a journalist as opposed to a lawyer.

A journalism tutor would ask me for my opinion on an issue, to which my response would be preaced with, ‘well, it depends on what the exact circumstances of the situation would be,’ followed by a lengthy and quite unnecessary explanation of my position and the possible consequences.

This is not always a good thing to do when surrounded by first year students.

While some seem to enjoy the fact that a fellow student is taking up all the time in the tutorial discussing the smallest details of an issue that a journalist may find themselves dealing with, others simply look at you with disdain.

In saying this, studying Journalism is so very different from studying Law. In fact it is quite enjoyable. While it provides a nice alternative to the hours spent reading numerous High Court judgments, it also gives you a look at an occupation which often has a lot to say about the legal system...almost like crossing over to the ‘dark side.’

If studying both fields results in becoming the ultimate ambulance chaser, so be it.

Chasing Ambulances

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Selling A Career in Lawwords Stephanie Hastie

Truth is, I always wanted to be an interior designer but, as chance would have it, I ended up studying law and marketing.

When I turned up for my first year of law school I found myself wondering why I had chosen, for no real reason, to put myself through such agony.

Law didn’t give me many opportunities to be artistically creative and, often, I found myself sharing a love hate relationship with it, especially around exam time, when, in all honestly, setting myself on fire seemed like a less intimidating option.

My first year of law was very daunting.

In the first week we were told that if we wanted to study full time and do well then we would not have enough time for three meals a day, let alone a social life and a part time job. What haunted me more was the fact I had no real intention of becoming a lawyer, which meant I had no motivation to fall back on when the going got tough.

Dropping law out of fear wasn’t an option and instead my motivation came from an ambition to prove to myself that I could do anything I put my mind to.

By the end of the year I was exhausted, dishevelled and grumpy about my lack of holidays, but I had managed to complete 11 law subjects, work and have a decent social life.

In 2010 I began my first year of marketing. It didn’t disappoint. Fewer readings, no legal jargon to decipher, and longer holidays. But apart from that, marketing was no easier than law. It took up just as much of my time and required just as much thought. Despite this, the lecturers were all very supportive and it was a relatively pleasant year.

There was, however, one thorn among the roses and it went by the name of accounting.

Lecture after lecture, tutorial after tutorial, I found myself puzzled, angry and helpless. None of it made sense. Everyone else seemed to get it but me. It wasn’t a fun time, but perseverance paid off and during one dark and gloomy swotvac something amazing happened.

Everything fell into place. Assets, liabilities, equity, debits and credits. They all started to make sense.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, for all those double degree students facing something new and challenging, don’t give up. Practise makes prefect.

And if there are any law and marketing students around that have questions or need help, you can always find me on Facebook or skulking around campus.

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When study gets all too hard...

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is the newstudent magazine for law students at UniSA.While created by a core group

of students, we can’t do it all...that’s why we

need your help.We want your contributions to this magazineto ensure it really is a magazinefor all law students.If you have ideas for columns,know of an issue that needs addressing,

or want to submit a story yourself,we want to hear from you...

get in touch with our friendly team...normally creating a ruckus in the library or ‘studying’ at

the pubor drop us an email at

publications@usalsa.org.au

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