law without legal studies (1 Viewer)

[hscsucks2009]

Hi guys, just wanted to ask if it was possible to do law without having done legal studies in year 11/12? Will there be a serious disadvantage?

 

[chewy123]

It's okay, whether you do it or not wouldn't really affect you.

I didn't do it.

 

[izzy88]

I didn't do legal studies either. Most people I know in law didn't do it. Maybe people who have done legal studies have a bit more background info, but i haven't seen it give any particular advantage at all.

So don't worry about it

 

[Lara1986]

To be honest - it's not an advantage.

I did legal studies in high school and everything I learned i re-learned again at some stage at uni, and in some cases what i learned in legal studies was 'corrected' at uni.

Don't worry if you didn't do it - it's more useful to see whether you have an interest or aptitude for the area, it's not necessary for any sort of knowledge base in order to succeed in a B Laws.

 

[melsc]

agreed with above, you cover most of it off within the first 4 weeks of intro to law. You also find your legal studies knowledge is wrong anyway!

 

[Strawbaby]

I didn't do it either, nor did many people I know

 

[TehAzner]

Looks like most of us didn't do it :rofl:, *hi-5* guys.

Most people in my Foundations of Law class didn't study Legal Studies in year 12 and they did fine. So you don't need to worry aspiring lawyer

 

[q3thefish]

Law is weaksauce

.. unless you combine it with med @ usyd

but then you're gonna graduate at the age of around 60.

and you're gonna have to break the 99.95 ATAR cap.

but ye, @OP: I don't think there's any disadvantage in not taking legal studies during 11/12 and tryin for law.

 

[stefgi32]

Law is weaksauce

.. unless you combine it with med @ usyd

but then you're gonna graduate at the age of around 60.

and you're gonna have to break the 99.95 ATAR cap.

Well what else can you take with law....if you're not good at science?

 

[ameher]

lolz yer no worries, dont need legal for law

 

[LA88]

Whilst you may not NEED the knowledge gained in legal studies to excel at law, it's a good way of finding out if you would be SUITED to the study of law. It would be terrible if you got into law only to find out that you hate it. Legal studies gives you a preview of what you are up for prior to fully committing to a life of Latin maxims and musty law reports.

 

[flamearrows]

Whilst you may not NEED the knowledge gained in legal studies to excel at law, it's a good way of finding out if you would be SUITED to the study of law. It would be terrible if you got into law only to find out that you hate it. Legal studies gives you a preview of what you are up for prior to fully committing to a life of Latin maxims and musty law reports.

I disagree.

Legal studies is a very poor proxy for learning what it's like to study law. Particularly, the focus on whether particular laws are achieving their stated aims, the fairness or otherwise of laws etc. has little to no relation to applying legal principles, which is what you're gonna be doing in law school and then later as a lawyer.

I'd probably argue that legal studies is more likely to give the wrong impression than to give a taste of a university degree...

 

[-may-cat-]

I disagree.

Legal studies is a very poor proxy for learning what it's like to study law. Particularly, the focus on whether particular laws are achieving their stated aims, the fairness or otherwise of laws etc. has little to no relation to applying legal principles, which is what you're gonna be doing in law school and then later as a lawyer.

I'd probably argue that legal studies is more likely to give the wrong impression than to give a taste of a university degree...

You could say the same thing about tons of subjects though, the way subjects are taught in highschool are usually completely different from the way they are taught at university, at least in my experience.

 

[dste6]

"And finally, for the not insignificant number of students who took legal studies at high school in the hope that it would ease their transition into law school, provide them with a framework for studying law and give them an edge over classmates with no similar background, there is the disappointment of discovering any advantage with which they may have begun evaporated after the first 20 minutes of the opening contracts lecture."

- Prof. Richard Krever, 'Mastering Law Studies & Law Exams Technique' 6th ed. p.2

This book was prescribed by my very own law faculty in first semester

 

[Ethanescence]

Even though content-wise HSC legal studies is completely irrelevant to university law courses, I personally think it would give an individual at least a generalised feel for what the subject entails.

I also feel this way about mathematics, economics, english, biology, chemistry, etc and their university course equivalents. Even though they're not comparable in terms of content, teaching style or approach - I think the issues raised in these subjects can guide someone in (generally) the right direction.

If you're failing mathematics and have no passion for it, it's unlikely that you're ever going to be highly successful in university level mathematics - or even be wanting choose it in the first place.

The same could be said for legal studies, but probably to a lesser extent due to the different types of university law topics that would influence one's success or interest, and the perceived prestige surrounding certain law courses.

 

[LA88]

I disagree.

Legal studies is a very poor proxy for learning what it's like to study law. Particularly, the focus on whether particular laws are achieving their stated aims, the fairness or otherwise of laws etc. has little to no relation to applying legal principles, which is what you're gonna be doing in law school and then later as a lawyer.

I'd probably argue that legal studies is more likely to give the wrong impression than to give a taste of a university degree...

To the contrary, those policy type questions are what judges consider when applying the law. Whilst judges might not explicitly ask 'how is x section of the crimes act achieving justice for society and the individual' they take into account policy considerations, such as whether reading a law in a certain way would place onerous restraints on liberty etc.

If you simply view the study of law as applying a legal principle to a hypothetical situation, then yes, legal studies skewers one's perception of what a law degree entails. However, if you take the approach that understanding the law involves appreciating the whole context in which laws are made AND applied, then you would see that legal studies, in some small way, prepares future law students for the road ahead.

 

[flamearrows]

To the contrary, those policy type questions are what judges consider when applying the law. Whilst judges might not explicitly ask 'how is x section of the crimes act achieving justice for society and the individual' they take into account policy considerations, such as whether reading a law in a certain way would place onerous restraints on liberty etc.

If you simply view the study of law as applying a legal principle to a hypothetical situation, then yes, legal studies skewers one's perception of what a law degree entails. However, if you take the approach that understanding the law involves appreciating the whole context in which laws are made AND applied, then you would see that legal studies, in some small way, prepares future law students for the road ahead.

Sure - my point is that this small window into the "road ahead" is outweighed by the focus on applying substantive law. Someone with a legal studies background - me, for instance, was easily fooled into believing that a torts problem question required some consideration of the fairness or otherwise of the law, when in actual fact the marker didn't care even a little.

Hence my comment that it's more apt to mislead.

Even though content-wise HSC legal studies is completely irrelevant to university law courses, I personally think it would give an individual at least a generalised feel for what the subject entails.

It's a bold view considering you haven't studied any of the university courses you're making comparisons with.

 

[melsc]

Neither provide any real indication of what law is like, of course university provides some but practice is very different as I have found. In the end until you get some work experience you wont know for sure.