Got into law and have a few questions

[jess083]

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Hi

I have been offered a place in Murdochs Graduate Law (which they are now calling a Juris Doctor) this was my 2nd choice as i was hoping to get into UWA. Just got a couple of questions if anyone can help.

Firstly is there any difference in doing a JD?

The reason I wanted to go to UWA is they offer a medical law unit and Murdoch doesnt. I was planning in working in this area as I am a registered nurse and was worried that this unit not being offered may be a problem when i go to get a job. Is there anything I can do about this? Can you do a unit at another school or will it not matter if I have not done a medical law unit?

Also if there is anyone out there who has applied through TISC I have a couple of questions about offers.

Any help would be great and sorry its a bit long!

Jess

[Cookie182]

sorry i cant offer any help, but im kinda in the same boat as im interested in taking medical law as an elective and i dont think UOW offer it.

im starting law at uni of wollongong this year

[onetwothree]

1) At some universities, enrolling in a JD (instead of a grad LLB) will enable you to study some postgraduate electives. At other universities, this doesn't appear to be the case. The JD is the standard law degree in the US, and a number of Australian universities are introducing it (e.g. from memory: Melbourne, ANU, UTS, Murdoch and possibly others), so I don't think recognition will be an issue. In fact, the argument from the unis offering the course is that it will be better recognised in the US than the standard LLB. In Australia, it enables you to practise law, just as the LLB does. The one downside (that I am aware of) is the cost - pretty sure it is full fee rather than commonwealth supported, but could be wrong.

2)
Short answer: you can probably do the elective at another school and it doesn't matter whether or not you do it anyway.

Long answer: You can study units at other law schools. You will most likely have to wait and see if there are places left in the course once the UWA students have enrolled in it. Also, I only know people who have done cross-institutional studies in summer or winter. It would be more difficult to do at the same time as your Murdoch courses (i.e. during normal semesters), and it could be that you aren't even allowed to do so...since if the exams clash, you are unlikely to receive a sympathetic response from either uni. So basically: if the UWA elective is offered in summer or winter session and subject to demand from UWA students, you should be able to study the medical law elective.

That said, I don't think it's too important that you do so. Pursue the elective for interest's sake, not for the future prospects you think it might afford you. Studying a law course about X at uni doesn't help much (at all?) in working in area X when you graduate, so not studying that course shouldn't hinder you in pursuing your interests. Generally, the best that studying a particular elective can do is confirm your interest in that area and demonstrate that interest to prospective employers. You are a nurse studying law - an interest in medical law is not a hard sell for you, medical law elective or not. When I first started law, I also thought studying particular electives was important. In hindsight, this was a complete overemphasis on an unimportant aspect. When you start your course, the practicalities (who are the good lecturers? is the subject even as interesting as it is made out to be? Is the assessment wildly difficult compared to other courses?) will quickly assume an increased importance. Or maybe that's just me

Clearly you have a keen interest in medical law, though. So another possibility is to see if Murdoch offers any research electives (e.g. for the LLB: http://handbook.murdoch.edu.au/units...so?unit=LAW381. sorry, couldn't find any info on the JD). If this is the case, and assuming you can find a supervisor for that area, you can research an area of medical law that interests you.

[Xytech]

Agree with the above, the key to each elective isn't really the content itself but the skills you learn in dealing with it.

[dissipate]

Hi Jess, I'm a UWA grad law student. No worries about Medicine and the Law only being offered at UWA... you can apply to do it cross-institutionally. It's usually offered 2nd semester every year and might be offered every summer beginning from this summer.

Feel free to post again/PM me if you need more information