Should I do law now? (1 Viewer)

[braindrainedAsh]

Right... I am now more than halfway through my journalism degree and I love it and I want to be a journalist, at least as one of my proper jobs I will have in my lifetime and I am trying to build up my portfolio to have a decent shot at a graduate job in the media.

But I have this unsatiated desire within me to study more, but more of what I am not really quite sure, but law is something which seems pretty purposeful and interesting to me.

I really really really enjoyed my media law subject last semester, and would love to learn a lot more about media law, and other aspects of law too, media law is just what interests me the most. But I don't think I would want to practice as a lawyer at any stage, and in any case I would only be interested in practicing media law. Also I am interested in being a political journalist, would a law degree help in this?

Am I full of shit lol or would doing a law degree after I finish my journalism degree be worthwhile. It would be another three years at uni... another three years of poverty and HECS. I also know you don't really get any electives in law also, so it isn't exactly a "broad" degree, not like arts/commerce type ones.

Is it possible to do legal studies as part of another degree like commerce? Can you study law part time doing night classes at most unis?

Just curious.

Also, is there any particular university which has a strength in media law?

Basically I don't know what I really want lol. I'm still deciding if I should do an honours year on my communications degree, or just study another degree.... I have no clue lol. Feel free to pay me out lol.

 

[braindrainedAsh]

I was looking on the ANU website, and they had a "Master of Legal Studies" postgrad thing for people that had done a degree in another discipline... it was only 1 year... something like that doesn't qualify you to be a lawyer does it?

Do you need to have an honours degree to do a masters?

 

[braindrainedAsh]

Hmm yeah it's just that three years is a long time to do something that is merely to satiate personal interest rather than a true passion or career goal.....

If I did something like the masters of legal studies, and then decided I loved law and wanted to devote my life to it, would it knock a year off a proper law degree, or would I then have to do three years of law to qualify as a lawyer?

 

[Iron]

Turnbull paid people to take law notes for him while he did journo stuff.

 

[neo o]

I also know you don't really get any electives in law also, so it isn't exactly a "broad" degree, not like arts/commerce type ones

Uh, at ANU 17/32 units that you'll take in a graduate law degree are electives and I think that you'll find that other universities in Australia are quite similar.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

I also know you don't really get any electives in law also, so it isn't exactly a "broad" degree, not like arts/commerce type ones.

Actually you do have electives:

http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/Course/undergraduate.asp#electives

Is it possible to do legal studies as part of another degree like commerce?

Yes - you can major in business law in commerce. (Though this will not qualify you to practice.)

 

[Not-That-Bright]

If it's just for 'interest' and not because you want to practice there would be many ways to learn.

But I don't think I would want to practice as a lawyer at any stage, and in any case I would only be interested in practicing media law. Also I am interested in being a political journalist, would a law degree help in this?

Law will back up your synical journalist attitude by giving you some 'status' and making you able to go on speils about crap no one cares about.

 

[heidi_kak]

Law will back up your synical journalist attitude by giving you some 'status' and making you able to go on speils about crap no one cares about.

it's spelt "cynical"

usyd offers 1 yr postgrad law courses in these areas:
Administrative Law and Policy
Business Law
Commercial Law
Corporate, Securities and Finance Law
Criminology
Environmental Law
Environmental Science and Law
Health Law / Public Health Law
International Law
International Business and Law
Jurisprudence
Labour Law and Relations
(taken from usyd law website)
im pretty sure that in some of them you don't need to have done law before, just any undergrad degree. but i don't think they're covered by HECS.

if you do grad law (3yrs) at unsw or usyd about 1/3 of the degree is elective and you can do things like media law, communications, internet stuff etc

also have you looked at postgrad courses in politics if you're thinking of becoming a political journalist?because there are a few of them around

 

[Not-That-Bright]

it's spelt "cynical"

usyd offers 1 yr postgrad law courses in these areas:
Administrative Law and Policy
Business Law
Commercial Law
Corporate, Securities and Finance Law
Criminology
Environmental Law
Environmental Science and Law
Health Law / Public Health Law
International Law
International Business and Law
Jurisprudence
Labour Law and Relations
(taken from usyd law website)
im pretty sure that in some of them you don't need to have done law before, just any undergrad degree. but i don't think they're covered by HECS.

if you do grad law (3yrs) at unsw or usyd about 1/3 of the degree is elective and you can do things like media law, communications, internet stuff etc

also have you looked at postgrad courses in politics if you're thinking of becoming a political journalist?because there are a few of them around

i'm aware of the spelling of cynical, it was a mistake you anal bitch.

 

[braindrainedAsh]

If it's just for 'interest' and not because you want to practice there would be many ways to learn.

Law will back up your synical journalist attitude by giving you some 'status' and making you able to go on speils about crap no one cares about.

Yeah that is what I am after LOL.

I was looking at ANU's website and they had some interesting masters combos. I didn't realize you could study postgrad law stuff without having to do a full law degree. I think now I will probably do something like a 1 year postgrad law course or something just to satiate my interest and give me more street cred lol.

 

[xeuyrawp]

Yeah that is what I am after LOL.

I was looking at ANU's website and they had some interesting masters combos. I didn't realize you could study postgrad law stuff without having to do a full law degree. I think now I will probably do something like a 1 year postgrad law course or something just to satiate my interest and give me more street cred lol.

If it was me, I wouldn't go for one of ANU's graduate masters.

Although they let you do law areas, you're really missing out on the basic undergrad stuff.

That being said, if you enjoy it, a master's will be cool, but keep open the option of grad law at sydney, ns, or UTS. I'm considering doing only a year of law at Macquarie and then do grad law at USyd.

 

[braindrainedAsh]

Hmm yeah it's just that three years seems like such a long time for something that isn't my complete focus.

Out of curiosity, can you only study law subjects in your electives in a graduate law degree, or can you study other units from arts or business? I am assuming it is only law subjects, but thought I may as well ask the experts.

 

[xeuyrawp]

Hmm yeah it's just that three years seems like such a long time for something that isn't my complete focus.

Out of curiosity, can you only study law subjects in your electives in a graduate law degree, or can you study other units from arts or business? I am assuming it is only law subjects, but thought I may as well ask the experts.

Have a look here at the list of electives, but this is the course structure:

Course Structure

Year 1
Contracts
Criminal Law
Federal Constitutional Law
Foundations of Law
Law, Lawyers & Justice
Legal Research
Torts

Year 2*
Administrative Law
Corporate Law
Equity
International Law
Litigation
Real Property

*You may choose, instead, to do a maximum of two electives and take the remaining units of study in the final year.

Year 3
48 credit points (six elective units) of the following subjects:
(a) a maximum of 40 credit points from Table 1 elective units
(b) a minimum of 8 credit points from Table 2 elective units

Table 1
(Select a maximum of 40 credit points [5 units])

Advanced Administrative Law
Advanced Contracts Semester 1
Advanced Contracts Semester 2
Advanced Constitutional Law
Advanced Corporate Law
Advanced Public International Law
Advanced Real Property
Advanced Torts
Advocacy, Interviewing and Negotiation
Amicus Litigation Clinic
Anti-Discrimination Law
Aspects of Legal History
Banking and Financial Instruments
Business Taxation
Clinical Environmental Law
Comparative Commercial Contracts
Competition Law Semester 1
Competition Law Semester 2
Contemporary Issues in Health Care
Conveyancing
Death and Inheritance Law
Dispute Resolution
Employment and Industrial Law
Environmental Law
External Placement Program Semester 1
External Placement Program Semester 2
Family Law
High Court of Australia
Independent Research Project Semester 1
Independent Research Project Semester 2
Indigenous People and the Law
Intellectual Property Semester 1
Intellectual Property Semester 2
International Commercial Transactions
International Human Rights Law
Internet Law
Introduction to Personal & Corporate Insolvency
Japanese Law
Jessup International Law Moot
Law and Commercial Transactions
Media Law
Medical Law
Migration Law
Personal Taxation
Practicing in the Public Interest
Private International Law
Product Liability Law
Roman Law
Seminar: Securities Regulation
Social Security Law
Sydney Law Review Semester 1
Sydney Law Review Semester 2

Table 2 (Jurisprudence Subjects)
(Select a minimum of 8 credit points [1 unit])

Chinese Laws and Chinese Legal Systems
Comparative Constitutionalism
Criminology Semester 1
Criminology Semester 2
Fundamental Principles of Philosophy and Sociology of Law
Health Law Jurisprudence
International/Comparative Jurisprudence
Law and Economics
Law and Gender
Law and Political Philosophy
Law and Sexuality
Law and Social Theory
Law, Communications, Culture and Global Economies
Post-Communist Law and Legal Theory
Legal Geographies
Seminar *
Sociological Jurisprudence
The Holocaust, Moral Responsibility and the Rule of Law

* Seminar units of study may be offered with the approval of the head of department to bring together research interests of staff and students or to permit a visiting staff member to teach in their area of expertise.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

Yeah that is what I am after LOL.

I was looking at ANU's website and they had some interesting masters combos. I didn't realize you could study postgrad law stuff without having to do a full law degree. I think now I will probably do something like a 1 year postgrad law course or something just to satiate my interest and give me more street cred lol.

You can't do a masters in law without a law degree (including ANU)

 

[xeuyrawp]

You can't do a masters in law without a law degree (including ANU)

Yes and no, there are numerous ones here , and that's just ones I found quickly.

Obviously an LLM requires an LLB, but masters in other subjects, such as environmental law etc, don't require an LLB.

 

[braindrainedAsh]

Yeah they had ones like "Masters in International Law" which you didn't need a law degree to do.

http://info.anu.edu.au/StudyAt/_law/Postgraduate/Programs/_7310XMINTL.asp

Hmm this is all food for thought. At least I have a while to mull over it all.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

Yes and no, there are numerous ones here , and that's just ones I found quickly.

Obviously an LLM requires an LLB, but masters in other subjects, such as environmental law etc, don't require an LLB.

Yep.

But LLM yeh you need a LLB

 

[xeuyrawp]

Yep.

But LLM yeh you need a LLB

Yep, unless you go to Liberia with 50,000 Rubels and Hershey's Original.

 

[Angel45]

Hey,

I'm doing B. Communication Studies/LLB, prolly planning to major in journalism and when I started I was tossing up between combined degree or just b.communications and our head of journalism told me a law degree is gr8 to have in the field... sets u apart from all the other ppl. graduating so i'd def consider doing something in the field if ur even thinking about it.

And it's really fun!! I always thought journalism was IT for me... hehe.. but I'm luvin' law... so who knows where i will end up.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

Yep, unless you go to Liberia with 50,000 Rubels and Hershey's Original.

Or that crazy Bob Jones University, where they like inventing degrees