1. Welcome from the Dean

Welcome to the Sydney Law School for 2009.

This is a vital year in the evolution of legal education at the University of Sydney, as we move to our new law building in February 2009.

You will be the first students to undertake a full legal program on the Camperdown campus of this 150 year-old University.

While historically the Sydney Law School has operated from various barristers’ chambers and the current Phillip St building in the Sydney CBD, the new light-filled building on the Camperdown campus will allow us to offer vastly improved lecture theatres and moot court, mediation and library facilities that are of world class standard.

Despite our move to a 'state of the art' building, we know that bricks and mortar do not make a law school. The special strengths of the Faculty of Law at Sydney University are its high calibre student community, its excellent academic staff and research and the special contribution made by the legal profession to the teaching program.

There has never been a greater demand for legal advice and innovative approaches to problem solving than today. But you might ask ... what skills will a law degree provide for future practice? A law degree develops skills of analysis, research, writing and advocacy and prepares students for work in the increasingly globalised environment for legal services.

At Sydney Law School you will learn about the doctrine or jurisprudence of the law and its fundamental structures. However, the most valuable skills you will acquire are the ability to think originally, creatively and logically so as to advise your clients to resolve legal issues in ways that are both ethical and principled.

Legal studies open up many opportunities. While you might choose to practice as a barrister or solicitor, our graduates also become corporate counsel, government policy advisors, teachers, business executives, novelists, journalists and artists. Many graduates work with international organisations, such as the United Nations or the World Bank, or with pro-bono legal services. Indeed, we believe that over 50 percent of law graduates do not practice in the traditional legal profession.

It is our aim to ensure that legal education at the Sydney Law School prepares students for the international and transnational legal environment in which they will work in the future.

The challenges posed by global warming require international solutions; Australian trade measures must comply with the rules of the WTO and international trade agreements; intellectual property rights need protection within Australia and globally; the jurisdictional reach of criminal laws extend to the acts of Australian armed forces overseas and also to the international activities of directors of Australian corporations.

Lawyers need international and comparative legal training to respond to these increasingly global problems. Our task at the Sydney Law School is to provide you with the best possible legal skills to respond to these issues.

We hope that you find your education at the Sydney Law School intellectually stimulating and rewarding.

I have an 'open door' policy. Please do come by my office to discuss any aspect of your legal studies. We welcome your ideas and contributions.

Best wishes,

Professor Gillian Triggs
Dean of the Faculty of Law