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Macquarie’s new ‘originals’: our first Juris Doctor (JD) graduates

This year, Macquarie sees in another academic milestone as its first graduating cohort of the three-year Juris Doctor (JD) program receive their degrees.

The program began in 2014 as a post-graduate qualification for would-be law practitioners.
“We already offered a graduate law program, but with rising demand for students with post-graduate qualifications, we decided to develop a comparable program – but in a way that was more suitable for Macquarie,” explains Professor Natalie Klein, who is Dean of Macquarie Law School.

“Every student who comes through our law degree must do some kind of PACE project – that’s the university-wide Professional and Community Engagement initiative,” Professor Klein says – and generally, that involves an internship, or perhaps a clerkship.

Community building

Reflecting on the first JD cohort, Professor Klein says that the way that the program was structured ensured students all had their classes on the same days, building up a strong sense of community.

“They will all benefit from those strong networks, which are so critical for people going into the legal profession,” she adds.

The three-year full-time course involves a blended delivery, with lectures online, class time dedicated to discussion and addressing problem-based questions and activities.

An external program is supplemented by a two-day intensive each semester in April or September, and has attracted students from regional areas of NSW and from interstate.

“That flexibility is particularly good for older students with the independence, skills and abilities to work through the material, with direction,” she says.

Strong credentials

With Macquarie’s Law School having been one of the first in Australia to offer the study of law to degree level for mature age and external students in its’ foundation years, the School has strong credentials in access and equity for its students.

Many of those ‘Originals’ who graduated in the Law School’s early years had already had other careers or were working throughout their studies, and went on to reach the highest levels of the judiciary and the legal profession.

They include two NSW Chief Judges (The Hon Justice Michael Walton (BLegs 1987), President, New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission and recently retired Chief Judge in Equity at the New South Wales Supreme Court, The Hon Justice Patricia Bergin (BLegs 1981 LLD (Honoris Causa ’13).

Leap of faith pays off

Isabelle Lamberton completed her three-year Juris Doctor program at Macquarie University in November last year and will graduate this April.

Before that however, she’ll begin work in the graduate program at Herbert Smith Freehills.

She admits that joining the first JD cohort at Macquarie involved a leap of faith – but she’d heard good reports about the supportive environment at the University.

“I have a commerce degree from another university and I definitely felt that I was just another number, lectures were held with hundreds and hundreds of other students,” she recalls.

“In the JD, my classmates had really varied backgrounds, some came from psychology, others from commerce, like me, and others had international studies degrees,” she says.

“Having those diverse backgrounds meant that in our class discussions, everyone had a really unique and original input. We all weren’t carbon copies of each other or citing the same thing.”

She also nominates the PACE program requirement as another highlight.

“Unlike nursing or teaching or medicine where you must do some practical work to graduate, law students generally at other universities don’t have to do any practical work – but at Macquarie you do and it is a distinct advantage for graduates. I think that the PACE unit helps you stand out in your applications with a lot of employers because you already have good legal work experience.”

Looking ahead

At the upcoming graduation, Professor Klein will present the inaugural Peter Nygh prize to the year’s top-performing JD student, in memory of the Foundation Dean at Macquarie Law School.
As for the future: Professor Klein is stepping down as Dean a little later in the year and says that any major changes will be up to the next dean. However, she believes that it will become important to internationalise the degree.

Macquarie’s alumni network is a real positive for students, Professor Klein says. “Through the PACE program, we develop partnerships with various employers to take our students – and we’ve had really strong support from our alumni who’ve been happy to have students work in their organisation,” she says.

“Macquarie is a community that’s very welcoming of people who come from different backgrounds and our JD cohort is very diverse,” she says.

Professor Klein credits the first director of the JD, Shayne Davenport, for the remarkable job she did in steering the program through its establishment and formative years and ensuring that the student experience was positive.

“I also want to acknowledge my colleagues who rose to the challenge of thinking of new ways to deliver their materials to cater to a post-graduate cohort, in terms of bringing increasing breadth and depth,” she concluded.