Outline Outline Curtin's Bachelor of Laws degree provides the first qualification you need to practise as a lawyer in Australia. By combining this with our Bachelor of Commerce degree - majoring in accounting, taxation, economics, finance, marketing or human resource management - you'll add a business industry focus to your career.
Our law degree offers a rich and professionally relevant foundation in legal knowledge. You'll learn core skills essential to effective legal practice and build a strong commercial awareness. From early on in your studies, you'll start to recognise the importance of respecting the rule of law, along with the responsibilities and ethics of legal practice.
You'll also be able to select optional units in areas such as forensic advocacy, family law, human rights law, native title law and policy, and law and technology. These optional units enable you to tailor your degree to suit your interests.
With a Bachelor of Commerce as your second degree, you'll gain business knowledge and practical skills specific to your chosen major. This may help you if you want to work in commercial law, employment law and corporate governance; on business policies; or as a manager or director.
The first three years of this course are delivered in semesters at Curtin Perth, while the fourth year, plus one trimester, is delivered at Curtin Law School at our Perth City campus. If you choose to study full-time, you can graduate with two degrees in just 4.5 years.
While studying in Perth city, you can gain practical experience by undertaking simulated proceedings in our high-tech moot court and working on real cases at the John Curtin Law Clinic. You'll benefit greatly from the relationships you will form with academics, practising solicitors and barristers based at Curtin Law School, as well as from the proximity of the Supreme Court, the District Court and the Federal Court.
See our handbook for more course information.
How this course will make you industry ready Curtin's courses are designed with careers in mind. You'll get to work closely with business and industry during your degree. You can really get involved in your chosen field through classes, mentoring programs, voluntary work and industry placements. You'll graduate with the knowledge and skills that are relevant to industry needs and be ready to make a difference from day one.
What you'll learn - apply knowledge of the Australian legal system, statutory rules and case law principles in both the fundamental areas of legal knowledge and a range of elective fields to the resolution of legal problems; apply broad discipline knowledge to a range of theoretical and practical business situations through research and practical application
- critically and creatively analyse legal problems to articulate the issues involved and apply legal reasoning to make a considered choice between competing solutions; think creatively and critically to generate innovative solutions to complex business and commercial problems
- identify, access, assess and synthesise relevant information from primary legal sources such as cases and legislation and secondary sources such as journal articles and commentaries (including electronic versions of these sources) and gather relevant oral and documentary evidence; access, evaluate and synthesise relevant information from a range of organizational and external sources.
- communicate the outcomes of legal research and analysis effectively, appropriately and persuasively to colleagues, to clients and to other professionals and the broader community; communicate appropriately and effectively in professional and public contexts
- use appropriate electronic legal databases for research purposes and be able to communicate effectively in electronic forms; apply technologies appropriately for a variety of commercial purposes
- maintain intellectual curiosity as to justice and its practical application in the legal system, be able to identify areas where their legal knowledge and skills require further development, and to critically reflect on their own performance as legal professionals, making use of feedback as appropriate; demonstrate initiative, responsibility and lifelong learning skills by applying critical reflection and active participation
- articulate the similarities and differences between local and other jurisdictions, including interstate and overseas ones, and be aware of the principles of public and private international law; describe global and cultural issues as related to the business area and their impact on local and international communities
- articulate distinct concepts of law, justice and human rights, with an awareness of different legal traditions and cultures, particularly indigenous cultures; identify how and where indigenous persons and other identifiable social groups are differentially impacted by the legal system; demonstrate respect for human rights, cultural diversity and the particular rights of Indigenous Australians and highlight the importance and impact of cultural diversity on the interactions of commercial agents
- work independently, as well as collaboratively, with a developing sense of the ethical issues that arise in legal practice and how these may be resolved; apply an ethical approach to analysing and reporting commercial activities, advising clients, demonstrate leadership and the ability to delegate tasks to ensure timely outcomes; work independently to achieve agreed outcomes