The Gavel Vol5 Issue1 2012 Final

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VOLUME VI, ISSUE 2 25 JULY 2011

CUIUS EST SOLUM EIUS EST USQUE AD COELUM ET AD INFEROS www.usydclss.com

What is CLSS?

The Chinese Law Students Society (CLSS),founded in 2004, is aimed at buildingstudent networks, exposing its membersto global career opportunities and

promoting a balanced and successfuluniversity life. The executive team workson four main areas:

Careers The integration of the global economymeans that our future lawyers are by nomeans bound by local jurisdictions. Inparticular, we focus on exciting careersand experiences in the fast-paced Asia-Pacific region. In 2012, CLSS is set tohost its fourth annual Hong Kong LawFair; host events with multinational law

firms; develop workshops in interviewskills and keep you updated along the way with anything we can find to help!

Education The transition from spoon-feeding highschool to university can be difficult toadapt to. CLSS hopes to further thesuccesses of first-year peer study sessionsin Foundations of Law and Torts, offeringdiscussion forums open to all students.

Publications

Of course, you can never do enoughreading so CLSS publishes the Hong KongLaw Careers Guide and The Gavel too! If you read carefully, and sift through thepictures and eye-catching advertisements, youll find some golden nuggets of knowl-edge, maybe..

Socials Enough with the job hunt and information(that youll thank us for later), you need asocial life too! CLSS events dont just end with welcome drinks, but youll continueto see us with first year breakfast, yumcha, bowling, lasertag, an end-of-semesterparty and winter ski trip! Yup, you justfound the cool kids on the block :D

O-W EEK E DITION : W HAT IS CLSS? By: Shirley Tran

CONTENTS

PAGE 1 WHAT IS CLSS?Chinese Law Students Society

PAGE 3 INTRODUCING YOUR CLSSExecutive 2012

PAGE 5 DEAR FIRST YEARS A letter from a final year student

PAGE 7 LEGAL DIGEST A summary of the latest legalnews

PAGE 9 GRADUATE DOS ANDDONTS How employers evaluategraduate applications

PAGE 10 THREE PROBLEMSThat come with being a lawstudent and how to deal withthem

PAGE 12 HOW TO MAKE NOTESUnless youre one of thosepeople that dont need to study

PAGE 13 Worlds Hardest Sudoku

PAGE 14 REASONS TO DATE A LAWSTUDENTJust in case it wasnt crazyobvious already

InspirationalProcrastination

VOLUME V, ISSUE 1 29 February 2012

The GAVEL


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HKLF AD


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VOLUME V, ISSUE 1 29 February 2011 VOLUME V, ISSUE 1 29 February 2012

Law doesnt make you crazy..

Elizabeth W, President ..Can eat my body weight in ANY food.(Followed by).. When I was young, my not-so-secret aspiration was to become a supermodel, but alas fate is one sadistic lady.

Boya H, Vice-President (Sponsorship) ..Everything is better when its free (and illegal).

Sarah L, Vice-President (Careers) ..My name is pronounced exactly like the dessert brand.

Ian C, Secretary ..I like reading judgments for fun Jks (Or ishe??)

Nicola Z, Treasurer ..I suffered my biggest disappointment in life when I failed to receive a Hogwarts acceptanceletter at the age of 11.

Joan T, Education Director ..Loves a good laugh (preferably without fallingdown any flight of stairs BAHAHA... ouch).

Sarah T, Socials Director ..Trashy TV is my forte, and anything involvinghot Asian guys Im totally in :)

Shirley T, Publications Director ..My proudest achievement is being born with a birthmark in the shape of Batman.

Alice L, IT Director ..CANT eat my body weight in anything causethen Ill inflate.

Julius C, General Executive .. When Im at uni, Im constantly searching forfood (Im shameless like that).

Joy S, General Executive ..I have a guilty pleasure of eating excessiveamounts of macarons.

Sarah O, General Executive ..Im one of those who stands right in front of afan and follows the fan as it rotates.

I NTRODUCING YOUR CLSSExecutive 2012 By: Shirley Tran


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This page has been leftblank for a Davis Polkadvertisement


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D EAR F IRST

Y EARS A letter from afinal year student By: Boya Han


At the start of my first year of uni, studying law, I: 1. Didnt know R meant the Crown. 2. Didnt know what the Crown meant. 3. Couldnt name any of the Justices that sat on the High Court. 4. Had never heard of the words mens rea, actus reus or even liability before. 5. Didnt understand the separation of powers. 6. Didnt realise there were 3 branches of power. 7. Couldnt distinguish between the Parliament and the Executive (actually, Im still a bit

fuzzy on that).8. Thought that the rule of law meant you just had to obey the law.9. Thought you could spell judgment with an e in it (i.e. judgement). 10. Didnt know that common law could have so many meanings.

Four years later, countless of readings, sleepless nights and cramming, I can perhaps not-so-proudly declare that (at least) the above 10 points are no longer holes in my knowledge.

Now, I am not so silly as to assume that all first years have no idea what studying law willinvolve, but for any of you who, when looking at your first case, think what on earth are theytalking about?, take heart. You will get there. You will go far.

Kind regards,Boya

P.S. Feel free to talk to one of our society members if you do want to find out more aboutstudying law were here to help!



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Herbert Smith


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Patent (Human) Genes

The Federal Court trail will assess the legal validity ofpatents involving genetic material in the first Australiancase of its kind.

This case is groundbreaking. No Australian court hasconsidered the question of whether isolated human genesare patentable, said Rebecca Gilsenan, MauriceBlackburn principal lawyer. The case is being run pro bono by the firm, barrister David Catterns QC andProfessor Peter Cashman of Sydney University. The case will focus on the patent over mutations to an isolatedgene known as BRCA1. When these mutations exist on theBRCA1 gene they are associated with an increased risk of

hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.There is a philosophical and ethical issue about thecommercialisation of the human body.

Merger on the Horizon

Freehills has confirmed it is in exploratory merger talks with Herbert Smith, and though no timeline has been setand nothing has been confirmed, it's expected to be amerger of equals.

A merger would bring the combined firm's lawyernumbers to about 2000 internationally. Freehills has been examining its international strategy and it isunderstood the firm has considered the possibility of alink-up with a major international firm for some time. Nodecision has been made on either sides yet.

King & Woodand Mallesons!

King & Wood, an 18-year-old firm with headquarters inBeijing, and Mallesons Stephen Jaques of Australia willmerge to become King & Wood Mallesons, headquarteredin Hong Kong. The deal would be the largest globallaw-firm merger not involving a U.S. or U.K. firm thetwo countries that long have dominated legal practice inthe West. It comes as the U.S. market for legal services isstagnant and Europe remains mired in a debt crisis.

King & Wood will function as one partnership andMallesons will remain another, while the two firms' HongKong offices will combine to form a third partnership.

Such an arrangement is intended to accommodateChinese restrictions that bar foreign law firms frompracticing domestic law there, while allowing the new venture to market itself as a one-stop shop for clientsseeking legal services across the Asian-Pacific market.

Since 1979, Chinese authorities have allowed Western lawfirms to set up offices in mainland China, albeit withnumerous restrictions. Today, foreign firms are still barred from practicing domestic law in China, thoughthey are allowed to advise on international law and on law

LEGAL D IGEST A summary of the latest legal news By: Elizabeth Wang

of their home countries.

New PPSA in effect

On 30 January 2012 the new Australian personalproperty securities regime went live. The new web basedPPS Register (found at www.ppsr.gov.au) - designed to be accessible 24/7 and with a user friendly interface -heralds the start of a fundamentally new approach todealing with security interest in almost all assets otherthan real property.

In private practice, banking and finance lawyers have

been the most directly affected by the PPS reforms. Theold learning about fixed and floating charges, legal andequitable mortgages and registration of companycharges with ASIC has been replaced with concepts of'general security agreements', circulating assets,purchase money security interests (known as PMSIs)and perfection by way of possession, control orregistration.

However, it is not just finance lawyers who are affected.Due to the substance over form approach and the broadextension of security interests, the PPS Act can impactmanufacturers and suppliers, construction contracts, just to name a few.

PPS will also have a significant impact on the litigationside of legal practice. There are likely to be a range ofcases coming before the courts in relation to priority andownership disputes.



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Minters


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GRADUATE D OS AND D ON TS How employers evaluate graduate applications By: Sarah Li

If youve just started your first year at Law School,chances are youre not going to be very interested aboutemployment opportunities after you graduate after all,graduation is five or more years away, and all that youreprobably thinking about, at the moment, is to finish thatsecond cup of coffee, while agonising over this weeks lawreadings. But when it comes to deciding on your legalcareer pathway, it is definitely worthwhile to considersome of the personal characteristics that employers will be looking for (or avoiding) in graduate applications andrsums. The key selection criteria for graduates in 2011 were: 1. Interpersonal and communication skills (written and

oral)2. Passion/Knowledge of industry/Commitment3. Critical reasoning and analytical skills/Problem

solving4. Calibre of academic results

5. Work experience6. Cultural alignment/Values fit7. Teamwork skills

Skadden

8. Emotional intelligence (incl. self-awareness,confidence, motivation)

9. Leadership skills10. Activities (incl. intra- and extra-curricular)

The least desirable traits for legal sector graduatesincluded: 1. Poor attitude/Lack of work ethic2. Lack of interpersonal and communication skills3. Arrogance/Selfishness/Aggression4. Lack of drive, motivation and initiative5. Inflexibility/Inability to accept direction6. Lack of commitment/High absenteeism7. Poor academic qualifications or results8. Poor teamwork skills9. Lack of emotional intelligence or self-awareness

This information was derived from the GraduateOutlook 2011 Report Graduate Careers Australia 2012.


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Problem 1: Readings

When you ask any law student about how their studies aregoing, the most likely response youll get will besomewhere along the lines of Zzzomg! Theres sooooomany readings. Its impossible to keep up with them! Alaw students constant complaining and whining over his/her readings wont ever stop over the entire length of theirdegree and one wonders how someone so anxious andfrantic could possibly make it through 5 years of lawschool without developing some sort of mental problem(to be honest, none of us make it out completely sane :P).So how do all law students deal with this issue?Thankfully, there are a few things one could do to cope with the workload and get through with decent marks(though there will be people you meet who man up and dothe right thing and usually get awesome marks, which isideal but not always practical).

Solution 1: Share notes with your friends You may have thought that being a law student meanthermitting 24/7 and having no social life. While this ispartly true, sharing notes with some of your friends couldsubstantially help you reduce the amount of time spent onthinking and digesting the materials given to you. This inturn generates more free time, which can be used at yourown discretion (e.g. sleeping, partying and etc).

Solution 2: Paying attention to the lecturer/tutor If you thought leaving school meant not being able to getin trouble for not paying attention in class doublenegative lol (if you dont get this you will soon enough) you were wrong! This is because lecturers and tutors tendto give good advice on what material is likely to be heavilyassessed on and what is not. So, if youre short on timeand cant do all the readings, it would be prudent for youto concentrate on the important materials.

Problem 2: Getting up in the morning

If you are unlucky enough to be given a dreaded 9 oclockstart (the standard for waking up time at uni is muchlater than for school), getting up in the morning could bea major problem for you (as it was for me) - however, thisis usually a direct result of the first problem so if youlisten to the tips there, you may not even have thisproblem. For the typical law student, the body clock stopsfunctioning and the standard alarm wont usually work,so what to do?

Solution 1: Put your alarm at a hard to reach placePutting an alarm on your bedside table may not cut itanymore so more drastic measures need to be taken. This

could include putting your alarm on top of your bookshelfor somewhere inside your closet so it forces you to get outof bed and be on your feet, first thing in the morning!

THREE P ROBLEMS That come with being a law student and how to deal with them By: Julius Chaisumdet

Solution 2: Sleep early This sounds really obvious but getting as much sleep as you can in law school will go a long way because it issuch a scarce luxury. Its surprising how many lawstudents will be on the computer into the wee hours ofthe night, doing essentially nothing.

Problem 3: Caffeine addiction

Coffee, coffee and more coffee (and perhaps Red Bull forlate nights). For many of us, to keep ourselves buzzingthroughout the day, caffeine will be the way to go. We allknow how bad caffeine is for our health but wellconsume it anyways to be at maximum concentrationand to avoid constant daydreams while doing thosedamn readings!!! So how does one stop drifting in andout of sleep during the middle of the day?

Solution 1: Sleep Again, I cant stress the importance of getting as muchsleep as you can during law school. It will do wonders to your day and will put that extra spring in your step.

Solution 2: Morning exercise Yep. You read it right. Exercising in the morning is agreat way to get your day going. Not only does exercisegive you endorphins (giving you more :D), it will help you wake up feeling fresh and energised for a full daysstudy/work. The type of exercise you do is up to you, beit going for a jog, swimming some laps or going to the

gym. By doing this, daily coffee trips wont be needed,ridding that dreaded caffeine out of yoursystem and saving you money. Plus, it doesnt hurt tokeep in good physical shape.


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Problem 1: Readings

When you ask any law student about how their studies aregoing, the most likely response youll get will be somewherealong the lines of Zzzomg! Theres sooooo many readings. Itsimpossible to keep up with them! A law students constantcomplaining and whining over his/her readings wont ever stopover the entire length of their degree and one wonders howsomeone so anxious and frantic could possibly make it through5 years of law school without developing some sort of mentalproblem (to be honest, none of us make it out completelysane :P). So how do all law students deal with this issue?Thankfully, there are a few things one could do to cope with the

workload and get through with decent marks (though there will be people you meet who man up and do the right thing andusually get awesome marks, which is ideal but not alwayspractical).

Solution 1: Share notes with your friends You may have thought that being a law student meanthermitting 24/7 and having no social life. While this is partlytrue, sharing notes with some of your friends couldsubstantially help you reduce the amount of time spent onthinking and digesting the materials given to you. This in turngenerates more free time, which can be used at your owndiscretion (e.g. sleeping, partying and etc).

Solution 2: Paying attention to the lecturer/tutor If you thought leaving school meant not being able to get introuble for not paying attention in class double negative lol (if

you dont get this you will soon enough) you were wrong!

This is because lecturers and tutors tend to give good advice on what material is likely to be heavily assessed on and what isnot. So, if youre short on time and cant do all the readings, it

would be prudent for you to concentrate on the importantmaterials.Problem 2: Getting up in the morning

If you are unlucky enough to be given a dreaded 9 oclock start(the standard for waking up time at uni is much later than forschool), getting up in the morning could be a major problem for

you (as it was for me) - however, this is usually a direct result ofthe first problem so if you listen to the tips there, you may not

even have this problem. For the typical law student, the bodyclock stops functioning and the standard alarm wont usually work, so what to do?

Solution 1: Put your alarm at a hard to reach placePutting an alarm on your bedside table may not cut it anymoreso more drastic measures need to be taken. This could includeputting your alarm on top of your bookshelf or somewhereinside your closet so it forces you to get out of bed and be on

your feet, first thing in the morning!

Solution 2: Sleep early This sounds really obvious but getting as much sleep as you canin law school will go a long way because it is such a scarceluxury. Its surprising how many law students will be on thecomputer into the wee hours of the night, doing essentiallynothing.

Problem 3: Caffeine addiction

Coffee, coffee and more coffee (and perhaps Red Bull for latenights). For many of us, to keep ourselves buzzing throughoutthe day, caffeine will be the way to go. We all know how badcaffeine is for our health but well consume it anyways to be atmaximum concentration and to avoid constant daydreams whiledoing those damn readings!!! So how does one stop drifting inand out of sleep during the middle of the day?

Solution 1: Sleep Again, I cant stress the importance of getting as much sleep as you can during law school. It will do wonders to your day and will put that extra spring in your step.

Solution 2: Morning exercise Yep. You read it right. Exercising in the morning is a great wayto get your day going. Not only does exercise give youendorphins (giving you more :D), it will help you wake upfeeling fresh and energised for a full days study/work. The typeof exercise you do is up to you, be it going for a jog, swimmingsome laps or going to the gym. By doing this, daily coffee trips

wont be needed, ridding that dreaded caffeine out of yoursystem and saving you money. Plus, it doesnt hurt to keep ingood physical shape.


THREE P ROBLEMS That come with being a law student and how to deal with them By: Julius Chaisumdet Work@Singapore


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As a student of law, having hundreds of pages of readings a week is inevitable. No matter how much you lament,moan, or cry about it, theres no denying that the words in the textbook have to somehow permeate into your brain(without just going in one eye and out the other).

While Im sorry to say to first years that no, readings generally do not become more fun as time passes, there aresmart ways of going about doing your readings and taking notes.

The tips below may not score you the best marks, but they will give you the basic framework to making sure all yourreadings get done without leaving it till the last minute. The most important thing to remember when reading andmaking your notes is that you want to minimise the work you need to do come STUVAC and exam time. This meansminimalising and only noting important concepts and ideas, and the facts and details that will help you associate de-tails and principles to a case.

Here are some tips that will help you if you are time-poor and desperate, but want to have fairly decent studymaterials by the time STUVAC rolls around: 1. Do all the starred readings first (or if youre like me, only do the starred readings) 2. Give each page a quick skim and identify important parts before reading over it again, highlighting only the

important parts.3. When making notes, write them in your own words in a way that you will understand.4. Do your readings and notes summary before class, and annotate or fix them during/after lectures to make sure

that you have identified the key principles (or take really good notes during class and do your readings afterward, which makes the reading process faster as you can ignore all irrelevant text and judgments).

5. Keep your notes concise, so you know they will be easy to study off in future. When you feel that a summary has become too long, dont be afraid to cut some out, even though the study freak inside you wont let you, because itmight be important.

6. Split each weeks readings with your friends and share notes. Law students may be incredibly competitive, but itmight help to share the burden and turn that competitive spirit into a positive energy.

7. Get notes from your friends in higher years and complement them with your own readings and notes from class.8. Keep up with your readings weekly and do not leave them all until STUVAC. That is a time for revision and

studying, not for opening your textbook for the first time in the whole semester.

If worst comes to worse, know what to read and what not to read, based on the focus in your seminars, lectures andtutorials. It may seem like everyonearound you knows every obiter ofevery judge, including dissentingones, in every case, but know yourlimits and be realistic about your

goals. Uni life is more than study, andits important to maintain a balance between work, life and friends. If youfeel overwhelmed and need to keep yourself sane, then the above tips mayhelp.

However, as a student who doesntexactly achieve ideal marks, I do placea disclaimer on all of the above tips:they express my personal view andexperience only and in no way shouldany student rely on them to do well in

the incredibly competitive andcut-throat environment of law school.


H OW TO MAKE NOTES Unless youre one of those people that dont need to study By: Sarah Trau


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W ORLD S H ARDEST S UDOKU We figured you were all super smart, give this a crack :)

Read about it:http://www.kristanix.com/sudokuepic/aiescargot.gif


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The Chinese Law Students Society (CLSS) was founded in 2004. We are a growing,dynamic society dedicated to enhancing student life and providing opportunities on a globalscale. We host talks, workshops and events with multinational law firms with the aim of

furthering the ambitions of our members. We support the academic pursuits of our mem-

bers through our extensive education program. Our social events are not only fun, but areexcellent opportunities to make friends and foster life-long networks.

CHINESE LAW STUDENTS SOCIETYCOLOPHONThe Gavel is published by theChinese Law Students Societyand distributed free-of-chargeat the University of Sydney.

PRESIDENTElizabeth Wang

EDITOR Shirley Tran

CONTRIBUTORSJulius ChaisumdetBoya HanSarah LiShirley Tran

Sarah TrauElizabeth Wang

SUBSCRIPTION For previous editions of TheGavel visit our website:

www.usydclss.com


1. Law students are smart, and everyone knows that smart is sexy! 2. Law students study very hard and play much harder3. They will protect you (even if youre wrong) 4. They can give you free legal consultation5. Law books can be used as an extra coaster, leverage or just to put something on6. They can stay up all night if you want them to7. Law students can hold their liquor (refer #2)8. They know what you want to hear and say it9. Law students are (taught to be) very brave10. Law students dress well (when not in panic mode) and thus make good trophy dates11. Law students are/will become rich.. Maybe..12. They are very good with their tongues ;)

R EASONS TO DATE A LAW STUDENT Just in case it wasnt crazy obvious already ;) By: Shirley Tran

InspirationalProcrastination Things to check out:

Youtube WongFu Productions Recess Courthttp://www.youtube.com/watch? v=0EK8j96IXuI

Courtroom Quotes

http://www.rinkworks.com/said/courtroom.shtml

Springfields top lawyer is yellow. Chinese law students are yellow.Coincidence?

I think not!!
http://www.usydclss.com/http://www.usydclss.com/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EK8j96IXuIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EK8j96IXuIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EK8j96IXuIhttp://www.rinkworks.com/said/courtroom.shtmlhttp://www.rinkworks.com/said/courtroom.shtmlhttp://www.rinkworks.com/said/courtroom.shtmlhttp://www.rinkworks.com/said/courtroom.shtmlhttp://www.rinkworks.com/said/courtroom.shtmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EK8j96IXuIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EK8j96IXuIhttp://www.usydclss.com/


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The Gavel Vol5 Issue1 2012 Final

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