Australian Law and Justice Sector Reflection Report, Semester 2

This report presents a student's reflection on the law and justice sector, prompted by a hypothetical case scenario involving a recent law graduate. The reflection begins with an analysis of the graduate's ethical breaches, including substance abuse, academic dishonesty, and a lack of accountability. The report then transitions to an overview of the Australian legal system, its structure, and the roles of various legal professionals, emphasizing the importance of honesty in the legal profession. Furthermore, the student expresses a strong interest in private legal practice, detailing the different types of work involved and the potential for career progression. The report concludes with the student's aspiration to become an individual practitioner and the motivations behind this career choice, highlighting the challenges and rewards of the legal profession. The assignment also includes references to relevant legal literature.

Running head: REFLECTION ON LAW AND JUSTICE SECTOR
Reflection on Law and Justice Sector
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1REFLECTION ON LAW AND JUSTICE SECTOR
Part A
Question 1
From the given case scenario, I could ascertain that Miss Cassandra Rufus has been
quite careless in her graduation days. From trying out cocaine with her boyfriend, to
neglecting her studies and then taking help from an unknown source for writing her ‘take-
home exam’ in exchange of money, portrays that she had led a reckless life. In addition, the
point where she did not object to Tristan taking all the blame about copying her paper shows
that she has been unethical as well.
Question 2
Honesty is the key element for any professional life. Honesty not only forms a value
in communication but also builds the foundation for confidence and trust, over himself, the
co-workers and clients. Honesty helps to build a better clientele as a happy client would bring
two others with him, while a dissatisfied client would never return. Therefore, honesty is
extremely important in the legal profession and in any other profession, as the case may be.
Question 3
To my opinion, the outcome with Tristan was sad, yet fair and reasonable. I could say
this because they way Tristan carried out his graduation days partying and indulging in
reckless drug abuse would actually have took him no further in life. In addition, he influenced
Cassandra to join him as well, which is even more incorrect than anything. Relying on an
unknown person and paying money to him to write his and Cassandra’s take-home exam was
the final nail in the coffin.

2REFLECTION ON LAW AND JUSTICE SECTOR
Question 4
To my knowledge, the first ethical dimension involved in this case is the reckless use
of cocaine by both of them. Then the second one has to be taking the help of an unknown
source to help him write their take home exam. And lastly, Cassandra’s silence to the
professor when she heard that Tristan had admitted that he had copied her assignment which
was not true.

3REFLECTION ON LAW AND JUSTICE SECTOR
Part B
The Australian legal system is the governing system that secures the peace, security
and order in the society. Working in the legal sector gives one the ability to contribute to
one’s own nation. To begin with analysing the law and justice, it is important to understand
the legal system of Australia. Australian law and justice system is based on English Common
Law. There are overall nine different legal systems in Australia in which eight individual
systems are devoted to the individual states and territories and one major federal justice
system that governs Australia as a whole1. The High Court being the highest court, hears
cases that has been appealed from the lower courts. The High Court is responsible for
interpretation and application of different laws and legislation in the entire country. Different
types of cases are tried in the different categories of courts like the Magistrate Courts that
covers family disputes, bankruptcy, trade issues and cases on unlawful discrimination. There
are Tribunal for areas like employment law, equal opportunity and administrative appeals,
land valuation, and others, which are also a valuable addition to the Australian Legal System.
It is the Advocates and legal counsels who pleads for the litigants in the court of law.
Lawyers are called as Solicitors or Barristers, according to the place of their work and the
kind of work that they usually pursue. Certain typical work for the lawyers are like: a)
consultations and giving legal advice; b) drafting legal documents; c) negotiation and
mediation; d) representing clients at a court of law or at a tribunal; e) research work2. To my
knowledge, Lawyers works may opt for individual private counsel practice or may join a law
firm for attorney practice; government departments require law personnel in order to
safeguard the government against any public litigation or against cases instituted by private
1 Gifford, Donald. Understanding the Australian legal system. (Routledge-Cavendish, 1998)
2 Liu, Sida. "The legal profession as a social process: A theory on lawyers and globalization." (2013) 38.3 Law
& Social Inquiry 670-693

4REFLECTION ON LAW AND JUSTICE SECTOR
entities. Big or small corporate entities require legal help, almost on a day to day basis for
answering legal concerns of the entity that might be dealing with other corporate entities.
I believe that the society today cannot function without the assistance of a legal
representative, due to the growing complexities in the society. From a simple transaction of
buying a piece of land or a house to matrimonial disputes or going more complex into the
criminal matters like theft, assault or murder, every sphere of life seeks legal help in order to
restore law, order and justice in the society. Law and justice is the answer to all queries,
which is built to resolve every kind of issues that might crop up in the society. In this regard,
it is the legal professionals like the solicitors, barristers, law clerks, legal secretary, legal
executives, and the judicial professionals, even though are executing different sections of a
legal issues, yet are all striving to help a litigant or petitioner to get justice3. By such
significance of the profession, I could ascertain that the legal profession is of utmost
importance, to the people and the society as a whole.
To my interest, Private Legal Practice is extremely intriguing where lawyers are
meant to focus on transactional. Advisory and litigious work all together, as they work
independently4. Transactional work refers to the negotiation and preparation of deals with the
clients and different vendors for purchase or lease of real estate for settling up an office,
licence agreement, et cetera. Advisory work refers to the research and drafting of legal
documents for preparing for a particular litigation. Litigation work, on the other hand,
requires the legal practitioner to prepare for cases for trial, appeal and matters of alternative
dispute resolution like arbitration or negotiation. Sole practitioners gets the scope to develop
their practice expertise across a wide range of legal arena, unlike the attorneys working for a
firm who are assigned a litigations of a particular genre time and again, for demarcating or
3 Liu, Sida. "The legal profession as a social process: A theory on lawyers and globalization." (2013) 38.3 Law
& Social Inquiry 670-693.
4 Nance, Jason P., and Paul E. Madsen. "An Empirical Analysis of Diversity in the Legal Profession." (2014)
47 Conn. L. Rev. 271.

5REFLECTION ON LAW AND JUSTICE SECTOR
marking the specialty of every attorney working in the firm. To my belief, growth
opportunity as a legal practitioner is narrower in a law firm in comparison to private practice,
as it offers the challenge to comes across and take up different sort of litigations, without
excessive screening.
I aspire to be an individual practitioner for the different aspects to this profession
attracts me greatly. As I found out from several legal journals, the career progression for
private practicing lawyers initiates as a summer clerks while one is in the final year of his law
school, then promoting to a graduate lawyer to associate to senior associate to a partner. A
partner is ought to receive a portion of the gross profit earned by his firm, which however
makes him takes the liability of the firm’s risk. Although at the initial stage, I have been told
that private practicing lawyers take home less income, in comparison to the ones who work
for a law form or a corporate entity, nonetheless, with growing age and years of practice, the
is no limit to earning for a private practicing lawyer. More than the monetary factor, what
really intrigues me is that I, as an individual practitioner would be thrown different
challenges every day with each different cases that I would come across, with no boundaries
or restriction to approach them. I would take the complete liability of my cases and would
best my best to achieve justice for my clients.

6REFLECTION ON LAW AND JUSTICE SECTOR
References
Gifford, Donald. Understanding the Australian legal system. (Routledge-Cavendish, 1998)
Liu, Sida. "The legal profession as a social process: A theory on lawyers and globalization."
(2013) 38.3 Law & Social Inquiry 670-693
Nance, Jason P., and Paul E. Madsen. "An Empirical Analysis of Diversity in the Legal
Profession." (2014) 47 Conn. L. Rev. 271