
The Future of Australian Legal Education Conference, Aug 11-13, presented by The Australian Law Journal
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Pearce Report on Australian Law Schools, the Australian Academy of Law (AAL) and The Australian Law Journal are presenting a National Conference on the Future of Australian Legal Education, with the internationally acclaimed Professor Martha C. Nussbaum, University of Chicago Law School, as the keynote speaker. The conference is sponsored by the AAL and ALJ publisher Thomson Reuters, and supported by the Law Council of Australia, and will provide a forum for an informed, national discussion on the future of legal study and practice in Australia, covering practitioners, academics, judges and, of course, students.
Gender equality among barristers before the High Court
The subject of gender equality has been a hot topic in the media with recent coverage on state and national programs to tackle the bias in the legal profession. The question of why so few women appear before the High Court, and why even fewer have speaking roles has been raised by Professor George Williams ...more

New Tasmania Section coming soon to The Australian Law Journal
Thomson Reuters is pleased to announce the appointment of the Hon Justice Stephen Estcourt as the Section Editor for a brand new Tasmania Section in The Australian Law Journal. Justice Escourt was appointed as a Magistrate in 1990, after 15 years as a barrister and solicitor with the firm of Archer Bushby in Launceston. He left ...more

Are law school entry requirements testing for the wrong skills? This month in ALJ
In last month’s editorial for The Australian Law Journal, General Editor Acting Justice Peter W Young AO wondered whether law schools are producing too many lawyers: read the full text here. In the July Part of the ALJ, Stephen Magee writes a letter to the editor, suggesting that great results in tertiary entrance exams don’t necessarily make great lawyers: ...more

Celebrating Library & Information Week 2014
We thought we’d mark Library & Information Week 2014 by taking a look at our editorial team’s oft-used and well-loved onsite library. Located on the fifth floor of a converted 19th century woolstore in Pyrmont, Sydney, our humble little library boasts a massive 6700 titles in its automated catalogue, with a further 590 archival boxes of historical material. ...more
Sensational journalism and the fair trial: From the ALJ Archive
Recently there has been much debate on whether defendants can receive a fair trial in high-profile cases. It is now a matter of course that trials involving celebrities or public figures such as Oscar Pistorius, or the infamous OJ Simpson prosecution will attract public interest. However other crimes and cases grip the public attention from ...more
From the ALJ Archive: Modernising witchcraft
The Australian Law Journal has been recording and analysing legal developments since it started publishing in 1927. Alongside wide-scale changes in the law, it also includes some of the law’s more interesting quirks and unexpected developments. We’ve had a look through the online backset on Westlaw AU to find some highlights. In 1951, the ...more

From the ALJ Archive: Power to police to impose fines
The Australian Law Journal has been recording and analysing legal developments since it started publishing in 1927. We’ve had a look through the online backset on Westlaw AU to find some highlights. In 1928, The Australian Law Journal was still in its first year of publication, and NSW debated whether police should able ...more

Book Review: Interpretation and Use of Legal Sources – The Laws of Australia
Interpretation and Use of Legal Sources – The Laws of Australia, Perry Herzfeld, Thomas Prince and Stephen Tully, Thomson Reuters, Sydney, 2013, 764 pages + cvii tables: ISBN 9780455230979. Softcover $139.95. Reviewed by the Hon Mr Dyson Heydon AC. This work deals with the principles applying to the construction of the Commonwealth, State and Territory ...more