I would like to congratulate you on your selection as a student in the Law School. As you know, admission to any law school is competitive and students have to earn the right to study at Murdoch Law School. You have been selected because you have done well in your previous studies. However, I would like to point out that a high TER score is not a guarantee that you will do equally as well in Law School. There are many characteristics, in addition to doing well on examinations, which will determine how successful you will be as a law student. These characteristics include dedication, perseverance, commitment and diligence. If you want to excel in Law School, there is no room for complacency or sloppiness. Hence, I expect you to work hard and conscientiously. And whilst the Law School is inevitably a competitive environment, you should not lose sight of the fact that some of the aptitudes we are trying to instill in you are collegiality, empathy, compassion, and a willingness to help members of the community who are less well off than yourself.

Murdoch Law School was established in 1991. The Foundation Dean was Professor Ralph Simmonds, who has since become a Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. Many of our graduates have taken their rightful place by becoming partners in prestigious law firms, working as judges or prosecutors; others work in government or in businesses. Many of our former students have won prestigious scholarships to study overseas for advanced law degrees. We are proud of our alumni: they are role models and Ambassadors for this Law School. I hope that one day you too will be an Ambassador for the Law School.

Murdoch Law School has excellent facilities: a new building, a state of the art Electronic Moot Court, computer labs, lecture rooms, and a very good Law Library. But I would like to remind you that the Law School, regardless of its physical facilities, is only ever as good as its staff and students. As far as staff members are concerned, you will be taught by lecturers, who collectively have built an enviable reputation within the State and Australia for excellence in teaching. All of them are genuinely interested in the educational welfare and intellectual enhancement of our students. Most of my colleagues are here today; I will introduce them to you later and you will have opportunities to meet them during morning tea.

I would like to stress that our student body is an integral and vital part of the Law School. Without you, we could not possibly achieve our objectives. I have already alerted you to the need to work diligently and to take your studies seriously. To that effect, you will have to learn a different language, the language of law, justice, equity, and reason. But we also want you to become passionate about justice, human rights, ethics and fair play. We expect students to behave with propriety at all times and to be respectful of their colleagues and staff, and indeed, our guests and visitors. Although my colleagues and I will follow your intellectual, social and professional development with great interest, ultimately it is important for you to take responsibility for your own studies and development. That means that you should not blame others if your academic results are not as good as they could or should be!

I would like you to be proud of your Law School because it will be your home during the next couple of years. Therefore, it is expected that you will care about your Law School facilities in the same way you care about your own home. The School is a non-smoking facility. Smoking is only allowed outside the building: to that effect, the School installed ashtrays located at the entrance to the building. As you will no doubt agree, the School will fail to display a professional appearance if cigarette butts, or rubbish, were to be found on the ground at the entrance to the building, or indeed in the building itself.. Unfortunately, even though I make this point regularly, my colleagues and I find that responsible behaviour in this regard sometimes takes a backseat to convenience. However, I know that you will do the right thing at all times because, ultimately, a law school will only flourish if students care about the School and its environment. This instruction is not just meant for the incoming class, but is also aimed at the Murdoch Student Law Society that occupies offices in the Law School building.

Many of you would have been struck by the seemingly unstoppable proliferation of movies and soap operas about law firms and legal education. Although I realise that not many of you would have been born before 1973, some of you may have seen The Paper Chase, a movie made in that year with John Houseman playing the indomitable Professor Kingsley. Professor Kingsley expelled students from Harvard University Law School because they came unprepared to class. In one scene of the movie, he asked a student to recite the facts of a case. When the student admitted that he had not read the case, Professor Kingsley took a dime (i.e. 10 cents) out of his wallet and he handed the dime to the student, saying “Ring your mother and tell her, you won’t be a lawyer after all.” Whilst we certainly won’t imitate Professor Kingsley’s approach to education at this Law School, my colleagues and I nevertheless want to impress upon you the need to be diligent. In this context, to paraphrase Confucius, it is worth mentioning that a superior person is modest and moderate in his or her speech, but will exceed in his or actions.

Murdoch Law School offers you an intellectually stimulating educational experience in order to prepare you for the domestic and international practice of law. The School maintains a curriculum that meets the expectations of modern society and is adapted to the needs of the legal profession. Our students also obtain practical experience in our law clinic (SCALES), working directly with clients and dealing with the real-life issues that shape our society. In addition, the School offers opportunities to students to be associated with our specialised research centres, the Western Australian Institute of Dispute Management, which actually conducts mediations and arbitrations, and the Asia Pacific Intellectual Property Law Institute, known as APIPLI.

At Murdoch, senior students may apply for membership of the Murdoch Moot Court Bench. The Bench is a student body that promotes excellence in students’ written and oral advocacy skills. In due course, you will be able to study international units to complement your education in domestic law. These units include Comparative Law, International Trade Law, Aviation Law, Public International Law, WTO Law, Indonesian Law to name a few. A few weeks ago, the Law School hosted its second Summer Programme in Law, which enabled students to access units which are not available during the year. Units in this Programme included Comparative Contract Law, International Taxation Law, Media Law and Islamic Law. It is expected that the School’s third Summer Programme in Law will be conducted in January/February 2009 with units in European Union Law, Singaporean Law and Sports Law, among others, all taught by eminent overseas and interstate Professors.

Murdoch Law School also offers opportunities to our student body to experience a truly international education enabling them to engage in the international practice of law. For example, at Murdoch, dedicated students will be eligible to apply for participation in major international mooting competitions, such as the well-known Philip Jessup Public International Law Moot and the prestigious Willem C Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. The School also organises the International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot, the finals of which will be held at Murdoch Law School in June 2008, and the International Virtual Moot. Our students are also encouraged to study Chinese Law at the University of Zhengzhou in P R China. Our Chinese programme in Zhengzhou was offered for the first time in January of this year. Whilst the programme was a major successful milestone for your Law School, we could not possibly have predicted the incredibly bad weather in China, with freezing temperatures and lots of snow. But the study of law is a great adventure that enables you to pioneer your future by discovering new insights into the nature of society and by widening your intellectual horizons. It is also hoped that as from 2009, the Law School will be able to offer an imaginative Summer Programme in Law at the University of Macerata, Italy

The School maintains close ties with the legal profession and encourages practising lawyers to be involved in our teaching and research programmes. For example, on 22 October 2007, the Hon. Justice John Dyson Heydon of the High Court of Australia addressed law students in the Freehills Electronic Moot Court on the topic relating to the History of the Australian Constitution. It is expected that in October 2008, the Hon. Justice Susan Kiefel of the High Court will visit the Law School. Throughout your studies, eminent lawyers will visit the School and share their knowledge and insights with you. In fact, at 10 am today, the Honourable Justice Michael Murray, Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia will address you. I expect he will encourage you to avail yourself of the opportunities that exist in this outstanding law school, and to embark with enthusiasm on your chosen career.

The Law School collaborates closely with the Murdoch Students Law Society (MSLS) to ensure that students are satisfied customers of the School’s educational services. I look forward to working closely with the MSLS in 2008! You will be briefed after morning tea by the President of the Society, Courtney Robertson. The MSLS will be organising tours of the University, the Law School and the Law Library later on.

All members of staff are committed to providing you with access to an excellent, exciting and intellectually rigorous legal education. It is now my pleasure to introduce to you our dedicated academic and general staff of the School.

*****

Incoming class of 2008: there are open-ended degrees of excellence. I like to encourage you to strive to achieve excellence in your law studies and in everything you do. I would like to impress upon you the need to use your time in the Law School for constructive educational, social and professional purposes and to take responsibility for your own learning. I implore you to contribute to a culture of achievement within the School. Incoming class of 2008: welcome to the best! Welcome to Murdoch Law School.