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Nominations for positions on the 2010/2011 LSS committee are now open!

Nominations are now being taken for the following positions:

To nominate for any of these positions, please fill in a nomination form and return to the secretary (by email: lss-secretary@unimelb.edu.au) by 5pm on Friday 3 September 2010.

If you’re interested in running for an LSS position you are encouraged to meet members of the current committee this Tuesday 31 August 2010 from 1pm in the level one function area.

Below you’ll also find a summary of each position, which will hopefully give you a better idea of what role you might be best suited to.

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President
The president is the first port-of-call for all external bodies, such as law firms/sponsorship, the media, faculty (the dean, deputy dean, associate dean and others), and other Melbourne University student societies. The president also represents Melbourne University at the Australian Law Students' Association (ALSA) and sits as a member of the Victorian Council of Law Students' Societies (VCLSS).

With very significant help from the vice-president, the president oversees the internal workings of the committee, ensuring all portfolios are meeting deadlines, expected quality standards and budget requirements. Whilst the vice-president takes care of the more ‘micro’ aspects of this management, the president concentrates on the more ‘macro’ level of LSS guidance.

The presence of the vice-president role means the workload of the president is more manageable, and should be more feasible for JD students.

It is important to note that the president is usually involved in the process of securing sponsorship from law firms and other relevant organisations. This traditionally occurs in January, and involves meetings with HR representatives. The president should be in Melbourne in January, as well as both semesters of the year.

Any questions can be directed to Romy Faulkner. Please don’t hesitate to ask -  lss-president@unimelb.edu.au

Vice-presidents (JD and LLB)
The vice-presidents are responsible for assisting the president in all aspects of managing the society. Responsibilities may include helping to secure sponsorship, acting as a point of contact for sponsors throughout the year, providing regular oversight and support to the various portfolios, as well as any other tasks necessary to ensure the smooth operation of the committee.

If you require any further information, you are encouraged to email David Yang at lss-vicepresident@unimelb.edu.au.

Secretary
The LSS secretary oversees the general administration and practical functioning of the committee. They are also the person to go to for questions about committee events and general information. In particular, the secretary organises elections, meetings (including the Annual General Meeting) and supports all portfolios with events, publications and any problems they might have. Room bookings go through the secretary, as do other facilities requirements, so that the LSS can go about its work as smoothly as possible.

In the event of the president and vice-president being unavailable for a general or committee meeting, the secretary will chair that meeting. The president and vice-president may also delegate work to the secretary when their commitments and work load require it.

The secretary is also the public officer of the committee, so prepares all the legal documents to comply with the committee’s duties as an incorporated association.
 
There is also scope for the secretary to organise their own initiatives if they so wish. The upcoming ‘Great Debate - Law vs Engineering’ will provide an example of this in 2010.
 
If you have any further questions about the role of secretary, don’t hesitate to email Simon Breheny at lss-secretary@unimelb.edu.au .

Treasurer
The primary role of the treasurer is to manage and monitor the LSS' cash flow throughout the year, which includes drawing up an annual budget, keeping financial records using MYOB, authorising all payments made out of the LSS bank account, and submitting Business Activity Statements to the Australian Tax Office. The treasurer also plays an active role in securing sponsorship from law firms and other organisations. Sponsorship meetings traditionally happen throughout January, however the treasurer will need to start preparing the prospectus and contacting firms in December. It is therefore necessary for the treasurer to be in Melbourne during (most of) this period.

Any questions can be directed to Hadi Mazloum lss-treasurer@unimelb.edu.au

Activities director/s
Being an activities director with the LSS is both fun and rewarding. The main assignment for first semester will be the Law Ball. This event requires careful, early planning and good communication with both your partner for the activities portfolio and the rest of the committee. If you stay organised, however, the night itself will be extremely satisfying. There will also be lunchtime BBQs to organise every few weeks during both semesters. As long as a couple of days before each one you buy the drinks and place an order for sausages (or, if the weather is looking like it will be ugly, pizzas), they will be very cruisey. The rest of committee will help you set-up and clean-up on the day if asked.
 
Activities directors are given a lot of freedom by the LSS committee to try out new ideas for events. This year we have introduced a few first-time events, including a winery tour, cocktail night and day at the races. Another fresh activity brought in by the boys last year is the Battle of the Bands, which is now shaping up as the biggest activities project on the calendar for semester two. The position is suited to outgoing candidates who love to socialise and meet new people.

If you require any further information, you are encouraged to email David and Trystan at lss-activities@unimelb.edu.au.

Careers director/s
The careers portfolio covers all of the Law Student Society’s careers focused activities: at the core, these consist of the Seasonal Clerkship Seminars, Meet the Profession cocktail evening, the Seasonal Clerkship Guide and, in second semester, the Careers Guidebook. While these are highly in demand and tend to remain fairly constant over time, the position also allows for a substantial amount of tailoring: for example, this year, we collaborated with the equality portfolio to produce the Beyond Law School festival in response to student demand to more variety in our events. We also assist students on an ad hoc basis with any questions they may have about the clerkship process, career options or admissions requirements. In this respect, as well as in organising events, we are well-supported by the Careers Office. The position allows you to get to know a wide variety of legal fields, meet many new people both within and outside law school, and work collaboratively with the rest of the committee. The position does entail a lot of responsibility, a need to manage your time well and a fair amount of hard work, but is in the end well worth the effort.

If you require any further information, you are encouraged to email Anita Das and Frankie Barbour at lss-careers@unimelb.edu.au.

Competitions director/s
The primary role of the competitions directors is to oversee the different competitions within the competitions portfolio. These include mooting, witness examination, negotiation, client interview, paper & oral and letter of advice. This year we also added the international humanitarian law mooting competition and the mooting league to the portfolio. This is achieved through coordinating with the individual competition coordinators to ensure smooth and efficient operation of all competitions, and drafting and changing the competition rules/policies if required. Additionally, the Competitions Guidebook was revived this year, thus the competition directors would act as co-editors for this publication. The directors are also responsible for organising the venues and dates of the grand finals.

If you require any further information, you are encouraged to email Mel Lok and David Park at lss-competitions@unimelb.edu.au.

Education directors
The primary role of education directors is to promote and protect the interests of all Melbourne Law students. Through regular meetings with associate deans Ann O'Connell and Pip Nicholson we put students’ needs on the agenda and represent issues to the law faculty that individual students may not feel comfortable doing themselves. In addition to representing students, we are also responsible for producing the Law Students' Guidebook, which involves compiling subject reviews for all LLB and JD compulsory and optional subjects, and organising the Student Tutorial Service, whereby we recruit high-achieving students to teach a 1 hour tutorial from week 5 until swotvac. In addition, we are also responsible for organising the Sir Anthony Mason Lecture, an annual lecture delivered by a highly regarded member of the legal profession.

This year we also introduced a new initiative, Health and Wellbeing Guidebook, which included a diverse range of articles relating to work life balance, stress management, and other wellbeing issues.

It should be noted that although students will be running separately for either the LLB or JD education director position, successful candidates will need to work very closely and very well with their counterpart in the role.

Any questions may be directed to Brendan or Mollie - lss-education@unimelb.edu.au.

Equality director/s
Key Tasks:

Responsibilities:

Interested in finding out more? Email Pen and Bruce at lss-equality@unimelb.edu.au.


Environment officer/s
Environmental challenges are not only prominent in public and political debate, but are also increasingly recognised to be multidimensional and complex. One of the predominant roles of the environment officers is to engage with the student body in a manner that raises awareness as to the complexity of environmental issues and the challenges faced by society in light of growing concerns over ecological sustainable development. In the past two years the environment portfolio has raised awareness of environmental concerns through a series of guest lecturers. Speakers have included Senator Bob Brown, as well as Professor Ross Garnaut. Less formal events have included environmentally themed movie nights. Being an environment officer also means engaging with staff in the Melbourne Law School in a bid to make practices within the Law Building more environmentally friendly and sustainable. It is an extremely rewarding role that has brought many opportunities to converse and meet with a diverse range of people who are passionate about the environment.

There is great potential in the environment portfolio, especially given the current political, social and legal debates that are occurring. The environment officers of 2010 hope that the next environment team of 2011 will build on the current platform, providing students with a forum for new debate and student discourse. As we embark upon another semester of law, consider becoming involved in the environment portfolio. Not only does it provide you with wonderful opportunities to engage with the important issues confronting our planet, but it provides a constant source of inspiration.

If you are interested in becoming environment officer of 2011, feel free to email us at lss-environment@unimelb.edu.au.

Queer officer/s
The main role of the queer officer/s as part of the Melbourne University Law Students' Society is to provide support, improve visibility, build community and enhance the general well-being of queer-identifying Law students.

There are two key areas in which the queer officer/s fulfil this function: advocacy and social events.

In terms of advocacy, it is the role of the queer officer/s to look out for the well-being of queer-identifying Law students in all parts of their study at Melbourne Law School. This might take the form of assisting students with grievances about homophobic bullying, or providing support and advice about how students can lobby the Law School for more gender/queer oriented optional subjects. The queer officer/s are a point of contact with whom queer-identifying students can approach about improving their academic experience at Melbourne Law School.

The other function, social events, is about building a fun and safe community in the Melbourne Law School for queer-identifying students. This is a more difficult challenge than the first, although some big improvements have been made in the last two years. It is important for the queer officer/s to engage with the existing queer-identifying community at Melbourne Law School and consider how events and functions could better be targeted, especially as Melbourne Law School moves towards a sole JD focus.

Although not essential, it is desirable for the queer portfolio to be shared by one male and one female officer, and at least one position being occupied by a JD.

If you require any further information, you are encouraged to email Chris at lss-queer@unimelb.edu.au.

Women’s officer/s
The primary role of the women's officers is to support women in the law school, promote equality amongst law students and raise important issues about women in the legal profession. This is achieved through promoting the Victorian Women Lawyers' Mentoring Program and events such as the Women in the Law Breakfast. The role also involves organising speakers, and celebrating events such as International Women's Day. Finally, a key aspect of the role is fostering communication amongst female law students and supporting the equality directors and equality portfolio.

If you require any further information, you are encouraged to email Clara and Beth at lss-womens@unimelb.edu.au.

JD representative
The JD Representative's primary role is to act as a support mechanism for their cohort. The representative gathers feedback from students (and from their own experiences) about subjects, subject readers, teaching styles, assessment and assessment practices to provide suitably anonymised feedback directly to Faculty about the running of the program. They are consulted on Faculty decisions in relation to the cohort.

They also provide a sympathetic ear for those experiencing stresses or problems with the degree and the impact it has on personal lives; and for those who want to ask questions of faculty but do not feel they can approach them directly, the representative can act as a go-between.

The representative optionally organises bonding events for the cohort, including those marking the beginning or end of semester, holding wine and cheese nights, or any group activities on and off campus. They attend regular monthly meetings with the course directors, are a member of the JD Committee (which meets several times a year), and can use the role to organise meetings and consultations with a wide variety of faculty members. They may also be co-opted to help out with the student competitions and other events as the LSS committee requires.

Please note that we are accepting nominations for two separate JD representative positions: one for second year (current first year students) and one for third year (current second year students).

It is a rewarding and exciting role - contact Richie Hamilton on lss-jd@unimelb.edu.au if you'd like to find out more!

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Added by Secretary on Saturday, 28 Aug 2010.