Kathleen Raponi is a Senior Lecturer in the First Year College and specialises in teaching first year law units in VU Block mode.

After completing her Bachelor of Laws (Hons), she was admitted to legal practice in the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia. She worked as a lawyer for a number of years. During her legal career she has also volunteered at Wyndham Legal Service, Fitzroy Legal Service and the Communications Law Centre.

Since 2015, Kathleen has been working as a law lecturer at Victoria University. She has taught a number of different law units including Family Law, Privacy and Media Law, Australian Legal Systems in Context, Law and Practice, Legal Writing and Drafting and Legal Research Methods. In addition, she is a contributing member of the Course Advisory Group Committee and the Teaching and Learning Committee.

Kathleen is passionate about creating unique and experiential learning experiences for students. Her previous experience as a legal practitioner informs her approach to teaching. She has received the Vice Chancellor Citation Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and two First Year College Awards, recognising her innovative design and implementation of first year law field trips.

Portfolios

Areas of expertise

  • Family Law
  • Criminal law
  • Wills and Estates
  • Conveyancing
  • Litigation

Contact details

(03) 9919 1998

Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

  • K.Raponi, G.Samarawickrema, G.Everett, L.England and T.Galloway ‘Academic embrace disruption: Lessons learned teaching first year Law during a pandemic’ (2021) 31 (1) Legal Education Review 27
  • G.Samarawickrema and K.Raponi ‘A Field Trip in the first week at university: perspectives from our LLB students.’ (2020) 54 (1) The Law Teacher 103
  • G.Samarawickrema T.Galloway, K.Raponi and G.Everett ‘A participatory evaluation of  transforming First Year LLB Into Block Mode’ (2020) 30 (1) Legal Education Review 1

Books

  • Raponi, K, de Saint, J & O'Sullivan, C. (eds) Foundations of Australian Law and Legal Writing: A custom publication for Victoria University, (LexisNexis, 2022)
  • Raponi, K. & O'Sullivan, C. (eds) Foundations of Law in Australia: A custom publication for Victoria University 2nd edition (LexisNexis, 2018)
  • Raponi, K. (eds) Legal, Writing & Drafting Guide: A custom publication for Victoria University (LexisNexis, 2018)

Conference Presentations 

  • Raponi, K (2022) Don’t judge a field trip by its delivery: Experiential learning in a Virtual Law Field Trip. Australasian Law Academics Association Conference, Evolution or Revolution? Challenging Legal Education and Scholarship, Monash University Law Chambers.
  • Raponi, K, (2021) Reflective Learning Activities: The art of Student Reflection, Victoria University Teaching Symposium, Victoria University.
  • England, L & Raponi, K, G.Samarawickrema, G.Everett & T.Galloway (2021) To Camera, or Not to Camera, that is the Question; staff and student views on Zoom camera use during emergency remote learning throughout the COVID-19 pandemic Australasian Law Academics Association Conference
  • Raponi, K, England, L, G.Samarawickrema, G.Everett & T.Galloway (2020) Greater in sum than parts: SoTL stories from the trenches, Victoria University Teaching Symposium, Victoria University.
  • Raponi, K (2019) Parliament Program: A field Trip in the Law Program. Inaugural First Year College Conference, Victoria University. 

Professional Experience

Professional Memberships

  • Law Institute of Victoria
  • Australian Law Academics Association

Industry Experience

  • Admitted to Legal Practice Supreme Court of Victoria February 2010
  • Admitted to Legal Practice High Court of Australia February 2010
  • Experience working as a solicitor