Clinical legal education programs

The College of Arts, Business, Law, Education & IT offers several clinical legal education programs designed to ensure our students will graduate with practical experience in the field of law.

Our partnerships with the courts, community legal services and industry organisations provide unique exposure to the Victorian justice system.

Get the grounding needed for a real and rewarding career in law with one of our programs.

Mooting

The College of Arts, Business, Law, Education & IT equips graduates for success in the real world with a world-class moot program.

A moot court is a mock court which simulates the proceedings of a live court room (or a similar dispute resolution setting).

Your participation in the program offers a significant professional advantage by developing your legal skills to be better equipped for practice in the real world.

Kirby Moot

The Annual Michael Kirby Contract Law Moot Competition is hosted by Victoria Law School in the College of Arts, Business, Law, Education & IT at Victoria University (VU).

This four-day annual competition is open to teams across Australia. It is one of the largest moot court competitions in Australia, and has been running since 2011. It is Australia’s only Contract Law Moot. Winners of this competition win prize money and usually go on to compete in international mooting competitions.

Mooting competitions

Mooting competitions are regularly offered locally and internationally.

They give you the opportunity match your skills against other students, and are a great way for you to develop fundamental skills to better help your career. By participating in competitions you get a chance to practice what you learn in the classroom.

VU has been successful over the years, including being awarded the winner of the 2014 Shanghai Moot competition, competing against 28 international law schools.

Other successes include finishing in the the top 5% of international law schools in the Vis Moot competition, which included some of the world's best universities such as Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, the London School of Economics, and the University of Munster.

Victoria Legal Aid (VLA)

Our partnership with Victoria Legal Aid Melbourne and Sunshine offers you a unique experience within the following:

  • Duty Lawyer Service
  • Family Law Clinic
  • Infringements Clinic
  • General Clinic.

Victoria Police (Prosecutions Division) Program

The Victoria Police (Prosecutions Division) Program is a ten-week placement with Victoria Police in their Prosecutions Division.

You'll be exposed to the various legal units within Victoria Police and interact with police prosecutors and police lawyers. You'll shadow lawyers/prosecutors at court, attend therapeutic courts, and conduct research tasks and file reviews.

The program is offered twice a year for a period of ten weeks.

State Trustees Program

The State Trustees Program is your opportunity to gain valuable skills in various areas of law including:

  • wills and probate
  • powers of attorney
  • executor services
  • trustee services.

As part of this program you'll conduct research, work on documents and assist State Trustees legal teams. There may be opportunities to attend VCAT with the supervising lawyer.

This program is offered to students four times per year and runs for a twelve week period.

Young Workers Victoria

The Young Workers Victoria Clinical Placement offers you the opportunity to assist young workers with employment law issues.

Gain experience interviewing and advising clients on employment-related issues, drafting legal correspondence and researching issues of employment law.

The program runs twice a year during Semester 1 and 2.