Melbourne Law School is one of the professional

graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...

s of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

. Located in

Carlton, Victoria Carlton is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. Carlton recorded a population of 16,055 at the 2021 census. Im ...

, Melbourne Law School is Australia's oldest law school, and offers J.D., LL.M, Ph.D, and

LL.D Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

degrees. In 2021-22,

THE World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...

ranked the law school as 5th best in the world and first both in Australia and Asia-Pacific. Alumni of Melbourne Law School include four Prime Ministers of Australia, three Governors-General, four

Chief Justices of Australia Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

and thirteen Commonwealth Attorneys-General. Alumni include a current Judge of the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...

, a current Justice of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the '' Judiciary Act 1903''. ...

, the current Chief Justice of the

Family Court of Australia The Family Court of Australia was a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters, such as divorce applications, parenting disputes, and the division of property when a couple separate. Together with the Fed ...

, the current

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and t ...

, the current

Solicitor-General of Australia The Solicitor-General of Australia is the country's second highest-ranking law officer, after the Attorney-General for Australia. The position is often known as the Commonwealth Solicitor-General in order to distinguish it from the state solicit ...

, the current President of the

Australian Human Rights Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but oper ...

, the current

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is a statutory authority in the Australian state of Victoria. It replaced the Equal Opportunity Board , set up by Victorian Premier Dick Hamer Sir Rupert James Hamer, (29 July ...

er and the current Chairwoman of the Victorian Bar Council. Established in 1857, Melbourne Law School initially offered LL.B degrees for those seeking a first degree in law. However, in 2007 Melbourne Law School ceased accepting students into this program and instead offered only a J.D. Admission to Melbourne Law School is competitive, with applicants typically requiring a distinction average or higher in their undergraduate degree for admission to its J.D. program. Applicants seeking to study the LL.M program require high results in their undergraduate law studies. Tuition is at least $41,920 per year. Melbourne Law School publishes a number of academic journals, including the ''

Melbourne University Law Review The ''Melbourne University Law Review'' is a triannual law journal published by a student group at Melbourne Law School covering all areas of law. It is one of two student-run law journals at the University of Melbourne, the other being the '' ...

,'' the

Melbourne Journal of International Law The ''Melbourne Journal of International Law'' (MJIL) is a biannual peer-reviewed law review associated with Melbourne Law School which covers all areas of public and private international law. It was established in 2000 and is one of two stu ...

and the ''

Australian Journal of Labour Law The ''Australian Journal of Labour Law'' is a triannual peer-reviewed law journal that was established in 1968. It is published by LexisNexis in collaboration with the Centre For Employment and Labour Relations Law ( Melbourne Law School). It c ...

.'' Melbourne Law School is host to a number of research centres and institutes, specialising in a wide variety of legal fields. It also offers subjects taught overseas and partner programs with leading international law schools. The Law Library of Melbourne Law School encompasses three floors offering access to a variety of resources including periodicals and law journals. Students can participate in a number of organisations designed to enrich student life.

History

There was no organised legal education in Australia until the start of

lectures A lecture (from Latin ''lēctūra'' “reading” ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical inform ...

at Melbourne Law School in 1857. Prior to this, the majority of

common-law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

lawyers had never attended university. A small proportion of people in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and her

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

, including Australia at the time, chose to study law in college before entering the legal profession. Like many of its peers, the University of Melbourne did not teach law at its inception in 1855, although by the second year of teaching enrolments at the institution were so low that teaching in the fields of law and medicine was suggested in order to attract students. Compared to sciences that needed expensive equipment, law could be taught more affordably and draw in a useful number of students. William Hearn

New admission roles created by the Supreme Court of Victoria gave prospective lawyers the choice between completing an exam administered by the Court, or completing a course of study at Melbourne Law School, with the thirty-three law students of 1857 more than doubling total enrolments at the University.

Richard Clarke Sewell was the first appointed lecturer in Law. Sewell was educated and qualified, however was eventually found to be unsuitable for the role to which he was appointed. Born in England, Sewell had twelve siblings. His father was a solicitor. Sewell was educated at Winchester and then Oxford University, becoming a fellow of

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...

and graduating with a doctorate in civil law. He came to Victoria in 1855, although his reason for doing so is unclear. He was admitted to the Victorian bar where he practiced criminal law. After Sewell was hired, the new course's outline was finalised, and he may have shared part of the design credit. The course started with an encyclopaedic introduction and was split into terms and years rather than subjects. Sewell struggled with the commitments of teaching, with his initial lectures bland and poorly received by students. Attendance started to fall, and Sewell resigned. The first students studied for a certificate that, with practical training, qualified them for admission to legal practice. In 1860 they were given the additional option of studying for a degree. Melbourne Law School was expanded and reorganised in 1873, becoming the Faculty of Law. In 1873, William Hearn was appointed as the first

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of Melbourne Law School, lecturing in subjects such as constitutional law. Hearn would go on to be elected to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative C ...

for Central Province. Sir William Harrison Moore was appointed as the third Dean of Melbourne Law School, succeeding Edward Jenks. Moore was somewhat controversial as a new dean, proposing that

Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...

(a strong influence on the civil law system predominant in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, but less important to the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

system in Australia) no longer be taught at the University, and the removal of legal procedure as a separate

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

course. The first woman to enrol at Melbourne Law School was

Flos Greig Grata Flos Matilda Greig (7 November 1880 – 31 December 1958), Australian lawyer, was the first woman to be admitted to practise as a barrister and solicitor in Australia. Early life Greig was born in Broughty Ferry, Scotland in 1880, ...

in 1897. Greig would graduate in 1903, the first woman in Victoria to do so, and only the second in the country, after Ada Evans who graduated the previous year from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. Greig received third-class honours for her degree, placing her second in her year level. Law School Staff and students in the 1870's

Melbourne Law School under Moore opened its doors to practising lawyers in addition to academics, visiting lecturers in the year of 1908 including people such as High Court Justice H. B. Higgins,

Chief Justice of Victoria The Chief Justice of Victoria is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Victoria. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court as well as the admini ...

Sir

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...

, and judge of the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...

Leo Cussen. The School, located then in what is now known as the "Old Law" building, struggled for room and resources, Moore having to contribute some of his personal library for the use of students, and some lectures having to be held in the Supreme Court building in the city. The school continued to grow throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and underwent a major transformation with the appointment of

Sir Zelman Cowen Sir Zelman Cowen, (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982. Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended ...

as Dean in 1951. Sir Zelman shaped Melbourne Law School after the United States model, rather than the British model that is common in Australia. Sir Zelman reformed teaching, research and academic recruitment. Under his stewardship, full-time academics came to dominate teaching, instead of part-time practitioners. Many prominent international academics were invited to study at the School, and many Australians were given the opportunity to study abroad. In 2007 Melbourne Law School accepted its last cohort of LL.B students. From 2008 the only degree offered by Melbourne Law School qualifying for legal practice is the graduate-entry JD. This change to an entirely graduate law school is consistent with University-wide changes occurring under

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

Glyn Davis's

Melbourne Model The Melbourne Model is a standardised academic degree structure which was introduced at the University of Melbourne in 2008. The Melbourne Model is designed to align itself "''with the best of European and Asian practice and North American tr ...

, although Melbourne Law School does offer some subjects to the University's

students (known as 'breadth' subjects).

Admissions

Entrance to Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne

Prior tertiary performance

Applicants for the Juris Doctor program require a three year bachelors degree or equivalent. The performance of an applicant in this degree and any previous tertiary study is assessed. For a competitive application, the weighted average mark (WAM) across tertiary studies must be generally be at least 70%. The requirements are based on the academic grading system in Australia, which means students must typically achieve the grade of Distinction throughout their studies in order to be admitted, or the equivalent of a 3.5 GPA or above when converting for the academic grading system used in the United States.

Law school admissions test

The School previously required the law school admissions test (LSAT) be sat, with the results considered in deciding whether to admit an applicant. In 2022, the School announced the LSAT would no longer be required. The board of admissions removed the requirement due to the impact of COVID-19 on students, and initially planned to reinstate the requirement once restrictions were eased. However, the School permanently removed the LSAT as doing so increased diversity and access to the program while maintaining strong academic standards. The process of removing the LSAT requirement was criticised by the University of Melbourne Student Union, noting the WAM requirement remained high and "severe lack of organisation displayed by the School" in not providing students sufficient notice or detail surrounding the decision.

Costs

The cost of tuition for the 2022 school year is $41,920 for domestic students, or at least $132,152 for three years. International students are charged $42,752 for the 2022 school year, or at least $134,775 for the course duration.

Academics

Research centres

Melbourne Law School is host to a number of research centres and institutes, specialising in a wide variety of legal fields: *Asian Law Centre *Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics *Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies *Centre for Corporate Law *Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law *Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society *Centre for Media and Communications Law *Centre for Resources, Energy and Environmental Law *Competition Law and Economics Network *Electoral Regulation Research Network *Health Law and Ethics Network *Institute for International Law and Humanities *Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia *Melbourne Climate Futures *Obligations Group *Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness *Tax Group

Mooting

Mooting at Melbourne Law School was made mandatory in 1958. Mooting continues to be mandated as assessment at Melbourne Law School for some core J.D. subjects, such as

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

, and is widely pursued by the student body in both internal and external moot court competitions. Melbourne Law School's internal moot court competition takes place in Melbourne Law School's purpose-built moot court. It is organised and run each year by the Melbourne University Law Students' Society, and is currently sponsored by a number of commercial law firms. Melbourne Law School students have achieved success in multiple international moot court competitions. Teams from Melbourne Law School have won the

Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, also known as the Jessup Moot or The Jessup, is the oldest and largest international moot competition in the world, attracting participants from almost 700 law schools in more than 90 ...

and the ELSA Moot Court Competition three times, and in 2012 a team from Melbourne Law School won the IASLA Space Law Moot Court Competition. A Melbourne Law School team also won the inaugural Victorian Championship Moot in 2013.

External programs

Melbourne Law School offers subjects taught in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Washington, D.C.,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

, and has partner programs with many of the world's leading law schools, including

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

University of Toronto Faculty of Law The University of Toronto Faculty of Law (U of T Law, UToronto Law) is the law school of the University of Toronto. The Faculty's admissions process is the most selective of law schools in Canada and is one of the most selective in North America. ...

, and the

National University of Singapore Faculty of Law The National University of Singapore Faculty of Law (NUS Law) is Singapore's oldest law school. NUS Law was initially established in 1956 as the Department of Law in the University of Malaya. After its establishment, NUS Law was Singapore's onl ...

. Melbourne Law School is a founding member of the

Center for Transnational Legal Studies The Center for Transnational Legal Studies (CTLS) is a global educational center for the study of transnational law. The Center was founded in London in October 2008 as an initiative by Georgetown University Law Center, providing educational serv ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and contributes both staff and students to the Center every year. Additionally, Melbourne Law School has

dual degree A double degree program, sometimes called a dual degree, combined degree, conjoint degree, joint degree or double graduation program, involves a student's working for two university degrees in parallel—either at the same institution or at diffe ...

arrangements with the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in ...

and the Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law.

Law Library

The Law Library is located on levels 3, 4 and 5 of Melbourne Law School at the Parkville Campus of the University. The Law Library offers research tools that include authorised law reports, Australian Case Citator Comparison, deep linking information, keeping up to date in law, legal abbreviations, legal citation style guides, reference management, style guides for authors, and theses advice. The catalogue of books at the library encompasses new books, a rare book collection, past exams and readings online, and a digital repository.

Publications

Melbourne University Law Review

Students of the JD program are involved in preparing and publishing the ''Melbourne University Law Review,'' a triannual

law journal A law review or law journal is a scholarly journal or publication that focuses on legal issues. A law review is a type of legal periodical. Law reviews are a source of research, imbedded with analyzed and referenced legal topics; they also p ...

covering all areas of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. It is one of two student-run law journals at the

. Students who have completed at least one semester of law are eligible to apply for membership of the

editorial board The editorial board is a group of experts, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take. Mass media At a newspaper, the editorial board usually consists of the editorial page editor, ...

. Applicants are assessed on the basis of their performance in a practical exercise, academic aptitude, proofreading skills, editing skills and enthusiasm. The 2022

editors-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

are Daniel Beratis, Danielle Feng and Deylan Kilic-Aidani. Occasionally, the journal produces a symposium issue devoted to a particular aspect of law. Past symposium issues have focused on the centenary of the

federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Western ...

, contemporary

human rights in Australia Human rights in Australia have largely been developed by the democratically-elected Australian Parliament through laws in specific contexts (rather than a stand-alone, abstract bill of rights) and safeguarded by such institutions as the indepen ...

, and

tort law A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishab ...

. The Review's alumni include two High Court Justices, three Solicitors-General, five Federal Court judges and at least six Supreme Court judges.

Australian Journal of Labour Law

The Australian Journal of Labour Law is a triannual peer-reviewed law journal that was established in 1968. It is published by

LexisNexis LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells data analytics products and various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper search, and consumer info ...

in collaboration with the Centre For Employment and Labour Relations Law within Melbourne Law School. It covers

Australian labour law Australian labour law concerns Commonwealth, state, and common law on rights and duties of workers, unions and employers in Australia. Australian labour law (also known as industrial relations law) has a dual structure, where some employment is ...

. The

are Andrew Stewart of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, John Howe of the

, and Shae McCrystal of the

. The journal is abstracted and indexed in

EBSCO databases EBSCO Information Services, headquartered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., a private company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. EBSCO provides products and services to libraries of very many types around the ...

Melbourne Journal of International Law

The Melbourne Journal of International Law (MJIL''') is a biannual peer-reviewed law review published by Melbourne Law School covering all areas of public and private

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

. It was established in 2000. ''MJIL'' is edited and managed by an editorial board of around 70 Melbourne Law School studentsl, and overseen by an advisory board. The 2022 Editors are Matthew Carlei, Tegan Evans and Nicholas Hui. Additional journals published by Melbourne Law School include the ''Australian Journal of Asian Law'' (in conjunction with the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

), and ''Media and Arts Law Review''. Melbourne Law School publishes the

Australian Guide to Legal Citation The ''Australian Guide to Legal Citation'' (AGLC) is published by the Melbourne University Law Review Association in collaboration with the ''Melbourne Journal of International Law'' and seeks to provide the Australian legal community with a st ...

, the most widely followed authority for legal citation formats in Australia.Legal citation
, Guide to Legal Research, Library, University of New South Wales accessed 3 September 2011. Melbourne Law School students also produce a newspaper, ''De Minimis'', and a magazine, "Purely Dicta".

Rankings

Melbourne Law School has been consistently ranked as the top law school in Australia. Melbourne Law School has been consistently ranked among the top law schools in the world.

Student organisations

Several student organisations are associated with Melbourne Law School.

Melbourne Law Student Society

The Melbourne University Law Students' Society represents all law students at the Melbourne Law School. The Society was originally known as the Law Clerk's Society. Unlike today, members used to comprise primarily of students working as an articled clerk in a law firm. By the 1950's, most members of the Society were fulltime students and became based on campus. Today the Society is a student club and consists of approximately one hundred students who on a volunteer basis deliver programs and events. Its president is Remy Marshall.

Global Law Students Association

The Global Law Students Association (GLSA), which focuses on international legal issues, careers and provides additional support for

international student International students, or foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their tertiary education in a country other than their own and move to that country for the purpose of studying. In 2019, there were over 6 million internati ...

s at Melbourne Law School.

Melbourne China Law Society

The Melbourne China Law Society, facilitates the comparative study of Chinese,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

and

Australian law The legal system of Australia has multiple forms. It includes a written constitution, unwritten constitutional conventions, statutes, regulations, and the judicially determined common law system. Its legal institutions and traditions are substa ...

, as well as providing Mandarin language training to Melbourne Law School students.

Melbourne Law Masters Student Association

The Melbourne Law Masters Student Association (MLMSA) represents the collective interests of all MLM (Melbourne Law Masters) students within Melbourne Law School.

Deans

Below is a list of the deans of Melbourne Law School from 1873 to the present: *1873–1888 William Hearn *1889–1892 Edward Jenks *1893–1927 William Harrison Moore *1928–1936 Kenneth Bailey *1937–1937 George Paton *1938–1942 Kenneth Bailey *1943–1951 George Paton *1951–1963

Zelman Cowen Sir Zelman Cowen, (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982. Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended ...

*1964–1964 Harold Ford *1964–1966 Zelman Cowen *1967–1973 Harold Ford *1973–1977 Sandford Clark *1978–1983 Colin Howard *1984–1986 Mark Weinberg *1986–1988 Harold Luntz *1989–2002 Michael Crommelin *2002–2003

Ian Ramsay Professor Ian Ramsay (born 7 October 1958) is Harold Ford Professor of Commercial Law, Melbourne Law School and director of their Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation in Melbourne, Australia. He is an academic lawyer, author, and ...

*2003–2007 Michael Crommelin *2008–2009 James Hathaway *2010–2011 Michael Crommelin *2011–2017 Carolyn Evans *2017–2018 Jenny Morgan *2018–present Pip Nicholson

Notable alumni

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia. He was a leader of the movement for Federation, which occurred in 1901. During his three terms as prime ministe ...

, the 2nd

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the princip ...

, Sir

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, the 12th Prime Minister of Australia,

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in ...

, the 17th Prime Minister of Australia, and

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

, the 27th Prime Minister of Australia, all graduated from Melbourne Law School. Three Governors-General and at least 13 Attorneys-General have also graduated from Melbourne Law School, including Gareth Evans,

Nicola Roxon Nicola Louise Roxon (born 1 April 1967) is a former Australian politician, who was a member of the House Representatives representing the seat of Gellibrand in Victoria for the Australian Labor Party from the 1998 federal election until he ...

and

Mark Dreyfus Mark Alfred Dreyfus (born 3 October 1956) is an Australian politician and lawyer who has been attorney-general of Australia and cabinet secretary since June 2022, having held both roles previously in 2013 and from 2010 to 2013 respectively. ...

Foreign politicians who attended Melbourne Law School include

Neri Javier Colmenares Neri Javier Colmenares (, born December 4, 1959) is a Filipino human rights lawyer and activist. He was an associate of the Asian Law Centre at Melbourne Law School when he was completing his Ph.D. in law on "The Writ of Amparo and the Inter ...

, a Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines,

Adnan Buyung Nasution Adnan Buyung Nasution, also known as Adnan Bahrum Nasution (20 July 1934 – 23 September 2015) was an Indonesian lawyer, advocate, and activist. Career Nasution founded the Legal Aid Institute in Indonesia. He was well known as a human righ ...

, Member of the Presidential Advisory Council of the Republic of Indonesia and Dame

Meg Taylor Dame Meg Taylor is a Papua New Guinean politician who served as Secretary General to the Pacific Islands Forum from 2014 to 2021. She was previously an athlete, lawyer and diplomat. Life and career She received her LL.B degree from Melbourne Un ...

, former Ambassador of Papua New Guinea to the United States and current

Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat The Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is the chief executive officer of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS). The Secretariat is based in Suva, Fiji. The Secretary General of the Secretariat is appointed to a t ...

Four Melbourne Law School graduates have served as

Chief Justice of Australia The Chief Justice of Australia is the presiding Justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. The incumbent is Susan Kiefel, who is the first woman to hold the position. C ...

. This number includes Sir

Owen Dixon Sir Owen Dixon (28 April 1886 – 7 July 1972) was an Australian judge and diplomat who served as the sixth Chief Justice of Australia. A judge of the High Court for thirty-five years, Dixon was one of the leading jurists in the English-s ...

, one of Australia's most eminent jurists,Justice Jim Spigelman, "Australia's Greatest Jurist," presented in Sydney, May 2003. and Sir

Isaac Isaacs Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs (6 August 1855 – 11 February 1948) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge who served as the ninth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1931 to 1936. He had previously served on the High Court of Au ...

, the first Jewish Chief Justice.

Geoffrey Nettle Geoffrey Arthur Akeroyd Nettle (born 2 December 1950) is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy, who served from 3 February 2015 to 30 November 2020. Prior to his appointment to the ...

, a current Justice of the High Court of Australia, graduated from Melbourne Law School. In addition, two Melbourne Law School graduates have served on the

Hsu Mo Hsu Mo (; October 22, 1893 in Suzhou, province of Jiangsu – June 28, 1956 in The Hague) was a Chinese lawyer, politician and diplomat. He worked from 1931 to 1941 as deputy foreign minister of his country, as ambassador to Australia and to Turkey ...

and

Hilary Charlesworth Hilary Christiane Mary Charlesworth (born 28 February 1955) is an Australian international lawyer. She has been a Judge of the International Court of Justice since 5 November 2021, and is Harrison Moore Professor of Law and Melbourne Laureate ...

Francis Gurry Francis Gurry (born 17 May 1951)WIPO web siteWO/CC/54/2 ''Corr. Annex II. Curriculum Vitae of Mr. Francis Gurry'' Consulted on 12 May 2007.WIPO website Consulted on 21 February 2011. is an Australian national, who was from 2008 to 2020 the fou ...

, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization,

Gillian Triggs Gillian Doreen Triggs (born 30 October 1945) is an Australian academic specialising in public international law. In 2019, she was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nati ...

, the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, and

Samuel Pisar Samuel Pisar (March 18, 1929 – July 27, 2015) was a Polish-American lawyer, author, and a Holocaust survivor. Early life Pisar was born in Białystok, Poland, to Jewish parents David and Helaina (née Suchowolska) Pisar. His father established ...

, the UNESCO Special Envoy for Holocaust Education all graduated from Melbourne Law School. Melbourne Law School graduates in the business world include

James P. Gorman James Patrick Gorman (born 14 July 1958) is an Australian-American financier who is the chairman and chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley. He was formerly Co-President and Co-Head of Strategic Planning at the firm. Early life James P. Gorma ...

, Chairman and CEO of

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

. Legal academics who graduated from Melbourne Law School include Sir David Derham, the founding Dean of Monash Law School, Greg Craven, the Vice-Chancellor of the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamatio ...

, and Sir

John Monash General Sir John Monash, (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the war and then, shortly after its outbreak, became c ...

, a Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne and decorated

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

general.

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