11.10.2011
Image: Carolyn Kearney (Information Manager), Jennifer Ruiz (Intern) and Khanh Hoang (Legal Officer).
The internship program is an important part of the ALRC’s inquiry program. An internship at the ALRC provides an opportunity for students to increase their awareness of law reform issues and improve their research and writing skills, while contributing to an ALRC inquiry. Interns join a team for one of the ALRC’s current inquiries and are supervised by a legal officer.
In 2010–11 there were 16 internships offered. The ALRC was pleased to include students of an exceptionally high standard from around Australia and abroad. Australian university students came from WA, Queensland, Victoria and NSW.
Two applicants from overseas universities received placements. In September 2010 Kate Nielson joined us from Harvard University as part of the Clinical Placement Program and we have been extremely lucky to have Kate with us for a 12-month placement, contributing to the Family Violence Inquiry, Commonwealth Laws and Family Violence and Classification Inquiries at a very high level. The ALRC has an ongoing intern partnership with the University of Maryland and in May 2011 Jennifer Ruiz completed a five-week internship working with the National Classification Scheme Review team.
During 2010–11 the ALRC was also extremely pleased to be able to offer internships to two legal officers, Kathleen Kohata and Daniel Suluia, from the Solomon Islands Law Reform Commission who spent two weeks with us observing our law reform processes and participating in team meetings and training sessions delivered by ALRC legal and corporate staff.
All our interns provided an excellent standard of work across the ALRC inquiries and were involved in a range of ALRC activities attending, when possible, consultation meetings with inquiry stakeholders, Advisory Committee meetings and inquiry team meetings.
The ALRC is indebted to our student interns whose excellent research skills and enthusiasm ensures a very high quality input to the ALRC’s work.
Interns for 2010–11
| Name | Institution | Inquiry | Duration of internship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayuri Anupindi | UTS | Discovery | 6 Aug–22 Oct 2010 |
| Kyrren Konstantinidis | Sydney University | Commonwealth Family Violence | 20 Sept–30 Nov 2010 |
| Kate Nielson | Harvard University, USA | Commonwealth Family Violence; Censorship and Classification | 20 Sept 2010–15 Aug 2011 |
| Kathleen Kohata | Solomon Islands LRC | General | 22 Sept–6 Oct 2010 |
| Daniel Suluia | Solomon Islands LRC | General | 22 Sept–6 Oct 2010 |
| Stacey McEvoy | University of Queensland | Commonwealth Family Violence | 18 Oct–21 Jan 2011 |
| Katie Batty | Murdoch University | Censorship and Classification | 4 Jan–21 Jan 2011 |
| Lucinda O’Dwyer | Monash University | Censorship and Classification | 4 Jan–28 Jan 2011 |
| Catherine Farrell | Melbourne University | Censorship and Classification | 1 Feb–25 Feb 2011 |
| Andrew Trotter | QUT | Commonwealth Family Violence | 7 Feb–4 Mar 2011 |
| Lauren Loz | UNSW | Commonwealth Family Violence; Censorship and Classification | 7 Feb–4 Mar 2011 |
| Julie McKenzie | UNSW | Commonwealth Family Violence | 17 Mar–28 July 2011 |
| David Rowe | ANU | Censorship and Classification | 17 Mar–17 June 2011 |
| Jacqueline Serkowski | UWS | Censorship and Classification | 17 Mar–22 July 2011 |
| Jennifer Ruiz | University of Maryland, USA | Censorship and Classification | 9 May–5 July 2011 |
| Ming Li | UNSW | Discovery | 6 Aug–22 Oct 2010 |
‘The internship exceeded my expectations … I was given the opportunity to conduct comprehensive legal research for various inquiries, which greatly enhanced my knowledge of a number of discrete areas of law.
Although a law degree gives students an excellent theoretical and academic foundation for their legal career, the lecture theatre can seem divorced from the practical realities of legal practice post graduation. Consequently, the most beneficial aspect of my internship was the opportunity to observe the work of Legal Officers and gain an appreciation of the quality and quantity of work expected in a professional legal organisation.’
Legal Intern, Lucinda O’Dwyer, 2011