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Monthly Archives: May 2006

Becoming a lawyer

May 31, 2006 – 5:22 pm

Hmm, how to make a good lawyer? This is an old bugbear of mine from way back. There are two facets (1) the way in which law is taught at law school and (2) the means of qualifying as a lawyer. In terms of how law is taught, my comments and experience have been shaped [...]

By Legal Eagle | Posted in Law | Comments (5)

Junior Lawyers’ Union

May 26, 2006 – 11:57 am

It seems I’m not alone in my criticism of the crazy work practices of the law firm. May I recommend to you the excellent blogspot of “Shop Steward”, organiser of the “Junior Lawyers’ Union”? In the dim dark days when I was an articled clerk, I noticed on the occasions where I was required to [...]

By Legal Eagle | Posted in Law | Comments (1)

Getting involved with danger

May 24, 2006 – 1:55 pm

Juan Zhang was abducted and killed five days ago; eight people heard her scream, but no one contacted the police or did anything about it. A criminologist has said this is because people are uncertain, not uncaring. This is spot on. If I heard someone screaming outside my house, I would go to see what [...]

By Legal Eagle | Posted in Society | Comments (4)

A Register for Articles

May 19, 2006 – 5:03 pm

Last night, I was speaking to a legal colleague who is a second-year solicitor. She had a very negative experience at the firm where she completed her articles. She was sexually harassed in a way which could have come straight out of a text book on “What Not To Do in the Workplace” according to [...]

By Legal Eagle | Posted in Law | Comments (3)

The problem with Cultural Relativism

May 17, 2006 – 12:42 am

We have just been watching ‘Lateline’ on ABC, and have been absolutely horrified by the reports that there is endemic abuse of women and children in Aboriginal communities in various parts of Australia. Many people have been asking why (a) these issues have not been reported earlier and (b) why no one has done anything [...]

By Legal Eagle | Posted in Politics | Comments (5)

"Wrongful Life" – the wrong end of the stick?

May 11, 2006 – 1:10 pm

The High Court has recently dismissed two claims for “wrongful life” in Harriton v Stephens and Waller v James. Although I feel sympathy for the two plaintiffs, I think that the High Court got it right. In Harriton, Alexia Harriton was born with severe disabilities as a result of the fact her mother suffered from [...]

By Legal Eagle | Posted in Law | Comments (4)

More Peter Costello (letter to the editor of The Age)

May 9, 2006 – 6:19 pm

It seems I’m not the only one who is mad at Peter Costello. I wholeheartedly agree with this letter which featured in The Age today (it happens to be written by a good friend of mine – it seems great minds think alike, if I do say so myself): “An extra $250 a year will [...]

By Legal Eagle | Posted in Feminism, Motherhood, Politics | Comments (1)

"Have One For Your Country"

May 8, 2006 – 6:05 pm

The headline in the paper yesterday contained an exhortation from Peter Costello to the Australian populace to go forth and procreate: “I encourage people who can, if you have the opportunity, if you’re young enough, to have one for mum, one for dad and one for the country.” This mades me MAD! Apparently, families with [...]

By Legal Eagle | Posted in Feminism, Motherhood, Politics | Comments (3)

Work & Motherhood

May 4, 2006 – 9:30 pm

Now that I have a child, I am rather worried about what I should do about work. There are a variety of questions floating around in my head: Should I go back to work at all? Will I be able to do part-time work? Should I put my child in childcare? Can I get a [...]

By Legal Eagle | Posted in Feminism, Motherhood, Politics | Comments (0)

Privacy Legislation

May 1, 2006 – 5:12 pm

A while back, in a large storm, a tree fell on my parents’ house (on the roof over their bedroom, to be precise). My parents were not contactable, and therefore, I decided to ring the insurance company to try and get someone to take the tree off the roof and fix the hole. “I’m sorry, [...]

By Legal Eagle | Posted in Law, Privacy, Society | Comments (5)