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TIFFANY LAU: I'm studying Business and Law at UTS and I wanted to combine it with Business
because I think it's a really versatile degree. When you do law it's not just about becoming
a lawyer at the end but it can also be complimentary to something else you might be just as passionate
about. JONATHAN KOUKOUMAS: I'm studying Juris Doctor
at UTS. It's a 3 year degree and we'll be talking about Foundations of Law.
TIFFANY LAU: It's definitely an introductory subject to law and it sort of acts as a stepping
stone to get you geared up for the rest of the law subjects and really develops your
research skills that you need not just in your future academic life but in your career
as well. What I loved most was reading the cases. There's
a wide spectrum of them and it touches on a lot of elements of law so it's sort of like
a taste tester. And also the class discussions were really interesting especially when it
digressed a little bit from the topic. JONATHAN KOUKOUMAS: The structure of the subject
was quite helpful in learning such a heavy workload in a practical sense, in a theory
sense, learning the history, different cases and legislation.
TIFFANY LAU: Research skills are absolutely fundamental to anybody studying law or who
wants to become a lawyer in the future. Even just doing other subjects beyond Foundations
of Law is important because you're going to be doing research essays and even if you're
just doing readings on cases sometimes it's useful to look at secondary sources and I
think Foundations of Law will really help you develop those research skills you need
for the future. JONATHAN KOUKOUMAS: The most challenging part
about the subject was the workload. A lot of readings and also getting to know the different
citations and whether one was more authoritative than another.
TIFFANY LAU: Of course, it's not possible to read everything all the time and sort of
being selective really helps. Definitely don't be afraid to approach academic
staff. They're really approachable and friendly. If you're afraid to stay back and talk to
them after, you can always send them an email and talk to your peers, they're all in the
same boat. Maybe they're going through the same struggles as you and there's also a first-year
mentoring program available to first-year law students and they're senior students that
help you out and give you some advice. JONATHAN KOUKOUMAS: I found a couple of resources
very helpful. The Student Centre, a lot of the tutors were very helpful, getting to know
different rooms as well, Lost on Campus app for your iPhone and android was very helpful
and getting to know other people studying the same degree.
I'd advise a new student coming into law school -- keep up with the readings, definitely access
UTS Online, go to any free workshops that could help with your essay writing skills.
I found that the Orientation day was very beneficial as well.
TIFFANY LAU: Just like any other subject I think you only get out what you put in, so
definitely recommend giving it 100 percent so you can get the most joy out of the subject.