PLT students have feared retaliation from the legal hierarchy for a very long time : Chief Justice Kiefel says she is ashamed by the findings against Dyson Heydon, she should now demand answers and address the legal hierarchy's abuse of the Reg 19 process

by Ganesh Sahathevan





                                                     
                                                               
The Hon Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC has relied on the findings of a one person inquiry to publicly condemn a former justice of the High Court.



As reported yesterday :


Regulation 19 certificates can be used by the legal hierarchy to discourage complaints of sexual harassment: NSW Law Society and the NSW Legal Profession Admission Board have allowed the Regulation to be used to deter, discourage and discredit complaints of poor teaching, course delivery, what more sexual harassment
















To understand how great that fear of retaliation by the legal hierarchy can be, see how, as far back in 2006, a budding lawyer would not give his name when criticising the PLT: 



In a report on practical legal training (PLT) this week, Lawyers Weekly reveals that some students feel that a $6,000 fee could be lessened and considerable time saved if PLT was actually more practical, with more hands-on hours. One student, who wanted to remain anonymous, said his PLT course offered him little that he could not have picked up in a law firm.
Now working part-time in a firm, our source said he is being exposed to many things he did not encounter during his PLT. “You can only learn so much in the theoretical sense. On my first day of work I had to write an affidavit for a man who’d punched his wife out. It was totally different to be doing this on real cases. If I hadn’t done college, I don’t think it would have been that much different. Maybe I would have had to ask the partners a couple more questions, or looked at a few more websites. But I don’t think that’s enough to warrant a $6,000 (now $10,000)  fee,” he said.
“I drafted forms and affidavits in college. But I didn’t get a real idea about what it was about until I worked, and got this job. Maybe that says I wasn’t sufficiently involved in the learning process. But I still maintain that you have to be in the law to learn from it,” he said.
It would be more useful to have internships within law firms, so that students can really understand what it is like to work in private practice, our source claimed. “I think three internships would be much more effective. Many people I study with agree with me. Most of my peers online think [the course] is a real hassle.
With regards the findings against former High Court judge Dyson Heydon Kiefel CJ says:
Kiefel CJ's statement would be better believed if she would now initiate an investigation into how the system that determines eligibility for practise has been abused, and importantly, if that system has been used to deter and conceal complaints of sexual harassment. 
END 




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