The Paperchase
Edition 2, Semester 1 2015
Professor Kingsfield
"You come in here with a head full of mush and you leave
thinking like a lawyer"
Kindly sponsored by Ashurst
A Note from the Editors
Dear readership,
We, the publications team, regret to inform you that the overwhelmingly positive
response to the first edition of ‘The Paperchase’ has created a burden of which our
broadest imaginations could not have conceived. The overall quality of the issue has set
the bar so high, has amassed so much expectation, that there is close to no chance of
replicating such a feat in subsequent editions.
Tasked with the impossible, Karsen spent several uninterrupted nights observing the
behaviour of other reputable publications, such as The Daily Mail and The Huffington
Post, to identify their secret in staying atop of news media. There had to be an
explanation, a consistent trait, some kind of cue. And then it dawned on him.
This week, in The Paper Chase
I.
Cori Fitzpatrick carries dead weight Jessica Musulin, Immediate Past President,
and Patrick Cook to break – and Jess tells us all about it;
II.
Griffith Law’s most beloved vegan, Ronja Sen, gifting us with brief insight into
her ‘Sen-‐oirs’, writes about her experience with studying abroad and why you
should definitely consider exchange; Her reasons will shock you
III.
Caitlin Maher, child genius, and Rhys Kasper, capable savant, somehow
overcome the odds and earn their title of Griffith University Client Interview
Champions; Scandalous!
IV. Mike Bidwell and Leeonee Thompson, Griffith Law Societies’ Social Convenors, incite
a chain of riots to be held at a host of licensed Brisbane venues within Fortitude Valley.
Reports say that the hordes of insurgent law students have no interest in
inconveniencing local businesses and patrons without cause; they simply just want to
find ‘Wally’.
All of this and so much more can be found in edition two. Best of luck with your mid-‐
semester assessment, remember to take a break once in awhile and stare at some birds
or flowers. Until next time..
P. 1
Firm profile
About us
Areas of legal practice
Ashurst is a leading global law firm. We advise Australian
and international corporations, financial institutions and
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Our Australian office practises in over 30 different service
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420 partners and 1,700 lawyers, we offer the international
insight of a global network combined with local market
knowledge and expertise.
Our clients can access deep local knowledge and on-theground support wherever they do business from people
they know and trust. We build teams that are specific
to our clients’ needs, combining specialist legal skills,
industry experience and regional know-how.
We have a track record of successfully managing large and
complex multijurisdictional transactions and projects. Our
focus is on getting to the heart of our clients’ legal needs
and delivering practical, commercial solutions.
Our clients
We are a full service commercial law firm advising major
corporations and government clients across key sectors
including financial services, energy and resources, projects
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Our clients include 73% of the top 100 ASX companies and
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We have the privilege to advise on some of Australia’s and
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Recognition
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Lawyers Australia, 2014
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– Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2014
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Awards 2012
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To achieve our vision of being one of a small number
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delivering quality solutions for our clients. The key
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www.ashurst.com/graduates
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In This Issue...
Note From the Editors - Isaac Buckland and Karsen Haseler
p. 1
Social Events - Mike Bidwell and Leeonee Thompson
p. 5
Debating Success - Jessica Musulin
p. 7
Competitions - Hannah Maxwell and Sammy Toogood
p. 10
Exchange - Ronja Sen
p. 11
United Nations Student Association - Liam Maddrell
p. 13
Amnesty International - Jayne Francis and Annabelle Benhan
p. 14
Opportunities
p. 15
P. 3
Mike Bidwell & Leeonee Thompson - Social Events
Hi guys, just your Social Convenors here!
So I’m sure you all heard about the Boat Party and hopefully were lucky enough to
score a ticket! Without a doubt the event was a great success and we hope that it
becomes an annual one. If you weren’t lucky enough to get a ticket and experience
the night, then we hope you have seen our pub crawl event and got one for that! This
night also promises to a good time and a terrific event. The GULS pub crawl has been a
successful event for years and this time poses no exception. Tickets are your standard
$20 and with that you get access to the amazing tabs that we put on. Anyone who has
been in previous years will tell what a hectic night it turns into, both of us can attest to
that from our experience last year!
So more details about the event, it is in the Valley again. We are starting at Fringe Bar
at 7pm sharp and will be there until 8:30. Make sure that you meet us at the first
venue so we can tick your name off and give you a wristband for that bar tab access.
From there we will be heading to Brunswick and Ann, formerly known as Bank. You do
not want to miss out on this stop because they will be giving us free pizza , so take
advantage of that great offer! Our third stop will be Oh Hello, a staunch supporter of
our pub crawls and a great L card venue! Lastly we will be heading to Birdees, a
regular place for most. If your friends weren’t fortunate enough to grab a ticket then
get them to meet you there to continue the shenanigans, however they won’t have
access to our tab. As most people know the theme is Where’s Wally, and we cannot
wait to see you all crawling through the Valley in your red and white stripes, it will
definitely be a sight!
All of this information can be found on our Facebook event, where you can also
purchase tickets. Just type in GULS pub crawl and the event should pop up.
Good luck with your assessment too, as it is mid-‐semester time but just remember
that law school isn’t all work and no play, so grab a ticket while you can, they are
selling fast!
Love your social convenors,
Mike and Leeonee
P. 5
Jessica Musulin - Debating Success
(Jess took a bit of a break from her diary to write this piece – stay tuned for the next edition of the
Paperchase for her latest Immediate Past President diary entry!)
Over the Easter weekend, 23 members of the Griffith Organised Debating Society
attended the Australian Intervarsity Debating Championships, colloquially known as
‘Easters’. A bit of history: Griffith has never ‘broken’ to the finals of this tournament. In
fact, Griffith has made the finals of the World Debating Championships, the Australasian
Debating Championships and even the Women’s Australasian Debating Championships,
but not this tournament – perhaps being indicative of the quality and competitiveness of
Australian debating.
The team of myself, Cori Fitzpatrick and Patrick Cook had reasonably high hopes for the
tournament, but weren’t taking anything for granted. We started off the tournament with
an unfortunate run, winning only one debate on our first day. Fortunately, our trajectory
improved and we won every debate on the second day of the tournament, putting us in
a position where we had a possibility of making finals. Thinking this possibility was pretty
minor, I conveyed this thought to Cori and Patrick, who then decided to utilise the open
bar at the Championship Dinner, which is where the ‘break’ is announced. Well,
unexpectedly, we did make the finals – and after that was announced, every Queensland
debater, including those from UQ and QUT, starting cheering for us and came to
congratulate us. I can’t remember but I think I may have also cried. Whatever.
On the finals day we were seeded to debate the 2nd ranked team of the tournament, which
meant that at least initially, we didn’t think our chances of progressing past the
tournament’s octo finals were very strong. That was until we got a motion about
feminism, and I almost peed my pants in excitement. Well, I don’t remember much except
yelling a lot in the debate, and then progressing through to the quarter finals! We then
came exceptionally close to making the tournament’s semi finals, getting knocked out in
a 3-‐2 split decision. Cori and Patrick were fantastic people to work with throughout the
competition, and I am so glad we could share this experience together
P. 7
Jessica Musulin
Domonique Duggan also ‘broke’ as an adjudicator, which means that she was selected to
judge the finals round of the tournament. Dom ended up judging all the way to the Grand
Final, which is a phenomenal effort! Every other Griffith team won at least one debate,
and several of our other adjudicators were also ‘chairing’ debates throughout the
competition – a great sign of our depth.
But the tournament isn’t just about the debating – it’s about the people, the memories,
and most importantly, the room parties. Notable memories (from room parties) include:
that time when the male members of the contingent took off their shirts to compare their
“masculinity”, several great ‘Cards Against Humanity’ combinations and applying make-‐
up to male contingent members.
A staggering 17 members of the contingent were made up of law students or alumni,
including myself, Kerrod Giles, Cori Fitzpatrick, Mehere Maladina, Dimity Thoms, Rhys
Kasper, Karsen Haseler, Jonathan Wu, Chloe Heterick, Nicola Leach, Khym Wheldon,
Ronja Sen, Isaac Buckland, Nirupama Sivakumar, Domonique Duggan, Aaron Payne and
Madison Edwards.
This reflects the fact that debating is uniquely suited to building advocacy skills that are
crucial in the practice of law. If you’re interested in giving debating a go, feel free to come
along to our meetings on Monday nights, or message myself or Domonique for further
information. We’d love to see you at a meeting or have you join our contingent at the next
upcoming tournament!
P. 8
Hannah Maxwell & Sammy Toogood - Competitions
For some events, the anticipation is the most exciting part; that feeling during
the weeks before Christmas, the jitters on Easter Sunday morning, the
cracking of the spine of your brand new $165.99 edition of Carter’s Criminal
Law of Queensland. The anticipation for the 2015 Client Interview Grand Final
began on a sunny Saturday morning at 9am, when the coffee was still brewing
and the Law School was locked to all but the comps dream team. The day
quickly turned to reflect the competition with tumultuous storms brewing and
pouring rain reflecting the happy tears of those competitors lucky enough to
break through to the Semi Finals. As the rain continued through the Semi Finals
and right up until the Grand Final, some wondered if we had pushed the
competitors too far, taunting them with a fake moustache, a female playing a
male client and copious amounts of delicious Sponsor food. The answer? Of
course not. This is the reason for their birth, a competition for the ages, as
evidenced by the ridiculously high standard brought by all the competitors.
For this event, the anticipation was not the most exciting part. The most
exciting part was the participation by all involved; the competitors who came
prepped and professional, the clients with their personas at the ready and the
judges, volunteers without whom the day could not run. Just as important, was
the sponsorship of Herbert Smith Freehills and the delicious refreshments
provided for the Grand Final.
A massive congratulations to all who competed. The scores were tight, the
suits fresh and the quality overwhelming. In particular, we must congratulate
the runners-‐up, Mirandha Escott-‐Burton and Daniella Hasson, and the
ultimate champions, Rhys Kaspar and Caitlin Maher.
Thank yous go to all the volunteers involved, as well as, our beautiful Grand
Final male client, Vanessa Petrie, who’s moustache brought down the house
almost as much as Rhys’ comment about disappointing his father.
GULS competitions are a good time. If you missed this one, make sure to head
to the Open Moot Grand Final, Tuesday, April 21st at the offices of Allens
Linklaters. We can guarantee a moot that matches the quality of the
refreshments.
P. 10
Ronja Sen - Exchange
As a law student I was pretty weary of whether exchange was the right decision for me.
I mean, I knew I was feeling claustrophobic and had to get out of Brisbane, but what would
it mean for my degree? It was a dilemma that I am sure many have faced before me.
Interrupt the flow of my course or wait until I graduate to travel?
Ultimately I was un-‐dissuaded by the concerns of not having a traditional linear degree.
Exchange it was. The deep dissatisfaction that came with being bound by the shackles of
conventionality had suffocated me enough, I needed to break free.
The actual process of applying for exchange is tedious, but I would say it is fairly straight
forward. The hardest part, for me, was choosing the city and university. I ended up going
with the University of Helsinki, Finland. Let me just say, my god am I glad I chose Finland.
The first place I visited was the north of Finland, a region known as Lapland that stretches
throughout the north of Sweden and Norway. It was the home of puffins, endless snow
capped alpine trees, the northern lights (Aurora Borealis) and Santa Claus! Helsinki itself
turned out to be an up-‐and-‐coming clubbing hotspot in Europe with guest DJs from Berlin,
Barcelona and London every weekend with music ranging from hard house music to rap
from the 90s. Despite the endless natural beauty of Finland, probably the most impressive
cultural quality was that even the homeless people would speak fluent English.
In terms of academics, the University I chose had a wide range of subjects in English. Be
sure to check this before you choose a university! When you go on exchange, you use up
your electives. I used up 40 credit points worth of my international law electives and,
although technically I could do any subject from biology to photography and still have it
count towards my degree, I decided to stick with law.
My subjects were Socio-‐Legal Thinking, Foundations of EU Law, International Human
Rights Law, Theory of Peace and Security Studies, and Finnish. The standard of English was
very high along with marking standards -‐ fortunately Griffith’s policy entails that you just
have to pass a subject on exchange to have it valid for your transcript here.
P. 11
Ronja Sen - Exchange
Before, after and during my time studying I visited different cities and countries for 4-‐6
days at a time. Overall I visited around 20 countries and different cities within them,
including part of Africa too. I spent the last month of my journey in Spain and it inspired
me more to visit South America next. I’ve now enrolled in a 2 year Spanish course through
Griffith which gives me enough time to save up enough for my next exchange in Peru
where I’ll have the freedom to also study in Spanish.
Going on exchange is one of the best decisions you could make during university. The
hardest part is being brave enough to say ‘yes’. My travels taught me that getting out
into the real world and experiencing different cultures and lifestyles can completely
change you as a person. For me, I would say for the better.
P. 12
Liam Maddrell - United Nations Students Assoc.
The United Nations Student’s Association (UNSA) has a great year lined up in 2015. Now
in its sixth year of operations, UNSA promotes understanding of the United Nations and
International Relations in general in innovative and fun ways. This is achieved through our
mini-‐MUNs (Model United Nations), Roundtable discussions, Speaker’s Events and Crisis
Council (not to mention our Socials!), with something available to anyone who is
interested in world affairs. Furthermore there are also a number of conferences both
domestic and international to which UNSA attends.
For law students in particular there are numerous opportunities to develop transferable
skills that will help you with your future career. Mini-‐MUNs and the aforementioned
conferences in particular are invaluable to this due to the formalised debate structure
that they promote, along with the need for flexible and quick thinking. That both the
International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice are regular committees,
along with the 6th Standing Committee of the General Assembly further reinforces this
value to law students. Mini-‐MUN’s are also invaluable to get experience before tackling
some of the larger conferences that will see students from all over the country/world
attend.
If debating isn’t your thing completely, our Roundtable Discussions could be more your
style. These are similar to a tute except on a specific topic and without a tutor or the threat
of assessment, they have pizza and usually a video or three will be played as well. These
are usually on ‘hot button’ topics of exceptional interest and ultimately is a great way to
get to know more people on campus while learning about important international events.
Likewise our Speaker’s events will give you access to speakers of eminence on various
issues of interest.
Suffice to say, at UNSA we have a lot going on this year, and would love to have you come
join us! Membership is only $10 for the year! Should you have any questions that this
succinct article hasn’t answered, please contact us at [email protected] or via our
Facebook page (search for UNSA Griffith – Brisbane).
Hope to see you all there!
Liam Maddrell
P. 13
Amnesty International: Jayne Francis & Annabelle Behan
Amnesty International at Griffith is a volunteer society that welcomes anyone who is
passionate about human rights. Our society works in conjunction with the Amnesty
International Queensland Branch to promote awareness on current events that have in
some way resulted in the violation of individual justice and freedoms. These include issues
regarding asylum seekers, treatment of women, the death penalty, child slavery, and a
range of other matters.
With so many critical issues in need of attention our society is built upon the belief that any
successful action no matter how big or small is creating positive progress. This belief has
resulted in us formulating a range of events for the year that require different levels of
commitment and therefore cater towards all kinds of needs from our members.
So far this year we have had particular focus on advocacy for Australians Andrew Chan and
Myuran Sukumaran who are facing execution in Indonesia. We also will be campaigning
for refugee and asylum seeker rights, with our next campaign ‘Lost Children’ aiming to bring
about the release of the remaining 107 children who are currently in detention on Nauru
and being unfairly treated within these camps.
We meet weekly on a Tuesday as a group, and already this year we have hosted a meet and
greet for new members, and a letter writing afternoon where a number of members
constructed personal letters addressing various members of the Indonesian government
about the imminent executions as well as the Saudi Arabian government about the
enforced disappearences of Asma Khalifa al-‐Suwaidi, Mariam Khalifa al-‐Suwaidi and
Alyaziyah Khalifa al-‐Suwaidi, three sisters who had campaigned peacefully for their
brother, prisoner of conscience Dr Issa al-‐Suwaidi.
We are hoping to host more letter writing events like this in the future, as they are a simple
yet effective way to advocate for individuals where there has been a violation of their
human rights. In addition, we plan to host a Q&A evening, documentary screening, and
possibly events that will be held in partnership with Amnesty Groups from other
universities that support the overarching campaigns mentioned above.
We welcome anyone who is interested to join, it’s a great way to get active in the
community and make a difference, as well as a chance to meet likeminded people from
within and outside of your degree. There are no obligations once you are a member, we
would simply love to have anyone who is keen to make a change.
Contact: [email protected] or Facebook: Amnesty International at Griffith
P. 14
Opportunities
GULS would like to make a shoutout to all of the budding legal authors out
there.
We'd like to promote our newly formed "GULS Publications" group. This group
is aimed at people who may like to contribute a piece of writing to our articles
this year, we're always looking for new and exciting people who have been
through an interesting legal experience and would like to share.
Helping out with articles looks great on your resume and gives you a chance
to show all your friends and family that you're the next big name in university
publications.
If you're interested feel free to join the group and get in contact with us:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/397626703756130/
P. 15