Alternative Law Journal

Law & Culture - 2013 - Vol 38(3)

Law and Culture In our Law & Culture column, you will find original works of fiction, reviews of a wide range of publications — not just conventional legal texts — as well as broader cultural forms such as films, TV shows, CDs, DVDs, art exhibitions and so on. The column links in with the Alternative Law Journal’s focus on law for the disadvantaged, human rights law and law reform.

View archives

Conspiracy Of Silence: Queensland's Frontier Killing Times

Stephen Gray

Bottoms-Conspiracy-of-silence-jacket Timothy Bottoms; Allen & Unwin, 2013;  288 pages; $32.99 (paperback)

Even to somebody relatively familiar with Australia’s real history — and more used, therefore, to thinking of it as bloodstained rather than merely blemished — Timothy Bottoms’ close examination of Queensland’s frontier comes as something of a shock. Henry Reynolds, Noel Loos, Raymond Evans and others have previously established that Queensland’s colonial frontier was a particularly brutal place. It’s also well known that Queensland’s Native Police force, which operated from 1848 to around 1910 [see p 7], played a notorious role in this. Bottoms’ book, however, establishes in comprehensive and chilling fashion how bad it actually was.

Cite as

(2013) 38(3) AltLJ 199

Category: Law & Culture - 2013 - Vol 38(3)

Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction To Your Future

Kate Galloway

tomorrows-lawyers sm Richard Susskind; Oxford University Press, 2013; 180 pages; $18.95 (paperback)

Tomorrow’s legal world, as predicted and described here, bears little resemblance to that of the past. Legal institutions and lawyers are at a crossroads…and are poised to change more radically over the next two decades than they have over the last two centuries. If you are a young lawyer, this revolution will happen on your watch. [p xiii]

So begins Richard Susskind in his latest thoughts about the future of the legal profession. While aimed at young lawyers and law students, the book is relevant also for legal educators and lawyers themselves as a call to rethink the nature of what we do.

Cite as

(2013) 38(3) AltLJ 200

Category: Law & Culture - 2013 - Vol 38(3)

Promoting Justice Through Clinical Legal Education

Kristoffer Greaves

Promoting-Justice-Through-Clinical-Legal-Education Jeff Giddings; Justice Press,* 2013;  448 pages; $20+postage/packing (paperback)

It is a good year for resources concerning Australian clinical legal education, with Jeff Giddings’ book an excellent companion to the ‘Best Practices Australian Clinical Legal Education’ report released earlier in 2013.

Clinical legal education involves students ‘learning by doing and reflecting’ via supervised legal work on behalf of real clients, or through simulated scenarios drawn from legal practice. In Promoting Justice Through Clinical Legal Education, Giddings argues:

Clinical methodologies can make a more substantial contribution to legal education as part of an integrated and effectively sequenced program than on a stand-alone basis. [p 3]

An integrated approach, says Giddings, promotes justice through legal education by providing law students with opportunities to appreciate the importance of access to justice, to develop professional ethics, take responsibility for their work, and experience the limitations of the law and legal processes.

Cite as

(2013) 38(3) AltLJ 200

Category: Law & Culture - 2013 - Vol 38(3)

Consumer Law and Policy in Australian and New Zealand

Mabel Tsui

consumer-law-and-policy Justin Malbon and Luke Nottage (eds);  Federation Press, 2013; 480pp; $125 (paperback)

Despite the youthfulness of the Australian Consumer Law (which came into full force in 2011, replacing the Trade Practices Act regime), if the recent International Association of Consumer Law Conference held in Sydney is anything to go by, this Law has already generated much discussion among academic and practitioner circles about its merits and operation. Consumer Law and Policy in Australia and New Zealand, edited by Professor Justin Malbon and Associate Professor Luke Nottage is therefore a welcome addition to the literature on this area. Although the book looks at two jurisdictions, the editors make it clear at the beginning that given the close economic ties and efforts to create a single economic market between the two countries, it is necessary that ACL reform be viewed in the context of these developments. Also worthy of consideration is that in recent years, both countries have mutually influenced each other in their domestic laws, and thus, it is only right that their laws should be discussed together.

Cite as

(2013) 38(3) AltLJ 201

Category: Law & Culture - 2013 - Vol 38(3)

Seesaw

Mike Daly

Seesaw-cd-cover Beth Hart/Joe Bonamassa; J&R Associates  (though Only Blues Music); $23.99; CD

Roots music doesn’t get any better than this powerhouse blend of soul and blues covers. Songstress Beth Hart and blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa first teamed up in 2011 to record the highly successful Don’t Explain, but if that collaboration pushed a tad too hard at times to box the musical compass, Seesaw is more tightly focused. It achieves a perfect stylistic balance without sacrificing energy or conviction.

Hart plays to her strengths as never before, sourcing acknowledged influences from Billie Holiday to Etta James and Aretha Franklin, yet managing to take ownership of the songs they made famous. She segues with amazing ease from a brittle, much-travelled jump-swinger like Them There Eyes — set to Lee Thornburg’s brash horn arrangement and Bonamassa’s reverb-heavy Les Paul-style licks — to sultry torch temptress on Close To My Fire.

Cite as

(2013) 38(3) AltLJ 202

Category: Law & Culture - 2013 - Vol 38(3)