The Ian Malkin Centre for Legal Academic Skills Centre (‘LASC’) offers substantial resources and support to JD, MLM, and Graduate Research students with respect to a broad range of academic skills including legal reasoning, time management, note-taking, legal analysis, professionalism, research, critical engagement (thinking), and writing both exam answers and academic essays.
1. Our Team
Associate Professor Chantal Morton is the Director of the LASC. She conducts legal writing and academic skills workshops and individual consultations.
Coordinator of the EAGLE program: Maggie Orr in 2025 Second Semester
EAGLE facilitators and Writing Clinic legal writing advisors
Dr Jo Commins is a Legal Writing Advisor and offers individual legal writing consultations for JD and MLM students.
Dr Toerien Van Wyk is a Legal Writing Advisor and offers individual legal writing consultations for JD and MLM students.
Samantha Hinderling offers individual legal writing consultations for JD and MLM students.
Sharon Reading offers individual legal writing consultations for JD and MLM students.
2. Workshops
We design and deliver workshops on a wide range of topics including academic skills (developing focus, taking effective notes, etc), legal research, legal analysis, and legal writing for a variety of assignment forms and audiences. We post information about the workshops to our Canvas community. You can always refer queries to Chantal Morton and she will point students to the appropriate pages.
A. Research Skills for ALL MLS Students (not offered in 2025 Second Semester – instead, sign up for a drop-in session for specific advice on a research project)
- Developing a Topic and Approaches to Legal Research
- Decolonising Research
- Finding Secondary Sources for your Research Paper
- Researching Australian Legislation
- Researching Australian Case Law
- Managing your Research with Zotero
- Researching International Public Law
- Foreign and Comparative Law
- Technology and the Law
B. Academic Skills Workshops for the JD students
EAGLE Program for first-year students: Early Academic Guidance for Legal Education. As of 2025, runs in both semesters for students in first-year subjects.
Students meet in groups of 8-10 to discuss the challenges of law study and develop the relevant skills for success. The groups are facilitated by senior JD students. There is now a curriculum for the program, with specific learning objectives for each week and activities and resources designed in support of those objectives. Topics:
- Introduction and note taking
- Problem/hypothetical questions and time management
- Memos
- Oral presentations
- Exam notes
- Hypothetical problems
- Writing essays
- Clear writing principles
- Preparing for quizzez
LASC Workshops:
- Rule Synthesis
- Advice on Structure and Argument for your First Research Paper (Torts)
- Study Tips for Law Exams
- Writing for Law: Legal Theory Papers (second semester)
- Strategies for Advanced Editing (2nd and 3rd year students)
- Making the Leap from a 2 000 Word Essay to your 8 000 Word Legal Research Paper: Persuasive Writing
C. Academic Skills Workshops for the MLM and Graduate Diploma students:
A workshop series on Academic Success in the MLM:
- Reading Strategies and Taking Notes
- Interpreting Statutes and Reading Judgments
- Legal Analysis in a Common Law Legal System (working with law)
- Researching your first legal problem: looking for secondary sources, using the databases for case law and statutes
- Strategies for Writing Legal Research Papers
- Using law and secondary sources to support your argument
- Referencing (Footnotes) and the AGLC – Domestic and International
- Introduction to Zotero
- Responding to Hypothetical Problems on Take-Home Exams
Publishing your Paper: Insights from the Editors of the Melbourne University Law Review
For all students: Writing Camp with a focus on grammar, critical thinking, and persuasive writing. Topics include:
- Strategies for using active and passive voice
- Avoiding confusion when using pronouns
- Accuracy using modifiers and modifying phrases
- Verbs and tenses
- Concise writing
- Advanced persuasive writing
- Advanced critical thinking
3. Consultations
The LASC will book individual consultations to discuss academic skill development:
- Academic skills
- Research
- Writing
We provide constructive feedback on drafts of essays to JD, MLM, and RHD students. Feedback relates directly to structure and argument. We do not provide feedback on content, nor do we edit/proofread. When working with a specific piece of writing, the adviser will generally focus on key issues or sections for instructional purposes. Students are expected to take responsibility for improving their work by developing the necessary skills.
Students are only permitted to book ONE appointment per essay they write.
Because it typically takes approximately 2 hours to prepare the formative feedback on an essay 5,000 – 10,000 words, we provide the following guidance on how to book a consultation.
If you would like to book an appointment with a Legal Writing or Legal Research advisor, please email Associate Professor Chantal Morton (feedback on complete drafts of essays) or Cassandra Seery (help with research) directly using your University of Melbourne email account.
Chantal will forward requests for feedback on complete drafts to other members of the team who are available on the days requested.
Information to include in your request for a consultation:
- Your full name
- The program (JD, MLM, GRD)
- At least two days and time ranges when you are available. Please be as specific as possible – include dates and times. Remember you must submit your draft to the writing advisor by 9 AM the business day before the consultation. This means on Friday for a Monday appointment.
- Whether you would like to discuss an outline, a completed draft of a research paper, academic skills, legal research or something else
- Any time constraints (for example, the date the assignment is due if it is a review of a draft
Students are also asked to complete the Research Essay Checklist and include it when they email us the draft by 9 AM on the business day before the consultation. https://successatmls.com/essay-checklist/
4. Resources
A. The LASC Canvas Community
The LASC Canvas Community has a lot of information and resources for all our students. Anyone with a unimelb email address can self enrol in the community. You are also welcome to link to our resources within your own pages. Self enrol: https://law.unimelb.edu.au/students/legal-academic-skills/lms-community
Research Skills: We have online modules for students to go through at their own pace. We can also design and deliver ‘bespoke’ workshops for subjects if the currently materials are not suitable. They will need several months notice if you want them to do something like this for your subject.
You can access a lot of the research advice in the Canvas community here and I strongly recommend you take a look as the materials are excellent: https://canvas.lms.unimelb.edu.au/courses/88951/pages/legal-research-resources
Analysis and Writing Skills: The students’ starting point is this page with links to the Guide to Academics Succes and videos and handouts from workshops: https://canvas.lms.unimelb.edu.au/courses/88951/pages/research-essay-advice-including-checklist?module_item_id=2948858
The Guide to Academic Success (linked from the front page of the LASC Canvas community) has chapters on
- Legal academic skills (reading and taking notes)
- Tracking your research
- Writing for law including essays, case briefs, memoranda, and responses to hypothetical exams
- When and how to footnote/cite (crucial for avoiding plagiarism and failing subjects)
- Advanced editing
- Checklists for reviewing your take-home exams and essays before you submit
Examples of academic writing:
- Annotated essays and answers for exams for subjects where the teachers provided us with the materials.
Materials from workshops
- The power points and handouts from the weekly workshops
B. Success at MLS Website (where you are right now)
The Success at MLS is primarily a peer-to-peer advice with blog posts from senior JD students and faculty with advice on how to approach study skills and specific assignments. The advice is open to the public. The site also includes some online interactive modules that you might want to link if you think the advice will help your students: https://successatmls.com/
On Legal Writing: https://successatmls.com/writing/
- Essay pre-consultation tool (to get students thinking about their topic and how they will construct an argument)
- Introductions
- Structure
- Transitions
- Effective arguments
- Writing concisely
- Essay checklist (before they submit to their teacher)
On grammar for law https://successatmls.com/grammar/
- Active vs Passive Voice
- Misplaced Modifiers
- Plural Nouns
- Pronouns and Antecedents
- Sentence and Paragraph Transitions
- Subject-Verb Agreement
On hypothetical problems https://successatmls.com/hypos/
- Spotting Issues
- IRAC
- Structuring Your Answer
- Template for the IRAC Methodology
On academic integrity https://successatmls.com/academic-integrity/
- Referencing
- Quoting vs Paraphrasing
- Long Quotes
- The Australian Guide to Legal Citation
- Turnitin