LAW4902 Movement lawyering
Faculty of Law
LAW4902 Movement lawyering is a level 4, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Law. It isn't offered in 2026. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2026
- Other periods
- Prato
- Assessment
- No exam
- 3 tasks
This is the 2026 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before LAW4902
Prohibitions
You can't enrol if you have passed any of these.
After LAW4902
No unit lists LAW4902 as a prerequisite in the 2026 handbook.
Enrolment rules
You must have completed at least 60 credit points of law study.
Equivalent units
The same content under another code. Only one of them counts.
Overview
This unit will explore the theory and practice of lawyering in service of social movements, drawing on case studies (e.g. the climate crisis) and critical scholarship from around the world. Topics are likely to include the history and ethics of cause lawyering; the strategies and dilemmas of working alongside grassroots movements; comparative perspectives on movement lawyering in the Global South and Global North; and the tensions between legal advocacy and broader political organizing. Students would also examine practical challenges—such as navigating institutional constraints, balancing professional duties with activist commitments, and addressing questions of accountability—to develop a nuanced understanding of law as both a tool and a site of struggle for justice as a lawyer.
Offerings in 2026
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Term 2 | Prato | On campus, block |
Assessment
- Class participationDemonstration10%
- Presentation40%
- Written assignmentWritten50%
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Demonstrate strong understanding of the role of lawyers in social movements, with attention to the legal, ethical, political, and strategic dimensions of movement lawyering.
- 2
Compare and contrast approaches to cause and movement lawyering across different global contexts.
- 3
Analyse the ways in which law and lawyers both sustains and challenges structures of inequality, including those shaped by race, class, gender, and colonialism.
- 4
Apply theoretical and case study insights to assess the practical challenges faced by lawyers working with social movements, including issues of accountability, professional responsibility, and collaboration with grassroots actors.
- 5
Communicate key ideas in a coherent and engaging fashion in both written and oral modes.
Workload and teaching
- Workshops36 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit typically comprises of a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study applicable to a 6 credit point unit. Learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning, and online engagement.
Learning resources
Required resources
See the Moodle unit page for prescribed and recommended resources.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Professor Steven Vaughan
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for LAW4902?
LAW4902 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is LAW4902 offered?
LAW4902 has no offerings listed in the 2026 handbook.
Does LAW4902 have an exam?
No. LAW4902 has 3 assessment tasks and no exam.
More details
- Credit points
- 6
- Level
- 4
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Faculty
- Faculty of Law
- Type
- Coursework
- EFTSL
- 0.125
- Student contribution
- SCA Band 4
- Study abroad
- Not available
- Handbook years
- 20262027