LAW5663 Movement lawyering
Faculty of Law
LAW5663 Movement lawyering is a level 5, 6-credit-point, postgraduate 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 LAW5663
Prohibitions
You can't enrol if you have passed any of these.
After LAW5663
No unit lists LAW5663 as a prerequisite in the 2026 handbook.
Enrolment rules
For Legal Studies students (L4004, L5004, L6013) you must have completed LAW5000 or LAW5081
and
For Juris Doctor students (L6005), you must have completed 60 credit points of 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
Critically evaluate the role of lawyers in social movements, with attention to the legal, ethical, political, and strategic dimensions of movement lawyering.
- 2
Compare and contrast with compelling detail approaches to cause and movement lawyering across different global contexts.
- 3
Critically 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 advanced theoretical and case study insights to convincingly assess the practical challenges faced by lawyers working with social movements, including issues of accountability, professional responsibility, and collaboration with grassroots actors.
- 5
Communicate complex ideas in a compelling and highly engaging fashion to a range of audiences 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.
Where it fits
LAW5663 is part of 4 areas of study in the 2026 handbook.
- COMCRPLW05Specialisation electivesCommercial and corporate lawNo reviews yet
- DISRESLN06Specialisation electivesDispute resolutionNo reviews yet
- GLBSOCHR04Specialisation electivesGlobal society and human rightsNo reviews yet
- PSGOVREG05Specialisation electivesPublic sector governance and regulationNo reviews yet
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Professor Steven Vaughan
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for LAW5663?
LAW5663 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is LAW5663 offered?
LAW5663 has no offerings listed in the 2026 handbook.
Does LAW5663 have an exam?
No. LAW5663 has 3 assessment tasks and no exam.
Which majors and minors include LAW5663?
LAW5663 is part of Commercial and corporate law; Dispute resolution; Global society and human rights; and Public sector governance and regulation.
More details
- Credit points
- 6
- Level
- 5
- Study level
- Postgraduate
- Faculty
- Faculty of Law
- Type
- Coursework
- EFTSL
- 0.125
- Student contribution
- SCA Band 4
- Study abroad
- Not available
- Handbook years
- 20262027