For student undertaking a law degree.
Why do I need to complete three 20-day Professional Experience in law placements?
The three 20-day law placements are a mandatory component of your degree and a requirement of professional accreditation. You cannot graduate from your law degree without the successful completion of these placements.
What if my placement exceeds 20 days?
Students can obtain credit for more than one placement if the length of their placement exceeds 20 days at their host organisation (commensurate to the total number of days completed) or if the student is undertaking an authorised 6 or 12-month ‘Professional Experience in Law’ position.
What happens if I don't finish 20 days at my law placement?
You will gain credit for the amount of days you complete towards the 20-day requirement. Your supervisor will need to fill out and sign off the completion letter and return it to profplacements@swin.edu.au. You will need to make up the remaining placement days at a different law firm/host before being granted a pass for that professional experience unit.
The form can be located within the Professional Experience in law manual document.
What are the law placement units called?
The three units are called Professional Experience in Law 1 (LAW10016), Professional Experience in Law 2 (LAW20018) and Professional Experience in Law 3 (LAW30016).
Where can I find current law placement opportunities advertised for students?
Approved placement opportunities will be communicated to students via InPlace, an online placement portal. Students will have access to placement roles on InPlace once admitted into their law degree. However, your applications will not be sent to hosts unless you have completed CV360. If you do not have access to InPlace, please email profplacements@swin.edu.au and we can arrange this for you.
Why do I need to complete CV360?
It is mandatory for students that have not yet commenced or completed their first placement to complete the 'CV360' online module. This is an online placement preparation tool accessed via SwinEmploy that will help you to improve your cover letter, resume and interview skills.
Students who have commenced or completed a portion of their accreditation placements are encouraged to undertake CV360 before applying for opportunities that will fulfil the remainder of their required placement days.
What should I do when I start my Professional Experience in law placement?
Ensure your supervisor has filled out, signed and returned the Professional Experience in law confirmation agreement form to profplacements@swin.edu.au. The form can be located within the Professional Experience in law manual document.
What should I do when I finish my Professional Experience in law placement?
Your supervisor will need fill out and sign the Professional Experience in law completion letter and send it to profplacements@swin.edu.au.The form can be located within the Professional Experience in law manual document.
Where can I find the confirmation agreement and completion letter documents for my Professional Experience in law placement?
You can download them below:
Completion of Placement Letter – Template (DOCX, 18KB)
My enrolment/study plan is incorrect for my Professional Experience in law units. What should I do?
Please email profplacements@swin.edu.au as soon as possible, so we can follow up the status of your paperwork as it might not have been received for processing. If you have already provided your completion letter after finishing 20 days of placement, then it would have been processed and a pass grade result uploaded. However, as the Professional Experience units are enrolled in the closest study period to your start date, the unit will not roll over to passed status on your study plan until results for that specific study period are released.
You can find the result dates here.
Can I self-source my own 20-day law placement?
Yes, students may find their own placements and we strongly encourage this practice. The prospective placement opportunity must be discussed and approved by the Law Placements Manager in conjunction with the Academic Director of Work Integrated Learning at the Swinburne Law School. They may require a position description for the proposed placement, or to communicate with the prospective supervisor prior to approval.
Further guidelines are detailed in the Professional Experience in law manual document. If you do source your own placement, please email the details to profplacements@swin.edu.au so that we can initiate the necessary processes to validate the placement.
How do I apply for an exemption towards my Professional Experience law units?
Requests should be made via the advanced standing form on the Swinburne website. Each request will be assessed individually. It will be at Swinburne Law School's absolute discretion as to whether a student will be granted dispensation.
Can I get credit for work experience completed prior to enrolling in my LLB?
If this work experience is work of a legal nature, students may be eligible for an exemption for one of the Professional Experience in Law units. Requests should be made via the advanced standing form on the Swinburne website, accompanied by written evidence of the prior work experience. As stated above, each request will be assessed individually. It will be at Swinburne Law School's absolute discretion as to whether a student will be granted dispensation.
Do any of my LLB electives count towards my Professional Experience in Law units?
No, completed law elective units do not count towards Professional Experience in Law units. This is effective from Semester 2, 2021.
Does my placement for Leo Cussen count towards my Professional Experience in Law units?
Yes. Students who complete the Leo Cussen placement as part of the Dual Award program (i.e. integrate the GDLP into their final year of LLB studies) are eligible for credit for LAW30016.