Australian Legal Education Awards
Celebrating excellence in Australian Legal Education
The Council of Australian Law Deans (CALD) and the Legal Education Associate Deans (LEAD) network are delighted to announce the successful recipients of the inaugural Australian Legal Education Awards (ALEAs)!
The Award Panels, comprising Deans and Associate Deans (Teaching & Learning) (or equivalent) from around the country, were impressed by the quality of the nominations put forward for the year’s ALEAs and the significant contributions being made to the scholarship of teaching and learning in the discipline of law. A total of 34 nominations were received across the award categories, which was an amazing effort from nominees given the significant challenges presented by the pandemic during the year.
The winners of the 2021 ALEAs are:
Excellence in Teaching
Dr Kerstin Braun and Associate Professor Noeleen McNamara, University of the Southern Queensland, for developing compulsory law-specific academic integrity resources which provides students with a clear understanding of academic misconduct, thereby eliminating breaches in two first-year core subjects
Excellence in Teaching (Early Career)
Mr Aidan Ricciardo, University of Western Australia, for instilling self-confidence in his students and supporting them to be the best learners they can be by making legal studies accessible and inclusive
Excellence in Teaching (Sessional)
Mr Alexander Chan, University of Adelaide, for fostering an engaging learning environment that motivates students to learn collaboratively and makes learning fun through real-life cases, multi-media games and popular culture references
Excellence in Teaching (Engagement)
Dr Linda Steele, University of Technology Sydney, for transforming students’ understanding of disability and mental health law and empowering them to become agents of disability justice through engaging with communities
Excellence in Research Supervision
Professor Paul Babie, University of Adelaide, for leading the Adelaide Law School in supervision to completion, with students frequently receiving university and faculty awards for thesis excellence and obtaining academic and research positions
Outstanding Career Achievement Award
In addition, the ALEAs seek to honour sustained contribution to legal education over a period of at least 25 years through the Outstanding Career Achievement Award, which is assessed by CALD. The recipient of this award in 2021 is:
Professor Emeritus Ian Malkin, Melbourne Law School
Professor Malkin’s teaching has inspired and had a lasting impression on colleagues and students over 35+ years at Melbourne Law School (MLS). Professor Malkin has developed, coordinated and delivered a range of law units and has been involved in broader curriculum development and review. His teaching and learning service, leadership and impact extends well beyond MLS, to the whole of the University of Melbourne, and he has also provided leadership in legal education more broadly at a national level. Professor Malkin’s curriculum development is innovative and he has co-authored leading textbooks in his area of expertise, along with co-authored articles that are a valuable contribution to legal education scholarship. The nomination for this award demonstrates a singularly student-centred approach to teaching which has influenced generations of law students at MLS.
CALD and LEAD offer their sincere congratulations to the successful recipients of the ALEAs this year and thank all nominees for their nominations, which inspired the Award Panels with their contribution and commitment to teaching and learning!
A virtual ceremony will be held in early December to acknowledge the winners.