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Law students argue their way to success

Tuesday 15 July 2008

Two University of Newcastle students have taken out the prestigious Kirby Cup at this year's Australian Law Students' Association (ALSA) conference.

The Kirby Cup, named in honour of cup sponsor Justice Michael Kirby, tests students' ability to argue a case for law reform based on real issues of social concern.

Karlo Tychsen, a first-year Law student, and Barbara Townsend, a third-year Law student, successfully presented their case for reform to the Commonwealth freedom of information laws.

The Kirby Cup Law Reform Competition calls on entrants to develop a proposal for law reform that critique's an existing law, proposes reform and identifies strategies for implementation.

The students then need to argue their case for reform in front of a panel of judges before being rated on their originality, how they address the problem, conceptualisation and presentation. Only three groups of students are given the opportunity to address the panel.

The competition is designed to give law students the opportunity to engage in a meaningful way with policy-oriented law reform and gain an insight into the workings of the legal system.