My application was to make a video about client interviewing, as current available resources are either outdated or lack content specifically for Australian law students. The aim was to provide students with an easy to access video demonstrating the skill of client interviewing using a ‘relational approach’. This is to be a reference tool for their overall learning and subsequent oral assessment in practical legal education.
Scripting
Now the script! Where do I start? This needed to be about an everyday problem to encourage student engagement so I chose neighbour issues – noise (nuisance) and damage to a dividing fence. Who doesn’t know about a difficult neighbour? As students are often challenged by the practical application of their learning to real life settings, it was essential to demonstrate the various stages of an interview using a structured approach and how each stage is a building block for the overall framework. Essentially, I wanted to take the fear out of interviewing by providing students with a strategy and tool for use in their future professional life.
The production process
Anthony Burke and his team, together with professional actors as the lawyer and client, brought the script alive with their skill and expertise. The video will be an essential tool for our students to observe, discuss and reflect on the role of a lawyer in a client interview, what the lawyer did well and areas for improvement. Our students’ current learning on how to interview a client will be complemented by this resource.
It was a very exciting venture! I had so much fun. Look out for next year’s announcement if you are thinking of applying.
Thank you to Wenes Gunawan for helping with the grant and writing of this post.
Feature image credit: Laura Lee Moreau