Deakin’s Bachelor of Laws is designed to produce first-class commercial lawyers. The course provides in-depth studies in each of the major areas of legal practice by offering a number of special features. You will study many areas of law including core units in Commercial Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contract, Legal Practice and Ethics, Taxation, Administrative Law, Equity and Trusts, Torts, Competition Law and Policy, and Law, Society and Civil Rights. Some elective units (offered on a yearly rotational basis) include International Law, Chinese Commercial Law, Health and Biotechnology Law, Migration and Refugee Law and Family Law. Popular, intensive International Study Programs are available, allowing you to study in Europe, China or India. You are required to complete 30 days professional work experience in any environment in which you can gain experience on how the law, or the legal system, operates in practice. This will enrich your formal legal education and practical experience, further preparing you for employment in the industry. As part of the course Deakin also offers Law Clinic, a clinical skills unit which involves students working at a Community Legal Centre under the supervision of a legal practitioner. This unit is run in partnership with the Western Suburbs Community Legal Service, Geelong Community Legal Service and South West Community Legal Centre. The degree of Bachelor of laws may be awarded at honours level.

Obtaining a law degree is normally the first step towards becoming a barrister or solicitor, and most students entering law school aspire to enter one of these branches of the legal profession. A Law degree, especially when combined with a degree in Arts, Commerce, Management or Science, is a qualification, which offers unequalled career opportunities. As an alternative to practising as a barrister or solicitor, you may choose to enter business (eg. as a corporate lawyer, company administrator or business manager); government service (as a lawyer with departments or authorities as diverse as the Attorney Generals Department, the office of Parliamentary Counsel, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Australian Securities Commission); industrial relations; public administration; teaching (at a university); or in law reform (as a research officer). A law degree, especially when combined with a degree in arts, commerce, criminology, management or science, is a qualification which offers unequalled career opportunities