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This law student’s ‘humbling and surprising’ award win
Extracurricular activities can set you apart from other students and set you up for your legal career, according to this award-winning law student.
Lauren Croft
Whilst it may seem like a daunting task, law students should be submitting themselves for awards when and where they can. That’s something Dane Luo, University of Sydney student and Law Student of the Year winner at the recent Australian Law Awards, said he would “strongly encourage”.
“I would strongly encourage law students to apply for the award in future years. You may be surprised! My tip for an application is just to be yourself. I told my story of why I was interested in the law from watching the news when I was in primary school and also from a legal battle involving my parents’ family business. It was this that motivated me to study law and gave me a desire to correct injustices. Each person will have their own unique story and you should not be afraid to tell it.”
Having already got a commerce and economics degree, once he graduates from law school, Mr Luo said he hopes to work across constitutional law.
“I hope to become an academic and practice as a lawyer after I graduate. I am particularly interested in constitutional and administrative law because I love reading about the ‘David v Goliath’ battles between government and the ‘little guy’. I believe a nation’s Constitution can reflect their values and also shape their future,” he said.
“I also have a strong interest in industrial law because it relates to my economics studies in my first degree. I find it interesting to read about the history of the industrial relations between major unions and employers.”
Over the course of his studies, Mr Luo said he most enjoyed mooting and other extracurriculars — and advised other law students to try new things and explore their hobbies in order to set themselves apart.
“I have enjoyed my research and mooting opportunities the most. I really loved writing my honours thesis about a niche constitutional question that some people had asked but no one had yet answered. I really enjoy being able to bring my own perspective and argument on a point of law. Sometimes that might mean challenging the correctness of past court decisions. Mooting has also been a highlight because I enjoy being challenged to think on my feet and have my arguments tested by the bench.
“Law schools should focus on improving the accessibility of their degrees. I am concerned that law school can be the source of serious mental health issues for some students. And I am concerned that reasonable adjustments are not being made to accommodate and help students with a disability or those who do not come from privileged backgrounds,” he said.
“I [also] think law students can set themselves apart by doing some extracurricular activity that they love. This can be law-related, such as a competition, writing in a journal or volunteering in their university’s law society. But it can be unrelated to law as well, such as sport, music, drama and debating. I think all these little things set us apart and can shape our thinking and worldview in some mysterious, indirect way.”
Lauren Croft
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.
