3. Developing legal skills

• Skills of a Lawyer - need to possess a wide range of skills to enable them to do their jobs

  • planning
  • time management
  • research
  • file and HR management
  • communication
  • legal knowledge
• Communication


  • Perfect English may seem like a difficult objective to achieve, particularly in the Pacific where English may not be our first, second, or even third language!

  • This does not mean that we should give up: Take it as a challenge to do your best!

  • Errors in English are not only caused by the fundamental lack of ability with the English language but also laziness, rushing, and a lack of thorough editing!
• Plain English


  Using plain English can improve your writing

  • Use simple words!

  • Write short sentences– one idea per sentence!

  • Concise– straight to the point!

  • Avoid repetition!
• Editing


  Editing is also a very important thing that law students must do for their written work

  • Give yourself enough time to edit

  • Invest in a dictionary

  • Use the spell-check function on MS Word

  • Read the document out loud – more likely to find the errors in your writing

  • Have someone proof-read your document
• Professionalism


  • Lawyers are officers of the court, they must uphold the law, tell the truth to the judge, and promote the effective operation of the legal system.
  • Judges must remain IMPARTIAL - should not be biased or prejudiced

  In the Pacific, this is difficult to do due to many reasons!!!
• Challenges for lawyers to maintain professionalism in the Pacific

  • Lack of personnel in government offices causing delays
  • Small communities with close ties lead to tension if you are responsible for prosecuting them
  • Cultural obligations pressuring lawyers/judges to treat family/elders/chiefs differently
  • A mismatch between court processes and cultural behavior: court requires people to come on a specific date, while custom involves parties avoiding each other until reconciliation.
• Academic honesty


  Academic dishonesty is any type of cheating with the intent to deceive concerning a formal academic exercise

  • Plagiarism

  • Collusion

  • Cheating

  • Etc....
• Sometimes students commit academic dishonesty unintentionally

  • group discussions

  • Assignment sharing

  • Looking at previous students’ work

  • Mentoring sessions

  You must do your own work!
• Referencing


  Making clear the sources of information used in your work
• Benefits of referencing


  • Readers can find your sources
  • Readers can see that your ideas have support
  • Demonstrate your knowledge on the topic

  If you reference just to avoid punishment, you are missing the point!
• Academic Honesty USP Law


  Has its own Referencing Style Guide

  
  

  Students must reference any time they use another source in their assessments– exams are the only exception!

  • this includes tutorials, online discussions, assignments, etc.
• Assignments go through Turnitin– this is an external software that detects text within your assignment that has been used elsewhere
• Turnitin


  Assignments go through Turnitin– This external software detects text within your assignment that has been used elsewhere and provides a Similarity Index Percentage after checking the written work.

  
  

  What percentage should I aim to fall under?

  • There is no required percentage to fall under. The coordinator checks each Turnitin report to see whether there is plagiarism. Avoid plagiarism by correctly referencing your work!
• ChatGPT, bard, and other AI

  • Students are prohibited from using generative artificial intelligence text and art generation software, such as ChatGPT, on their assessments
  • You are expected to complete your assessments without substantial assistance from others, including automated tools.
  • If you are found to be using artificial intelligence without permission from the course coordinator, this may be deemed as serious as plagiarism and significant penalties may apply.
• Generative Artificial Intelligence or Gen-AI


  Technology that is used to generate text, images, data, and videos in response to specific prompts
• Prompt


  A descriptive phrase or sentence that directs the Gen-AI to create content
• Examples of Gen-AI


  • ChatGPT, a text generator
  • DALL-E, an image generator
  • Microsoft Copilot, AI platform with text and image generator
• Risks of AI


  • Accuracy
  • Bias
  • Quality
  • Link to Turnitin
• Accuracy


  • Content that is generated by Gen-AI technologies can be: Non-factual, Inaccurate, Out-of-date
  • Fact checking remains a necessity with AI so it would not save you time/trouble, even if you were allowed to use it (which you're NOT!)
• Bias


  • Content produced by Gen-AI can reflect any biases found within the data sources that the Gen-AI uses that include, but are not limited to: Discrimination of marginalised groups, Under-representation of marginalised groups
  • Critical review remains a necessity with AI so it would not save you time/trouble, even if you were allowed to use it (which you're NOT!)
• Quality


  • Content produced by Gen-AI may lack originality and text you are given may not have the tone that you are trying to achieve for your assessment
  • Additionally, the content may not be written in a way that is appropriate for your assessment
  • Lecturers DO see the difference between what you deliver orally in the classroom and what you deliver in writing
  • For these reasons, remember that the content generated by Gen-AI may not be of a high standard
  • Critical review remains a necessity with AI so it would not save you time/trouble, even if you were allowed to use it (which you're NOT!)
• Link to Turnitin


  • As Gen-AI learns from everything that you put into it (Personal details, Confidential information, Confidential data), the Gen-AI you use will remember what this information is and may use it in other generated responses
  • This is why TURNITIN DOES CATCH AI-generated responses as "matching text" if 2 or more students try to generate a text for the same assignment
  • Critical review remains a necessity with AI so it would not save you time/trouble, even if you were allowed to use it (which you're NOT!)
• Consequences of Plagiarism

  • Penalties: Loss of marks, failing the course, suspension, and expulsion from program
  • USP Law has a plagiarism database!
  • Academic dishonesty may negatively impact your ability to be admitted to the bar in your country