A student right of audience? Implications of law students appearing in court

Abstract

This article examines the policy considerations underlying the common law limitation of the right of audience in the courts to professionally qualified and regulated advocates. It discusses the program conducted by Monash University in Australia whereby law students regularly represent their clients in court and analyses the safeguards built into this program in an attempt to meet those policy considerations. Finally the article looks briefly at the intriguing question of whether student advocates might be immune from liability for negligence, since that immunity still applies in Australia.