JD Student’s Passion For Public Law Paves Way To Attorney-General’s Department

ANU Juris Doctor student Catherine Bladen has received the college’s first Leslie Zines Constitutional Law Scholarship and will begin a 10-week internship at the Attorney-General’s Department this summer.

Catherine has a strong interest in Constitutional law and said it was one of the aspects she most appreciated about studying at the ANU College of Law.

I love studying law here and a big part of what I love about it is the public law focus of the ANU Law School,” she said.

The teaching staff are incredibly passionate.”

Catherine said the internship would provide her with a rare chance as a student to experience constitutional law work at the Department.

Because that office doesn’t offer a clerkship, this internship will offer an opportunity that I would not have otherwise had,” she said.

Catherine completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in politics at the University of Melbourne and began a career in the Australian Public Service.

However, after gaining experience working behind the scenes in research and analysis, she realised she wanted to work more directly with clients.

A training workshop in administrative law clinched her decision to change direction in her career and study postgraduate law.

I realised I was so much more excited about that workshop than anything I was doing at work,” she said.

I was already really interested in government power and accountability, but as soon as I took the Australian Public Law class I realised that was the area of law that most interested me.”

The scholarship is supported through the Leslie Zines Endowment – established in memory of Professor Leslie Zines AO. Professor Zines was a leading expert in Australian Constitutional law and worked in the ANU Law School, including as Dean, for more than 30 years.

Professor Zines served for a number of years in the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department where he worked closely with the future justice of the High Court and Governor-General, Sir William Deane, AC KBE.

Professor James Stellios from the ANU Law School said Catherine was selected from a competitive pool of applications.

This was not an easy choice, however, Catherine is a strong and dedicated student with a keen interest in public law,” he said.

Professor Zines would have been proud to see a student with Catherine’s energy and intellect selected as the inaugural recipient of this scholarship.”

Catherine expressed her gratitude to the Zines family and other donors to the endowment.

I’m incredibly grateful to the Leslie Zines Endowment, and I’d like to thank them so much for the opportunity they have given me,” she said.

I’m definitely going to try to make the most of it.”

The scholarship will support Catherine, who currently combines her studies with part-time work, to undertake the internship full-time.

Further Information

Designed for students who have completed their undergraduate degree in a discipline other than law, the ANU Juris Doctor allows you to gain the professional qualification required for admission to legal practice in Australia. Building on the knowledge and experience you’ve gained in your undergraduate degree and working life, the ANU JD places a contemporary focus on law and legal issues to create an engaging, highly relevant program of study. The degree is available on-campus or online.

This post is proudly sponsored by the Australian National University College of Law.