Ms Rachel Spencer is the Director: Professional Programs at the University of South Australia’s School of Law, where she teaches Civil Procedure; Lawyers, Ethics and Society; Law, Art and Literature and Lawyers, Ethics and Society (Advanced: Clinical Placement).
Rachel is also responsible for the Legal Advice Clinic, where final year law students (under supervision) provide free legal advice to members of the public. In December 2015, Rachel and her Legal Advice Clinic team received a teaching and learning award for achievement in industry collaboration.
Rachel holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA), a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Adelaide, a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the South... Read more
About me
Ms Rachel Spencer is the Director: Professional Programs at the University of South Australia’s School of Law, where she teaches Civil Procedure; Lawyers, Ethics and Society; Law, Art and Literature and Lawyers, Ethics and Society (Advanced: Clinical Placement).
Rachel is also responsible for the Legal Advice Clinic, where final year law students (under supervision) provide free legal advice to members of the public. In December 2015, Rachel and her Legal Advice Clinic team received a teaching and learning award for achievement in industry collaboration.
Rachel holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA), a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Adelaide, a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the South Australian Institute of Technology, a Master of Creative Arts (MCA) from Flinders University and is currently undertaking a PhD in creative writing at the same institution. She also has a Graduate Certificate in Education (Academic Practice) from UniSA. Rachel has extensive experience in the legal profession, having practised in a variety of areas of law, including commercial dispute resolution, insurance, insolvency, criminal law, family law, intellectual property and disputed estates.
She has been in-house counsel in the wine industry, a corporate solicitor in the radio broadcasting sector, a senior associate of a major Adelaide law firm, a Governor of the State Theatre Company of SA, the Chair of the Australasian Professional Legal Education Council (APLEC) and the Director of Practical Legal Training at Flinders University. She has appeared as counsel in Magistrates, District, Supreme, Industrial and Family courts, and is a member of the Law Society of South Australia and the Australian Law Teachers Association.
Rachel’s current research interests include legal ethics, clinical legal education, experiential learning, the links between law, literature and popular culture, how media representations of lawyers (both real and fictional) affect access to justice, and the role of narrative in the adversarial system. Rachel has published various books, book chapters and journal articles on a variety of areas of law, legal ethics and legal education. In 2012 Rachel received an Excellence in Teaching Award from UniSA.
About me
Doctor of Philosophy Flinders University
Master of Laws University of Adelaide
Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice University of South Australia
Bachelor of Arts University of Adelaide
Bachelor of Laws University of Adelaide
Graduate Certificate in Education (Academic Practice) University of South Australia
Director Practical Legal Training, Flinders University School of Law, 1998 - 2007
Corporate Solicitor, Austereo Ltd, 1996 - 1998
Solicitor, Kelly and Co Barristers & Solicitors, 1989 - 1996
Work Integrated Learning and Practical Legal Skills
Professional Conduct and Legal Ethics
Law and Literature,Clinical Legal Education
Access to Justice
Lawyers and Popular Media
Research
Excludes commercial-in-confidence projects.
Rachel Spencer, ‘Dignifying the poisoned chalice: the ethical challenges of using archived material in a narrative about death and arsenic,’ TEXT Journal Special Issues Series Number 45, October 2017, available at: http://www.textjournal.com.au/speciss/issue45/Spencer.pdf
Research
Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. Some long-standing staff members may have older outputs included. To see earlier years visit ORCID or Scopus
Open access indicates that an output is open access.
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2015 |
|
| 2014 |
Open access
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2010 |
Spencer, RMA 2010, Oxford Australia Law Dictionary. |
| 2009 |
Spencer, RMA 2009, Property law practice SA, Presidian Legal Publications, Adelaide. |
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2017 |
|
| 2015 |
|
| 2013 |
|
| 2011 |
1
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2017 |
Open access
|
| 2016 |
|
| 2015 |
|
| 2014 |
Open access
|
| 2014 |
Open access
|
| 2014 |
Open access
|
| 2014 |
Open access
|
| 2012 |
Open access
|
| 2012 |
2
2
|
| 2009 |
|
| 2009 |
Spencer, RMA 2009, 'The work-life balance cliche: An ethical issue', vol. 31, no. 9, pp. 13-15. |
| 2009 |
|
'Ethics In Pro Bono Practice' (February 2015). Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2853226
'Deferring to the ‘Unlearned’ Friend: Professional Ethics and the Unrepresented Litigant' (April 2016). Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2853256
Research
Work Integrated Learning and Practical Legal Skills
Professional Conduct and Legal Ethics
Law and Literature,Clinical Legal Education
Access to Justice
Lawyers and Popular Media
Rachel Spencer heads the The Legal Advice Clinic team. Our clinical legal education program provides law students with the opportunity to be immersed in the application of legal theory to practical situations, as well as developing specific legal skills such as interviewing and drafting. The program also provides access to justice to members of the community, especially to those who might otherwise not have such access.
The Legal Advice Clinic’s outreach service at the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court is also very successful and very busy. Funds from the Law Foundation of SA Inc. have enabled us to establish another outreach service at the Elizabeth Magistrates Court. The Clinic now operates a special advice service for litigants who attend Investigation Summons hearings who may need legal and/or financial advice. We are proud to have developed this service in partnership with the Northern Community Legal Service which provides the services of a financial counsellor.
See http://www.unisa.edu.au/Campus-Facilities/Public-services/Legal-Advice-Clinic/
External engagement & recognition
| Organisation | Country |
|---|---|
| University of South Australia | AUSTRALIA |
External engagement & recognition
Advising Unrepresented Litigants for Legal Services Commission (SA) Continuing Professional Development Program, 14 November 2017.
Ethics in Pro Bono Practice for Law Society of South Australia Continuing Professional Development Program, 9 November 2017.
In February 2015, Rachel was invited to be a panel member for a presentation to the South Australian branch of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association entitled "Ethical issues in the Business World" hosted by Wallmans Lawyers.
Professional Conduct and Legal Ethics; Clinical Legal Education; Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution; Work Integrated Learning; Professional Writing Skills and Legal Drafting; Legal Skills (Interviewing, Negotiation, Drafting, Advocacy); Placement preparation; Access to Justice; Lawyers and the Media; Law, Art and Literature.
Teaching & student supervision
