Ms Rachel Spencer 

Mrs Julie Watt, Legal Advice Clinic Administration Officer: (08) 8302 9959 (Wednesdays and Thursdays only)

Rachel completed her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at Adelaide University in 1985/6. After working as a trust officer in a trustee company, she taught English as a Foreign Language in Paris, France and Shropshire, England. Returning to Adelaide, she provided advice on superannuation and tax within a large life insurance company. She gained her Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice in 1990 and was appointed a Senior Associate at Kelly & Co, a major Adelaide law firm. Rachel practised in a variety of areas of law including dispute resolution (appearing as counsel in Magistrates, District, Supreme, Industrial and Family Courts), insolvency, criminal law, family law, intellectual property and disputed estates. This was followed by a period as Corporate Solicitor for the Austereo radio network. In 1998, Rachel was appointed Director of Practical Legal Training at the School of Law at Flinders University. In 2003 she took leave from Flinders to fill the position of Corporate Counsel for the Orlando Wyndham Group. Rachel was appointed as Director of Professional Programs at the University of South Australia School of Law in July, 2009. She teaches Professional Conduct, Legal Ethics, Civil Litigation and Legal Professional and Community Service Experience. She is responsible for the clinical and professional programs in the Law School. Rachel researches and writes about the links between law, literature and popular culture. In particular, Rachel is interested in how media representations of lawyers (both real and fictional) affect access to justice. In 2011 Rachel completed a Master of Creative Arts (Creative Writing) and in 2013 she will commence a PhD which will examine works of the 'true crime' genre and will re-narrate one South Australian case from the various narratives that have come into existence by journalists, lawyers and judges.

Legal Advice Clinic

Linked-in Profile

My book: Property Law Practice SA

Article about Clinic in UniSA News

• Professional Conduct & 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 Society of South Australia

Australian Law Teachers Association

Australian Collaborative Education Network

BA(Adel; LLB(Adel); GDLP(SAIT); LLM(Adel); MCA (Creative Writing)(Flinders).

• Work Integrated Learning & Practical Legal Skills
• Professional Conduct & Legal Ethics
• Law and Literature
• Clinical Legal Education
• Access to Justice
• Lawyers and Popular Media

Spencer, R. (2013) The Role of Media Discourses in Undermining Trust in the Legal Profession, in Discourses of Trust, Candlin, C. and Chrichton, J. Eds, Palgrave Macmillan.

Spencer, R. (2012) Holding Up the Mirror: A theoretical and practical analysis of the role of reflection in Clinical Legal Education, International Journal of Clinical Legal Education 18, 181 – 216.

'Legal Ethics and the Media: Are the Ethics of Lawyers and Journalists Irretrievably at Odds?' in Legal Ethics, Volume 15, Part 1 (Hart Publishing, 2012).

Doing Good by Stealth: Professional Ethics and Moral Choices in The Verdict and Regarding Henry in 'Alternative Perspectives on Lawyers and Legal Ethics', Routledge, 2011.

Book Review: Inside Lawyers' Ethics, 2010 12 Flinders Law Journal 173

What can Hollywood teach us about legal ethics? This is an on-line continuing professional development teaching module, available at http://www.lawcpd.com.au/product/what-can-hollywood-teach-us-about-legal-ethics

It's The Vibe: The impact of the lawyer's image on access to justice, Law Society Bulletin, Volume 31, Issue 11, December 2009.

The work-life balance cliche: An ethical issue, Law Society Bulletin, October 2009.

Property Law Practice: A Handbook for Lawyers and Conveyancers, Presidian Legal Publications, 2009.

'Placements': Opinion Column, Law Society Bulletin, 2008. This article was awarded "Opinion of the Year" at the Annual Law Society Bulletin Article of the Year Awards, December 2009.

Your Place or Mine? Evaluating the perspectives of the PLT work experience placement through the eyes of the supervisors and the students, International Education Journal, 2007, 8(2), 365-376. ISSN 1443-1475; http://iej.com.au

Your Place or Mine? Evaluating the perspectives of the Practical Legal Training work experience Placement through the eyes of the supervisors and the students, Law Society Bulletin, July 2007.

From Atticus Finch to Dennis Denuto: Using Popular Media to Teach Legal Skills & Ethics, published conference papers, Australian Law Teachers Association: http://www.alta.edu.au/2006_published_conference_papers.html

Elegance and Relevance: Plain English from a Student Perspective, LSP and Professional Communication, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2006. ISSN 1601-1929

Skills Teaching at Flinders: Teaching Legal Skills – an integrated program, (2002) Flinders Journal of Law Reform.

The Adelaide Magistrates Court Legal Advice Clinic – An intimate look into how it was set up and how it operates, (2002) Newcastle Law Review Volume 6 No 2.

PLT – The wheel has turned and is gaining momentum, Law Society Bulletin, July 2001.

Teaching Cross Cultural Issues in PLT, Continuing Legal Education Association of Australasia newsletter, August 2002.

I am able to provide media comment in the following areas of expertise:

Discipline: Law

• Legal ethics
• Legal education
• Interaction between lawyers and media
• Civil Procedure
• Access to Justice