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Interview with Peter Nicholas, President of the SULS (Sydney University Law Society)
Peter Nicholas
Sydney University Law Society
What has been your biggest challenge this year as the President of the SULS?
Peter: 2002 is the centenary of SULS and so I have had 100 years of tradition to live up to. With past presidents like Michael Kirby, I knew I had big shoes to fill and a lot of expectations about what could be achieved. Our greatest challenge has been re-visioning SULS to enter its second century with a much more progressive and representative focus.
Education lobbying, a voice on the faculty, charity projects and a volunteer scheme for community legal centres have been at the forefront of this change and taken considerable time to get up and running. To achieve this the principle obstacle is to find, keep motivated and working a host of volunteers who are keen to get involved but constantly drawn away by the pressure of modern life. The ability to lead a team is something that is far easier to preach than practice.
What do you feel you gained personally from your experience so far?
Peter: SULS has taught me the value of teamwork and trust in my fellow executive members. We need to work as a team to run our enormous program. Yet when things go wrong, the buck always stops with me and I have to be prepared to put out the myriad of small bushfires that inevitably arise when you attempt a program as diverse and intensive as ours. I have learnt most to place trust in my fellow students and realise that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but most of all, everyone needs an opportunity to prove themselves even if the end result would have been 'better' if someone else was put in charge.
Any memorable social events to date?
Peter: Our first year law camp is always a great bonding experience for both the first years and new executive alike. Dancing drunk around a pool at 3am always engenders a sense of community that little else can. The drive of our social events has been to be as inclusive as possible, yet we have come to realise that you can't please everyone all of the time.
What do you like the most about on-line research? Are books dead?
Peter: Online research is the key to a vast amount of information which can be accessed extremely quickly. Yet the great monographs as still an important source of understanding for really detailed work. A truly scholarly work needs to encompass as many sources of literature as possible to give a truly rounded perspective. Thus books and the online world will always continue to interact together in ways that open up many new avenues of intellectual analysis.
Have you used Westlaw? What do you like best?
Peter: I've used Westlaw a few times and have found it a helpful source of information that is readily accessible.
What are your interests?
Peter: I also ski, have been a rower, act in the law revue, enjoy travel, art, music and spending time with my girlfriend Joanne and other good friends. I also have a particular academic interest in international relations, the concept of environmental security and international multilateral institutions. I have also become increasingly involved in the Global Alliance for Justice Education and am helping run a regional conference this December at Sydney University.
What do you like the least about being President and about law school?
Peter: The hardest thing about being President is that, when things get difficult, you often get stuck on your own, working late to fix a problem that no one else has the energy or ability to correct. This is complicated by constant challenges in our IT/computer/printers which always makes a task that should have been simple turn out harder than finding Osama Bin Laden.
One of the saddest things about law school is the lack of support the Federal Government and the Australian People give to Academics and the values of academic education in this country. The pressure of careerism, rationalisation and the consumer model of higher education are driving students away from a sense of community and academic excellence. We're losing our best lecturers overseas because of this tragedy and its the nation which will soon be baring the costs.
If you could be anywhere else right now, where would you be and what would you be doing?
Peter: I would be at the International Criminal Court bringing individuals to justice.
And finally, what's on the cards for your career? Where are you hoping to go?
Peter: Next year I will be taking up a Graduate Position with the Australian Government Solicitor in Canberra. This will allow me to continue my love of public law as well as my desire to be involved in litigation and advocacy. After that I am not sure where my future will take me. I am quite loyal to the institutions to which I belong so I will probably stay at the AGS for quite a while. Yet there is a new world developing with new challenges for our rights and liberties. I am sure there will be many more late nights ahead of me.
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