High achieving law students awarded

Honours student Todd Berry accepts the Dean's Thesis Award for the most outstanding honours thesis submitted in 2017

More than 30 high achieving Griffith Law students were honoured for their academic accomplishments at the Dean’s Law Awards­–headlined by the Dean’s Thesis Award recognising the best honours student research dissertation completed last year.

Surfing enthusiast and law student Todd Berry took home the award for the most outstanding student thesis for his original work which argued urban planning and development needed to consider the ‘traditional knowledge’ of surfers.

Deputy Head of Learning and Teaching at Griffith Law School Associate Professor Therese Wilson says, students who complete an honours thesis are setting themselves up for the future.

“It’s an opportunity to develop and demonstrate expertise in an area of law, through a sustained piece of research, which can be very valuable to a prospective employer and qualifies them for admission into our higher degrees by research,” says Therese.

Sponsors and donors to the Griffith Law School were also acknowledged with a vote of thanks from Dean Professor Pene Mathew for their ongoing support and encouragement of students.

Without their support the unique opportunities offered by Griffith like attending the annual Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot would not be possible says Therese.

“We want our students to have a remarkable experience with us and our donors and sponsors — many of them alumni — make a wonderful contribution to that experience through their involvement and contributions to our students,” she said.

Griffith Law School acknowledges with gratitude the contributions of the following award sponsors and donors:

  • Daniel Gosewisch
  • Tara Elston (McCullough Robertson)
  • Stuart McNaughton (McCullough Robertson)
  • Ismail Essof (Fragomen)
  • Tom Fletcher (Minter Ellison)
  • Michael de Waard (Barrister)

Full list of award winners

Dean’s Thesis Awards: Awarded for the most outstanding honours student thesis submitted

  • Winner: Todd Berry for ‘Traditional Knowledge Among Surfers: Knowledge and Practice With Consequences’
  • Runner up: Ashley Reynolds for ‘When our Hands are Tied’

Dean’s Essay Prize: Awarded for the most outstanding student non-honours essay

  • Winner: Katrina Taylor
  • Runner up: Joint recipients Todd Berry and Lachlan Robb

Gosewisch Family Prize for Contracts 2: Awarded to the student with the highest GPA in Contracts 2

  • Reece Morrison

McCullough Robertson Prize for Law and the Environment:Awarded to the student with the highest GPA in the Bachelor of Law/Environmental Science degree

  • Samantha Lee

Fragomen Prize for the Graduate Certificate in Migration Law and Practice:Awarded to the student with the highest GPA in the Graduate Certificate in Migration Law and Practice

  • Cecilia Gunluk

Peter Channell Prize for Workplace Law: Awarded to the student with the highest grade in the Workplace Law Course or Griffith Law School legal clinics program

  • Isa Martin

Voiceless Animal Law Prize: Awarded to the student with the highest grade in the Animal Law course

  • Michelle Gunawan

The Honourable Michael Kirby Award: Awarded to a student who has advanced the principles of justice, equity and equality related to LGBTIQ+ issues

  • Nicole Senese

Griffith Law School Award for Academic Excellence:Awarded to the twenty highest achieving students in the Bachelor of Laws degree

  • Andrew Griffin
  • Michelle Gunawan
  • Siew Lau
  • Courtney Linton
  • Leanne Mahly
  • Grance Manahan
  • Jack Morris
  • Tiela Morrison
  • Alexandria Neumann
  • Harrison Norris
  • Narayan Pattison
  • Lachlan Robb
  • Michelle Simpkins
  • Nicholas McLean
  • Ebony Franzmann
  • Kai Horarth
  • Jill McGrath
  • Laura Griffiths
  • Enid Van Jaarsveld
  • Paris D’Elia