Equity, the body of law developed in the English Court of Chancery, has a long and distinguished history. In the twenty-first century it continues to be an important regulator of both commercial and personal dealings, as well as informing statutory regulation. Although much equitable doctrine is settled, there remain some intractable problems that bedevil lawyers across jurisdictions. The essays in this collection employ new historical, comparative and theoretical perspectives to cast light on these fault lines in equitable doctrine and methodology.  Leading scholars and practitioners from England, Australia and New Zealand examine such contentious topics as personal and proprietary liability for breaches of equitable duties (including fiduciary duties), the creation of non-express trusts, equitable rights in insolvency, the fiduciary 'self dealing' rule, clogs on the equity of redemption, the distribution of assets on family breakdown, and the suitability of unjust enrichment analysis. The authors address specific doctrinal questions as well as the 'meta' issues of organisation and methodology, and their findings will be of value to academics and practitioners alike.

Written in a clear, engaging and accessible style, it is suitable as a teaching text for Animal Law courses, and for the wider legal community and general reader interested in animal welfare. This is the first Australian text to offer a truly integrated and comprehensive coverage of animal law issues. It combines the philosophical and ethical dimensions to animal law with the practical, legal and regulatory frameworks governing animals in Australia. It features a comprehensive, balanced coverage of animal law issues in Australia ensures readers will gain a solid understanding of the wider regulatory regime in Australia. Each chapter integrates the philosophical/ethical discussion with practical issues and the legal context to demonstrate the relationship between these dimensions, allowing readers to gain an understanding of the background driving current regulatory regimes. Chapters include clear learning objectives, stimulus questions and further reading to facilitate depth and breadth of learning for both students and the general reader.

We surveyed first-year students at the ANU College of Law on various measures of well-being, thinking styles and motivations for attending law school. We followed up our surveys with a student–faculty dialogue retreat. The results of our work confirm that, even in a law school where formal mentoring programs are in place and where resources for student counseling are readily available, law students suffer symptoms of psychological distress at levels higher than their age peers in the general public. During the first year of law school, many students experience psychological struggles, changes in their thinking styles, and changes in self-concept and sense of well-being. By the end of the first year many students in our sample showed increased rational thinking and lower experiential thinking. Lower levels of experiential thinking were associated with increased symptoms of psychological distress, while students with a higher propensity toward experiential thinking showed little change in depressive symptoms from the beginning to the end of the year of law study.

In extended deliberations on law student well-being, faculty and student retreat participants highlighted their sense that law school changed them in important ways, making them more rational, analytical, competitive and adversarial. Law school also promoted feelings of insecurity, inefficacy and isolation. To address these changes, participants made a variety of proposals for curricular reform, which are discussed here. Specific changes in law school curricula – including proposals for greater transparency, clarity and guidance about course work, for more positive and formative feedback, and for more social and intellectual engagement – are identified as having potential to improve law student well-being.

Although efforts have been made to develop international or harmonised regimes for the enforcement of securities law, the global architecture of securities regulation is underdeveloped. In particular, the harmonisation project may be sidelined by nations enforcing their securities laws extraterritorially. Notwithstanding issues of comity, the extraterritorial operation of the anti-fraud provisions in United States securities law has been expansively interpreted by US courts, particularly in multinational securities class actions, and the US has accordingly been portrayed as a securities policeman or, more disparagingly, a legal imperialist. This ended abruptly with the US Supreme Court decision in Morrison v National Australia Bank Ltd, where it was held that the anti-fraud provisions did not apply in an action brought by an Australian investor against an Australian company listed on an Australian exchange. This case note will examine the context and consequences of Morrison, including the legislation passed by Congress in its wake, the tensions caused if US citizens lose the ‘protective shield’ of US law and the centrifugal effect of the decision that may lead to more securities class actions being commenced in Australia.

We surveyed first-year students at the ANU College of Law on various measures of well-being, thinking styles and motivations for attending law school. We followed up our surveys with a student–faculty dialogue retreat. The results of our work confirm that, even in a law school where formal mentoring programs are in place and where resources for student counseling are readily available, law students suffer symptoms of psychological distress at levels higher than their age peers in the general public. During the first year of law school, many students experience psychological struggles, changes in their thinking styles, and changes in self-concept and sense of well-being. By the end of the first year many students in our sample showed increased rational thinking and lower experiential thinking. Lower levels of experiential thinking were associated with increased symptoms of psychological distress, while students with a higher propensity toward experiential thinking showed little change in depressive symptoms from the beginning to the end of the year of law study.

In extended deliberations on law student well-being, faculty and student retreat participants highlighted their sense that law school changed them in important ways, making them more rational, analytical, competitive and adversarial. Law school also promoted feelings of insecurity, inefficacy and isolation. To address these changes, participants made a variety of proposals for curricular reform, which are discussed here. Specific changes in law school curricula – including proposals for greater transparency, clarity and guidance about course work, for more positive and formative feedback, and for more social and intellectual engagement – are identified as having potential to improve law student well-being.

Preliminary results of a pilot study of law students suggest that, during the first year of law study, students may experience changes in thinking styles, stress levels, and satisfaction with life. Although further inquiry into the cause of law student distress is necessary, the authors consider certain assumptions underlying the legal curriculum - particularly the conception of a lawyer as adversarial, emotionally detached, and competitive - to be possible sources of the negative impact on student wellbeing. It is suggested that legal educators should reexamine their curricula, particularly their conception of what it means to be a lawyer, and think creatively about ways that law schools may encourage healthier approaches to the study of law.

In Australia, blind people are able to access texts in braille and books on tape, but the demand for these media is decreasing. Blind people today are increasingly reliant on texts in electronic form, and these are much less readily available in Australia. Electronic texts are more portable and less cumbersome than large braille volumes, and are much faster to navigate than audio recordings. However, in Australia it is difficult for blind people to get access to a wide range of electronic texts and there exists no scheme enabling such access. At the same time sighted people are using electronic text and other digital media at an ever-increasing rate. In order to approximate the same level of access as sighted people, blind people require access to accessible electronic versions of all published material. The authors suggest that given the legal imperatives of Australia's domestic legislation, treaty obligations and social values, that there exists a moral imperative to create a scheme providing blind people with access to digital print media.

The nature of racist speech is changing as social mores on matters of race and multiculturalism evolve. However, the underlying intent of the disseminators of racist speech – to divide and subjugate – remains much the same. Part IIA of the Racial Discrimination Act appears to lack the capacity to deal with racist speech that is sophisticated and not profane. This presents a problem, particularly when a racist message can effectively be conveyed with subtlety and without crudity. The effect of this failure on the part of Australia’s racial vilification laws is to effectively privilege the speech of mainstream commentators. Part IIA of the RDA appears to have been drafted with a view to preventing the harms that arise from extreme racist speech and speech encouraging violence. But such speech is rare or is quarantined to the margin of Australian life. The type of racism that is problematic is that which is more insidious, sophisticated, yet visible and divisive and exclusionary in its operation. This is the type of speech that Part IIA needs to engage with if it is to have any meaning in broader Australian life. Further, it is possible for Part IIA to play a role in educating and challenging racist speech without undermining Australian democracy and the general freedom of speech.

From 15 to 17 July 2010, over 150 lawyers, academics and practitioners gathered at Stanford University for the Fourth International Legal Ethics Conference. The number of participants and the breadth and quality of the presentations at this conference were clear evidence of the continuing energy and enthusiasm amongst scholars and practitioners for the field of legal ethics. While the tranquil and beautiful summertime campus at Stanford and the quiet efficiency of the conference organising staff did not echo the theme of the conference (Times of Turbulence), many sessions during the full conference schedule did. In particular, we were constantly reminded of the rapid and complex changes occurring in legal practice across the globe, and the consequent challenges faced by both the legal profession and academia in understanding, practicing and teaching legal ethics.