Melbourne Law School

After more than fifty years’ campaigning by successive deans, the new purpose-built home for the Law School in University Square was opened by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, the Hon. Murray Gleeson, on May 2, 2002.

Designs for the new building were first drawn up in the 1950s, but it was not until 2 May 2002 that staff and students of the Faculty of Law finally moved to the new purpose-built accommodation in University Square. 

In this location, the Law School retains all the tradition of its first site in the Law Quadrangle, with its world renowned reputation for providing advanced education and research but it is also fully equipped for the opportunities that lie ahead.  The Law School building incorporates the latest technological developments and innovative facilities, such as the moot court, where students and the Law School’s successful moot teams develop their practical training as future lawyers. 

The building has become a supportive community for staff and students, providing teaching and learning practices by means of specialist theatres, seminar rooms with video conferencing, computer laboratories, audio-visual facilities, projection and plasma screen technologies, and data and power connections to every seat via full wireless networking.

The “Woodward Centre” atop the Law School on level 10 is a recent addition to the building and offers alumni a licensed members’ lounge, espresso coffee bar and function rooms.  All alumni are eligible to sign up to the University Club and receive up to 50% off the membership fee.

Over the past 10 years, the building has become an iconic part of the University of Melbourne with its panoramic views and soaring contemporary structure.  The building is specifically designed to meet both current and future needs of legal education, expanding and strengthening the School’s position of leadership and reinforcing the high academic standards it has taken into the 21st century.