Our 2024/25 Executive Candidates have answered some of our members’ most frequently asked questions down below. Voting opens at 9am on Tuesday, 15 October, and closes at 6pm on Thursday, 17 October 2024

Treasurer – Wafa Rahman

Typically the president has assumed equal responsibility for any financial decisions/approvals etc? Do you think that’s effective and if not how would you potentially change it?

I believe that having the President assume equal responsibility for financial decisions and approvals is not entirely effective. According to the by-laws, the Treasurer is entrusted with significant responsibility in managing the Society’s finances, including setting the budget, maintaining financial documents, and ensuring responsible financial management. Placing equal weight on the President could render the Treasurer’s position somewhat redundant.

Acknowledging the President’s already immense workload and the importance of the Treasurer position, I would aim to build a structure where the Treasurer takes on greater responsibility in financial decisions and approvals with the President’s oversight. This fosters a collaborative approach that aligns with my commitment to enhance efficiency and flexibility within the Society’s financial management. 

By allowing the Treasurer to lead on day-to-day financial matters, we can streamline decision-making processes, ensuring that financial approvals can be executed quickly without unnecessary delays. At the same time, the President retains the ability to step in for quality assurance purposes, providing consistency in decision-making and effective oversight. 

Further, this would be effective during unforeseen circumstances as it would maintain operational continuity. It ensures the financial processes can adapt to changing situations without disrupting the Society’s operations.

Overall, by assigning clear roles while keeping a supervisory mechanism, we maintain a collaborative balance that ensures consistent quality decisions to be made efficiently whilst retaining flexibility.

What will you do to increase transparency of budgeting and general financial procedures to the wider membership base, and how do you plan on doing this?

To enhance the transparency of budgeting and general financial procedures to the wider membership base, I would leverage existing mechanisms rather than create new systems as a point of operational efficiency. Such mechanisms include the Obiter, a publication serving as an effective tool for increasing transparency and accountability from the Society’s Executive during the first half of the tenure. I would also leverage the annual Treasurer’s Financial Report, which is subject to council approval at the end of tenure. 

Both mechanisms will provide an in-depth overview of our financial standing. I aim to offer a detailed, step-by-step explanation of budgetary decisions and the rationale behind streamlining financial procedures. Further, as these decisions would be made throughout tenure in collaboration with the relevant Vice Presidents and would be subject to ongoing adjustments based on the Directors’ agency, they would reflect the interests of our wider membership base. 

Notably, I will ensure the goal of transparency aligns with the demands of the Society’s sponsorship obligations. This enables students to attain all necessary information whilst also reaping the benefits of the finances received from our sponsors.

This approach not only aligns with my commitment to facilitate transparency but is also efficient as it builds upon the current mechanisms we have in place. By fostering strong open communication, I will ensure that all members are well-informed about our financial management and feel confident in the Society’s direction.

Vice-President (Sponsorship) – Chloe Ferreira

How would you handle a conflict between the demands of sponsors and the objectives of an event? For example, how would you respond if a sponsor wants to promote only male panellists, which goes against the LSS’ culture of inclusion?

I think this question can be broken up into a few parts which I’d like to address 

• How can such a situation be prevented?
• At the first warning signs, how can it be managed?
• Would there be a point where a sponsorship agreement should potentially be terminated due to a value conflict between the LSS and the sponsor?

How do you prevent sponsorship conflict? I think a large part of this is careful planning and due diligence. On a larger scale the more value-based conflicts can be limited (though not always avoided) by carefully researching and looking into an organisation to ensure that the sponsors we do reach out to have values that align with the LSS more broadly – and for specific events as well which they are sponsoring. Regarding the specific example given, I’m hoping that most of the time a sponsor who wants to promote only male panellists (not based on genuinely having the best panel of male panellists but to exclude others) would be avoided in the first place.

In addition, organisation and consistent communication regarding details such as dates, venues, timing etc. of an event with a sponsor fosters a sense of trust and confidence in the LSS, that allows for potential issues to be found out early with enough time to practically compromise where appropriate.

The key part of the question is management. I value transparency across all members and so the president/other executive and directors/representatives involved in the creating the event would be informed at all times and weigh in on any decision made. That would be my first point of contact, followed by calling the sponsor. Often sponsor organisations have shown commitments to fostering diversity and inclusion publicly which I would like to leverage. By appealing to their own firm values and their incentives of sponsoring us I would hope any conflicts can be mitigated. I would give the sponsor the benefit of the doubt and listen to their reasoning, whilst clearly articulating and expressing our concerns with it going against our LSS values would be my second point. 

If there is no room for compromise (after genuine attempts) and the sponsor goes against key LSS values, I would at that point be inclined to terminate the sponsorship agreement. I preface that would only be with the Presidents consultation and approval.

I value the inclusivity the LSS promotes, and I want sponsorship growth to enable us to reach out to a wider range of students, not discourage those involved through contradictory messaging. 

What are your plans to increase sponsorship during what is essentially an economic downturn, where firms are not as willing to spend as much on university societies as they traditionally have, and what specifically will you do to address this problem?

As sponsors want to spend less on the LSS I think the solution lies in diversifying our sponsors and being more creative with both sponsorship opportunities.

I want to look specifically at how we can prioritise increasing the diversity of LSS sponsors while nurturing and expanding existing relationships. Some of the organisations (not limited) I would be looking at beyond the typical big law firms include:

• Looking at smaller firms, barristers’ chambers, NGOs, community legal centres
• Looking into businesses and firms whose primary purpose is outside the legal sector
• Leveraging and expanding on sponsorship opportunities with retail, food and drink companies
• Improving relationships with other societies on campus to offer more opportunities for double degree students, and generally all students

Specifically, I would like to do this by doing some of the following:

• Reevaluating pricing of our sponsorship packages and options (with the treasurer and presidents’ input – should be factored into budgets etc.)
• Offering and tailoring marketing of initiatives to firms with specific interests
  • Also marketing to the right people in an organisation 
• Looking into discounts and partial sponsorship as a potential option to maximise sponsorship.
• Dual sponsorship opportunities with two different sponsors.

Especially for initiatives that are currently not sponsored, I believe reasonable pricing will make them more accessible to diverse sponsors. For example, if marketing to a barrister’s chambers regarding getting a specific competition sponsored (approximate price $500), my strategies would include:

• Reach out directly to a (or several) barrister contact within the chambers
  • Specifically, if there are UTS alumni or those that may have been involved or shown engagement with a similar initiative or competition in the past!
• Really stress the value and the importance of the competitions in building the advocates and legal professionals of the future 
• Leverage the value they bring – a slight discount for their participation as a full bunch of judges throughout the finals for example.

I would also like to potentially introduce dual sponsorship opportunities with two sponsors (typically from non-competing industries) that share a common interest with the event – which would allow for reduced monetary burden on the one organisation/sponsor. 

Potential examples of this include:

• For a law tech event; having both a law firm and a tech company sponsoring the event 
• Having a firm sponsor with an NGO or community organisation that would allow for more diverse involvement whilst reducing one of the biggest barriers in sponsoring which is cost.

In addition, I think it is important to be creative with the way sponsors are engaged. Especially for events that haven’t typically been sponsored in the past like publications, we need to think outside the box of typical sponsorship strategies 

• Having ad breaks or promotion for sponsors during the Bar Podcast for example at relatively low cost or allowing them to “purchase” a short segment of an episode opposed to sponsoring the whole thing would allow the LSS to maintain autonomy over the broader content (maintaining student engagement and value) whilst also attracting sponsors.

I know and am passionate about the initiatives and events run by the LSS and have ideas on how to get every event sponsored to maximise our sponsorship growth and the opportunities and experiences for all students.

Vice-President (Sponsorship) – Sai Muthukumar

How would you handle a conflict between the demands of sponsors and the objectives of an event? For example, how would you respond if a sponsor wants to promote only male panellists, which goes against the LSS’ culture of inclusion?

To mitigate conflict, I will aim to align the interests of sponsors with events run by the LSS throughout the year. If a conflict between a sponsor’s demands and an event’s objectives arises, I will look to present alternative LSS events the sponsor may be interested in sponsoring. Where a rearrangement of sponsors and events is impractical due to deadlines and conflicting commitments, I will look to put forward a value proposition. The value proposition is founded on past student engagement with the event and the benefits the event brings to the UTS law student community.

Where a sponsor seeks to promote practices which go against the LSS’ culture and constitution, I will prioritise the preservation of the society’s culture and values. Although, considering the strides taken by the legal industry in promoting diversity and inclusion, it is unlikely that a sponsor would go against this trend unless there are administrative barriers (e.x. A sponsor may be compelled to promote its male panellists where a female-identifying panellist cannot be sourced within the stipulated timeframe).    

What are your plans to increase sponsorship during what is essentially an economic downturn, where firms are not as willing to spend as much on university societies as they traditionally have, and what specifically will you do to address this problem?

My plans to increase sponsorship are centred on diversification. By diversifying the sponsorship portfolio to cater for legal actors beyond large commercial law firms, more LSS events will be able to secure sponsorship. I aim to build relationships with boutique law firms and commercial professional services firms to extend the LSS’ reach to a broader network of sponsors and business partners.  

By implementing a diverse sponsorship portfolio, LSS will be able to maintain the high quality of its funded events throughout 2024-2025 and explore the possibility of adding more events to its existing events calendar. 

Vice-President (Careers) – Clairessa Ng

How do you intend to fill the void during Semester 2 given the lack of Careers focused events and initiatives, and what plans do you have to engage members in this space during this period?

My plan for the Spring Semester is to prioritise career initiatives that focus on non-commercial areas of law and alternate career paths, which aligns with the publication of the Careers Guide. Statistically, almost 70% of law graduates end up practising in fields that are not law related. Therefore my aim is to introduce panel and networking events which are specifically tailored to different career fields such as consulting, finance or media (to name a few) to inform students of alternate career pathways that they can pursue. 

While I won’t reveal too many of my initiatives for the upcoming tenure, if elected, LSS members can expect to engage in initiatives that concern advocate positions (tipstaves or associates to a judge/magistrate, law clerk to a barrister), administrative law or niche and novel areas of law (IP, Cybersecurity, ESG, medical negligence). Given there is more leisure in the Spring Semester, I also plan to reach out to external organisations, other uni societies and faculty to diversify these career events and have more legal professionals involved in the Career initiatives to promote student engagement. 

The VPCA role is extremely time consuming, with multiple events per week in the Autumn session. What skills do you have that make you capable of managing a team while also performing sponsorship obligations and delivering events? 

Delegation and organisation skills are central to the role of VPCA, particularly when organising the various events during the Clerkship season in the Autumn semester. My experience as the Careers (Publications) directors, in which I was responsible for delegating tasks to a five person subcommittee, has equipped me with the necessary organisational and managerial skills needed for the role to manage a team. As a director, I was not only the editor-in-chief of the annual Clerkship and Career Guides, but also had to undertake administrative duties behind the scenes which included coordinating new sponsorship materials for the Career Guides and reaching out to student and professional alumni for their contributions to both the Clerkship and Career Guides. My current delegation skills as a director is a transferable skill which will greatly assist me managing the Careers Portfolio to consistently deliver events for all LSS members. 

Vice-President (Competitions) – Georgia Mitchell

How do you plan on increasing the transparency of the LSS’ competitions selection and appeals panels, and create a space where all members feel welcome to compete?

It is essential that competitors, alongside the broader LSS members, feel confident in the impartiality and fairness of our competition processes. I am committed to ensuring that everyone feels empowered to participate knowing that our competitions will be run professionally and with our competitors’ best interests at heart. 

As such, I intend to foster clear methods of communication where competitors are welcome to ask questions and express concerns about any of the selection or appeals processes. This can partly be achieved through providing constructive feedback on prospective competitors’ applications to represent UTS LSS at intervarsity levels. Specifically, by ensuring reasoning is provided to unsuccessful applicants, this will (1) eradicate any potential for applicant’s confusion, (2) assist competitors’ in understanding the selection panel’s decision, and (3) increase transparency and trust in our procedures. Further, continuing to document minutes during selection and appeals panels will maintain the LSS’ integrity by having a clear record of the rationale behind decisions. 

I am committed to actively encouraging all LSS members to apply and participate in the various competitions the LSS offers; this can only be achieved through fostering a welcoming and inclusive competition community and upholding transparent and objective competition processes. Ultimately, if elected, I hope to create an environment where all members feel valued and motivated to continue seeking further skills and mooting experiences. 

What are your plans to help ensure that workload delegation between competitions VPs and directors is seamless and efficient, especially given the size and scale of the portfolio team?

If elected, I would prioritise consistent communication and offer ongoing support to the competition directors to ensure seamless workload delegation. I believe regular check-ins with the team are crucial to ensuring everyone is on the same page, feels supported in their roles, and is collaboratively working towards the success of LSS competitions. By fostering open communication among all team members, I aim to create a collaborative and enjoyable environment where we all work together to produce successful and engaging competitions.

I understand the importance of assisting directors in managing their workloads across their tenure (especially when competitions are in progress). If elected, I vow to work closely alongside the other Vice President (Competitions) to ensure that, together, we are effectively overseeing the competitions portfolio and are both clear on our respective responsibilities. While we will work together in unity, I also believe that delegation between the two Vice Presidents across various competitions will also allow for increased efficiency and workload management. Ultimately, I believe the success of the competitions portfolio hinges upon collaboration, communication, and teamwork – this will assist in facilitating successful competitions and a balanced workload across our team.

Vice-President (Competitions) – Youngone Oh

How do you plan on increasing the transparency of the LSS’ competitions selection and appeals panels, and create a space where all members feel welcome to compete?

To increase the transparency of the LSS’ competitions selection and appeal panels, I plan to write information sheets and guides that explain our Intervarsity Selection Policies and how they are applied and make these accessible on the UTS LSS website. Through this, I aim to help our members better understand the standards they are assessed against. Similarly for appeal panels, a guide on the relevant Competitions Rulebook procedures and how the actual appeal panels and meetings are formed, structured and how the appeal is assessed will be explained in a digestible step by step form to be published on the UTS LSS website. Further, I believe that including links to these guides on the marketing that goes out in relation to applications for our competitions will assist in answering any questions that our members may have in relation to the process. In turn, I believe that making these processes transparent and accessible on the website will reassure our members that our competitions, at their core, aim to create a space where all members feel welcome to compete.

What are your plans to help ensure that workload delegation between competitions VPs and directors is seamless and efficient, especially given the size and scale of the portfolio team?

To ensure efficient and manageable workload delegation between competitions VPs and directors, I aim to clearly define the competitions for the year ahead and the tasks that need to be completed in relation to each at the beginning of tenure through discussion and collaboration with the other elected VPC and the wider Executive councillors. I believe that clearly defining the tasks and the scope of each director’s responsibilities will allow each competitions director to step into the role with a satisfactory understanding of the year ahead. The competitions portfolio is indeed a big team which speaks to the exciting year of competitions for the tenure ahead. To ensure that these competitions run successfully with our directors feeling supported throughout the process, I seek to work closely with the other elected VPC to strive towards fostering a culture where people can ask for help where needed and provide us with feedback about how the workload delegation is affecting them.

Vice-President (Education)  – Olivia Alexander

What do you plan to introduce to better cater to student needs to ensure that the Education Portfolio initiatives are truly serving student needs, and that events aren’t run for the sake of it?

As Vice President (Education), I plan to introduce a more tailored approach to events, ensuring they serve genuine student needs rather than being run for the sake of tradition. During my 2023/2024 tenure as the Education (External) Director, I was directly responsible for organising and coordinating these events, and I frequently heard from students about their preferences. This feedback led us to not run certain events when there was no demand for them, allowing me to begin implementing student concerns in the organisation of events. If elected, regular surveys and consultations with students will allow me to gauge interest before committing resources to events. By making data-driven decisions and emphasising quality over quantity, I aim to ensure that every initiative offers real value, and the portfolio remains responsive and relevant to our student body.

In terms of published opinion and student voices, to what extent will we expect to see censorship of perspectives, and how will you increase the opportunity for students to share their voice and opinions?

Ensuring a high standard of publication quality while providing students the opportunity to share their perspectives is essential to building a successful education portfolio. In terms of censorship, I plan to maintain a balance between allowing students to express their views and ensuring publications uphold our society’s standards. For instance, this past tenure saw a transition of the Bar Podcast to a more informal and relatable format, making it more accessible to the student body, while maintaining its quality. However, to ensure consistency and professionalism, all content will still require approval from the directors and Vice President (Education). Additionally, “The Full Bench” offers further opportunities for student publications and if elected, I plan to explore the possibility of publishing a second edition of “The Full Bench.” This would provide additional opportunities for students to share their voices and opinions, expanding the platform for student-driven content and engagement within the education portfolio. 

Vice-President (Education)  – Rosalia Bautista

What do you plan to introduce to better cater to student needs to ensure that the Education Portfolio initiatives are truly serving student needs, and that events aren’t run for the sake of it?

I will evaluate the By-Laws of the Education Portfolio in order to ensure that high-engagement events are prioritised and enhanced, especially given the commencement of Education (Engagement) Directors in their merged capacity. A similar amendment of the By-Laws occurred earlier in the 2023/24 tenure in the Activities Portfolio through the removal of Kickstart in the Sports Directors By-Laws due to a significant decrease in engagement. I am prepared to alter the mandated requirements of roles to accommodate evolving student needs and interests, whilst giving the Director’s greater agency and discretion over initiatives and events.

Providing Education initiatives will widen the accessibility and tangible benefits of participation for students in a multitude of ways. For instance, I intend to expand the Peer Mentoring Program to complement each student’s studies and provide greater academic guidance for all participants. Simultaneously, the Buddy Project aims to provide students with a holistic university experience, and aids the transition to university for first-year students. Further, the Smile Project accommodates for work-life balance through the accessibility of well-being and its prioritisation. The Wellbeing x Equity Panel and Speaker Series also creates a forum for new insight into the opinions and experiences of legal professionals and other esteemed panellists.

Generally, events and initiatives run by the Education Portfolio have the purpose of creating an avenue for members of the LSS to socialise and meet new people. Enhancing existing initiatives will allow the Education Portfolio, and future members of the Education Portfolio, to understand student priorities and motivations for engagement, as well as providing another avenue of accessibility for all members of the LSS.

In terms of published opinion and student voices, to what extent will we expect to see censorship of perspectives, and how will you increase the opportunity for students to share their voice and opinions?

It is vital that law students have a platform to express their beliefs and opinions on topical issues and any other issues important to them, provided that these opinions are not offensive or disrespectful to other students, and are professional to uphold obligations to sponsors and external contributors. One of my aims during tenure is to promote as much creativity as possible, and this extends to members of the Education (Publications) Subcommittee, The Bar Podcast Hosts, members of the LSS who contribute towards our annual publication ‘The Full Bench,’ and members who generally engage in publications. Ultimately, I aim to increase this opportunity to students, by expanding upon the existing publications with refinements. Overall, I am confident in my ability to do this through my experience as an Education (Publications) Director during the 2023/24 tenure.

On a Publications front, I will continue the publication of The Full Bench, as it acts as a forum for students to submit unique pieces with personal insight into a topic of their choosing. This is such an important way to encourage students to express their ideas in a professional published format, while maintaining the creative integrity of thought-provoking articles. I also endeavour to promote the transparency of the editorial process through working with the Education (Publications) Directors to create a more streamlined process of contributing to The Full Bench which is clear, and understandable to the relevant contributor.

Moreover, this year, The Bar Podcast took on a more lighthearted approach which increased its engagement. One way to increase student opinion is to expand the scope of its content next year to incorporate social justice interests through news segments, and inviting guests who have valuable insight about student interests. Perhaps this could be explored through implementing a suggestion form on The Bar Podcast instagram page, allowing students to submit ideas for episodes or segments throughout the year. I am happy to encourage more collaboration between any contributors to The Bar Podcast to seek more ideas which reflect student interests and opinions.

Vice-President (Marketing) – Siya Khatri

How are you prepared to handle the large workload and 24 hour nature of the VPM role, particularly in regards to the many publications and documents that traditionally have been created solely by the VPM?

My experience as Marketing Director during the 2023-2024 tenure has significantly developed my time management skills, which I am confident will help me meet the greater demands of the VPM role. I understand that the position is challenging due to the many publications involved, and to address this, I plan to schedule tasks in advance, ensuring that all deadlines are met well before they are due. The 24/7 nature of the role also requires constant oversight of all directors to ensure that marketing materials are effectively distributed across social media platforms. I am prepared to manage this by delegating tasks promptly and providing clear, detailed feedback to directors ahead of time, ensuring we consistently meet deadlines. I am accustomed to handling urgent tasks, and will highly prioritise open communication with both the marketing team and the wider council to ensure all marketing efforts are completed promptly and to a high standard.

What have been parts of your tenure as Marketing Director that you perceive as having had value that you wish to continue into your own tenure as VPM?

During my tenure as Marketing Director, one of the key practices I found valuable and would like to continue as VPM is maintaining a high level of communication within the team. We had multiple channels of communication for different types of discussions, ensuring that all four directors were always on the same page and could assist each other when needed. This type of structured communication helped keep everyone organised and aligned, which is something I see as essential in the VPM role, especially with the increased number of responsibilities and projects. Another aspect I would carry forward is the emphasis on providing consistent feedback on marketing materials. Encouraging directors to critique each other’s work not only improved the quality of individual projects but also helped everyone develop their marketing skills through constructive feedback. As VPM, I plan to further integrate these practices to foster collaboration, skill development and ensure all tasks are completed to a high standard.