Doctor Michelle Sanson

Senior Lecturer, School of Law

Contact Details

• Biography
• Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise
• Awards / Honours
• Grants / Current Projects
• Selected Publications
• Other

Biography

Michelle is a Senior Lecturer in Law, and First Year Advisor. She is also on the Executive of the Australasian Law Teachers Association (ALTA); is Associate Director of the New South Wales Centre for Legal Education; Editor in Chief of the Legal Education Review; Associate Editor for the Legal Education Digest; and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of the Australasian Law Teachers Association, the Academic Board of JMC Academy and the Academic Board of the Australian International Conservatorium of Music. She has also advised Clayton Utz on national approaches to continuing legal education.
Prior to coming to UWS, Michelle worked for five years as a law academic at the University of Technology, Sydney, and held a variety of roles, including Director of Undergraduate Programs from 2004-5 and coach of award-winning moot teams. Michelle entered academia from practice, having worked for three years with Blake Dawson Waldron on international trade and transport law.
Michelle has also undertaken a range of international projects, including work at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, and human rights related work for Lawyers Without Borders in Namibia and Sierra Leone. Michelle has also taught intensive international law courses at Viadrina European University in Germany and has given guest lectures in Africa.

Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise

Teaching

Introduction to Law; International Trade Law; World Trade Organization Law; International Commercial Dispute Resolution, International Advocacy and Mooting

Research

International Law and Global Governance; World Trade Organization Law; Legal Education; Humanitarian Aid; Civil Procedure

Awards / Honours

Academic

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Law 2008: thesis entitled ‘International Law and Global Governance: A Normative Systemic Approach’
• Master of Education in Adult Education (M.Ed) 2006
• Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (Teaching and Learning) (GCHETL) 2003
• Certificate in Holistic Counselling, 2002, Nature Care College
• Certificate in Life Coaching, 2002, Nature Care College
• Graduate Certificate in Continuing Legal Practice 1999
• Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours 1999
• University of Westminster, London 1997 (exchange student on scholarship)
• Bachelor of Business (Marketing and Management) with Credit 1994
• Oregon State University, USA 1993 (exchange student, named on Honor Roll)

Other

• College of Business Award 'For aligned, holistic and multidimensional strategies that encourage engagement and enhance the transition of first year law students grounded on "best practices" in transition pedagogy' with Dr Susan Armstraong, 2010
• Commendation for UTS Teaching Award 2005
• Volunteer Award with Benevolent Society of NSW 2001
• Olympic Torch Bearer 2000
• Achievement nomination for Young Australian of the Year Award 2000
• Admitted to practice in the High Court of Australia 1999
• Admitted to practice in the New South Wales Supreme Court 1999
• Alumni Achievement Award for contribution to University 1999
• Dean’s Special Award for Outstanding Service to the Law Faculty 1998
• Corrs Chambers Westgarth prize in International Trade Law 1997
• Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award 1996; Bronze Award 1987

Grants / Projects

• Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) project 'Learning to Think Like A Lawyer with Nickolas James, Rachael Field and Lisa Westcott 2010-11
• Lawyers Without Borders: Sierra Leone, December 2009 - January 2010: undertaking needs analysis on rule of law and governance issues, providing public lectures, university guest lectures, and training of the legal profession. Involves ongoing involvement in an initiative to create a community justice clinic, and improve access to legal resources
• Lawyers Without Borders: Neutral Trial Observation, High Treason Trial Windhoek, Namibia, 2008: reporting on procedural fairness and other legal issues in the trial of 121 people who have been held in custody since 1999
• World Trade Organisation (WTO) Dispute Settlement System, 2006: interviews in over 16 countries to ascertain the reason for the absence of African WTO Members from the Dispute Settlement System 

Selected Publications

Books

• Rana, R and Sanson, M International Commercial Arbitration, Thomson Reuters 2010
• Sanson, M. Anthony, T. and Warwick, D. Connecting With Law, Oxford University Press, 2nd ed 2010
• Sanson, M. Anthony, T. and Warwick, D. Connecting With Law, Oxford University Press 2009
• Sanson, M. International Law and Global Governance, Cameron May, London, 2008
• Sanson, M. Essential International Trade Law, Cavendish Publishing Ltd, 2nd ed 2005
• Sanson, M. Essential International Trade Law, Cavendish Publishing Ltd, 2002

Articles/Chapters

• Ireland , J. Rogers, P. and Sanson, M. 'Virtual Moot Court: A Pilot Study' (2010) 3(1&2), Journal of the Australasian Law Teachers Association 1.
  
• Sanson, M. 'Facilitating Access to Dispute Settlement for African Members of the World Trade Organization' (2009) 2, Indian Journal of International Economic Law 1.
  
• Sanson, M. Ireland, J. and Rogers, P. 'Fake it Till You Make It': Using Second Life to Teach Practical Legal Skills' (2009) 2 Journal of the Australasian Law Teachers Association 245.
  
• Sanson, M. 'The Role of Justice in Compliance Theory’ (2008) 4 Compliance and Regulatory Journal 41.
  
• Sanson, M. ‘Resolution of Proceedings without hearing’ and ‘Evidence and Procedure (NZ) Act 1994 (Cth)’, NSW Civil Practice and Procedure, Thomsons, 2006-to date
  
• Sanson, M. ‘The Effectiveness of the WTO Dispute Settlement System’, Ten Years of WTO Dispute Settlement: Australian Perspectives, Commonwealth of Australia, 2006, 89
• Sanson, M. ‘GATT, WTO’, ‘Trade Forms, Organizational, and Legal Institutions’, in History of World Trade Since 1450, Macmillan Reference USA, 2006
  
• Sanson, M. ‘Thinking Like a Lawyer’, Academics’ Forum, International Bar Association Conference Newsletter, 2006
• Sanson, M. and Taylor, L. ‘Graduate attributes – should law students have them?’, Academics’ Forum, International Bar Association Conference Newsletter, 2006
• Sanson, M. and Young, A. ‘Trade, Aid and Arbitrate: The Globalization of Western Law’ (2005) 59(4) Australian Journal of International Affairs 561

Videos

• ‘Tips and Strategies for First Year Students’, posted YouTube 2007, 35868 views
• ‘Giving Effective Class Presentations’, posted YouTube 2007, 36896 views
• ‘SOS Children’s Village, Windhoek Namibia’, posted YouTube 2008, 712 views

Other

speaking

• 'Developing Oral Advocacy Skills in Second Life: A Mooting Pilot', with Paul Rogers and Jennifer Ireland, ALTA Conference, Auckland, July 2010
• 'Aligning Expectations in First Year Law', with Susan Armstrong, ALTA Conference, Auckland, July 2010
• 'Divide & Conquer': Optimal Approaches to First Year Coordination in Law, ALTA Conference, Auckland, July 2010
• 'Resolving International Commercial Disputes', CLE Seminar, Freetown, Sierra Leone, 13 January 2010
• 'World Trade Organization and Africa', Public Lecture, Freetown, Sierra Leone, 15 January 2010
• Global Governance in the 21st Century: Prospects and Possibilities' Public Lecture, Freetown, Sierra Leone, 22 January 2010
• 'Fake it till you make it': Using Second Life to Teach Practical Legal Skills', with Paul Rogers and Jennifer Ireland, ALTA Conference, Sydney, July 2009
• 'Einstein and Freud Correspondence 1931-1932: A Lost Opportunity in International Law and Global Governance?', ALTA Conference, Sydney, July 2009
• 'Preparing tomorrow's lawyers today: graduate attributes in first year law', First Year in Higher Education Conference, Townsville, June 2009
  
• ‘The African Experience’, Occasional Speaker at Warrane College, UNSW, 23 September 2008
• ‘Challenges in Implementing Human Rights Treaties: A Namibian Case Study’, ALTA Conference, Cairns July 2008
• ‘Continuing Professional Development: Is there a Role for Academics?’, ALTA Conference, Cairns July 2008
• ‘The Sovereignty Paradox’, New Worlds, New Sovereignties Conference Melbourne June 2008
• ‘Piloting the use of the YouTube genre as teaching aids in law’, UTS Teaching and Learning Forum, Sydney, 15 November 2007
• ‘Protecting civil societies: International assistance and intervention’, Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Conference, 4 October 2007
• ‘The Role of Civil Society in Global Governance’, Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Seminar Series, International Perspectives, September 2007
• ‘Africa and the WTO’ UTS Law Faculty Staff Seminar Series, Sydney, August 2007
• ‘Piloting the use of the YouTube genre as teaching aids in law’, Legal Education Interest Group, ALTA Conference, Perth, July 2007
• ‘The International Legal System: an Unruly Horse?’, International Law Interest Group, ALTA Conference, Perth, July 2007
• ‘The African Experience of the WTO Dispute Settlement System’, International Law Interest Group, ALTA Conference, July 2007
• ‘Graduate Attributes Means More Than Just Skills’, ALTA Conference, 2006
• ‘Africa and the WTO’, ELSA WTO Moot Academic Conference, Adelaide, April 2006