Taking up the discourse : theory or praxis

This article responds to the invitation extended by Carney to engage in a dialogue on the topic of graduate legal research units. In his paper, Carney stated the approach of the Sydney course as being to teach theory rather than skills, to "pursue academic goals over skill competencies... ". The Faculty of Law at Queensland University of Technology introduced a postgraduate legal research unit in 1993 with different perspectives and purposes to the Sydney course, and given this experience, the opportunity for a discussion on aspects of such units including the theoretical versus practical approach to teaching cannot be ignored.