Mr John O'Brien
Faculty of Business & Law,
School of Law
Biography
Overview
- I teach in foundational legal knowledge and skills units in the Bachelor of Laws (Hons), as well as an elective unit of Sports Law.
- I research in sports law and education law, particularly in the regulation of compulsory school attendance.
- I lead the School's peer learning program, LLB Help Me.
Background & Teaching
- I graduated from Griffith University with a LLB (Hons) and B Com (Hons). I taught at Griffith for 2 years, before returning to study a degree in Secondary Education, and then taught at a boys' high school in Brisbane.
- I began working at QUT in 2008, in the Faculty of Business, School of Accountancy.
- I commenced in the School of Law in 2011, and have taught in a wide range of first-year foundational units. I am currently a coordinator LLB101 Introduction to Law. I also designed, and still teach, the undergraduate elective unit, Sports Law.
Research
- Due to my time as a school teacher, plus more recent experience as a supervisor in a school boarding house, and 15 years of junior sports coaching, I'm interested in researching legal issues that affect education and sport.
- I have also published on topical areas that align with my teaching, such as statutory interpretation.
- I've commenced my PhD study on a regulatory analysis of school truancy laws.
Leadership and Service
- I undertook a new role of 'Student Success Coordinator' for the School of Law in 2016, which involved coordinating: Orientation for commencing LLB students; the peer-learning program LLB Help Me (utilising a students-as-partners approach); and the School's wellness/positive professional identity program, I Belong in the LLB. My current leadership role is that of 'Peer Programs Convenor' for the School of Law.
- Externally, I have been a committee member of the Queensland Chapter of ANZELA since 2012, and a national Director on its board from 2020. I also assist as a disciplinary tribunal panel member for a Brisbane sporting organisation.
- I have formerly served on the School's Learning & Teaching Committee.
- I formerly, along with a colleauge, desgined and delievered legal awareness seminars to Year 11 & 12 students at various Brisbane schools.
Personal details
Positions
- Lecturer
Faculty of Business & Law,
School of Law
Keywords
Sports Law, School and Education Law, Statutory Interpretation
Research field
Other Law and Legal Studies
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- GradDipEd(Sec) (Australian Catholic Uni)
- LLB(Hons) (Griffith University)
- BCom(Hons) (Griffith University)
Professional memberships and associations
- Director - Australia and New Zealand Education Law Association, and Chairperson (Qld Chapter).
- Member - Australia and New Zealand Sports Law Association
- Member - Australasian Law Academics Association
- Registered Teacher - Queensland College of Teachers
Teaching
Teaching philosophy
My teaching aims to build students' confidence for legal study, through forming effective learning habits and creating opportunities for feedback on progress. Primarily, this is done in core foundational units through a tutorial program which incentivises active learning through synchronous tutorials (either in-person or online), and providing asynchronous options which do not allow for passivity.
Current units
I currently teach the following units in the LLB (Hons):
- LLB101 Introduction to Law (first-year core unit)
- LLB245 Sports Law (general elective)
I have also recently taught:
- LLB107 Statutory Interpretation (first-year core unit)
Past teaching experience
I have previously taught in the following units at QUT:
- Business Law and Ethics (B Business first-year core unit)
- Company Law (Accountancy core unit)
- Contracts A
- Torts A & B
- Introduction to Law (unit in B Entertainment Industries)
- Legal Clinic (WIL elective unit)
- Learning in Professional Practice (WIL elective unit)
- Legal Problems & Communication (first-year core unit, now defunct)
Publications
QUT ePrints
For more publications by John, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).