Quicklinks
 |
|||||||||||
Publications Click here for Publication listing Overview Leon Wolff joined the Faculty of Law in January 2001. Previously, he was a lawyer at Allen Allen & Hemsley (now Allens Arthur Robinson) (1997-8) and a lecturer at the Australian National University with a joint appointment at the Faculty of Law and the Australia-Japan Research Centre (1998-2000). He is the founding co-director of the Australian Network for Japanese Law (ANJeL) , a collaboration of the law schools at the Australian National University, the University of Sydney and UNSW which promotes teaching, research and professional engagement in Japanese law. He is also the Convenor of Asian Law at UNSW, teaching eleven specialist courses in Asian law generally and the Japanese and Chinese legal systems more specifically. He is fluent in Japanese with professional accreditation as an interpreter and translator. He convenes the Japanese stream in UNSW’s new Master of Arts in Interpreting and Translation (MAITS). His research focuses on Japanese law. His recent work includes book chapters and articles on Japanese employment law, corporate law, the judiciary and sexual harassment. He has recently completed a co-edited book on Corporate Governance in the 21st Century: Japan’s Gradual Transformation (with Luke Nottage and Kent Anderson) (Edward Elgar, forthcoming late 2008). He also contributes to the practitioner-focused CCH loose-leaf service Japan Business Law Guide with a recent update on Japanese corporate law (with Souichirou Kozuka) and a forthcoming update on Japanese labour law. He is currently working on a book-length study of the impact of recent corporate law reforms in Japan on lifelong employment and other ‘Japanese-style’ labour relations practices. Leon Wolff has two university medals (one in Japanese studies and the other in law). In addition to undergraduate honours degrees in law and arts from the University of Queensland, he has three masters degrees: Master of Arts in Japanese Interpreting and Translation (MAJIT), University of Queensland; Master of Laws in Asian and Comparative Law (LLM), University of Washington; and Master of Education (Higher Education), University of Sydney. He is currently undertaking a PhD at The Australian National University. Courses Taught LAWS4120 Themes in Asian and Comparative Law LAWS4127 Japanese Law in Context LAWS4128 Japanese Law and Politics LAWS4129 Japanese Law and Society LAWS4130 Japanese Law and the Economy LAWS4131 Tutorial in Japanese Law and Language LAWS4132 Tutorial in Advanced Japanese Law LAWS4133 Issues in Asian and Comparative Law LAWS4134 Chinese Law in Context LAWS4135 Chinese Law and the Economy LAWS4136 Advanced Chinese Law MODL2002 Introduction to Professional Interpreting MODL5103 Interpreting and Translation Practice I (Japanese stream) MODL5104 Interpreting and Translation Practice II(Japanese stream) Career Profile My academic and professional background reflects my dual interests in Japanese studies and law. I have completed two masters degrees - in Japanese language from the University of Queensland and in Japanese law from the University of Washington, Seattle. I am accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) as an English-Japanese interpreter and translator, and I have taught tertiary-level Japanese at the University of Queensland (1993-5) and the University of Washington (1996). After practising law at the commercial law firm Allen Allen & Hemsley (now Allens Arthur Robinson) (1997-8), I joined the Australian National University where I had a joint appointment with the Law Faculty and the Australia-Japan Research Centre (1998-2000). Research Interests Leon Wolf’s research program lies in Japanese law and society. As a sociolegal scholar who interrogates the role plays in Japanese society, his work draws on a range of disciplinary traditions — law, sociology, political science, economics, cultural anthropology and linguistics — and covers a number of topic areas — such as gender equity, corporate governance, commercial regulation, human rights, labour law and administrative reform. The thread that ties together this diverse research program is the contribution to the larger debate on how law “matters” in Japan. Current Research Projects Leon Wolff is currently pursuing the following research projects: • The impact of recent corporate governance reforms on Japanese employment law and practices; • The gendered nature of the Japanese judiciary; and • Japanese corporate law and practice; He has associated research interests in: • Sociolegal theories of Japanese law; • Japanese interpreting and translation theory and practice; • Japanese law and popular culture; • Asia literacy for lawyers; • Chinese economic law reform and the rule of law; • Legal education. Grants ANU, Flexible Fellowships Scheme(with S Daniel)- ‘Virtual’ reflection: using information technologies to develop the reflective practitioner ARC Discovery Grant- Privatisation and its impact on pluralism in Japan UNSW Research Support Grant- Workplace equity policy in the 1990s: reinterpreting Japanese governance and civil society UNSW Research Support Grant - Women`s experiences with litigation in Japan Service to Discipline and the Profession Leon Wolff provides administrative service to the Law School, the university and the discipline of Japanese law in three key ways. First, he co-direct a national research network in Japanese law, the Australian Network for Japanese Law (ANJeL). Second, he has served as Director of Teaching and Learning in the Law School. Third, he convenes the Asian law stream in the postgraduate program. ANJeL (2002-present): In 2002, ANU, the University of Sydney and UNSW formally established the Australian Network for Japanese Law (ANJeL). Leon Wolff co-directs ANJeL. ANJeL is involved in a wide range of research, teaching and community activities including: • (judicial exchange) initiating a judicial exchange program with the Secretariat of the Supreme Court of Japan; • (conferences) organising and hosting eight international conferences (“Japanese Law and the Economy”, (Ritsumeikan, Tokyo, 2008); “Beyond the Country and Western Tradition in Law” (Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, 2008); “Japanese Law after Recession and Reform: Once was Lost, Now is Found?” (ANU, 2007); “War of the Worlds in Japanese Law? Implications for Business Law Harmonisation” (UNSW, 2006); “Japanese Law on Trial” (University of Sydney, 2005); “Japanese Law`s Place in the World and the World`s Place in Japanese Law” (UNSW, 2004); “Americanisation of Japanese Law: Civil Justice Reform and the Business World” (University of Sydney, 2003); and “Into the Grove of Japanese Law: Paradigms and Paradoxes” (UNSW, 2002); • (journal editorial board) collaborating with the German-Japanese Association of Jurists (DJJV) to promote and edit their Journal of Japanese Law (Zeitschrift fuer Japanisches Recht), the only regularly published journal in Western languages focusing on Japanese law; • (student learning) running and judging a national student essay competition in Japanese law; sponsoring student course prizes in Japanese law; introducing the Kyoto and Tokyo summer schools in Japanese law; and supporting a new international negotiating and arbitration competition in Japan for Japanese-speaking Australian law students; • (community education) developing an online repository of resources on Japanese law in collaboration with AUSTLII; and • (international linkages) attracting over 300 members from Australia, Japan, North America and Europe. Director of Teaching and Learning (2003-2006): As Director of Teaching and Learning, Leon Wolff involved colleagues both in the Law School and across the university in debates and ideas about teaching and learning. In the Law School, he ran an induction program for new teachers (both permanent and casual) as well as bi-monthly professional workshops in teaching and learning. Across the university, he participated in the University Network in Learning and Teaching (UNILT) program of peer-led teaching and learning seminars. He has also contributed to policy development by drafting the graduate attributes for the Law School (now embedded in Law School course outlines) and preparing a Teaching and Learning Manual for new teachers. Convenor of Asian Law (2002-2006, 2008-present): As convenor of the LLM specialisation in Asian Law, Leon Wolff has designed and delivered over 11 postgraduate courses in Asian law. In the English-speaking university context, his Asian law courses combine to create a unique inter-disciplinary program that, with its integration of on-line learning, attracts students from across the world. Other Activities Leon Wolff has a diverse and interdisciplinary teaching program. He runs a critically acclaimed, cutting edge online suite of 11 courses in Asian law; teaches and occasionally convenes a compulsory course in corporate law; teaches Indigenous students seeking a future career in law; coordinates a professional masters program in English-Japanese interpreting and translation; and coordinates seminars, workshops and advisory sessions to colleagues on teaching and learning within the Law School, across UNSW and internationally. He has delivered guest lectures and courses at universities in Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2001, he was awarded an Innovative Teaching and Educational Technology (ITET) fellowship and, in 2004, won the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in University Teaching. In the undergraduate program in the Faculty of Law, Leon Wolff teaches the corporate law subject Business Associations I (LAWS4010). In the postgraduate program, he runs a suite of interdisciplinary online courses in the Asian Law stream. He also supervises undergraduate and postgraduate research projects in most areas of Asian and comparative law, especially Japanese law. In the Faculty of Arts, he teaches the Japanese stream in the Master of Arts in Interpreting and Translation, namely, Interpreting and Translation Practice I (MODL5103) and Interpreting and Translation Practice II (MODL5104). He also runs Japanese tutorials in the undergraduate course Introduction to Modern Interpreting (MODL2002). From 2002-2004, he was involved in curriculum design and teaching of the Indigenous Pre-Law Program and, since 2003, he has designed the curriculum for and taught in the new winter school in legal studies for indigenous high school students. |
