
Encourages critical thinking and analysis.
Always patient, kind, and understanding.
Encourages independent and critical thought.
Inspires students to aim high and excel.
Makes complex ideas simple and clear.
Leigh Smith is a Lecturer at Curtin Law School in the Faculty of Business and Law at Curtin University. He possesses a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA Hons) and a Bachelor of Laws with Honours (LLB Hons), and holds Fellow status with the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). In his current roles, Leigh serves as Faculty Course Coordinator and Chair of the Board of Examiners for the Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Commerce programs within the Faculty of Business and Law. He previously held the position of Director of Learning and Teaching at Curtin Law School. Leigh joined Curtin Law School full-time in 2016 after working as a part-time tutor and casual academic at Curtin University and the University of Western Australia. In 2018, he was a visiting academic at the University of Bologna. His contributions to teaching were recognized in 2018 during Curtin University's Festival of Learning, where he was one of five staff members from the Faculty of Business and Law celebrated for teaching excellence.
Leigh Smith's research examines legal education, graduate attributes, learning outcomes integration, and student perceptions of employability. Key publications include 'Law Students' Awareness of University Graduate Attributes' co-authored with Christina Do in the Journal of the Australasian Law Teachers Association (2018), 'The Integration of Learning Outcomes and Graduate Attributes in the Australian Higher Education Sector (Part I): Integration Evidence and Legal Consequences' with Christina Do in the Monash University Law Review (2021), and 'Grades or Work Experience? Student Perceptions of the Relative Importance of Grades, Practice-Based Experience on Graduate Employment' with Pnina Levine and Brenda Rohl. He has also contributed to Volume Three of the Western Australian Law Teachers Review. His research interests include tort law, employment law, and labour law. Leigh has delivered sessions on preventing and responding to workplace sexual harassment and participates in practical skills workshops for law students. Through his leadership, teaching, and scholarship, Leigh Smith advances legal education and prepares students for professional practice.
