What Qualifications Are Required to Become an Australian Lawyer?
Become an Australian Lawyer
Becoming a lawyer in Australia requires a law degree, practical legal training and admission to the legal profession. Each state and territory has its own Legal Admissions Board which assesses students who wish to become lawyers and offers legal practice placement opportunities. Once a student has met the requirements for admission they can apply to their legal admissions board within five years of graduation for a Practising Certificate from their local Law Society.
The first step in becoming a lawyer is to complete a Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor (LLB or JD) degree. These degrees provide fundamental legal knowledge and skills that prepare students to practise law in Australia or overseas. These degree programmes teach legal concepts and systems, explain how to work in a particular jurisdiction and provide an insight into the practice of law.
Generally, the duration of these three to four-year programs depends on which degree you study, but they are both regulated by the Australian Qualifications Framework. You can study an LLB or JD full-time or part-time.
What Qualifications Are Required to Become an Australian Lawyer?
You can also study a combined law degree, which combines an LLB with another subject, usually an arts or business subject, and takes five years to complete. These programs can be studied part-time or full-time and often involve intensive research and coursework.
A successful lawyer in Australia must be able to research and analyse complex information, negotiate with clients, respond to judges’ questions, write documents and present their cases to courts. These skills are essential for achieving success in the legal industry and obtaining a good job offer.
Practical legal training is a requirement for most Australian states and territories, and consists of workplace training under the supervision of a qualified lawyer. It can take up to 80 days, and involves online study and work placements. It is also known as the Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, and is taught by a variety of providers.
The course is approved by each state or territory’s Legal Admissions Board and enables you to gain experience as an entry-level lawyer before becoming a practicing solicitor. PLT providers will help you secure a job placement and assist with applying for admission to the relevant legal admissions board.
Once you have graduated from your law degree and completed PLT, you can begin your career as a solicitor in Australia. You must obtain a practising certificate from your state or territory’s Law Society and complete 18 to 24 months of supervised legal practice before you can practise independently.
After gaining your practising certificate, you must then find a job at a law firm and work under the supervision of a practising solicitor for about 18 to 24 months. This supervised practice provides you with practical experience in interacting with clients, researching cases and creating legal documents.
A lawyer in Australia can practise in a wide range of areas, including family law, property law and patent law. This career has a high turnover rate and is very rewarding, especially in the areas of intellectual property and international business.