requalifying as a solicitor in australia

[enjoycoke]

hey

im a practitioner in the uk, have been getting slightly restless of late and thinking of making the jump down to aus. all the posts here are very helpful.

just have a few 1's if anyone could help that would be much appreciated.

if i apply to , for instance, western aus legal board to check my qualifications and tell me what more i need...can i then do these modules at say UNE? will subjects taken in one jurisdiction likely be recognised by the admissions board of another aus jurisdiction?

can all academic subjects and practical subjects be completed via long distance learning?

also anyone have any experience of the rural, regional and remote law australia program?

what are the legal job prospects like at the minute down under?

many thanks people

[toadsurfer]

Hi Coke

Prospects seem good compared to uk but depends what practice area you are in. Still good prospects for corporate, insolvency, com litigation etc. However unless you are a well experienced M&A lawyer with exp at a top 10 UK firm you will find it very difficult to get a job without already having the right to live and work in aus as Aus has plenty of it's own lawyers!
Some of the unis have distance learning courses but, depending on your length of experience, you will likely have to do some courses in Aus.
Best bet is to try and get a sponsored job and then requalify while working over there but how easy this is for you depends wholly on your practice area and whether you are at a well recognised firm.
Once you are admitted in one state it is generally a fairly quick and easy administrative process to transfer to another.
Let us know how you get on!

[enjoycoke]

Thanks toad for the info.

My background is that of a barrister (mainly criminal with some civil work but not a huge portion) so unsure how that affects my prospects (ie not being from a significant commercial firm like many others who seem to be considering the move).

I had been told that outside of the big major cities some smaller multi-discipline firms are struggling to recruit australian lawyers, who prefer to work in the big cities or so I'm lead to believe, but obviously I've no idea how true this is which is why I was asking about the RRRLaw initiative.

In terms of a visa if you score 65 on the points test does that allow you to arrive in aus without a sponsored employment already secured?

Thanks for the help

[toadsurfer]

I never looked in too much to the rrr program as I don't want to go to Oz and be far from the coast. From what I can see it will not help with emigrating itself but does clearly suggest that there is a shortage of lawyers in regional remote Oz. You could try approaching remote firms directly and hopefully find a firm happy to sponsor u on a 457 visa.
Other than finding a job directly only other option is, like you have said, passing the points test. Only problem is that you have to nominate a profession to do the points test. To be allowed to nominate solicitor you have to have your skills assessed and the reality is that they require you to requalify in Oz before you will get the go ahead to take the points test. I can't say for sure if it will be the same for barristers but it's likely it is.
So really choice is quit work, go to Oz and requalify, then apply for PR and then get job or target firms directly and try to find a sponsor. If remote firms are struggling you may be lucky and my guess is criminal law might be useful. But there again do you really want to live in the outback??
Btw if you are under 30 u could get a working visa and go now and build up contacts and try and find a sponsor that way. Always easier than applying from the other side of the world via email!

[priyadheeraj]

Dear All,

I just got the usual LPAB assessment providing exemption in 7 papers however 17 papers are still required to be done.

Is there anyone on the forum having come from India who used the LPAB route and can anyone suggest if it possible to just do some law diploma using the subjects in which LPAB has granted exemptions.

Also any clues on any firms or legal agencies open to recruit without local experience would greatly help.

Regards,
Priya

[toadsurfer]

Hi Priya

My advice is avoid recruitment agents. You are already at a disadvantage compared to local lawyers for not having local experience so don't add to that disadvantage by going with an agent as any recruiter will then have to consider that they would have to pay high agent fees to take you on.

Just approach firms directly. I don't know what area of law you are in but your best bet is the larger firms who will be familiar with sponsoring foreign lawyers. Try minter Ellison, Freehills, allens Arthur, mallesons, corrs chambers etc.

Unless your practice area is particularly niche and in demand you will be very lucky to find anything though. Good luck
Ed

[priyadheeraj]

Thanks for the advice Ed.

My problem is I have worked as in-house counsel and most of my experience has been in contracts and compliances, so being a generalist to me it seems really difficult, even when you try connecting with the firms directly you can perhaps get connected to HR only when listed vacancies are there, if no vacancies are there then its your luck.

neverthless I am keeping my fingers crossed and trying on a daily basis, I guess started a little late.

Thanks,
Priya

[Nettle]

Hi all

Just a quick update - I haven't got any further with trying to figure out how to qualify in queensland and am thinking about just popping over the border to NSW who actually provide info and link to law schools who have some information for foreign qualified lawyers. I'm still in the UK so haven't been too bothered to look into it until I applied for a job on the off chance last week (as it was in the same area i work in) and now I have an interview this week - yikes!

Has anyone got any advice on the application for assessment? I finished university almost 10 years ago so I don't have course outlines anymore but that's the least of my problems as part of the practical assessment i need to demonstrate how I have requisite experience with certain areas of law.

My problem is I've never practiced in many of these areas and how do I get someone who worked with me or managed me to attest to it? It seems that I would have an easier time of things if I had never practiced at all then I just have to show I studied it without any attestation. maybe it's just the QLD form which makes no sense in this respect!

To make things more complicated I will be up to 7 years inc my training contract in 6 months so should I wait and then claim the experienced practitioner exemptions???

I'm so confused :-/

[toadsurfer]

Hey Nettle

That's good news on the interview front! I take it you now have your de facto partner visa?

If you have your visa, and are getting job interviews, I wouldn't bother with requalification yet. You can work as a foreign qualified while you're over there and once there it will be much easier to find out exactly what needs to be done.

Basically, look at the Uniform Principles to work out what you will likely have to do. Then, you may find that your level of experience will reduce the need to sit some of the exams. However, I am not sure that they will take into account your training contract anymore but you never know.

If you can get a job without requalifying, I'd just do that and then requalify once you are there, with some Aussie experience under your belt, and if your employer wants you to.

I've managed to get a job with a New Zealand firm so am off to Auckland now. I'll work as a UK lawyer and will get requalified over the next 18 months or so while working. Once qualified in NZ I can apply to get admittted in Oz and will have the option of going there in the future if NZ is not for me.

Good luck with the interview!

[Nettle]

Hi Toadsurfer

Congratulations on finding a job!!!! What made you change to NZ I thought you were going to be an aussie???

You are correct I got my visa at the very end of last year so I'm all set. I think I know what I have to do and am hoping to get away with as little as possible :-)

Just stressing about the interview now- any tips?? I'm trying to divide my time between researching the company, trying to figure out the differences between English and Aus law and thinking of answers to competency based questions - yuk!

Hope all goes well with the move and your new firm is full of lovely people who all go home at 6pm :-)