DW125

Hi,

I'm a legal graduate from the UK and am looking into the idea of completing my legal training in Australia. Currently I have passed my CPE and hold an Ma in Law, however i need to complete the vocational part of my training. In the UK this would involve a LPC course at university and 2 years as a trainee. As i understand it the training requirements vary from state to state. I have been looking into Brisbane and according to the Queensland Law Society website you can qualify by either studying for the PLT course at university OR a two year traineeship. What i need to know is 'is it possible for UK graduates to obtain a traineeship in Australia or would i need to qualify before i come?' If it is possible would i have to study any modules before being accepted ( Australian Legal System, Australian Constitutional Law etc. ). I have emailed the Queensland Law society with similar questions but as yet no reply.

if anyone has any information on this or any other states then it would be very much appreciated.

many thanks

Petals

Getting articles after completing a law degree is difficult. The large firms do not take a lot of articled clerks in Melbourne and there are just so many law graduates looking.

Here is a web site which will help you out with Victoria.

They are supposed to be changing the way articles are completed but have not seen anything about it yet.

http://www.careers.liv.asn.au/content.asp?contentid=23

Famous 5

For NSW you could try looking at the Legal Profession Admissions Board website. The website includes details on the Uniform Principles for Assessment of Overseas Applicants for Admission which I think all admission authorities in Australia have now adopted.

http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlin...b_overseasprac

It is likely that you would have to complete one or more modules of academic study and then complete the PLT requirements for the state in which you are seeking admission, but as with England & Wales and other jurisdictions, getting a traineeship is competitive.

busterboy

Yup, Australia has enough blood sucking parasites of its own......

(Oh what! It was a joke).

chaval

i'll try and help....1st off decide where u wanna practice/live....if its qld then the following might apply...(legal speak as it were)

1....get LLB recognised by 1 of 4 uni's....qut, griff, uni of qld..i think there is 1 other.....cost 500 ish $$
2....they say...what subjects you will have to do to get your LLb in line with theres...which means con and ad....bit of prof ethics.....civl proc....corp law...and maybe 1 other subject.....400 bucks per course
3.... Do the LPC (qld version).......3-4 months i think...nother couple of grand

4. Admitted to QLD L Soc...joining fees etc

5....Practice....

thats about it....i think...but best you seek your own info...lol..ive got no insurance.

chaval

ooops qld...torres straits property law...crikes...sacred heart wine...does me

andy.n

hey

ive spent a lot of time researching this and i moved over to QLD in september 08.. im in same position as u, i have an LLB, altho i dont have a masters!...

u need to get ur degree assessed by an university... QUT did mine and it cost $200 and was back in 3 weeks... i was told i needed to do 7 units, quite a lot, and ive enrolled to do these part-time 2 per semester and 3 in the last semester so it will take me 18 months...

takes a while i kno, but i get the lectures sent to me via email and then i have to go to tutorials (seminars) once a week on one evening, in Brisbane to just workshop what you have learnt, attendance is compulsory.. so i just do about 4 hours work a week.. and then ive managed to get myself a job as a legal assistant in a law firm near to where i live where im learning heaps and earning good money. but there are more job oppurtunities in brisbane...once u have ur foot in the door somewhere it will be easier to get a traineeship... but if not the Practical Legal Training (PLT) which takes a year i believe is worth doing, unlike uk, when the PLT is done you are admitted as a lawyer and ready for practice!!! but u need a firm to practice in!....so a traineeship is an all round better way to do it...

so, all in all, it takes an extra year or 18 months to convert uk LLB to aus LLB but u can save a year on the PLT or traineeship..

its worth considering... traineeships are easier to come by out here than the dire situation in uk with economy and trainee's being the first cutbacks!...

let me kno if this info is helpful or not

VickiLouise

thank for the info andy.n

I currently have my LLB and am looking into emigrating to melbourne.

I understand that I will have to get my LLB assessed by a uni in victoria and complete any subsequent modules they require, I was wondering if you could give me an indication on timelines and visa applications, i.e. you said it took 3 weeks for the uni assessment, which visa did you have to apply for - which allows you to work (is it more than 20 hours a week?) as the student visas I have looked at until now, say no more than 20hrs a week in term time. How long did the visa process take?

I am hoping to move within two years, and have heard that because of lenghtly visa process, it would be better to apply sooner rather than later.

sorry for all the questions, any info/advice would be of great help.

Vicki

auds

Hi Vicki

I don't think I'll have the exact answers to your questions but hopefully can help you a bit.

I am a qualified solicitor in Ireland and recently moved to Melbourne.

I found it hard to find out info on how to convert over here but there are some threads on this site which have been really helpful.

As I'm already admitted to practice in Ireland, I had to get my qualifications assessed by the Council of Law in Victoria. As part of that, they evaluated my LLB. I need to do 6 academic subjects to get qualified here.

I've done some research on the Universities. The only one that I've found in Victoria to allow you do the academic subjects by correspondce is Deakin Uni and you could study the subjects online from the UK. They have three semesters a year so you could get your subjects done in a year. There are other Unis in other states and if you search on this site you'll find info on them.

If you get your LLB evaluated (not sure how this works but maybe contact Deakin) and then do you subjectcs from the UK.

The way to be admitted in Victoria is to either do a traineeship or go to a practical legal training course for about 6 months (again I'm not too sure about this).

I think you might need to look into visas a bit. For a student visa, which i think is quick to get, you might need to study full time and I dont know if the PLT courses qualify for that.

Good luck with it all.

chaval

Hi Vicki...I'll try and shed some light on things...to get a student visa..you have to enrol on a course which is classed eligable course and has some number (i cant remember the acronym)..then you apply for the visa..once you get your confirmation letter....

now what im not 100% on is whether the 6-7 units you need to do to get onto a PLT qualify on there own...or whether you would have to enrol on a full on uni course..you would have to check with the uni...

Also...you will be classed as an overseas student or if you just do individual units a visiting student..either way i think you are looking at min 1600A$ per unit...

I guess you might want to get a uni to assess your degee based on where you will study..so u might want to check it does external teaching/courses...just to keep things tidy...

Anyway...once you get in one jurisdiction....to transfer you need a letter of fitness from said jurisdiction and off you go (put simply)...

As for time lines...i think the student visa is a pretty quick turn around...as in walk in...they give you a bridging stamp..to allow you to work the 20hrs until you get the proper sticker

hope that helps...but I advise you to speak to a migration agent..or the immigration office before you do anything. (sorry thats just a standard lawyer disclaimer lol)