"I am currently studying the LPC at the College of Law. After completing my course I want to move to Australia to become a solicitor there. With a law degree and the LPC, how would I go about converting to practise in Australia? I'm finding it really hard to find the information I need, as everything I read seems to be telling me different routes, but I would want the quickest and cheapest route. Also, would it be hard to gain citizenship to move to Australia to practise law, as I will only be in my mid-twenties at the time of the move? Hope someone can clear this matter up for me!"
Click 'Comment on this article' to post your advice in confidence - or click here to share your wisdom on the Legal Week Wiki, where no topic is off limits. Rate or slate your firm and its rivals with our ground-breaking insider's guide to City law.
And remember, Career Clinic is only as good as the questions we receive, so email your career conundrums to community@legalweek.com.
I believe it is possible to do a one-year qualification course. However, I think you need to have qualified as a solicitor here. You also need to know which state you want to work in, as Australia has a federal legal system - each state has its own course. The visa system in Australia is mind-bogglingly complex and you really need to take the advice of a migration agent if you want to make a permanent move.
The quickest and cheapest way is probably to stow away on a plane, but I doubt that would do your career any good. You need to be clear exactly what it is that you do want. I'd suggest that you should look to qualify, get a couple of years at a quality firm and then look to move to one of the growing number of Oz firms setting up here with a view to them sponsoring your move.
As the comment above, you need to be clear where you want to work as each state has its own licence system, what kind of work you want to do and whether you are going to do English law or learn the local lingo. Talk to some of the recruitment consultants that work for Oz clients and see what they are looking for (I doubt it's someone straight out of college) and then mould yourself to fit.
My concern is that you don't have a training contract. I would address that first!
I moved to Australia three years ago from a London firm. My new firm was recruiting in London and I know that a number of the other large Australian firms do the same. Look out for the ads in legal magazines or websites. They will generally be looking for lawyers with 1-4 years PQE at a UK firm, but there may be opportunities for a trainee/graduate lawyer position. You could speak to the relevant recruiter acting for these firms and maybe even try to meet up with some people from the firms themselves - eg, if they are running a drinks event at the same time as running interviews. The benefit of getting a job before you come out is that your Australian firm will generally pay your airfare and will sponsor you for a four-year unrestricted working visa. Your firm may then also be willing to sponsor you for residency - my firm did this for me earlier in the year. Having that sponsorship offer made the process very quick - I used a migration agent and the whole thing (fees and agent fees) came to about A$6,000.
Without any PQEs under your belt you will need to do an additional course (including taking a few mandatory ungraduate subjects) to qualify in Australia. It would be somewhat unusual for an English-qualified baby solicitor to come straight out to Australia.
The usual route is, of course, get a few years under your belt, complain about the London weather and talk of the surf/sun/beach of Australia during interviews. In the scheme of things, this more conventional approach might work out to be the cheapest (in terms of opportunity cost) overall.
Suggest you contact the legal practice board for the state you want to practise in as the requirements are slightly different depending on the state. I only had to do a few extra units and then get an articleship (training contract) to qualify.
There are different requirements depending on how qualified you are. Check out the Legal Practice Admission Board for the state you are thinking of moving to. As a rule of thumb, qualified lawyers are required to do Constitutional Law, plus College of Law courses. However, they have recently changed the rules and whether you may have to do more academic subjects. Ideally, you should get a job in Australia before you arrive - you will get the support needed, and the invaluable visa. You can only get a skilled migrant visa as an Australian-qualified lawyer.
I am in a similar position as you are; however, I am not sure whether I want to become a lawyer once I have landed in Oz. There are better things to do there than sitting in an office all day long. However, if you want to make the move after your LPC (assuming you have not secured a training contract) then the best thing to do is to go travelling on a holiday working visa to, let's say, Sydney. You can try to gain employment as a paralegal or secretary in one of Sydney's law firms to get some experience. If you have not secured a training contract then I would not be wasting any more time in the UK. If you have, then qualify here and then make the move.
To qualify in NSW you will need to do their Administrative Law which will cost you about
$500-$600. You can do this at University of Sydney, for example. As you will have the LPC in your bag before you make the move, you will not be required to do their LPC. On the Legal Profession Admission Board you will find that if you have done a law degree and the LPC in England then you are already qualified in Oz without having to have to do a training contract in England. However, before you are officially admitted in NSW you might need to do some clerkship in a law firm. I think you should go for it. In case you do not want to live in NSW then I suggest you Google the Legal Profession Admission Board and find out what you need to do to qualify in other states.
Please ignore the comment above; please visit our website for the correct information: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lpab
Latest Jobs
