Flinders Law Students' Association Careers Guide 2016

FLINDERS LAW STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

CAREERS

GUIDE

2016

Editorial Team

Acknowledgements

The Careers Guide 2016 is produced by the Flinders Law Students’ Association (FLSA). FLSA is a volunteer, not-forprofit student organisation that is the representative body for law students at Flinders University.

FLSA would like to extend thanks to the following external contributors, without whom we would not have been able to present this publication.

We would like to acknowledge the valuable input made by the Flinders Law School, the Flinders University Careers and Employment Liaison Centre, and the many student authors who have contributed to this publication.

Editor

Philippa Ewens

Sub-Editors Tim Bost

Anthony Busuttil

Content

Philippa Ewens

Sponsorship Olivia Hanna Production

Philippa Ewens

Cover Art

Ginger Wikilyiri

Printing

Adelaide Digital

Adele Minge, Mediation SA Anastasia Smietanka, The Animal Law Institute Andrew Harris QC Bill Miels, Morgan Stanley Casey Isaacs, Caldicoot Lawyers Chris Picton MP, Australian Labor Party Christian Paech, Santos Ltd Christopher Swan, Swan Family Lawyers Claire Whittington, Supreme Court of South Australia Eilise Sullivan, Legal Services Commission of South Australia Ellen Heinrich, Delloitte Fiona McCord, Base Legal Jacqueline Lau, Supreme Court of South Australia Jenelle Eldrige, Minter Ellison Julian Burnside QC Merryn Cossey, Adelaide City Council Paul Burgess, Burgess Paluch Legal Recruitment Paul Gordon, NDA Lawyers Penny Morton, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Professor David Bamford, Flinders University Rosalind Burke, the Law Society of South Australia Sandi McDonald SA, Office of the Director of Public Prosecution Sarah Broome, Media Arts Lawyers Tessa Kelly, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies We would like to extend a special thanks to the Hon. Justice Anthony Besanko and The Hon. Bruce Lander QC for providing the forewords for this publication.

Sponsors Sponsors FLSA would like to extend thanks to our sponsors for supporting the Careers Guide 2016.

Lipman Karas Cowell Clarke ANU Legal Workshop Minter Ellison Wallmans Allens Ashurst Baker & McKenzie Finlaysons Fisher Jeffries Johnson Winter & Slattery King & Wood Mallesons Projects Abroad Thomson Geer

Foreword The Honourable Justice Anthony Besanko

The Hon Justice Anthony Besanko has been a member of the Federal Court of Australia since 2006. He was previously appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia in 2001.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the Flinders Law Students’ Association Careers Guide 2016.

I have practised the law for nearly 40 years. I have found it to be a very satisfying pursuit, although demanding in terms of time and effort. I began studying law in 1973 and, after a year of articles in 1977, was admitted as a practitioner in 1978. I worked as a solicitor until 1984, a barrister from 1984 to 2001, and I have been a Judge from 2001 to the present day (Supreme Court 2001 – 2006; Federal Court 2006 – the present day).

I have noticed many changes in the profession over those years. The competition for jobs has increased significantly and there is a greater degree of scrutiny in relation to the quality of work that must be produced, and the fees

charged for that work. The other thing I have noticed is the increasing number of law graduates who do not go into private practice or practice law at all. I not only hear about this, but I see it myself with witnesses in trials having law degrees but practising in other areas of expertise or, for example, in finance and business.

Despite the increased competition for jobs, I believe that there is room for a good deal of optimism about the prospects of the law graduates of the future. The reasons for that optimism are as follows. First, my observations over nearly 40 years in the law are that a person with a strong work ethic, a degree of resilience and a reasonable amount of talent is highly likely to succeed if that is their priority. Secondly, it seems to me, law and the rule of law are likely to become more and more important as the world gets smaller and the challenges faced by society increase. Thirdly, even if one does not practice, a law degree is a valuable degree in terms of the research and analytical skills it provides and in the opportunities it may lead to in a wide range of fields.

activity is probably the best thing. My own recommendations, for what they are worth, are as follows. Do something outdoors whenever you can as it is very relaxing. If a legal point is bothering you, follow it up to the point that, at least in terms of your thinking and research, you have gone as far as you can. Finally, if you want to write well, read the writers who write well, or if you want to speak well, listen to the speakers who speak well.

In terms of life after university, some of you may not have any firm ideas of your intended career path, while others may have a particular career path in mind. Both positions are entirely understandable and you should not worry if you are in one group or the other. My generation probably had more in the latter category. I strongly suggest that whatever your present state of mind you keep an open mind, listen to advice, read this and similar publications carefully, and attend the careers evening. You will come to a view as to what you want to do and hopefully recognise that opportunities often come from unexpected quarters and at unexpected times.

In terms of your experience studying law, it is important to get the balance right between the demands of study and the need for rest and relaxation. You cannot study all of the time and each individual’s needs will be different. A regular commitment to a relaxation

The Honourable Bruce Lander QC

The Hon Bruce Lander QC is South Australia’s first Indepdent Commissioner Against Corrpution. He was previously appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia in 1994 and subsequently a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia in 2003.

Much has changed since my time as a student and now a law degree is seen as an opportunity not only to practise law but to engage in diverse opportunities in other employment. A law degree can now be a stepping stone for a career in commerce, industry, trade, diplomacy and in some non-governmental organisations.

The purpose of this publication is to provide Flinders law students with information and advice about possible career paths after the students have completed their studies.

The quality of this publication has been demonstrated by being awarded “Best Careers Publication” at the Australian Law Students Association Conferences in 2012, 2013 and 2015.

Not everyone however will be given the same opportunity that I enjoyed when I graduated.

The number of graduates exceeds the positions available in the practice of the law.

You should use this publication and the Flinders Law Careers Evening, which is to take place on 23 March 2016, as an opportunity to obtain as much information as possible about the careers that are available for law graduates.

When I studied law too many years ago almost all of the law students expected on graduation to practise law.

I have had a very satisfying career as a solicitor, barrister, Judge of the Supreme Court, Judge of the Federal Court and now as the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption. I have used my degree to practise the law which I have found immensely satisfying. If you get the opportunity to practise law you should think seriously about accepting it.

Those of you who wish to practise law and who are given that opportunity will need to have a passion for justice and fairness. They are attributes that are necessary if a person wishes to be a successful legal practitioner.

Those of you who elect not to practise the law cannot think that you do not need the same attributes as a legal practitioner.

All of us who have obtained a law d egree would have learnt what justice and fairness means in a liberal democratic system.

You should on graduation aspire to make a

difference whether it is in the practice of the law or in any other calling for which your degree makes you suitable.

A law degree from Flinders University is like the University itself very well regarded.

You should use your law degree to obtain the best possible opportunities for yourselves in your future working lives.

Flinders University and the Flinders University Law Students’ Association devote a considerable amount of time in the preparation of this publication and in staging the Law Careers Evening for which you should be grateful.

I commend those who are involved in those exercises for their efforts and in particular for giving up their own time to assist their fellow students.

The exhibitors at the Law Careers Evening also provide their own time and at their own expense to provide this information for the students of this University.

They should also be congratulated for providing you with information that can only be of assistance. I wish you every success in the future.

Dean’s Welcome Professor Kim Economides

The Careers Guide and Fair makes a vital contribution to the life of our School and I should like to congratulate FLSA for organising this Guide to help you think about your options and plan your future career.

I regularly hear plaudits about our graduates from senior judges and practitioners – as well as prospective employers - and am in no doubt that our students remain highly employable, particularly when it comes to entering legal occupations. We must be doing something right and it is very gratifying to know that our graduates succeed in a range of legal work, both inside and outside the legal professions.

Our law graduates are of course highly skilled in the basics of handling legal rules but they are also able to bring a humane touch to lawyering, as evidenced last year by our overcoming some of the top law schools in Australia to win the second Australia-New Zealand Intervarsity Moot on Animal Law (ANIMAL).

Unlike most other Australian law graduates, ours don’t actually need to do a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (GDLP) in order to qualify as a lawyer, because our law degree already provides those skills. I believe the special legal education we offer - which emphasises the importance of context and underlying legal values as much as technical skill - prepares you well for a dynamic and unpredictable legal services market coming to terms with the relentless and rapid pace of regulatory and technological change.

These skills are transferable and highly relevant to a career within or outside the law. Our students emerge with a confident grasp of the nature and context of law in modern society and therefore are able to embrace the future without fear.

Our courses offer students practical information and skills that prepare them well for professional life, whether or not their futures lie within the legal professions. We strongly encourage our students to take every opportunity to participate

in clinical legal education, overseas visits, competitions and other extra-curricula activities as this improves their transferable skills and is character building. Every one of our first year students now has the opportunity to participate in our clinical program, and meet live clients, for at least one full day.

In the pages that follow you will find invaluable information on career pathways open to you – and I would encourage you to be open and flexible about what kind of lawyer or professional you will eventually become, and also how and where you will work. Don’t jump on bandwagons but do struggle to identify and find your own path, the one that is right for you.

And if you are female or have an Indigenous background don’t let that hold you back.

The legal services market is volatile, highly fragmented and there are real choices to be made about where, and how, you work.

Private and commercial practice can certainly be rewarding but there is also the employed sector, working either for private companies or government, which can be rewarding in other ways. And you don’t have to practice in Adelaide: opportunities exist abroad working for NGOs and international organisations and, for some, working for community groups or in remote, rural or regional Australia may also have its attractions.

Do you really wish to qualify as a lawyer and, if so, what kind of lawyer or advocate might you become? What interests or client groups do you intend serving and where do you prefer to live?

Answers to these questions may help define your career choices and what kind of professional you aspire to become.

Our graduates disperse into a range of occupations outside the legal professions and include: TV personalities, film directors, models, as well as senior public servants and budding politicians. Victorian Police Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius; Renewal Adelaide General Manager Lily Jacobs; and

recent winners of the coveted SA Young Lawyer of the Year award, Paul Gordon and Claire Victory, are just some of the Flinders law graduates whose success attests to their personal drive, community engagement and employability. Whether or not you decide to work as a lawyer it may be worthwhile getting some experience of legal work.

This Guide will certainly help you with the mechanics of getting a job: putting together your CV, writing a cover letter and how to conduct yourself at interview. I urge you to take this advice on board and prepare well your job application once you have thought carefully about what it is you want to do.

My thanks to all those who have worked so hard to collated the inforamtion within the 2016 Guide. My thanks also go to the exhibitors who make the Careers Fair possible, and whom I trust will continue to be impressed with the quality of our graduates. Finally, my very best wishes go to all those students finishing their studies this year; I wish you every success, both in your exams and your subsequent careers.

Table of Contents Planning Ahead 5 A Guide to the Guide

6

Casual and Part Time Work

21

Practical Legal Training

33

Structuring your degree

7

Legal Skills Competitions

24

Graduating&Getting Admitted

34

Extra Curricular Experience

8

Study Abroad

28

The Legal Graduate Market

35

9

Honours

30

Post Graduate Study

31

Internships Volunteering

15

Career Pathways 37 Forging your Career Path

38

Advocating for Social Justice

52

Private Business - Big 4 Firm

64

CP: Legal Practice

41

The Crown Solicitor’s Office

54

Dept. Foreign Affairs&Trade

66

Criminal Law Practice

42

Legal Services Commission

55

Adelaide City Council

67

Family Law Practice

43

Director of Public Prosecutions

56

Mediation in SA

68

Media Law Practice

44

Inhouse Investment Bank

58

International Humanitarian

70

The Rise of Boutiques

45

Inhouse ASX Top 50

60

Community Legal Centre

71

Online Legal Practice

46

CP: Beyond Legal Practice

61

Legal Recruitment

72

Judges Associateships

48

Working in State Parliament

62

Legal Learning&Development

73

Working at the Bar

50

Academia

63

Applications 75 Developing your Resume

76

Pre Interview Testing

82

Social Media Use

86

Example Resume

77

The Interview

83

Learning from your Failures

87

Writing your Cover Letter

80

Career and Employer Centre

84

Example Cover Letter

81

Networking

85

Employer Directory 89

Planning Ahead

This section of the Careers Guide is designed to assist you in planning your Law degree at Flinders University, provide information on the extra curricular experiences available to students such as internships, volunteering, part-time work, and legal skills competitions, and outline ways to enhance your qualifications such as studying abroad, undertaking honours or postgraduate study.

A Guide to the Guide Getting started

A Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice from Flinders University equips graduates with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in both legal and non-legal careers. With the integrated Practical Legal Training component, graduates are fully qualified to enter legal practice immediately after graduation.

choosing interesting electives, and going on overseas exchanges. There are experiences you can fit alongside your degree, such as internships, volunteering,or part-time work, Section One provides information on these experiences.

Whilst this qualification is essential, it is no secret that today’s employment market is tough. Employers are looking beyond good grades. They are looking for well-rounded and passionate individuals.

Section two is divided into ‘Legal Practice’ and ‘Beyond Legal Practice’. It is useful to look at both of these section regardless of your career aspirations.

Demonstrating that you have researched your career path and have gone above and beyond what the Law School offers is looked upon favourably.

The Flinders Law Students’ Association Careers Guide aims to provide insight into the many career opportunities available, and assist you in working towards your chosen career path. We hope the Guide will start your thinking about your career early so you can maximise your opportunities and gain an edge early on.

Using this guide

This guide is structured into four sections, each focussing on different stages of the career exploration and application process. Regardless of where you are with your career search, the information in each section of this Guide is applicable to students in all year levels.

Section One: Planning Ahead

There is no time like the present, and there are plenty of things you can do to prepare for your career whilst at university. One of the most crucial elements of a successful career is a solid foundation.

Section one addresses three areas relevant to students before they graduate: •

Extra Curricular Experience

•

Enhancing your Qualifications

•

Transition to Practice

There are many different ways you can enrich your degree, such as undertaking Honours,

Planning Ahead

Section Two: Career Pathways

You may feel certain that legal practice is the right path for you, but there are many other factors to consider. Will you be practicing in the city or the country, in a small or large firm, in the private or public sector, and in what area of law?

The Career Pathways section will assist in addressing these questions, including first hand accounts from professionals across a variety of practice areas.

Whilst it is common for law graduates to enter legal practice, this is definitely not the only option. Careers in government, politics, academia, and business are among the many options considered in the Beyond Legal Practice section of this guide.

Section Three: Applications

After the planning stage comes the truly fun part: applying for jobs. This section contains guides on drafting your CV and cover letter, information on pre interview testing, how to approach interview questions, networking and social media use.

The Careers and Employment Liaison Centre also offers a wide range of services and resources to assist Flinders students in the preparation of resumes and applications.

Section Four: Employer Directory

Given the diversity of employment options available to law graduates, it can be difficult to know where to start looking. The Employer Directory is a great place to get an overview of

8

your potential employers in Adelaide, interstate, and overseas.

Section four details a broad range of employers, from private law firms, public legal offices, and community legal centres, to government departments and private businesses.

The Employer Directory is split into four categories: •

Civil Legal Practice

•

Criminal Legal Practice

•

Private Non-Legal

•

Public Non-Legal

Changing your mind

If you already have your dream career path in mind, by all means, strive to achieve it.

However, if you decide you want to do something different, know this is okay too.

As you progress through your degree you will discover new areas of law and careers you did not know existed. Over time your interests may change and so too may your dream career.

Flexibility is a trait revered by employers.

Allow yourself to be open to new personal and professional opportunities. It is common knowledge that the average person changes career multiple times throughout their lifetime so do not be thrown off if things don’t go exactly to plan.

Structuring your Degree Building a smart study plan

Building a study plan means choosing the topics that you will study each year. When it comes time to graduate you must ensure that you have completed all of the requisite topics units, otherwise you may not be awarded your bachelor degree.

While you are largely responsible for constructing your own study plan, there are resources on the Flinders Law School website to assist you. Your plan will depend on what type of degree you are studying; the standard being a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (referred to as ‘straight law’).

Upon graduation students who have completed the requisite 144 units (comprised of 90 units of core topics, 31.5 units of elective topics, and 22.5 units of Practical Legal Training topics) will be eligible for admission to the Supreme Court of South Australia.

Some students choose to graduate with only a Bachelor of Laws, thus removing the Practical Legal Training (PLT) requirements from their study plan. Students who do this may later undertake the PLT component through a separate provider such as The Law Society of South Australia, ANU Legal Workshop or College of Law. For more information on PLT, see page 33.

A smaller number of students undertake the Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Honours), which will extend the duration of your studies.

For more information on Honours, see page 30.

Full time or Part Time

Generally a full time study load is made up of four 4.5 unit topics per semester (18 units per semester, 36 units per year). You must seek special approval if you wish to overload topics, that is, study more than 21 units per semester.

The degree is very flexible in allowing for part time study loads. It is very common for students to drop to a part time study load during certain semesters. While this will extending the length of your degree overall, it can be advantageous for your academic results and wellbeing.

Be aware to receiving Commonwealth assistance payments (e.g. Youth Allowance) you are required to be studying at least 75% of the equivalent full time study load.

Course Rule

The best way to build a study plan is to follow the Course Rule for your degree. The Course Rule sets out the core topics and elective options for each semester, and can be found on the Flinders University website. It explains exactly which topics you must complete in which semesters, and when you have openings for electives (generally from third year onwards).

If you are studying a straight law degree, planning your study plan is a simple matter of following the Course Rule.

Combined degrees

Undertaking a second degree can broaden your career options and employability, and incase the diversity of your university experience.

At Flinders, you can combine your law degree with any of the following: • Bachelor of Arts • Bachelor of Behavioural Science • Bachelor of Business • Bachelor of Commerce • Bachelor of International Studies • Bachelor of Languages • Bachelor of Letters • Bachelor of Justice and Society • Bachelor of Science You can apply to add a second degree onto your law degree after you have begun studying. For information on how to transfer into a combined degree visit Ask Flinders.

Diploma of Languages

If you are interested in learning French, Indonesian, Italian, Modern Greek or Spanish, consider a Diploma of Languages. The Diploma runs over six consecutive semesters alongside your law degree, adding one extra year to your overall study program.

9

Juris Doctor (JD)

If you have completed an undergraduate degree in a different discipline, but wish to complete postgraduate law, from Semester 2, 2016 Flinders University are offering a JD qualification.

Delivered primarily online with some oncampus workshops, this course enables you to gain industry experience and solve real word problems, along with the opportunity to network with other professionals.

Electives

The electives offered by the Flinders Law School differ each year, and usually run on a two-year cycle. If you have an idea of the career path you want to take, you can tailor your electives to your chosen field. If not, electives are a great opportunity to explore some different areas of law. Electives run in Semester 1 and 2, and during the mid year and summer breaks in the form of intensives.

Study Exchanges Flinders offers a number of exchange programs giving students the opportunity to study abroad for varying lengths of time. For more information on Exchanges, see page 28.

Help: Ask Flinders

Ask Flinders is the Flinders online support portal; make it your first point for any enquiries.

The portal offers an extensive information about topics relating to every aspect of your time at university, including: enrolment, class registration, flinders learning online, IT support, fees, scholarships, student records, student information system, courses, careers, on-campus facilities, library, examinations, gradation. You can submit online support requests through the portal that directs your request to the appropriate person for a response.

Planning Ahead

Extra Curricular Experience Maximising your opportunities

Beyond good grades, the most common piece of advice for those looking to set themselves apart from other graduates is -get involved in extra-curricular activities

Section one of the Careers Guide provides a snapshot of the following categories of extra curricular experiences:

Get Involved

Internships are paid or unpaid hands on work experience. Internships are available both during your degree and after graduation.

Employers are on the lookout for well-rounded candidates. By joining student societies, community groups, sporting clubs, or cultural associations, you will flesh out your resume and develop a variety of skills. Balancing extracurriculars with study demonstrates effective time management and organisational skills.

Furthermore, these experiences allow you to meet new people, make new friends, and ultimately get more out of your time at university.

Planning Ahead

Internships

For more information see pages 10-12.

Volunteering

There are a number of organisations across Adelaide who are always looking for law students to help provide legal and other services to the community.

For more information see pages 13-19.

10

Casual and Part Time Work

Casual and Part Time work within and outside of the legal field is a valuable undertaking for all students, allowing you to develop skills and providing content for your resume.

For more information see pages 21-22.

Legal Skills Competitions

Competitions are a fun way to practice your legal skills, challenge yourself to work to a deadline and perform under pressure, and make friends.

For more information see pages 24-26.

Local Presence

Global Opportunities

Lipman Karas is a specialist legal practice representing corporate, government and private clients.

A career at Lipman Karas provides opportunities and experiences that are unrivalled in South Australia.

With offices in Adelaide, Hong Kong and London, our team has a proven track record of consistently outstanding results in some of the most challenging, complex and high profile commercial litigation in the Asia Pacific region and internationally.

Lipman Karas offers practitioners a chance to work with lawyers who are recognised as leaders in their field on litigation projects, investigations and inquiries that are unique in both magnitude and complexity across many jurisdictions.

Clerkship applications close Monday, 11 April 2016. For information on the application process please visit lipmankaras.com.

Best International Firm for Work Life Balance 2014, 2015 Best Australasian Firm for Talent Management 2013 Best Adelaide Firm 2012, 2013, 2014

11

Planning Ahead

Internships

Extra Curricular Experience Australian Law Reform Commission Internship Program A student experience Author: Jordan Tutton, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts This article discusses the ALRC’s internship program, drawing particularly upon two sources of information. First, the ALRC recorded and transcribed several intern interviews from 2011-2015. These provide insight into the work interns perform (and the skills/qualities the ALRC looks for). Second, I interned in January 2015 on the inquiry into Commonwealth legislation that unreasonably encroaches upon traditional rights, freedoms and privileges (the ‘Freedoms’ inquiry). These sources, in addition to other materials on the ALRC site, are used to give an overview of (1) the program and application process; (2) my experience on the inquiry; and (3) how interning at the ALRC has been of assistance to me. Please note, however, that none of the following has been endorsed by the ALRC or reflects anyone’s view other than my own.

Internship Program Application Process

and

The ALRC offers internships across the uni year and during the summer. Internships are undertaken in Martin Place, usually by penultimate/final year law students. Summer interns are offered a position for three weeks in January or February. Positions are voluntary, so generous friends with available couches are desirable, but not mandatory.

Applicants are assessed for compatibility with stated criteria through a written application and an interview. In addition to strong academic results, applicants may demonstrate suitable skills and qualities through the achievements encouraged in this publication: extra-curricular engagements, community service, study exchanges and lives outside of the law.

Suitable research, analytic and communication skills would appear to be shown often, but not always, by extra-curricular engagement with legal research: research and editorial assistance (eg to an academic or on a law review), publication in a journal, or through researchorientated internships/clerkships.

Planning Ahead

My Experience on the Freedoms Inquiry

Generally, the ALRC will conduct multiple inquiries at once. An intern’s work varies depending on the stage and focus of the inquiry.

In January 2015, the Freedoms inquiry was in a relatively early stage. Sarah (another intern) and I undertook broad research tasks arising from internal research, in the submissions made in response to the Issues Paper and through stakeholder consultations. Contrastingly, the Native Title inquiry was nearing completion, so the two Native Title interns were invited to meetings with the expert panel and researched precise issues using the experts’ comments and Discussion Paper submissions.

These inquiries can touch on different areas of social and policy interest (for example, the Commission is currently looking into the rights of older Australians, while recently completed inquiries span intellectual property, media classification, and family violence). In my case, the two memos I produced were directed at identifying and analysing (i) federal environmental legislation that could encroach on over 18 rights, freedoms and privileges; and (ii) all federal legislation that could alter criminal law practices based on the principle of a fair trial.

At all stages of the internship program (from the interview, to working/living in Sydney in January 2015, to post-internship interactions), the ALRC staff were kind, open to discussion/ assistance and interested in myself and other interns. It was especially rewarding to review the inquiry publications and see how the input of individual interns was recognised and incorporated into the ALRC’s public work

Professional Development

Broadly speaking, the internship has had a very positive effect. Although it is difficult to identify all the ways it has been of assistance, in the context of developing skills and building a

12

career, the internship was particularly useful for building stronger research skills. The Freedoms inquiry arose from broad terms of reference.

In turn, research tasks were very broad. I found it challenging to perform methodical, comprehensive and reliable research across the sprawling available sources that touched on my research questions (legislation, parliamentary materials, academic literature, etc).

Over the three weeks it was an exceptional learning experience to explore, test and discuss methods of researching these materials with other inquiry members. The techniques I developed and honed have since been employed in other contexts. As a clerk at Lipman Karas, I was often confronted by haystacks of unfamiliar information (usually cases) that may or may not contain the sought-after needle. Similarly, as a research assistant in the Law School, I consistently find that effective research across the most broad (but reliable) sources provides a basis to make well-informed and useful assistance to academics. Overall, having the confidence and ability to perform methodical and accurate research across this volume of information is a skill that is incredibly beneficial in many professional contexts.

2017 Internship Program

January/February 2017 internship applications close on 24 October 2016. Information can be found at the ALRC’s Internship program page: <http://www.alrc.gov.au/about/ legal-internship-program>. There is a formal selection process and the ALRC will only consider applications that address the selection criteria. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an interview.

The Washington Internship Program A student experience Author: Kelly Stephenson, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of International Studies The Washington Internship Program is administered through Flinders Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School of International Relations, formally International Studies.

The program allows six students from Flinders University the opportunity to intern in Washington D.C for Congress over a seven week period during the summer holidays. The program is popular for law students completing a double degree, allowing for an understanding of the political structure and system of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s number one ally, the United States.

Applying for the Internship

The application process requires a successful completion of 18 units of American Studies topics, a completed application form, a statement of interest, a one page C.V, two references and a 1500 word academic assignment. The process may also require interviews both within the Flinders faculty and from co-coordinators in the United States.

Successful applicants are required to travel to United States Embassy in Melbourne for the Visa application process. They must also work to gain funding for the months they are interning, as living in D.C can be costly!

Research Paper

As the internship is a 9-unit topic it requires both the experience of the internship as well as a presentation and a 9000 word research paper constructed on return. Recently, a new addition to the program has included the possible opportunity of interning within the South Australian State parliament too!

What the Internship Involves

On my first day of my Internship with Congressman Jim McDermott I turned up nervous, dressed in my very best professional attire, with a desire to prove my worth. This is what often separates Australian interns from some of our American counterparts; our desire to prove ourselves and to learn from the experience for our research papers. By the end of my first week I felt completely comfortable within my office, and I understood what would be required of me as an intern. Most my time was spent handling phone calls and mail from Constituents, running documents to the House Floor, giving tours of the Capitol, completing memorandums and attending briefings and meetings on behalf of legislative staff.

I was exposed to some of the most wonderful learning resources I may ever gain access to.

Working as an intern I had time to explore through hundreds of Congressional Research Service reports, attend briefings held by lobbying groups, and witness first-hand the action occurring within Committee Hearings and on the House Floor as bills were made, voted on and passed. I was also able to attend events held for Capital Hill Staff, which gave me multiple networking opportunities.

Highlights of the Internship

The highlights to this program included: attending a dinner at the Congressional Library as the guest of Congressman McDermott, meeting Australian Ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, and being exposed daily to an exhilarating political system. The Washington Internship Program, now entering its 17th year thanks to the work and enthusiasm of Professor Don Debats, has produced scholars now working in academia, law and politics. For a twenty-one year old figuring out what direction I want to take my degree, this internship provided me with guidance and knowledge, and has given me connections with people in the fields of politics, media and law. It is truly an unparalleled and life-changing experience like no other!

South Australian Parlimentary Internship A student experience Author: Carrie Eames, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of Arts

Completing the South Australian Parliamentary Internship, an elective topic at Flinders, is a great way to obtain exposure to career opportunities that may be available outside of law.

of students due to the important nature of the research report, however students receive guidance from both their academic supervisor and from their MP.

Public Policy Research

Build Legal Skills

Students are assigned to a current Minister of Parliament as a research intern. Formal classes are minimal and are held within Parliament House in Adelaide. Students are expected to perform research into a policy area that is of relevance to their Ministers portfolio. The flexibility of students to conduct research into areas of their own choosing is generally at the discretion of the MP. Students then work independently to produce a research report for their Minister, which on completion is published with the Parliamentary Library. A high standard of work is expected

The internship offers a fantastic opportunity to participate in a meaningful internship and to apply the research and drafting skills that students have developed during law school.

Producing a research report of a professional standard used to inform Parliament on a policy issue is an incredibly rewarding experience.

All three SA universities operate program therefore it offers a good chance to network with lecturers and students from other universities.

13

Elective Topics

The POLI3007 South Australian Parliamentary Internship and POLI7010 South Australian Cabinet Office Internship elective topics are available to students studying a Bachelor of Government and Public Management or Bachelor of Arts undertaking Public Policy or Political Studies.

Applications close early in semester one for commencement in semester two, students will be notified by April as to whether they have been successful. To apply please contact Professor Haydon Manning via email on: haydon.manning@flinders.edu.au

Planning Ahead

Not-For-Profit: Cancer Council Internship A student experience Author: Ann Thomas, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) and Bachelor of International Studies For four weeks over the summer holidays I volunteered as an intern at the Cancer Council in Sydney. The Cancer Council runs a pro bono legal and financial referral service for cancer patients and their carers. It is an important program that sees interns take the initial instructions of patients and their carers from all over Australia, before seeking to match them with the nearest possible lawyer or financial planner.

As the program is a pro bono service, interns undertook most of the preliminary work including assisting clients with referrals for wills, enduring powers of attorney, employment disputes, early access to superannuation, insurance claims, managing debts and their changed financial situation, small business advice, and strategies for managing workplace issues.

While not all of the issues I encountered were legal, the skills I learned throughout my internship were invaluable. The majority of my time was spent interviewing patients and carers in order to determine their issues, establish whether they fell within the scope of the program and qualified for the free assistance.

This was often a challenging exercise for a number of reasons. Sometimes patients, given the nature of their cancer, had difficulty speaking or did not have capacity, sometimes they were reluctant to share their personal

issues, and sometimes they would become emotional whilst speaking to me. There were even occasions where we telephoned carers only to be told that the patient had passed away.

These tough situations, however, helped to develop my interviewing skills. By the end of my internship I was successfully able to talk to patients and get all the information and details that I required, and communicate in a way that was empathetic and effective.

As not all of the issues were straightforward, I also was able to develop my problem solving skills and my ability to work out which questions I needed to ask to get the information I required.

My other role as an intern was to draft letters to lawyers and financial planners detailing the patient or carer’s legal and/or financial situation as well as indicating what sort of assistance or advice they were seeking. Undertaking this role significantly improved my ability to draft professional and straightforward letters.

Training and Support

Assisting the Community

While initially my interest in the program lay with the skills I knew I would develop, throughout my time at the Cancer Council this changed. The program was immensely rewarding, not only for the skills I gained, but rather for the realisation that I was able to provide assistance to many deserving people and alleviate some of the stress and anxiety in their lives.

There were times when I felt that perhaps the work I was doing wasn’t really helping people, however after hearing multiple clients express their gratitude I realised that to them I was doing important work. Hearing such positive feedback made me feel privileged to help and to be involved in such a wonderful organisation.

Expand Career Pathways

I had always assumed that I would use my legal skills in a private commercial practice after I graduated, however this rewarding experience opened my eyes to the possibility of using those skills in the not-for-profit sector.

The Cancer Council provided us with a considerable amount of training and support.

It was a very supportive and friendly place to work, and I always felt prepared and confident to undertake the work.

Rural Internship at Povey Stirk Lawyers and Notaries A student experience Author: Alexandra Douvartzidis, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of Behavioural Sciences (Psy) Rural work can be a challenging experience.

Having lived in Alice Springs myself, I thought it would be beneficial to undertake a legal internship at Povey Stirk Lawyers and Notaries.

Interning at Povey Stirk was an incredible experience, the dynamic of a rural location is vastly different to metropolitan experiences, and you are often faced with a unique variety of unexpected challenges.

Unique Benefits

One of the benefits of remote work is the diversity in your cases and experience. Having worked under the guidance of some brilliant lawyers in Alice Springs, it is very clear that in order to succeed in a rural environment, you must have to the ability to be extremely broad in your knowledge in a variety of areas.

Planning Ahead

Working remote means you must embrace the challenge of constantly working across a variety of fields. One day you might be working on a case regarding a divorce, the next you’ll be discussing with a client their employment issues, and then perhaps on the following day you’ll be working on a property settlement. This is a key benefit when gaining experience from a rural firm.

Partner Contact

You’ll also most likely have the chance to work under the guidance of partners or senior lawyers, and who are often quite willing to sit with you and go through the intricate details of their case. These are experiences that are not always found in large firms, and that’s what makes rural work beneficial for students.

14

Social Justice Exposure

Another aspect of rural work is the opportunity to work with Indigenous Australians. This will obviously depend on where you volunteer, but I believe it is incredibly important for soonto-be lawyers and even qualified lawyers to understand the legal challenges that Indigenous Australians face in our current justice system.

The experience I gained at Povey Stirk in this area can be described only as invaluable.

Overall rural intern experiences are fantastic for gaining some broad experience in a variety of areas, and can often provide the opportunity to learn from senior practitioners in a close-knit environment. This experience has undoubtedly helped me decide what area of laws I am most passionate about and I encourage everyone to consider at least one rural placement.

Native Title: Aurora Internship Program A student experience Author: Riana Cermak, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) and Bachelor of International Studies I undertook an interstate placement at NTSCORP in Sydney through the Aurora Internship Program. NTSCORP is the Native Title Service Provider for Aboriginal Traditional Owners in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

The Aurora Internship Program recruits law students and graduated to intern at Native Title representative bodies and service providers, Indigenous corporations, community groups, policy organisations and not-forprofit organisations with an Indigenous focus throughout Australia. Although you can be placed anywhere in the country, placements are allocated on a needs basis and I was fortunate enough to be given an opportunity to intern at NTSCORP, an organisation full of dedicated people working on some incredible landmark native title cases.

A great thing about the internship is that you really feel valued. On my first day I opened my emails and there were a whole stack waiting for me. I had tasks that had been planned for me before I even started. I was almost immediately thrown in to preparing legal advice based on my own research for senior lawyers. Native Title Representative Bodies are generally underfunded and under-resourced, which means that they really need your help. This means that you are given real legal experience from day one and you know that what you are doing is really contributing.

Native Title Law

Native Title is an incredibly complex area of law, but that is what makes it interesting. The trials are factual contests that run over a long period of time, involving on-country Aboriginal evidence, as well as expert anthropological, historical, linguistic and archaeological evidence. Some of the tasks I was given involved preparing witness statements of people from different Aboriginal groups that showed their connection with the land and assessing this evidence against the claim.

As well as seeing first-hand how the litigation process works for claims, I was also able to experience and assist with negotiation conferences with the State. I experienced the native title process from start to finish. In some cases I was assisting with the beginning of new claims, and with others I was assisting with postsettlement Indigenous Land Use Agreements and Indigenous Corporations funding proposals. The range of work I was given really allowed me to understand the bigger picture of native title claims.

The Law Foundation Human Rights Scholarship

The Law Foundation Human Rights Scholarship is a joint internship program between Flinders University and the University of Adelaide. Scholarships are available for national or international internship placements

for two students at each institution.

The primary aim of the internship program are to provide students with an opportunity to add depth and context to studies in international law and human rights law by being given an opportunity to undertake practical work in the human rights arena.

After being awarded the Law Foundation Human Rights Scholarship, I used the scholarship to fund my interstate Aurora Internship at NTSCORP.

Source Placements Early

It is a good idea to plan ahead; start thinking about where you would like to be placed early.

Prior to submitting an application for the scholarship you must have located and secured your own internship. In the application you must demonstrate a commitment to human rights and social justice. This can be shown through volunteering, prior internship placements and any other involvement in human rights and social justice organisations.

Scholarship Funding

For students wishing to undertake an international internship, the funding available is between $3515 and $5151. For national internships a $1989 scholarship is available.

Ombudsman SA Law Student Internship A student experience Author: Kimberley Bilsborow, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) After studying the core topic Administrative Law: Merits Review and really enjoying the content, I decided to apply to Ombudsman SA to gain an understanding of what administrative law is really like in practice.

After brushing up on my admin notes, I was ready to begin. I was introduced to the team, who work on varied tasks including general complaints within jurisdiction, Freedom of Information Act determinations, whistleblower information and matters referred from Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.

One of my very first tasks was to assist with the preparation of an upcoming interview.

I was instructed to analyse a file, complete a

case chronology using facts of the matter and draft interview questions for use within the meeting. With approval from the interviewee, I was able to attend, providing me a different perspective of the matter, which so far I had only seen on paper. A post interview debrief with my supervisor allowed me to provide further suggested input into the matter before its finalisation.

My main ongoing tasks included drafting detailed response to complaints, using policy documents, relevant legislation and case law.

Depending on the matter, response letters are highly detailed (a fair comparison is a research essay), and provide the complainant with extensive information relating to the outcome of their complaint, and reasons for the decision.

15

Review Processes

I found that matters dealt with by Ombudsman SA can be incredibly challenging. The Ombudsman is an office of last resort; by the time a matter reaches the office it has exhausted all other avenues of complaint without resolution. In addition, the sensitive nature of the complaint, particularly ICAC and whistleblower complaints can be very incredibly stressful for the parties. Decision made by the Ombudsman can have a great impact on a person, and I was impressed by the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dedication to fairness and ensuring the correct decision is made.

Administrative Law

I would highly recommend the experience to anyone interested in administrative law.

Planning Ahead

Intern Overseas with Projects Abroad A student experience Author: Dorcas Wong, Adeaide University, Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts Human Rights, Cape Town

As a law student it is often easy to feel buried under the many textbooks and required readings. If you are seeking some inspiration, career direction or practical legal experience, this is exactly the project for you.I spent a month in Cape Town, interning at the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office (PAHRO).

During this time, I participated in both the Social Justice and Legal Departments. These departments gave me valuable insight into the South African legal system and also the current human rights situation. I took a lot away from the experience on both a professional and personal level.

Exposure to a variety of Practice Areas

I was fortunate enough to work with a variety of different cases in areas such as Refugee Law, Family Law, Property Law, Criminal Law and Employment Law, giving me a broad insight into the different sectors. We were given the opportunity to work directly on the cases, performing tasks such as drafting affidavits, correspondences, legal opinions and heads of

Planning Ahead

arguments on behalf of the lawyers.

Due to this close client-intern relationship, we needed to exercise a high degree of empathy and professionalism.

A few of the cases I was directly involved with included: a disabled man seeking a fair divorce from his wife where she was trying to claim more than her share of money, a woman who paid a deposit for a community housing but was refused a house or her deposit back, and two men from Congo in the process of appealing their refugee status and enquiring about their rights to work as asylum seekers.

This department offered me an insight into how exactly a legal clinic operates and also increased my understanding of how general legal process work Projects Abroad also ran numerous workshops at juvenile prisons, women’s shelters and primary schools. For the school kids the focus was on selfrespect and respect for others. At the women’s shelters the emphasis was on empowerment of women and assertion of their rights in society.

And finally for the juvenile prisons the pivotal topic was peer-pressure and goal-setting. Even though each experience differed, the focus of

16

‘empowerment’ remained the same.

These workshops provided an invaluable opportunity to experience ‘the real South Africa’ and to hear the voices of the South African people themselves. Overall, it was a truly humbling experience and one I would recommend to anyone that has a passion for law or human rights.”

Projects Abroad

For more information visit www.projectsabroad.com.au or call the Adelaide office of Projects Abroad on 1300 132 831.

Volunteering

Extra Curricular Experience Volunteering is one of the most beneficial activities you can undertake while at university.

Volunteering allows you to assist the community, meet new people who bring with them different life experiences, and strengthen your ability to interact socially. Volunteering is also great way to expand your CV and enhance your career prospects.

There are a variety of volunteering avenues open to students including peer mentoring, community legal centre, on-campus student clubs and associations and off-campus organisations.

Peer Mentoring

The Peer mentoring program sees existing law students act a mentor to an assigned group of first year law students. See page 16 for more information about Peer Mentoring.

Community Legal Centre (CLC)

CLC volunteering provides a unique opportunity to apply your legal knowledge practically, which will not only assist your studies, but is an excellent way to identify which areas of law you may be interested in pursuing professionally. Non-for-profit CLCs often rely on the input of volunteers to conduct their services.

The following CLCs in South Australia are currently accepting volunteer applications: • Environmental Defenders Office; • Flinders Legal Advice Clinic;.

• JusticeNet SA; • Roma Mitchell CLC;

• Southern Community Justice Centre; • WestSide Laywers; • Welfare Rights Centre; • Womens Legal Services.

You can find volunteering opportunities around Australia on the CLC Volunteers website.

See page 16 and 17 for more information about volunteering for Flinders Legal Advice Clininc, JusticeNet SA and Roma Mitchell Community Legal Centre.

On Campus Student Clubs and Associations

Joining clubs and societies on campus is a great way to make friends, develop professional skills, impact student life, and explore your areas of interest.

Clubs and Associations at Flinder University include: • Criminal Justice Student Association; • Flinders Law Student’s Association; • Flinders University Student Association; • Greens; • Labor Club; • Liberal Club; • Red Cross Club.

Off Campus Organisations

There are a large number of volunteering positions available in various community and charity organisations.

While these have less of a legal focus, they can allow you to make a genuine difference in the lives of the community. Such organisations include: • Amnesty International; • Australian Red Cross; • Australian Refugee Association; • World Vision; • St Vincent de Paul Society SA; You can find volunteering opportunities around South Australia on the VolunteeringSA website.

See page 19 for more information about volunteering for the Australian Refugee Association and World Vision.

A full list of on-campus clubs and associations can be found on the Flinders University Student Association website.

See page 18 for more information about volunteering for the Flinders Law Students’ Association and the Flinders University Red Cross Club.

17

Planning Ahead

Peer Mentoring A student experience Author: Caitlyn Hoey, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of International Relations In 2014 I participated in the Flinders Law School New in Law Program as a Peer Mentor.

The peer mentoring program was established to provide first year law students with support on a peer-to-peer level, enabling new students to ease into a complex study schedule and have a like-minded individual to assist in the studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development within the first few months of their degree. It is, at its core, a fantastic way to increase morale for new students who may feel unsettled or unsure about what is mentally required to study a law degree.

A structured mentoring relationship (with regular meetings) exists between the mentor and mentees from the beginning of New In Law (O-Week) and throughout Semester 1.

Value for Volunteers

The most valuable part of being a Peer Mentor is the ability to help students, on a social level and a personal level. Not only does it solidify the confidence you have in your own knowledge of the law school and studying the degree, but also it is rewarding to see someone become confident in themselves and in their own studies because you were able to help them.

Enhanced Employability

mentoring someone is valued highly particularly in the legal profession, where learning from those with more experience and years of practice is one of the best avenues for growth.

Volunteer in 2017

You can apply to be a peer mentor for the coming year, from around mid Semester 2 in the proceeding year. Please contact Samantha Kontra, Assistant Director of First Year Studies, for more information about the program.

During an interview for a clerk position at a law firm, my involvement in the Peer Mentoring program was raised by the interviewers and proved to be a selling point for me to consequently be hired. Volunteering is a big hit for potential employers, and the responsibility of

CLC Volunteering: Flinders Legal Advice Clinic A student experience Author: Michael Bowes, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice It is fairly safe to say that one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences you can have at Flinders Law School is to be a part of the Flinders Legal Advice Clinic (FLAC).

I was lucky enough to be accepted into the Social Justice Internship at FLAC, which counted as an elective subject. After the semester ended, I decided continued on at FLAC as a volunteer.

write letters of advice, use legal software, and ensure that all administrative matters are coordinated effectively. Importantly, the Clinic Manager and Supervisors, who are all qualified lawyers, provide extensive training, support and guidance, and foster an understanding of how necessary community legal work can be.

During my time volunteering I interviewed and assisted real clients with often complex and diverse legal matters. By far the most exciting aspect is that no matter how prepared you think you are, you never really know what to expect.

The training I received was invaluable, and no more pertinent than when I first gained experience in the litigation department of a corporate law firm. I quickly realised that I had developed a set of foundation skills at FLAC that allowed me to hit the ground running in a real firm and made the experience far less daunting..

FLAC operates similarly to a law firm; students manage client files, conduct legal research,

Aside from these valuable legal skills, the most rewarding experience at FLAC is the friendships

What volunteers do at FLAC

Planning Ahead

18

that are created. Working long hours under pressure meant I quickly developed a network of peers who I could rely on and trust, and whom I know will remain as lifelong friends.

Also, from a career perspective, FLAC identified which areas of law I find most exciting and hope to work in, as well as those that I definitely want to avoid!

How to get involved

To get involved with FLAC visit the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Becoming a Professionalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; topic on Flinders Learning Online for further information. There are also volunteer opportunities specifically structured for first year law students.

CLC Volunteering: JusticeNet SA A student experience Author: Nick Salagaras, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of Commerce (Sustainability) What is JusticeNet

JusticeNet SA is an independent, not-forprofit legal service that provides pro bono legal assistance to individuals and charitable organisations in South Australia. The organisation is run by experienced lawyers and assisted by volunteers, and aims to provide a safety net for individuals or groups who cannot afford a lawyer.

Structure and Services

There are three main branches of JusticeNet; the Pro Bono Referral Service which links eligible applicants with a solicitor or barrister who will assist them on a pro bono basis; the Self-Representation Service which assists people representing themselves in the Supreme and Federal Court; and the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Project which assists applicant asylum seekers who wish to judicially review negative immigration decisions in the Federal Court.

Role of Volunteers at JusticeNet

I have been volunteering at JusticeNet since November 2015, primarly within the Referral Service and the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Project. The referral service is the ‘frontline’ that receives all phone calls from potential clients.

This is the equivalent to the first interview stage for a standard lawyers engagement. Like a first interview, we must listen to the caller’s story and

use probing questions to guide them through to the legal points.

This has been extremely beneficial in developing my legal skills. It has given me the opportunity to take the interview skills I learnt in Torts and client interview competitions, and apply them in real life. After an application is made, we assess the merit of the case and whether the applicant could afford a lawyer. If the applicant is successful, JusticeNet attempts to match them with a suitable lawyer.

JusticeNet considers itself the absolute final option. We cannot refer an applicant who has not attempted to gain assistance from legal aid or a community legal centre. Due to this, we are often dealing with applicants who are seriously struggling through their legal matter, and sometimes suffering from a mental health disorder.

In order to better prepare ourselves for conversations with vulnerable people, we participated in suicide prevention training.

This training showed me to steps of identifying a potentially vulnerable person, asking the forward questions about the matter, and giving them direction to appropriate counseling services.

Tangible Career Benefits

My experience has prepared me in a few ways for my future career in the legal profession.

Firstly, the position has significantly improved my confidence with new people. I can now comfortably pick up the phone and chat with a stranger about their problems.

My professional writing skills have also improved, through drafting emails or briefs to member firms, counsel or applicants.

Most importantly, I’ve gained experience in understanding the difficulties people face in our justice system. This volunteering has made me appreciate the work that lawyers do and the value of pro-bono services.

How to Apply to Volunteer

JusticeNet accepts applications for volunteers year-round and opens positions on an as-needed basis. The major intake is during November.

Places are competitive. To apply, please send a cover letter, CV and Academic Transcript to Louise Young at admin@justicenet.org.au.

Donate: Walk for Justice

You can also help support JusticeNet by registering for their annual fundraiser, the Walk for Justice, held on 17 May 2016; contact FLSA for more details.

CLC Volunteering: Roma Mitchell Community Legal Clinic A student experience Author: Pietta Gresham, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) and Bachelor of Behavioural Sciences (Psy) The Roma Mitchell Community Legal Clinic (RMCLC) based in Norwood provides probono legal advice on a range of legal areas.

professional process. This opens up the avenue to meet successful lawyers from an array of different fields.

What volunteers do at RMCLC

RMCLC is quite a small legal centre with only two or three people working there on a consistent basis; it fundamentally relies on the work of volunteers – mostly law students hoping to gain experience. Although the constrictions and guidelines for volunteering can be a bit tedious, it is well worth the experience.

At RMCLC you get a chance to try everything; from answering phone calls and filing to interacting with clients and filling in their personal details. As a volunteer you can take part in the legal advice nights by being in the room as the lawyer interviews the clients about their situation. These are Monday and Thursday nights.

The structure of the RMCLC entails a different lawyer being present on each of the nights (from a rotating roster) and sees the clients in a formal

how to act in a professional and legal environment and how important it is to have professional connections and know people in the legal industry.

Being at RMCLC has solidified my intention to work in the criminal legal field. I gained my first work experience with a barrister through the connections I made at RMCLC.

Build industry connections

I gained valuable insight into mediation and the client interviewing process that I was able to apply to my law degree. Most of all my experience at the Clinic helped me understand

19

Planning Ahead

On Campus: Flinders Law Students’ Association A student experience Author: Annika Beaty, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) and Bachelor of International Studies My decision to join the Flinders Law Student’s Association (FLSA) committee as a First Year Representative in 2012 was fueled by the nervous excitement and motivation that comes with beginning university study. Although I didn’t entirely understand what FLSA did at the time, I’m glad I decided to sign up.

Volunteering while at university, particularly with the FLSA committee, has had a great impact on both my personal and professional development. My positions on this committee, including as Vice-President in 2014 and President in 2015, have enriched my university experience. These roles allowed me to meet students from different year levels, steadily develop my skills, gain exposure to the legal profession, and ultimately make a positive contribution to the Flinders Law School.

Give your resume a boost

Employers like to see students getting involved with extra-curricular activities alongside their studies, and many employers consider engagement with university activities to be an important indicator of a candidate’s skills, work ethic, and motivation. FLSA enables students to develop their communication and timemanagement skills to a high standard, as well as

allowing students to work on independent tasks while in a team environment.

If you are interested in law student associations, you are not limited to the FLSA committee. If you would like to collaborate with law students from Adelaide and UniSA, and you enjoy coordinating large-scale social events, you might be interested in joining the South Australian Law Students’ Council (SALSC) Organising Committee, which coordinates the SALSC Law Dinner in September each year.

The ALSA committee coordinates an annual Conference for all Law students in Australia and New Zealand, with a different city hosting the Conference each year. In 2016, the Conference will be in Hobart from 4-10 July.

The Conference is a fantastic way to meet new people, and allows students to attend (or possibly compete in) the legal skills competition grand finals, mingle at social events, attend careers fairs and networking events, and listen to prominent legal, academic and political figures discuss topical legal issues.

Going national

Why get involved?

If you are interested in looking further afield, you might want to consider getting involved with the Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) committee. ALSA is essentially the national version of FLSA, and therefore has a broader reach. ALSA provides crucial resources for law student associations around Australia, and does significant work in advocating for law students with respect to student wellbeing, the shrinking legal job market, and the national graduate oversupply.

The ALSA committee is open to all Australian Law students, so it is an excellent opportunity to meet people around the country.

While these volunteering opportunities can provide challenges and some hefty workloads, they also provide significant exposure to the legal profession, a large amount of practical experience, and an opportunity to meet new people and form professional contacts.

Regardless of whether you are settling into your first year or university, or if you are embarking on your final year of study, I fully encourage you to get involved with these opportunities.

Nothing can substitute the experiences you gain when challenging yourself.

On Campus: Flinders University Red Cross Club A student experience Author: Georgia Hagias, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) and Bachelor of International Studies As the largest humanitarian organisation in the world, with reach that extends beyond political, religious and ethnic borders, the Australian Red Cross is as relevant now as it’s ever been. The Red Cross symbol, one of the most recognisable in the world, has the power to make combatants lay down arms, and provides access to vulnerable people in the most remote, volatile places in the world.

Why volunteer at FURCC

Red Cross on Campus: FURCC

2015 saw two of our members get elected to Red Cross State Governance Boards, one of our members take part in an interstate conference, and over twenty members take part in certified training. In addition, the Club ran two fundraising/advocacy events, and one Seminar for Anti-Poverty Week that involved four high-level speakers and attracted over 35 attendees.

In Australia, as well as overseas, Red Cross is driven by its volunteer network. I have previously been a casual youth member of the Red Cross, but stepped up my role in mid-2014 when I was elected President of the Flinders University Red Cross Club (FURCC).

My role as President has provided me with the opportunity to sit on the South Australia Youth Advisory Committee, which advises Red Cross on issues concerning youth on both a state and national level.

FURCC has grown over the past two years, and now has an active membership base of over twenty-five people in addition to almost one hundred casual members.

Planning Ahead

Students join the Flinders Club in order to contribute to the wider community, meet other passionate, active members, take part in certified Red Cross training and professional development opportunities (which positively transform a resume!), as well as connect with wider Red Cross networks and access career opportunities.

Relevance to your legal careers

Red Cross is relevant to all law students because, whether you want to work in corporate law, policy, criminal law, family law or refugee law, Red Cross has community programs, governance boards and training in all of these areas. Red Cross strives to support its invaluable network of members, and will go above and

20

beyond to provide you with experience, assist in your career development, as well as encourage your role within the organisation.

Plans for 2016

FURCC is excited to announce four certified Red Cross trainings for this year, the first in April being the Red Cross Emergency Services Training. This training equips you with the skills necessary to assist Red Cross as the ‘first on the ground’ in natural disasters across the country.

A number of our members who participated in this training last year got the call-up to assist in the Sampson Flat Bushfire effort.

In addition to these trainings and regular meetings, we plan to run advocacy events, including seminars in Reconciliation Week and Anti-Poverty Week. Our involvement with the SA Youth Advisory Committee, Young Humanitarians and the International Humanitarian Law Collective provides us with access to career nights and networking events.

If you are interested in getting involve, visit our Facebook page ‘Flinders University Red Cross Club’, or contact Club Secretary Evie Allcroft (allc0004@flinders.edu.au) for information.

Off Campus: Australian Refugee Association A student experience Author: Alexandra Douvartzidis, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of Behavioural Sciences (Psy) I began volunteering at the Australian Refugee Association (ARA) in April 2015.

ARA was established in 1975, and since then has been an amazing organisation that strives to help refugees settle into Australia.

What is a Social Support Officer

Volunteering at ARA has been a life-changing experience. As a Social Support Officer (SSO), my role is to connect with individuals or families who are recently settling into Australia.

This role takes on many forms. For some people, the role simply means becoming a friend, or it can take on the role of helping with English, attending appointments and providing general assistance and guidance.

Volunteering at ARA

A significant advantage of volunteering at ARA is that there are many ways you can volunteer.

ARA has 11 different volunteering programs that can cater to any students interests. For example, there is a migration team that provides advice to clients.

As a volunteer your role may include research, assisting in visa applications, submissions to the Minister and assist in writing applications. This role is perfect for law students, as it builds up your practical legal skills in an environment that is prevalent to our society. It is also a fantastic way to give back to your community.

Mentor Program are great ways to engage with your community and build practical skills that are relevant in all fields.

Cultivate real world experience

I strongly encourage you to consider ARA or any other volunteering program where you are given the chance to give back to your community. Volunteering gives you the chance to really build your knowledge outside of university, and can be a great foundation for your chosen career.

Other voluntary roles such as an SSO, or within Employment Services, Administration or Youth

Off Campus: World Vision Australia A student experience Author: Eilish Maguire, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) and Bachelor of International Studies Youth Ambassador Program

The World Vision Youth Ambassador program is an opportunity for young people to become advocates for development and change. Working alongside the 40 Hour Famine, the ambassadors are an effective method for young people to connect with issues that have previously been overwhelming and disempowering.

I was lucky enough to witness a former Youth Ambassador speak at a Youth Leadership conference when I was in high school. As a result of this experience, I decided I wanted to seek out a career in the international development sector.

I began by applying for the role of the South Australian Youth Ambassador program and in 2013 I found myself on a plane to Malawi.

Though I spent only a few weeks in the World Vision development projects, I gained invaluable knowledge and memories that I was able to share throughout the year.

40 Hour Famine. It was incredibly rewarding knowing that the individuals I had met whilst in Malawi would be directly benefiting from the volunteering I was doing back in Australia.

Raise awarness of social justice

Ongoing Voluntary Roles

Upon returning to Australia, I was able to spend my year travelling around to schools and churches to share the stories of Malawiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incredible culture. In this role I was able to introduce the concept of poverty to children in primary schools, and educate them on what change they could make from their own classrooms. I could talk to high school students to encourage and help them find their passions for social justice.

After completing my term as Youth Ambassador, I began to work in the fundraising team in Adelaide. As a part of this role I was able to be a promoter for World Visionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Child Sponsorship program in shopping centres and whilst doorknocking. This role allowed me to learn more about poverty and development, but also marketing and leadership. It is these skills that will assist me greatly in my future working within the development sector.

Primarily I was able to call the youth of South Australia to take action and participate in the

21

Planning Ahead

– Careers @ Cowell Clarke — Cowell Clarke are commercial law specialists.

Our clients look to us to create value and manage risk.

Our lawyers provide legal services, commercial advice and support to clients in all sectors of business and industry, across Australia and internationally.

We offer summer clerkships, ongoing part-time law clerk positions and PLT placements.

Our programs are an integral part of the commencement of a career in law. They can also lead to a full-time position as a graduate solicitor.

— Summer clerkship applications Cowell Clarke participates in the South Australian Law Students’ Council Uniform Clerkship Scheme, which prescribes the following dates: Applications Open 9am — Monday 21 March 2016

Our clerks experience the broadest range of practice areas, with

Applications Close

rotations through property, corporate & commercial, and our various

5pm — Monday 11 April 2016

dispute resolution teams. While the focus is on variety, we are also happy to accommodate particular areas of interest.

Commencement of Interviews Monday 2 May 2016

You will have access to and work with senior lawyers who are recognised as being the best in their fields. You will have direct client contact. An element we believe sets us apart from other law firms is the

Offers of Clerkship 9am — Monday 30 May 2016

focus that our partners have on creating a supportive and enjoyable

Communication of Decision

work environment. You won’t be expected to work 16 hours per day. We

5pm — Monday 30 May 2016

recognise that it is not the time you spend at work, but rather what you do when you are there.

For further information about our clerkships and career opportunities Planning Ahead

22

at Cowell Clarke visit www.cowellclarke.com.au/careers

Casual and Part Time Work Extra Curricular Experience

Depending on your type of work, having a casual or party time job can also demonstrate an ability to work within a professional team, provide customer service, and manage your time.

There are a number of jobs in the legal profession that are available for students during their studies. Some of these include:

Administrative

Firms and some courts hire students in administrative roles. Keep an eye on the Career and Employer Liaison Centre mailing list.

Rounds clerk

Chambers research assistant: A number of barristers employ students to help with research.

Some chambers advertise these positions but most do not. If you are interested in finding a barrister to work for, write them a letter expressing your interest.

Clerkship

Clerkships provide a useful means of gaining

experience in the legal profession, which may lead to further employment after graduation. A clerkship is a short-term position at a law firm that typically runs from 3 to 12 weeks over the summer or winter break. Most clerkships run on a full-time basis, however, some firms prefer to run clerkships on a part-time basis (2-3 days per week) over a longer period of time.

Why should I apply?

Most law firms recruit their graduate solicitors from their pool of clerks, so if you are interested in entering private legal practice, completing a clerkship is almost crucial.

When and How to apply As a general rule, firms will offer clerkships to penultimate and final year students. However, it is a good idea to apply for clerkships sooner rather than later, even if you are not yet in your penultimate year. If you are interested in particular law firms, visit their websites or check the Employer Directory in this Guide for information about their programs, practice areas, and application dates.

There are also a number of jobs available at Flinders University.

Research Assistants

A number of academics in the Law School and other schools in the university hire students as research assistants. These sort of jobs are not usually advertised widely, so it is important to check your emails closely to find out about these sorts of opportunities

Campus Jobs

Casual and part time employment is often available with Flinders University or Flinders Connect.

Tutoring

The University offers personal tutoring services to Indigenous students through the Indigenous Tutoring Assistance Scheme (ITAS), and at various times need new student tutors. There are also opportunities to tutor around the University, such as within the School of Nursing and Midwifery and the School of Health Sciences.

Research Assistant to an Academic A student experience Author: Barbara Vrettos, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of Justice and Society (Criminology) At the end of 2015 I was lucky enough to be selected for a Summer Scholarship, which involved assisting Marinella Marmo and Willem De Lint on their research on victim selfmedication. Out of the four studies proposed by the criminology researchers this one appealed to me the most. When I applied I was unsure of potential future directions within my degree but decided that studying victims of crime was an area largely neglected by the combination of my degrees and I realised that this opportunity would be one that I would not receive otherwise.

Tasks of a Research Assistant

On my first meeting with Marinella and Willem I was given a range of literature to contextualise their study through which I began to understand their proposed aims and directions for research.

The major project that I undertook over the six weeks was a literature review covering all the potential avenues for research within victim selfmedication and the research already in the field.

The wonderful part of being involved in this stage of Marinella and Willemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s study was that the information that I found did help direct further avenues of research.

This dynamic relationship was one that I had previously not had with teachers and, not only, did undertaking the research improve my research skills, but conveying my findings improved my communication skills.

The second major task I undertook was reading through victim interviews and analysing them by theme. It was quite confronting reading some of these interviews, but reading through these horrific accounts and seeing the resilient behaviour displayed by many of the victims, after being assisted by Victim Support Services, made me even more appreciative of the project.

Seeing the real life subjective implications after spending a good part of my time exploring the research implications through objective, scientific, and theoretical terms demonstrated a great balance. When analysing the interviews I also lucky enough to use a program called NVivo, generally not open to undergraduates, which was a great skill to develop and for future job prospects.

Develop Research Skills

it is common to lose sight of the practical implications and real world effects that assignments and research can ultimately have.

The wide range of activities that I have undertaken, skills that I have developed, and people that I have worked with have made me very excited to one day complete an honours project of my own. I would highly recommend this scholarship to future students as despite not quite knowing what to expect I have gained invaluable skills and experiences.

How to Apply

Students can apply to go into the Research Assistants pool within the Law School in Semester 2 each year. An advertisment requesting expressions of interest will be sent to students via their student email.

The research skills that I have developed by familiarising myself with different data bases, learning organisational tips from the researchers, and learning how to explore controversial issues and biases in research, are skills that will translate throughout both of my degrees.

Perhaps, however, one of the most beneficial and enjoyable aspects of this study was seeing the passion from the researchers and realising the real world implications for the study.

This practical work drawing on real world ties was really helpful as during university 23

Planning Ahead

Clerkship Programs A student experience Author: Tom Gerrits, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) and Bachelor of International Studies For those excitedly beginning their legal careers or for those who are in too deep already, you might be surprised to learn that the law degree is a relatively recent invention. Law was once taught as an apprenticeship, much like a trade.

While the academic study of law has today become crucial (read: you can’t become a lawyer without it), the professional and practical training of lawyers remains extremely important.

Clerkships and other practical legal training has emerged as an important way of: • • •

learning about different areas of law from a practical perspective with “on the job” experience; trying out different and varied workplaces, teams and people to investigate your suitability and preferences; and law firms observing and assessing their potential future recruits.

It is important to note at this point that while law clerkships can be (and very often are) fiercely competitive to obtain, they do not represent the only (or even necessarily the best) avenue of developing a career in the law.

Clerkships are often (though not always) focused toward the commercial legal space. Lawyers engaged in commercial work represent a huge slice of the legal workforce. The majority of clerkships reflect this. The range of clerkships on offer does not fully reflect the range of legal careers available.

Moreover, the number of clerkships on offer in no way aligns with the number of students interested in obtaining them. Be nimble, be

prepared, and be thick-skinned. Clerkships are merely one avenue (of many) into the legal profession, many successful lawyers you see today would never have undertaken one, so do not stress over clerkships too much.

This Careers Guide is a tremendous place to begin your foray into your clerkship adventures.

Thinking deeply about yourself, the firm you are applying to, your motivations and your offering is key to success in this competitive process. Remember you are applying to become part of a firm for a period of time, you want to put your best foot forward. You are effectively applying for (often) a month long interview.

While this process might sound intimidating, this is an exciting step in your legal career.

If you are set on taking part in a law clerkship, be aware that applications, interviews and placements can be gruelling processes with deadlines strictly enforced. You should check with the firms and law societies where you hope to one day clerk. A great place to start in South Australia is the Law Society of South Australia – there is a similar organisation in each Australian state or territory.

Clerkships are often lots of fun! Many firms go to great lengths to ensure their clerks thoroughly enjoy their time as well as work hard.

Plenty of South Australian law students find themselves clerking in other states, particularly New South Wales and Victoria (though you could go anywhere). Similarly, you can complete clerkships abroad while you are studying too.

Often large international firms will recruit Australian law clerks to their London, Hong Kong and other offices. However, firms do not have to be large to take clerks. The opportunities are out there!

Law students that do take part in law clerkships will encounter a variety of opportunities and experiences including: • meeting with clients; • attending (and even appearing in) court; • performing legal research and conducting statutory interpretation; • assisting in business development for the firm; and • generally assisting around the law office.

From personal experience on clerkships I have encountered opportunities to: • make an application for leave to appear in court before a judge; • write a legal opinion on how US federal law could impact on a dispute in South Australia; • fly interstate to meet clients; • attend business development and client networking events in interesting places around town; • draft documents and correspondence for clients, government departments, other lawyers; and • experience a varied raft of legal work, different people, and working styles.

Being involved in a law clerkship can be exhilarating, laborious, fascinating, exhausting, challenging and interesting – often all at the same time. The trick is to seize the opportunity of a clerkship as an insight into the law and a firm. Realise that there is always more to learn.

Those aspiring to a career in the law might choose to complete one (or many) clerkships during the later years of their law degree.

However, remember, there are many ways to excel in the law and a clerkship is but one of them.

Rounds Clerk at a Law Firm A student experience Author: Tim Bost, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) and Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) I am currently commencing my second year of study and commenced working as a Rounds Clerk at Pederick Lawyers in January 2016.

Ideal for First and Second Year Students Rounds clerking is a great job to have in the first one-three years of your study before you are eligible for clerkships. I applied for this job through seeing an advertisement on Facebook through a University page for an urgent start. The application process involved sending through a resume to the firm before an interview and then brief trial. Prior to commencement I had been volunteering in a chambers specialising in criminal defence.

Planning Ahead

What is Rounds Clerking?

Rounds clerking involves the drafting and filing of court documents in various courts and may also require delivering documents to other firms.

This is great experience for early in your career as gives you a taste of what a career in a law firm looks like. Filing documents in court is also important experience as it allows you to become familiar with the courts and the systems surrounding them.

Other duties I have are largely administrative, such as drafting letters and compiling and processing discovered documents.

24

Benefits of the Experience Working in a small firm is fantastic experience as you get to do a bit of everything. It will assist your studies by developing your ability to synthesise arguments through working on real cases with real clients.

It also provides you with a drive to succeed in your studies, as you can better picture an end goal.

Finding opportunities

If you’re wondering where to start, contact small, boutique firms, ask if they have any rounds clerk or administrative based roles available. This will give you important experience, and your future employer will also look favourably on the fact that you took initiative from early in your degree.

www.minterellison.com/careers/adelaide

25

Planning Ahead

Legal Skills Competitions Extra Curricular Experience

Competitions are a fun way to practice your legal skills, challenge yourself to work to a deadline and perform under pressure, and make friends.

While competitions can be a little nerve wracking, the benefits gained are invaluable.

As well as increased confidence and technical skills, students receive personalised feedback on their abilities from judging panels, which can include law school staff and members of the profession.

ALSA Competitions

FLSA competition grand finalists may be asked to represent Flinders University at the national Australian Law Students’ Association Conference, held annually in July. This sevenday conference gives students the ability to compete against other universities from across Australia and New Zealand.

The Jessup Moot finals are held at Australian National University at the beginning of the year. The top two Australian teams from this final go on to compete in Washington, DC.

For student insight into competing in FLSA and ALSA competitions see pages 25 and 27.

Non-Competitors

International Competitions

FLSA Competitions

FLSA runs a number of legal skills competitions every semester. These include client interviewing, witness examination, negotiation, mediation and mooting.

There is also a first year moot, exclusively for first year students (though first years are encouraged to enter any competition that interests them).

Further, you may be able to gain international experience through legal skills topics at the Flinders Law School.

Mooting is one example, as Flinders offers the topic LLAW3273 Mooting and International Appellate Advocacy. This prepares students specifically for the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot, or the International Humanitarian Law Moot.

For a student insight into competing in the Jessup see below.

Competing is not the only way to be involved - students can volunteer as ‘clients’ in client interview or mediation competitions, or ‘witnesses’ in witness examination, also students with recognised academic aptitude may contribute a problem question as the hypothetical set of facts for a particular competition round.

For student insight into volunteering for competitions see page 27..

Philip C. Jessup International Law MootCourt Competition A student experience Author: Edward Shorne Holden, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice What is the Jessup Moot?

2016 will be the 57th year of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. Jessup is the world’s largest moot court competition, with participants from over 550 law schools in more than 80 countries. One team is allowed to participate from every eligible university. Teams must compete in regional qualifying rounds (Australian region held in Canberra each February) to earn the right to advance to the International rounds held in Washington, D.C. In a sea of unique and great extra-curricular activities the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition truly stands out as an unparalleled opportunity to develop your skills and abilities whilst meeting and learning from some of the region’s brightest legal minds.

What does Jessup Involve?

Along with your team mates you will prepare arguments for both the Respondent and Applicant in a complex international dispute and then present your arguments before a mock International Court of Justice (The Judicial Organ of the United Nations). Unlike nearly ever other topic in the law school, the Jessup deals with International Law exposing you to an entirely different legal system and career opportunities.

Summer Elective Undertaking

As with all opportunities there is a cost, as soon as your last exam finishes you will have to throw yourself into rapidly studying the guiding Planning Ahead

principles and minutiae of International Law. At this stage you will find yourself becoming very familiar with the library staff and enjoying the free parking over the end of year break. Slowly the grind of research and drafting gives way to the grind of constant practising, refinement and memorisation of your oral submissions.

Whilst I wouldn’t repeat the process just for fun, I did learn a lot about advocacy and team work in a court room environment and benefited greatly from the teaching staff and former students who generously donated their time as judges.

Competing in Canberra

Finally, the trip to Canberra. In-between meeting your fellow competitors you’ll frantically review the written submissions of your opponents and practice your oral submissions. Then suddenly (it seems) you find yourself making submissions to the ICJ. It won’t go perfectly, you will discover you weren’t entirely correct on your understanding of the law, you might be questioned by a judge who literally wrote the book on that area of international law and you will think of a better response to a question as soon as the moot finishes. At the same time you will meet and learn from some of the brightest legal minds in Australia, make great friends and be amazed at what you are capable of achieving.

Networking Opportunity

As with most legal competitions the Jessup Moot relies heavily on volunteers from the competitor to assist in the running of the moots. This is probably one of the best opportunities for 26

networking at the Jessup and if you volunteer for the later rounds you will get to see some of the best competitors in actions and meet with senior judges.

Overall, the Jessup moot is not an easy undertaking, there is a significant amount of work involved in preparing for and actually mooting. It is a worthwhile undertaking because of what you get out of it. Added benefits include meeting the Chief Justice of the High Court, socialising with pre-eminent legal academics and being told to shave by senior members of the Judiciary.

How to Participate

Students can be involved in representing Flinders University through LLAW3273 Mooting and International Appellate Advocacy elective which operates over the summer holidays. Please contact topic coordinator Dr Grant Niemann for further information.

FLSA First Year Moot A student experience Author: Adam Hamilton, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons); Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Letters I competed in the FLSA First Year Moot in Semester 2, 2015.

Mentoring from Past Mooters

The mentoring program for First Year Moot was an invaluable initiative which encouraged interactions between high achieving, yet very welcoming and friendly senior students and first year students.

These interactions created friendships and stimulated a positive learning environment where each student was able to achieve a high result personally and academically.

Before I had competed in First Year moot I had a very vague idea of what I should be doing and what I should expect. However, due to the mentoring program I was able to achieve a high result in the competition due to my mentor being able to answer my â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sillyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; questions and being able to remove self-doubt and criticism.

Structure of the Rounds

The first year moot began with two preliminary rounds, whereby the same question was discussed in both of these rounds, however teams swapped from respondent to defendant and visa versa. This was a great opportunity for each competitor to undertake and compete on both sides of the argument.

Most competitors were incredibly nervous in the first round as this was their first law school competition, so having two preliminary rounds gave each person the opportunity to really show their skill. The moot then reverted to a traditional structure, progressing through quarterfinals, semi finals and a grand final round.

One of my most favourable aspects of moot was the opportunity to meet new people and create new friendships. While it was a competitive environment, we all wanted each other to succeed and perform at our best.

Benefits of Competing

Additionally, from competing in first year moot I learnt a number of skills and attributes which will play as a vital resource in law school and beyond. Before the competition began I was unorganised, did not use a diary, did not plan my days or even prioritise my study. However, after the quarter final round I knew this competition was not going to be easy and in order to succeed I was going to need to get my act together.

Therefore, I started a diary, planned my days and I prioritised my work. This was undoubtedly the most challenging aspect of moot due to trying to balance the moot with study, casual work and a social life.

FLSA and ALSA Open Moot A student experience Author: Max Joy, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of Arts Mooting is a terrific competition to take part in; it encourages quick thinking, public speaking, and the creation of documents such as court submissions. I have a desire to be a barrister, and having participated in Mock Trials while at school, I wanted to continue to learn the practical court presentation side of the law.

The FLSA Open Moot competition opens with a preliminary round, and then continues through to the quarter finals, the semi-finals and then finally the grand final.

Standard of Competition

I was successful in the First Year mooting competition, finishing as the winner, but in my first attempt at the Open Moot I made it to the semi-finals, only narrowly missing out on a finals spot.

The Open moot focused on areas of contract, torts, and criminal law, with a different question for each round.

Representing Flinders at ALSA

I learnt a significant amount from my experiences in mooting, and have increased my knowledge and skills tenfold than if I had not competed. Attending and competing at the ALSA competition allowed me to observe and pick up skills from other law schools, and see the standard that the very best at our level hold themselves too, and witnessing the ALSA

Skills learnt through Mooting

Mooting grand final is an experience I will not soon forget, as I was gobsmacked by the ability of law students a similar age to myself.

I was then asked to represent Flinders University at the Australian Law Students Association King & Wood Mallesons Championship Moot competition in Sydney, which was an honour and privilege to be asked. The ALSA Mooting competition pits you against other law schools from all over the country.

Mooting urges you to work with your co-counsel and to analyse the law from every possible angle to ensure the opposition cannot pull any surprise arguments when it comes time to present.

I found it taught me a proper and more organised research method when it came to writing and compiling submissions, as the physical application of a law and precedent to a scenario that you then had to argue for gave it more substance, and allowed to be motivated by passion.

27

Planning Ahead

Non Competitor: Client Interview Competition ‘Client’ A student experience Author: Jimmy Wilson, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice; Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Sports, Health and Physical Activity Client Interview Competition

The client interview competition is an integral part of the yearly FLSA calendar and it provides invaluable experience and knowledge for all who take part, not just the competitors but volunteers as well.

Volunteering as a Client

As a client, I was given a scenario and a role to play within said scenario. I had to take on the persona and worries of my character whilst following a script in which I could only reveal certain information freely and other information only if a particular question was asked. I had to be as believable and consistent as possible to ensure the integrity of the competition.

Benefits of Involvement

I have found volunteering as a client in the client interviewing competition has been one of my most fond memories of law school. It helped me immensely through topics such as Torts 2 and has assisted me in my workplace of customer service as well.

I have become a better student for taking part in the competition as a client through the opportunity to better know the role of a lawyer in an interview setting. Being a client has enabled me to empathise with a client’s position better in order to better relate and ask the right questions.

This has helped my sales role at work too.

The experience will look great on my CV and I’ve been inspired to take part in the future as a competitor. The opportunity to listen to the feedback given to competitors from experienced law tutors and current legal professionals in the industry was also an amazing addition to the experience as it gave basis to methods of interviewing, gave me guidance in interviewing and has helped me to develop a stronger interviewing technique.

I would personally recommend volunteering as a client to anyone who is even the slightest bit interested as not only does it provide great experience, it’s also super fun!

Non Competitor: Mediation Competition Question Author A student experience Author: Thea Paleologos, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Psy) In Semester Two, 2015, I had the opportunity to join FLSA as a subcommittee member in the Competitions Portfolio.

Question Drafting

When first approached to write a question for the Mediation Competition the task appeared extremely daunting. However, once I began researching I was able to produce a question I was very proud of.

The first step in the process involved consulting previous competition questions. Not being familiar with this competition myself, they acted as a great aid as to how the competition would run and the expectation of competitors.

Planning Ahead

Working with Law School Staff

A large input of question writing came from collaborating with peers and teaching staff. I was fortunate enough for Brendan Grigg to provide respected feedback in regard to legal issues and pointing me in the direction of applicable law.

From this, I learnt the importance of having others read your work.

Feedback can be invaluable and when working on something intensely, often it is hard to find errors in your own work. I was able to act as a client and it was rewarding to see the scenario I had imagined be practiced by the Mediation competitors.

28

Benefits of Involvement

Apprehensive at first, my involvement has helped me understand the value of challenging yourself and utilising practical opportunities, in this case, to better skills in alternative dispute resolution. My role has motivated me to compete in future, not only for the sake of future employers but also to increase confidence in my own abilities, just as I did by my role on the subcommittee.

Expert advice, human approach.

Grow into the Future with Wallmans Lawyers We think Wallmans is a great place to work. In fact, we have been recognised as an Employer of Choice, winning the Australasian Lawyer ‘Employer of Choice Silver Award’ for legal firms under 500 staff. We also came first Australasia wide in the categories of employee wellbeing and remuneration.

Wallmans Lawyers provides strategic and tailored legal advice to an extensive client base of commercial, government and private clients.

Comprising a full service team of over 80 staff, we are large enough to offer diversity and real career opportunities with exposure to a range of practice areas, yet not so large as to be impersonal.

We value innovation and creativity in our people and, in return, are truly committed to developing their careers.

Our working environment is relaxed, yet stimulating, challenging and professional. We encourage self-development and provide opportunities for staff to achieve their utmost potential via mentoring, internal and external development and training programs.

Providing a genuine team approach is one of our greatest strengths and with clear guidelines for progression and regular reviews and structured development plans, Wallmans offer you a career, not just a job.

If Wallmans offers the dynamic environment that you are searching for, we invite you to grow into the future with us by applying for a summer clerkship or PLT placement. For more information speak with us at the Careers Fair, visit our Graduate page on our website, or stay in touch via our Graduates & Young Professionals Page on Facebook.

Level 5, 400 King William St, Adelaide (08) 8235 3000 wallmans.com.au Wallmans Lawyers Graduates & Young Professionals

29

“

Wallmans understands the importance of developing a law firm’s major asset: its people.

We encourage and support our staff to be successful in achieving both their professional and non-professional goals.

TREVOR EDMOND, MANAGING PARTNER

”

Planning Ahead

Study Abroad

Enchance Your Qualifications The experience of immersing yourself in a culture completely unlike your own is like no other. There is a huge variety of experiences available at universities in countries all throughout the world, which offer students the opportunity to gain a new perspective, learn the intricacies of a different jurisdiction, meet new people, and develop their adaptability.

With globalisation on the increase, so too is the need for lawyers with international experience.

If you have studied overseas, this suggests an ability to adapt to new situations and an enthusiasm to take on new challenges, and perhaps a familiarity with the local law or the local language.

When applying for clerkship and graduate positions, there is an increasing requirement that you stand out from the crowd. Fortunately no two international experiences are the same, especially with the incredible range on offer. From short study tours and intensives to semester long exchanges there are opportunities to suit all time constraints in every stage of study.

Semester Exchanges

• • • • • • • • • • •

Stockholms Universitet, Sweden The National University of Malaysia, Malaysia The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Calgary, Canada University of Copenhagen, Denmark University of East Anglia, UK University of Leicester, UK University of Manitoba, Canada University of Surabaya, Indonesia Uppsala Universitet, Sweden York University, Canada

For more information, visit the Flinders University Study Abroad website.

Combined Degrees

If you are completing a combined degree, you have further opportunities to travel overseas.

Those majoring in American Studies can apply for the Washington Internship Program, and those majoring in Asian Studies can participate in an Indonesian exchange program.

themselves are structured and managed by the separate universities.

The law related programs avaliable are: • Comparative Contract Law, at Michigan State University, USA • Oxford History, Politics and Society Summer School, at Oxford University, UK • International Litigation and Arbitration, at Michigan State University, USA • International Human Rights Law, at Universidad Nacional de Lanus, Argentina • Oxford International Human Rights Summer School, at Oxford University, UK • International Environmental Law, at Maastricht University, The Netherlands • International Law and Human Rights, at Masarky University, Czech Republic • International Relations and Politics in the EU, at Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Application Requirements

Flinders University offers outbound international exchange programs of 1 or 2 semesters duration during undergraduate degrees. This allows students to study interesting electives in a foreign country, which will ultimately increase employability.

Study Tours

Flinders law offers various rotating elective topics that allow students to study abroad to learn about foreign laws and legal systems.

These topics are structured as intensives generally of around 4 weeks.

Generally, in your application you must demonstrate that you satisfy the academic, character (through reference letter and personal essay) and financial requirements to participate.

These locations of these are at flinders Exchange Partner Universities; to study a law specialty, this includes the following institutions: • Chuo University, Japan • Each China University of Political Science and Law, China • European University, Germany • Johannes Kepler University, Austria • Keele University, UK • Kyung Hee University, Korea • Manchester Metropolitan University, UK • Peking University, China • Roma Tre University, Italy

Locations include : • Indonesia (LLAW3274); • China (LLAW3270); • India (LEGL3114).

These study tours provide an excellent opportunity to get a snapshot of life in a different country, as well as gaining credit for your degree and increasing your prospects.

Funding of up to $6,250 is available through OS-HELP loans.

Planning Ahead

External Providers

External organisation AIM Overseas offers intensive academic courses taught at international universities. AIM assist and facilitate all Australia applications to the following programs, however the program

30

Funding and Course Credit

You can apply to the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law to have the topics within the program recognised as part of your degree, allowing you to receive course credit as topics electives (however you only be able to receive an NGP grade for these electives). Contact the Flinders University International Centre Learning Without Boarders Team for further information.

Study Tour: Introduction to Indonesian Law A student experience Author: Amber Gillespie, Bachelor of Justice and Society (Criminology) Summer Holiday Study Tour

During November and December 2015 I travelled to Indonesia with a group of Law and Criminal Justice students to undertake the elective topic LLAW3274 - Introduction to Indonesian law and legal system.

The study tour allowed me to broaden my knowledge of issues relating to access to justice in Australia and Indonesia.

Being a criminology student, a personal highlight of the trip was a visit to Wironguan Prison in Yogyakarta where I learnt more about the Indonesian correctional system first hand.

Personal Development

Build Language Skills

The small amount of Bahasa I learnt during the tour has also encouraged me to undertake language studies at University. This is an experience that I would highly recommend to both law and criminal justice students.

Beyond the substantive content, a study tour with a large group of students is a fantastic way to develop skills in group work such as managing varying personalities; skills that are beneficial to any career that I embark on.

International Litigation and Arbitration at MSU A student experience Author: Bimaya De Silva, Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts Michigan State University

I had the most incredible time studying International Litigation and Arbitration at Michigan State University (MSU), an intensive three-week course held in July.

If you’re looking to experience the “college experience” before graduating, I 100% recommend this short exchange. It not only gives you the chance to experience so many new adventures, but it also provides you with the opportunity to create life long friends from all over the world.

So what made my time so memorable?

Imagine, getting off the plane, arriving at the dorm rooms, meeting your fun, aspiring mentors, and getting told to quickly go upstairs and change for a hot tub party. Well yes ladies and gentleman, this does not only happen in movies, but it happens in real life!

The party was a great start to meeting the crew, and mentors, in an informal manner that got us psyched for starting class. The mentors were MSU college students who knew of all the trendy local places, so we were always in

the know of where to go, and able to dance the night away with all our new friends.

MSU had everything planned for us, from going shooting at their very own shooting range, to ice skating on their campus. They even organised weekend trips to Canada, and Detroit, were we got to see Niagara Falls, and the Detroit Tigers play ball!

The campus was huge. Not only did they have their own football stadium, they also had about 5 different cafeterias, an ice hockey rink, and even a technology store! In fact, the campus even had their own dairy store, where they actually raised the cows that produced the milk for the cheese and ice cream they sold!

Breakfast, lunch and dinner were also some of my favourite times as we would all venture off to the cafeteria, to their all-you-can-eat feasts.

One day it would be yummy Asian noodles, the next, delicious creamy pasta - you could choose all your own ingredients and they would make it right there, in front of your very eyes!

Quality of the Course

Not only was the college life amazing, but so was the actual course we came for (don’t worry I didn’t forget). We were so lucky to have the most passionate teacher, Professor Mary A. Bedikian.

It didn’t feel like a class as everything she told you was so interesting, and so “hands on” and practical. It involved three days in class, learning theory and then attempting each of the types of dispute resolution, and then one field trip each week to the County Court or State Supreme Court - where the judge even spoke to us!

All in all, my experience at MSU will always be one of the most memorable times of my life and I would recommend it to everyone! YOU SHOULD ALL GO! Live life while you still have the chance to experience these amazing opportunities!

This course can be applied for through AIM Overseas, see opposite page ‘External Providers’ for details.

It’s really not surprising that you learn to fall in love with the campus, and embrace the school’s strong spirit. Go green! Go white!

31

Planning Ahead

Honours

Enchance Your Qualifications LLB (Honours)

The Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Honours) is designed to provide an enhanced program of studies for students of exceptional academic ability.

An Honours degree will refine and increase your skills in research, academic writing and critical thinking. It can be a valuable addition to your CV and may help to set you apart from other graduates. If you plan to pursue a career in academia or complete a Masters or Doctorate in the future, completing honours is an essential step.

Transferring into Honours

If you are not already enrolled in honours, you can transfer into the degree via application if you satisfy the following requirements: • GPA for all law topics over 5.5; • completed 72-108 units in the LLB/LP; • GPA of 5.7 for the most recent 36 graded units in the LLB/LP; • capacity to undertake the Dissertation elective topics in their study plan; and; • In the opinion of the Honours Committee could fulfill the requirements to be awarded honours.

Enrolled in Honours before 2015 For students who enrolled in the LLB/LP (Hons) before 2015, honours result is based 25% on the result obtained in a 10,000 word Dissertation, and 75% on the results obtained in your final 6 graded topics plus a further 8 nonfirst level graded topics in which you obtained

Planning Ahead

your highest grades. The Dissertation is worth 9 units; one elective topic must be undertaken in either Semester.

Enrolled in honours from 2015

For students enrolling in the LLB/LP (Hons) in 2015 onwards, honours will be based solely on the result obtained in a 13,000 word Dissertation, with the Dissertation being worth 13.5 units. Three elective topics must be undertaken, designed to be taken across two semesters.

The change in Honours policies from 2015 onward bring the Flinders Law Honours degree in line with national standards for honours degrees.

Dissertation Supervisor

Proposal

and

Students should start to think seriously about a topic at least a semester before formally enrolling. Since the Dissertation is undertaken towards the end of the course, there will have been opportunities to consider a range of topics from which a dissertation might be developed.

It is a student’s responsibility to arrange supervision with a member of the Law School staff. The Honours Coordinator will be available to advise students about the suitability of a potential supervisor to supervise in particular areas of interest.

The deadline for submission of your proposal is 14 days before the beginning of the semester in which you commence your dissertation.

32

Honours Result

Honours Dissertations (in both streams) are due at the end of week 14 in the students final honours elective semester.

The three categories of honours for students enrolled before 2015 are: • Honours 1 – GPA of 6.4 -7.00 • Honours 2A – GPA of 6.1 -6.39 • Honours 2B – GPA of 5.7 – 6.09 The four categories of honours for students enrolled from 2015 are: • Honours 1 – 85-100% grade • Honours 2A – 75-84% grade • Honours 2B – 65-74% grade • Honours 3 – 50-64% grade These calculations will be made automatically and after results have been finalised, students who have been awarded honours will be notified.

Publication

Students who receive high marks for their Dissertation are encouraged to consider submitting them for publication in the Flinders Law Journal.

If you would like any further information regarding honours please visit the Flinders Law School website or contact Professor Brendan Grigg, Honours Coordinator.

Post Graduate Study Enchance Your Qualifications

Further Study

If you are nearing the end of your law degree, the idea of beginning further study might be the last thing on your mind. However, not only does postgraduate study enrich your knowledge of an area of law that interests you, it also boosts your employment prospects, creates the opportunities for a career in academia, and allows you to study overseas.

Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, and Harvard, among countless others, all offer a Master of Laws. Other degrees ranging from Masters in International Human Rights Law to Doctor of Science of Law are also available internationally.

What are your options?

Broadly, undergraduate law students have four options for higher study. These are Masters of Law (LLM) by Coursework, LLM by Research, the Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Masters of Coursework

Law (LLM) by

LLM Coursework commonly requires students to complete eight topics. These topics focus on specialised areas of law, and require a greater depth of study than the areas you studied in your undergraduate degree.

The LLM by Coursework generally follows a structured lecture and seminar/tutorial program. Assessment differs across universities; some assess students based solely on their coursework, and others require an 8,000-15,000 word dissertation. There may be an exam.

Masters of Research

Law (LLM) by

LLM by Research is purely research-based.

Students must develop a research topic and write a supervised thesis, generally of 35,000 to 50,000 words. They are expected to find their own supervisor, such as a university academic with relevant experience.

Students may need evidence of a research background before they are allowed to undertake this degree. This means that students who have already completed a research thesis, or who have had pieces of academic work published, have a greater chance of being approved to undertake this degree. Generally you must also have achieved an undergraduate law degree with Upper Second Class Honours as a minimum. Depending on your performance, your LLM by Research can be a ‘stepping stone’ to PhD candidature.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The highly acclaimed PhD also requires candidates to develop a unique research topic and write a thesis under the supervision of an appropriate university academic. The research topic must be highly specific and unexplored.

The final thesis can be anywhere from 70,000 to 100,000 words. It can be completed in 2-4 years full-time, or 3-8 years part-time. Universities require at least Upper Second Class Honours in

your undergraduate law degree before you can undertake a PhD. A PhD is the highest award you can obtain for legal study, and will put you in good stead if you are working towards a career in academia.

Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD)

The SJD consists of a coursework component and a research thesis, and is roughly equivalent to a PhD. The candidate must develop their own research topic, and the thesis can be between 50,000 to 75,000 words.

If studying full-time, this course generally consists of one year of coursework, followed by two or three years of developing and writing the thesis. Depending on the university, you may have to complete an LLM by Coursework before undertaking this Doctorate. You must also have at least Upper Second Class Honours in your undergraduate law degree.

Prestigious Scholarships

There are a number of prestigious scholarships that students may apply for to undertake postgraduate study. Flinders University will hold a prestigious scholarships seminar in May 2016, with representatives from each organisation present.

Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships The Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships are internationally competitive, meritbased scholarships funded by the Australian Government that support Australians to undertake study, research and professional development in 125 countries worldwide.

A scholarship or fellowship recipient will receive: tuition fees; travel allowance (up to $3000); establishment allowance (up to $2000 for fellowships, $4000 for scholarships); Monthly stipend ($3000); health insurance; and travel insurance. Selection criteria includes: record of high academic achievement and/or relevant work experience; statement on how the program would further the applicant’s academic and/ or professional career; statement on how the program will benefit Australia.

Applications for 2017 round will open in April 2016, please visit the Endeavour Scholarship and Fellowship website for further information

Fulbright Scholarship

The Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarships supports Australian students to enroll in a US postgraduate program (such as a Masters) and supports Australian PHD students to undertake research and/or study in the US. A scholarship is valued up to AUD$40,000, a recipient will receive: living, travel and establishment allowance for a program of 8-10 months duration; funding for program events; and health insurance. Selection criteria includes: record of high academic and professional merit; feasible and relevant program proposal that has definable outcomes; and ambassadorial skills.

33

Applications for 2017 will open 1 May 2016 and close in 1 August 2016. For more information visit the Australian-American Fulbright Commission website.

John Monash Scholarship

The John Monash Scholarship is awarded to 1015 outstanding Australian graduates annually, to enable them to study abroad at the world’s best universities.

A scholarship is valued up to AUD$60,000 per year (for up to three years).Selection criteria include: outstanding intellect demonstrated by academic excellence, also language and music skills, or publications; leadership; a defined research or study program; and benefit to Australia.

Applications for 2017 will open 4 May 2016 and close in 12 August 2016. For more information visit the General Sir John Monash Foundation website.

Rhodes Scholarships Nine scholarships are available to Australians annually to study at the University of Oxford.

Each state offers one scholarship; in addition there are three Australia-at-large scholarships.

Scholars must not be older than 25 on 1 October of their year of commencement at Oxford.

A scholarship recipient will receive: all tuition fees; application fees; personal stipend; and return airfare. Selection criteria include: literary and scholastic attainments; character and service; and leadership.

Applications for 2017 will likely open early July 2016. For more information visit the Rhodes House website.

Robert Menzies Scholarships

The Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Foundation offers two post-graduate scholarships in law: the Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Scholarship in Law for study at UK universities, and the Sir Ninian Stephen Menzies Scholarship in International Law for study at various overseas universities.

A scholarship recipient will receive AUD$75,000 per year to meet tuition fees and contribute to travel and living expenses; a personal living allowance; and return airfare. Selection criteria include: academic excellence; leadership; service of others; extra-curricular activities; and ability to contribute to life of the university.

Applications for the scholarships in law will close in late August 2016. For more information visit the Menzies Foundation website.

Planning Ahead

GDLP ANU Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice

ANU Legal Workshop Your direct pathway to Legal Practice The ANU Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (GDLP) is Australia’s largest university-based accredited practical legal training program. The ANU GDLP provides you with the qualification to be admitted as a lawyer in Australia.

The program adopts a unique online teaching approach that places you in a ‘virtual law firm’. This innovative approach provides you with practical insight, deepened professional awareness and real-world knowledge.

The ANU GDLP also provides you with the flexibility to balance study with employment.

With ANU Legal Workshop, you can: > attend any one of over 20 introductory five-day workshops held around Australia – you don’t need to relocate for study; > tailor coursework and professional placement requirements – selecting a longer placement and less coursework, or vice-versa; > choose from a wide range of elective subjects – with online flexibility; and > extend your GDLP – and gain an additional competitive edge – with the ANU Master of Legal Practice.

Whatever choice you make, you’ll benefit from flexible online study, learn from some of Australia’s best legal experts and gain a qualification from one of the world’s leading law schools.

ANU Legal Workshop The Australian National University Planning Ahead

T +61 2 6125 4463 E lwsa.law@anu.edu.au W legalworkshop.law.anu.edu.au/gdlp 34

ANU Legal Workshop

CRICOS# 00120C | 2016

Practical Legal Training Transition to Practice

The Flinders LLB/LP is unique in that it is the only undergraduate degree that leads directly to admission as a legal practitioner in Australia without further study. Practical Legal Training combines the legal theories learned during law school with practical skills necessary and invaluable to a career in legal practice.

To be eligible to practice as a barrister and solicitor in South Australia, all law students must complete Practical Legal Training as part of their academic and practical requirements.

PLT at Flinders

Here at Flinders Law School, students who have successfully completed their studies of the Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice will be eligible to apply for admission to the Supreme Court of South Australia.

Flinders University is the only South Australian university to have integrated the core principles of PLT into its topics of substantive law and the compulsory practice topics relating to specific areas of legal practice.

PLT Core Topics

There are four core Practical Legal Training topics in the Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice at Flinders.

The four topics are as follows: • Practical Legal Training: Civil Litigation Practice (LLAW7000 • Practical Legal Training: Legal Practice Management (LLAW7001) • Practical Legal Training: Transactional Legal Practice (LLAW7002) • Practical Legal Training: Criminal Practice and Advocacy (LLAW7003) In LLAW 7000 Practical Legal Training: Civil Litigation Practice, students are given an introductory understanding of what an entrylevel lawyer will undertake in civil practice.

Similarly, LLAW 7003 Practical Legal Training: Criminal Litigation Practice will give students a taste and understanding of what an entrylevel lawyer will undertake in criminal practice.

As PLT topics are a strict requirement for admission to practice, they are often marked by participation and attendance.

LLAW 7002 Practical Legal Training: Transactional Legal Practice incorporates both learning the legislative and common law requirements and practical process in commercial and corporate law, property, and estates.

Placement

LLAW 2001 Practical Legal Training: Legal Practice Management involves a 225-hour placement at an approved ‘legal office’, which students can complete this is a 6 week full-time placement or as a part-time equivalent. A legal office can include a private practice, community legal service, government or semi-government department, or a corporate legal office.

The placement is a great opportunity to apply skills and knowledge learnt as the placement requires students to complete certain tasks such as interviewing, advising, undertaking legal research, drafting legal letters, filing documents at court, and engaging in advocacy.

Placement can be organised either of two ways. Firstly, students can organise their own placements, which are to be approved. This is ideal for students who are completing clerkships.

Secondly, the Law Society of South Australia can organise placements for students wishing to complete their placement full-time. However, there are a limited number of placements that can be organised this way.

PLT throughout the Degree

The topics of substantive law take place throughout the LLB degree and are specifically designed to continue building on what students have done, and allow students to gain a greater understating of legal issues from a real-life perspective.

Skills that are explored in substantive law topics include: Legal research techniques • LLAW1211 – Legal Research and Writing (Research I, Writing I) • LLAW2222 – History of Legal Ideas (Research II)

35

Oral advocacy • LLAW1224 – Advanced Contract (Writing II) Drafting • LLAW2224 – Corporate Law (Drafting) • Interviewing • LLAW2211 – Torts 2 (Interviewing) Team work • LLAW1213 – Introduction to Public Law (Group Work) Ethics • LLAW1211 – Professional Skills and Ethics (Ethics I) • LLAW3211 – Corporate Law 2 (Ethics II)

Undertaking PLT Externally

In some situations, students may prefer to graduate with a Bachelor of Laws and complete the Practical Legal Training at a later date.

Students who choose this option will be required to complete a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (GLDP). If studied full time a GDLP will take 6 months to complete. External institutions where students can complete a GDLP include ANU Legal Workshop, The Law Society of South Australia, The College of Law and the Leo Cussen Institute.

Graduating without PLT

While some students who are not looking to practice, may choose to not complete Practical Legal Training and graduate with a Bachelor of Laws. However, PLT is no longer seen as only applicable to careers as a barrister or solicitor, but also shows that you are able to display a number of practical skills that can be applied across a number of careers.

If you don’t want to complete the PLT requirements and wish to graduate with a Bachelor of Laws, contact the Administrative Officer (Academic and Student Services) from the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law.

Planning Ahead

Graduating & Getting Admitted Transition to Practice

Graduating

Flinders hold three rounds of graduations ceremonies during the year. The first ceremonies are held in April in the Graduation Hall (Alan Mitchell Sports Centre) at the Flinders Bedford Park Campus. The others are held in September and December at the Adelaide Town Hall and the Convention Centre, respectively.

Apply to Graduate

After completing all your studies, you can check your eligibility to graduate on the Student Information System (SIS). Eligible students will also receive graduation notification via email if the Faculty Office system has deemed your degree ‘potentially complete’.

Applications to graduate open at different times of the year depending on when the ceremonies are held. Before graduating, all university debts and fees must be paid otherwise your parchment and academic transcript will not be released.

Graduation Ceremony

Academic dress must be pre-payed and is available to collect along with the ceremony tickets in the days leading up the ceremony from the Flinders University Campus.

Admission Requirements

To apply to be admitted as a legal practitioner, you must satisfy both the academic and practical requirements in the Supreme Court and LPEAC Rules. Successfully completing a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice at Flinders University satisfies both of these requirements without any further study.

If you choose not to undertake the legal practice component of the Flinders law degree, but still wish to practice, you will not to complete your Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice with an alternative provider, for more information see page X. To prove your character you must disclose to the Board any criminal charges you have faced, if you have been bankrupt, or if you have found to be engaged in academic dishonesty.

Application Process

There are a number of steps in applying for admission: 1.

Graduating in absentia

If you are unable to attend a graduation ceremony you have three alternative options to graduate. First, your award can be conferred in absentia. In this option your name will be appear in the graduation book and your parchment will be able to be collected (or can be posted) after the ceremony date. Second, you have the option to attend a subsequent ceremony for your faculty. This would occur in the following rounds of graduation.

Finally, your award can be conferred at a University Council meeting, this means however, that you will not be able to attend a later ceremony.

Getting Admitted

After graduating, in order to legally practice law in South Australia you must apply for admission to the Supreme Court of South Australia. Once you have been admitted, signed the Roll of Practitioners, and received your restricted practicing certificate, you are able to commence practice. For information and assistance in completing the admission process contact the Ethics and Practice unit of the Law Society of South Australia on (08) 8229 0200 or visit their website.

To be eligible for admission you must satisfy the Board of Examiners that you are of good character and that you have met the admission requirements set in the Supreme Court Rules and LPEAC Rules.

Once admitted, you will be a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of South Australia and a Commissioner for taking affidavits in the Supreme Court of South Australia.

Planning Ahead

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Prepare and lodge originating application for admission at the Law Society of South Australia. The application includes: • an affidavit in support of the application; • ba copy of a document certifying completion of your academic and practical requirements; • ca copy of your drivers license/ passport/birth certificate; and • notice of your application for admission to be placed on the Law Society website Your application goes before the Board of Examiners at their once monthly meeting for consideration.

After each Board of Examiners meeting, a list of successful applicants is displayed on the Law Society website.

Approach a legal practitioner with a current practicing certificate to move your application for admission in the admissions ceremony. Generally, students approach a practitioner who is a friend or colleague.

A rehearsal ceremony is held before the formal ceremony where you will sign your name to the Roll of Practitioners.

Your family and friends are invited to watch the formal ceremony that takes place in the Sir Samuel Way building.

Once admitted, you are eligible to apply for a restricted practising certificate from the Law Society of South Australia.

Restricted Practising Certificate

It is illegal to practice without a practicing certificate. When issued with your first practising certificate it will be subject to a twoyear restriction period of supervised practice.

This is, practice that is controlled or managed by an approved legal practitioner, usually the

36

principal of the firm you are employed at.

The fee for a practising certificate is currently $585. You apply for your practicing certificate through the Law Society of South Australia.

Practising Interstate

Once admitted to practice in your home jurisdiction, it is relatively simple to practice as a lawyer interstate under the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Cth). You can apply for mutual recognition through the Law Society of South Australia.

Practising Overseas

New Zealand The Mutual Recognition Act means that there are very few barriers for Australian lawyers to practice in New Zealand. Australians, once admitted in their original jurisdiction, can apply for automatic admission in New Zealand.

Hong Kong Australian lawyers with between two to five years experience practising in Australia will need to take qualification exams. Australians will need to apply for a work visa in Hong Kong that will often be sponsored by the employer.

Singapore Most Australian lawyers will find work in Singapore at ‘offshore’ firms. In Singapore, these ‘offshore’ firms are not allowed to advise clients on Singapore law but rather work on deals involving UK or US law. Australian’s require an Employment Pass to work in Singapore as a lawyer.

England To practice in England, Australian lawyers must register as a Registered Foreign Lawyer with the Law Society of England and Wales.

They can also be admitted as a solicitor or barrister by passing the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test. Australian lawyers will have to apply for a work visa, which is often taken care of by the employer and applied for on your behalf.

Canada Each province regulates admission to legal practice., thus requirements differ between provinces, however the nine common law provinces simply require Australian lawyers to apply for a permit to be a practising foreign lawyer. Australian lawyers must apply to the National Committee on Accreditation for an evaluation of their legal qualifications. Lawyers may also be required to pass examinations in specified areas of Canadian Law.. Some provinces require that the lawyer must be a permanent resident of the province to which they want to apply.

United States Admission to practise is regulated a state level and requirements often vary between states, and only certain states accept foreign lawyers.

Typically, an Australian lawyer will need to pass the Bar Examination in the state they wish to practice.

The Legal Graduate Market Transition to Practice

Author: Alex Bell-Rowe, Vice President (Education), Australian Law Students’ Association The Australian Law Student’s Association (ALSA) concerns itself with the welfare of Australian law students, and, in examining that role, often we asked to the question the state of the employment market in both a strictly legal sense and legally-related sense.

One thing stands clearly to mind whenever you speak to a law student about the current state of their degree - their employment prospects. This creates a difficult dilemma.

On one hand, students are being encouraged, through the increased participation of the firms in student life, to apply for one firm over another. Alternatively, on the other hand, students are constantly facing the reality of the graduate employment market, that there are not anywhere enough jobs to facilitate the huge, and frankly increasing number of graduates.

In this paper, we will explore both the reality of the employment market, the many ways graduates themselves have managed this problem, and the possibilities that having a law degree can afford one.

What’s going on?

Law is a competitive field. There is no way to skirt this, it is the simple reality. The entrance requirements for high school graduates to simply be accepted into a law degree shadow those of other qualifications. This pattern continues through university. Most law schools implement fierce marking scales for law students, students feel as a sense of competition that many disciplines do not, and there is an abnormally high ‘drop-out’ rate. This continues into entry into the profession, with average annual rate of roughly 13,000 graduates (which is indicated to be increasing), entering a profession with only 66,000 practicing lawyers. It would be a disservice to act is as if law students were not facing a tough slog.

Why get a law degree then?

One of the biggest issues facing law students at the moment is not necessarily their employability in a legal market, it is, however, the fact that many students do not understand the full benefits of possessing a law degree outside of the traditional corporate legal career path.

Law degrees impart on their bearers a multitude of practical and academic skills that can be used for a huge number of disciplines. This flexibility

is what keeps the law degree as a viable career option despite the crisis within the profession.

For example, few other academic disciplines impart the same level of analytical problem solving skills that a law degree does. Legal education exists in a very certain way; students are presented with a series of rules, in both a legislative and case law sense, that have varied applications based on extents of conduct.

Students are then required to assess these extents and come to a conclusion of likelihood based on a mixture of solid precedence and hypothetical analysis. This ability to apply rules without hard and fast conclusions to variety of different scenarios, and analyse why the results differ is applicable in a variety of fields, such as analysis and consulting.

Another key part of legal education is understanding policy; specifically the social, political and economic justifications of rules, and them comparing how the hypothetical ideal compares to the practical reality. Law schools across Australia have begun shifting the focus of legal education from the traditional ‘black letter’ focus, towards highlighting the importance of the theory behind law making, specifically the justification and reasoning of law’s and their effect on governance as a whole. This has a variety of applications outside of legal practice.

For example, various governmental agencies, particularly those such as the federal and state crime commissions, require employees to assess the policy outcomes of legislation and other decision-making. The greater understanding of concept of jurisprudence is key to understanding the justification and subsequent effect of these types of activities, and render law graduates attractive candidates for these positions.

to represent the views of another as their own, and to enter the mindset of another in order to best further a cause that may not be personal to them. The development of this ability also develops ones control of language, ability to express oneself concisely, clearly and eloquently.

These skills can have application across any number of career paths; anything that requires transactional knowledge, client representation, and drafting documents, as well as a number of other instances.

Looking forward

ALSA would recommend that law students should take a step back, and reflect on the positives of their education. All around us, we are being bombarded with the doom and gloom that is a less than ideal graduate to graduate job ratio, rather than reflecting on how we hold the keys to our destiny, whilst possessing a varied and extensive set of skills and experience that comes about from a legal education. The time has come for us to start thinking more laterally rather than literally about what we as law students are fully capable of contributing to any position. What is the first step towards achieving that? A positive attitude.

Finally, success in the legal discipline requires and develops an ability to control language in the pursuit of advocating for a desired result.

Advocacy, both in a written and verbal manner, forms the central core of legal education.

However, its application is not limited to legal work, conversely, the ability to advocate conveys widespread benefits on students. This ability to advocate can be used in any form of transactional work as a way of negotiating; forming an argument representing ones issues and conveying them in a sense that renders them as compatible with the needs of the other party. This ability enables students to be able

37

Planning Ahead

Career Pathways

This section of the Careers Guide aims to inform you about the diverse career pathways avaliable to law graduates, including private and public legal practice, politics, ADR, academia, private susiness and professional support. Through first hand accounts by members of the profession and industry, this section should assist you in making an informed choice about your career direction.

Forging your Career Path Exploring your Options

Graduating with an LLB enables to you work in a wide range of areas, in both the legal and nonlegal sector. The legal sector includes positions such as solicitor, barrister, in-house counsel and judicial officer. The non-legal sector includes employment in government, academia, politics, and private business.

Legal Practice Civil and Criminal The first major distinction in practice is between civil and criminal practice. Civil practice is focused on actions between private individuals, such as contract disputes. Criminal law, conversely, is focused on criminal actions between the State and an individual.

Transactional and Litigation The distinction is simple. Transactional practice is focused on conducting legal transactions, such as drafting and executing contracts. Litigation practice is concerned with disputes that have arisen between parties, focusing primarily on matters going to trial for determination by the court.

Firm Size

Working in the legal sector is not confined to large-scale corporate firms. You may be interested in working in family law at a rural firm or sampling multiple practice areas while working at a community legal centre. Firms range in size from boutique to large, with the working environment differing between all of them.

Practice Areas Students are not required to choose an area of specialisation during their studies beyond selecting elective topics; however, upon entering the profession young practitioners are faced with the question of what area of law they wish to practice in. Law firms generally specialise in particular areas of law, even a multiservice firm will have a greater reputation in some practice areas over others, therefore graduates should consider what areas appeal to them when they decide where to apply for work.

It is important to note that in some firms (particularly larger sized firms) practitioners will be assigned by the firm to particular area of practice where they have demand for staff. It is also important to note that the cateogrisation of practice areas will differ depending on the individual firm. Some firms will group practice areas together where other firms may separate them.

The following is a brief list of some common areas of practice: Banking and Finance The area of banking and finance typically focuses on transactional work required to secure finance for clients involved in major projects, such as businesses requiring funding, as well as regulatory issues.

Career Pathways

Construction Law Practice in construction law typically involves the negotiation management of major construction contracts and dispute resolution arising out of major construction projects.

Corporate Law Corporate practice is a very wide area that can range from corporate governance, such as preparing for shareholders meetings, to major corporate transactions like mergers & acquisitions Family Law Family law focuses on legal issues relating to families, such as marriage, divorce, and child and property disputes.

Insolvency Law Insolvency relates to legal matters arising out of insolvent companies. This can include advising liquidators, conducting litigation arising out of liquidation or working to restructure failed companies.

Media and Intellectual Property Media and IP law focuses on the legal rights attached to intellectual property and the publication of media content, and can include areas such as defamation.

Property Law Property law encompasses the negotiation and execution of property transactions, including leases and sales of property.

Resources Law Resources law focuses on the regulation of natural resources, such as minerals and gas, and can include litigious and transactional practices.

Tax Law Practice in tax law will typically involve interpreting how constantly evolving tax legislation applies to particular business transactions, or involvement in tax related actions with the ATO.

Making a decision Eventually most practitioners will need to choose an area of specialisation for their practice. However, it is recommended not to choose upon graduation but to ‘try before you buy’ by seeking out work in multiple areas before deciding where to settle.

Exactly when a practitioner will choose a practice for specialisation will be a personal decision, however, there is always room to move between practice areas throughout a legal career.

Government (Legal practice) There is a multitude of career opportunities open to law graduates within the government sector, at both a State and Federal level.

Working in legal practice within public sector affords immense fulfillment as you can play an integral part in influencing society, and, depending on the role, can have access to a better work/life balance than in private practice.

40

Australian Government Solicitor The Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) is a large agency that provides legal services to the Commonwealth Government and its agencies.

The AGS has offices in all Australian capital cities and provides services across approximately forty practice areas. Examples of other Federal Government agencies that lawyers can seek employment include the Attorney-General’s Department and the Crown Solicitor’s Office.

Beyond Legal Practice A law qualification equips graduates with a variety of employment options, which are not limited to the legal practice, it can also pave a way to careers in private business, government, academia, politics, ADR, not for profit organisations and professional support.

Throughout your degree you will have been trained to read and process large amounts of material in short periods of time, understand complex information, and construct persuasive arguments. These analytical skills are highly valued in the workplace.

You will have also developed transferrable skills in research, writing, and problem solving, which are equally valuable. It is important to highlight the skills and abilities you have developed through your studies because although future employers may not be looking for lawyers, they will be looking for the skills you have acquired through your law degree.

Companies in the private non-legal sector also target law graduates, particularly those with a relevant combined degree. Roles are available in banking, insurance, audit, finance, tax advisory, and executives such as company secretaries.

Political careers are highly suitable to law graduates. Drafting legislation at the Office of Parliamentary Counsel and advising Ministers on the legal aspects of policy are two examples of pathways outside of traditional legal practice that are directly relevant to what you have studied throughout your degree.

Government (Non Legal)

Government jobs in Australia go well beyond legal practice. Many individuals with legal qualifications work in various Government roles that do not involve practicing the law, yet rely on legal knowledge and understanding.

Examples of government agencies where graduates can seek non legal employment include Ausaid, the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission, the Australian Defence Force, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Taxation Office, and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission.

Many departments and agencies offer placement and graduate programs. See the Public Non-Legal section of the Employer Directory for more information.

MOVE YOUR MIND

Graduates in Law

Aim beyond pure legal knowledge. Beyond commercial advice.

Be known for something more: a clarity of thought and an instinct for problem solving that can influence governments and leading businesses the world over. Join us and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll help you enrich and expand your worldview, grow your skills and influence new ways of thinking. In other words, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll help you move minds.

Begin now at careers.ashurst.com Connect with us on

41

Career Pathways

Future Focussed Press play on a forward thinking career choice • High performance culture • Competitive team spirit • Drive and passion to be #1

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

42

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

43

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Criminal Law Practice

An Interview with Casey Isaacs, partner at Caldicott Lawyers, Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from Flinders law in 2001?

Prior to graduating from Flinders University in 2001 I was fortunate enough to obtain some work experience with Caldicott and Co Barristers and Solicitors. That work experience progressed into employment, such that in 2001 when I was admitted I was fully employed. I worked for Caldicott and Co through into 2012, working as a Solicitor, eventually moving up to Senior Associate. In 2012 the opportunity arose with the Principal of Caldicott and Co to commence a separate business located in close proximity to the courts in the city. Ultimately, I became a Partner at Caldicott Lawyers with Craig Caldicott. I have remained in that position since October 2012.

What attracted you to working in criminal law? Why did you decide to pursue a defence role rather than prosecution?

Initially, my work in criminal law commenced by way of luck. I attempted to obtain some work experience and through a friend of a friend I was ultimately introduced to Caldicott and Co. So initially the foray into criminal law was by chance. Having remained in that field for 15 years the attraction lies in its dynamic nature, being involved in Court related procedures on a daily basis, as well as trying to ensure that a client’s rights are not interfered with. It is the one on one contact with the client that has lead me to favouring a position in defence work, rather than that of prosecution.

Tell us about any extra curricular experience that you undertook during your degree?

Prosecutions. Preparation for the next day will usually, if required, take place in the evening.

Long hours are often included early on in one’s career but with experience comes familiarity and practitioners become more effective.

What are the most challenging, and the most rewarding aspects of your work?

The most challenging aspects of the job would generally consist of trying to separate personnel feelings and emotions from doing the best possible job for your client. Often cases involve dealing with clients who have committed behaviours that one does not necessarily agree with, having to remain professional ensuring that there rights are not interfered with.

Additionally, clients can often have mental health disorders or drug addictions, which can make our day to day dealings difficult.

Having said that, obtaining a positive outcome for the client can be most rewarding and this is especially so when the client has undertaken steps to ensure rehabilitation or generally carried out and abided by advice given. Being a criminal lawyer often involves being involved with persons at their lowest and providing advice. This helps them assist not only their criminal matters but inevitably matters that impact on them personally. A great deal of satisfaction can be obtained in getting a positive result through persons that follow this advice and improve themselves generally.

Criminal law matters have the potential to involve emotionally taxing issues; do you employ any strategies to ensure that you maintain mental wellbeing?

I was fortunate enough to only engage in work experience with the one firm due to being employed with that firm shortly after arriving there. I did however volunteer for positions on various boards and associations including Pultney Old Scholars Association and Kate Cocks Child Care. Being involved in such associations provides the ability to create a greater network of professional relationships, but also provides different perspectives of persons of other employment. I would recommend to any graduate to seek out as much work experience as they can, in a range of different employments to build up a bank of experience which will attract perspective employers. It can be a hard slog, but the rewards will be recouped in the long run.

Day to day work is often stressful and emotionally taxing for a variety of reasons.

From an early age, not only myself but most people in the industry have the ability to be able to switch off, once they leave for the day. The increased advances in technology mean that lawyers are generally available 24/7. Upon leaving the office, I try not to use the phone until after dinner. I also try to ensure that I have a good night’s sleep every night and maintain sporting and social activities. Whilst it is always not possible to avoid working long hours and weekends, without ensuring that you have some time to relax and normalise your work, your personal life can often suffer. Work life balance is always important.

What does the ‘average’ day of a lawyer at Caldicott Lawyers look like?

How much do you believe being an effective criminal lawyer is about understanding law, versus a practitioner’s social and emotional intelligence and ability to connect with clients?

The average day at Caldicott Lawyers usually entails a meeting at 8.00am, whereby the various matters that are in Court are discussed and allocated to various solicitors. Court is usually conducted throughout the day, depending on the type of matter, until early afternoon. Clients are usually seen in the afternoon and any spare time is filled making phone calls to clients, police prosecution or the Director of Public

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Opinions may differ from lawyer to lawyer and certainly different lawyers have different styles, but my view is that an effective practitioner is always one that can manage their client’s expectations and meet their social and emotional needs. Clients are often overwhelmed 44

by the court process and do not understand it. Therefore, the ability to be able to explain to them what is about to occur, why and what the potential outcomes are means that they are more likely to think that you have represented them in a competent and fulfilled manner. Of course one needs to be aware of the procedures and laws relevant to each charge. However, often matters are not black and white, but rather shades of grey and therefore managing your client’s expectations takes an increased importance.

How have you observed criminal practice industry in South Australia change over the duration of your career?

The criminal practice industry in South Australia from a defence lawyer perspective has changed significantly over the last 15 years. The laws have certainly become much more technical and onerous from a defence perspective. This would include presumptions against bail in certain circumstances and suspended sentences only being granted in exceptional circumstances.

Regulations regarding Court procedures have also dramatically changed, becoming more rigorous. The changes are often designed to meet social/community expectations.

Do you have any general advice for students and graduates looking to pursue a career within a criminal law practice?

To all incoming students looking to pursue a career in criminal law, I can recommend trying to obtain as much work experience as possible.

All graduates become much more employable if they have experience with the Court system procedures and day to day running of a criminal file. This familiarity in turn makes the transition to Court advocate much smoother. Additionally, I can recommend that graduates be diverse in the criminal profession. There are often jobs available as Judges Associates in the Supreme and District Court, jobs with the Legal Services Commission, prosecution and defence law.

Employment in these various different positions each offer their benefits and can often result in developing well rounded skills. It also gives young practitioners a more rounded view of the criminal court system, and greater networks and resources to draw from. Additionally students can seek to obtain employment part time as a law clerk and this allows them not only to gain experience with dealing with documents, briefs, other material involved in the criminal industry, but more importantly to develop networks with other lawyers.

The criminal law fraternity in South Australia is small and the more familiarity and contacts a person have the more likelihood of employment.

Family Law Practice

An Interview with Christopher Swan of Swan Family Lawyers.

What attracted you to working in family law, and motivated you to start your firm Swan Family Lawyers?

I established the firm Swan Family Lawyers in 1996 after working in a number of law firms both in Adelaide and in rural Australia. I liked the idea of being my own boss and the thought of running my own business attracted me. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m glad I made the decision.

Initially Swan Family Lawyers was a general practice but I have concentrated in recent years more on the area of family law. I like the work. I like speaking to people and setting out the options available to them to move forward.

When you are instructed by a client to act for them in a family law matter it is a great honour.

They have chosen you to advise and guide them and I enjoy going on their journey and endeavouring to make it as informed and as smooth as possible.

What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your work?

I find it most rewarding when a new client comes in to my office confused, distressed, perhaps angry and, after meeting with me, leave the office relieved and with an understanding of what lies ahead, what options are available to them and what they can do.

I must listen to my client. I must ensure that I ask the right questions so that I get their story

and their whole story. I must be clear when I provide my advice and I must be available to guide them each step of the way. I must be patient as the breakdown of a relationship is a highly emotional time and it is important to be treat clients sympathetically and be aware that their vision may be clouded by the distress they may be feeling.

How much do you believe being an effective family lawyer is about understanding the law, versus social and emotional intelligence and the ability to connect with clients?

The practice of family law is governed by the Family Law Act but there is much more to practicing family law than an understanding of the legislation. Being a good listener, unravelling the issues, understanding the particular family dynamics and being creative in finding solutions are all so important. The practice of family law involves being sensitive, patient, a good communicator.

Family law disputes have a reputation for being emotionally exhausting; how do you ensure that you maintain your mental health and wellbeing?

How central a role do ADR processes such as mediation play in resolving family law disputes?

They are so important! I see Court as a last resort. Sometimes the adversarial path is unavoidable but, if possible, other options, such as mediation and collaborative practice, should be explored. A process that enables parties to restructure their families with dignity, respect and integrity without contributing to the conflict has to be preferable.

Are there any types of extra curricular experience that you recommend students interested in a career in family law undertake while at university?

I recommend any activity that involves spending time with people. Get involved in university clubs, play sport and volunteer. Working with refugees may interest you or volunteering at notfor-profits like Foodbank on the cash register, or at a community legal clinic. All are invaluable.

Get out and see whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening outside your own little world!

I ride my bike! I ride my bike a lot. Just ask my family!

45

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Media Law Practice

An Interview with Sarah Broome, solicitor at Media Arts Lawyers Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from law school in 2010?

After completing university I travelled and lived in Edinburgh, UK. Whilst living in Edinburgh, I obtained a position in the legal team of a national construction company doing administration work. I subsequently obtained a clerkship with Media Arts Lawyers in 2013 in Melbourne.

During my clerkship I completed the practical legal training course with College of Law (“PLT”). I was then offered placements with Media Arts Lawyers and Franchise Legal to satisfy the requirements of the PLT. I was admitted to practice law in Victoria in February 2014, and obtained a position as a solicitor with Media Arts Lawyers.

What attracted you to practicing within the area of media law?

I have always loved the arts, music, film and attending a variety of festivals, so practicing in the area of entertainment and media law was a logical choice for me. I also enjoyed a range of different areas of the law such as contracts, corporate law and intellectual property; all of which are requirements for a successful media law practice.

Tell us about any other volunteering experience or part time employment that you undertook during your degree that informed your career path or assisted you in securing your current role?

My experience in contract administration in the UK, as well as a variety of volunteer legal positions at organisations such as JusticeNet SA and the Welfare Rights Centre, were all very beneficial to me.

I also completed clerkships with commercial and criminal law firms. All of my work experience helped me to understand where my strengths were, and what I was most interested in. All of my experiences have put me under pressure and provided new and unique professional challenges. Together, these placements and clerkships put me in a good position to assist the

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

solicitors at Media Arts Lawyers, and ultimately secure a full-time position.

of live music, exhibitions and festivals all year round.

What does the ‘average’ day of a solicitor at Media Arts Lawyers look like? What are the most common issues that you assist your clients with?

Do you believe a student needs to have a background in any particular legal areas (such as IP) or general knowledge areas (such as experience with the music industry) to be suited to a job in media law?

A day at Media Arts Lawyers can involve anything and everything! Typically, we are assisting clients maximise and protect their intellectual property. This is in the form of recording, publishing, joint venture, sponsorship and partnership agreements, just to name a few.

We are also heavily involved in the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights of artists. This can include issuing take down notices in relation to online infringements, letters of demand and sometimes court action.

What are the most challenging, and the most rewarding aspects of your work?

The most rewarding aspect of our work is being able to help people understand what their rights are and ensure they understand how to protect them. Intellectual property is often misunderstood or under valued; when in reality it is the backbone of someone’s business.

I enjoy helping people understand the value of their IP. The most challenging part of this is assisting start up businesses in a cost effective way. Start ups need advice tailored to their needs; this means getting to know how the client operates and providing advice that they can use to streamline their business practices, so they can spend their time creating.

I understand that you worked for a time in Edinburgh, and are now based in Melbourne what influenced your decision to relocate from Adelaide?

I travelled to Edinburgh to experience living abroad (cost effectively!) and was able to add to my resume with a job that required legal skills at the same time. My decision to relocate from Adelaide permanently was due to the opportunities to work in the entertainment industry available in Melbourne. Melbourne is also full of opportunities to experience a variety

46

Intellectual property is a must, if anyone is interested in obtaining a position in media law they must have a working knowledge of the different areas of intellectual property and the rights associated with these areas.

Corporate, contract, equity and property are also vital as entertainment law involves a lot of business structures and corporate transactions.

If students are interested in getting into this area of law it is also helpful and impressive if they can demonstrate knowledge about how the music, design, fashion or TV industries operate.

So keeping up to date with the latest cases on copyright infringement, contractual disputes and reading more general articles about music royalties, management agreements or understanding how sponsorship works are also helpful ways of learning about the industry.

Do you have any general advice for students and graduates looking to pursue a career within a media law practice?

Due to the competitive nature of the industry, it is vital to stand out. This is now thrown around a lot at university, but in this industry it means being able to demonstrate a real interest in the area. Some examples of what we look for in our law clerks include, volunteering at festivals, art galleries or radio stations and obtaining volunteer legal roles or other clerkships in commercial firms. University often offers these roles, such as placements with local radio stations or being involved in the student newspapers. If students can take advantage of all the opportunities provided it will put them in the best position to get work in the area.

The Rise of Boutiques

An Interview with Paul Gordon, senior associate at NDA Law Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from Flinders law school in 2009?

I started clerking in my second year of law school. After a number of summer and winter clerkships, I was lucky enough to be given a role as a clerk on an ongoing basis at a firm in 2006.

I worked at a firm whilst studying, and upon graduation and admission, I began working as a solicitor in the area of Intellectual Property, Technology and Media.

In 2010, I left the firm and worked as the Associate to Justice Richard White at the Supreme Court of South Australia. This exposed me to multiple areas of law, including both criminal and civil matters. Following my associateship, in 2012, I re-joined the firm as an Associate, and eventually progressed to the position of Senior Associate. In 2015, I joined the team establishing NDA Law, a boutique commercial law firm.

What have you observed to be the differences in the work, lifestyle and your personal role in a boutique firm environment, compared to a large commercial firm?

Working in a boutique firm provides a large amount of flexibility, personal responsibility, and exposure to a broad range of work. The workload is equal to, or greater than that you will find working in a large firm, however the opportunities for learning, and client facing experiences are often increased. The other great part about working in a boutique firm is that you are working in a small, cohesive team.

Everyone in the firm is working together, and there is a great collegiality across the firm. The culture of a boutique firm is positive, optimistic and enthusiastic.

What have been the most rewarding, and the most challenging aspects of working in a boutique practice?

A boutique firm, by its nature, has less structure and bureaucracy than a large firm. That is exciting in that it means that you can adapt very quickly to new challenges, and try out new ways of working. For a young lawyer, working in a boutique firm will often mean you get exposure to clients, and more complex and diverse types of work earlier than you might in a larger firm.

The challenge, however, is that you are often working without the same level of resources that a large firm will have, and you will also have greater responsibilities. At a boutique firm, whilst you will often get the chance to undertake exciting and interesting legal work, it also means that you will have a lot of less exciting administrative work to do.

The most rewarding part of working at a boutique firm, however, is the chance to be part of a close-knit, fun working culture.

is likely to increase for the foreseeable future.

This is likely to mean that graduates will need to look beyond the normal channels of summer clerkship programs to applying directly to smaller firms that may not have a structured clerkship program in order to find employment.

Tell us about any volunteering experience or part time employment that you undertook during your degree that you believe has been beneficial to your career?

During my degree I worked in retail, and then as a law clerk. I also volunteered at the Welfare Rights Centre, the DPP and clerked at a number of law firms. Whilst studying I also was part of FLSA and ALSA, and competed in a number of moots and other competitions. I believe that all of this experience has helped to make me both more employable, but also a better lawyer.

I would strongly encourage every law student to look for opportunities to gain experience in both legal and non-legal work, as it will almost certainly help you in your legal career.

Do you think there will be an increase of boutique practices launching in South Australia in the next 10 years, and if so, what impact do you think this trend may have on graduates entering the market?

I think that the legal industry goes through cycles of consolidation and division. At the moment I think we are in the midst of a division cycle whereby a lot of small firms are starting up. That is for a number of reasons, including the economy, but is also to do with the impact of technology on law firms. I think the trend of boutiques starting up in Australia in general

47

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Online Legal Practice

An Interview with Fiona McCord, sole practitioner at Base Legal.

You operate your own online practice, Base Legal; what is an online law practice?

I provide all services electronically, using the phone, email and Skype. There is no ability for clients (that aren’t local to me) to meet me in person. Even my local clients end up dealing with me electronically.

What motivated you to leave your previous role and establish Base Legal?

I previously worked for ASIC in a team where I saw a lot of small businesses in trouble. These problems seemed to arise due to a lack of knowledge on legal obligations, and a lack of obtaining legal advice. Lawyers can be costly for a small business, and it can be difficult to close your business down to attend a meeting with a lawyer. I saw an opportunity to provide an affordable, accessible service.

What types of legal services does Base Legal provide?

I provide legal services to small businesses.

This incorporates basic services in commercial work, contracts, intellectual property, privacy, consumer law, structuring and dispute resolution. I then access specialists in these areas if the need arises.

What are the most challenging and the most rewarding aspects of your work?

It is certainly challenging working as a sole practitioner as you need to back yourself 100%, there is no Partner to check over your work. I enjoy my small business clients, it is rewarding to take the client on a journey where instead of being overwhelmed or daunted the client takes an active interest in, and ownership of the legal aspects of their business. It’s a change that I commonly see in my clients and it is rewarding.

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

How do you ensure that you maintain satisfying and lasting relationships with clients in the absence of ongoing face-to-face contact?

My goal is always not just to provide a service, but to add value to the client. In addition, I provide services collaboratively with clients so we work together in ensuring that they have the outcome that they desire. I also provide a pragmatic service, no flowery language or jargon which I think helps in clients feeling that they can deal with me. Finally, I take the time to know my client’s business inside out, sometimes better than they do, and a happy demeanor also always helps.

Do you undertake any active sourcing of clients, or do the majority of your clients come to you through their online searches or referrals from existing clients?

I am registered with an on-line referral/ legal brokerage service, but more recently the majority of my clients are coming through referrals and online searches. I have also formed relationships with referral partners, who have clients that suit my services. Given that I am in the online space, I am lucky (and grateful) to often be referred among on-line communities.

Did you need to undertake additional training in entrepreneurship, website maintenance or business practice management in order to set up Base Legal and grow a successful practice?

I have taken the approach that I run a business as a service provider. So I attended workshops and seminars on matters of interest to small

48

businesses. I also used the services of a business coach to assist me in establishing myself as a business. I believe in engaging professional services, which I have done with respect to website maintenance and other aspects of business. I prefer to know enough to do things myself, but leave things to the experts. In the early stages of establishing myself I would exchange services, where I offered legal assistance (such as drafting terms and conditions) in exchange for a service (such as social media marketing advice).

Do you believe the market for online legal services will continue to develop and expand in the coming years?

Yes I do. The online business world is growing daily, and it offers a flexible alternative working environment.

Do you have any advice for students and graduates considering establishing a similar type of online legal practice in their future law careers?

There is so much advice to give! Firstly it would be to understand your niche. There needs to be a consumer need for what you are offering, just doing it because you want to won’t necessarily work. Have a great support team, professional and personal as it can be isolating and tough.

You need to walk the walk, I am cloud-based, I have an electronic client authority, I use Facebook, I blog, I offer legal advice about being an online business, I understand the environment. There is a difference to being a lawyer with a website, and being on-line lawyer.

If you need a mentor feel free to get in touch.

CAREER, YOUR CHOICE Johnson Winter & Slattery is a national law firm where young lawyers play a meaningful role in strategic and complex transactions and disputes, and build relationships with executives from Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most successful companies through close client contact.

We have an established reputation for providing practical commercial solutions and outstanding client service.

THRIVE WITH NO BOUNDARIES

SHAPE YOUR CAREER

QUICK ACCESS TO QUALITY WORK

Our lawyers thrive in an environment that fosters collaboration with few internal administrative boundaries and is free from financial targets. Enjoy working across practice areas.

Collaborate with diverse teams of specialists across the country.

Strong technical and client service skills are developed through structured mentoring and professional development education programs. Be mentored

by Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best lawyers.

Get regular feedback on performance.

Our hands on and proactive approach creates an environment in which ambitious lawyers become directly involved in significant opportunities from an early stage.

Work side by side with partners and play a meaningful role in strategic and complex transactions and disputes.

Law students choose our firm because we provide an excellent learning environment, and an exceptional place to begin and develop your career.

Our clerkship program is a realistic snapshot of your future as a lawyer at Johnson Winter & Slattery.

Please visit our website for more information: http://www.jws.com.au/en/graduate-lawyer-careers

SYDNEY

jws.com.au

PERTH

MELBOURNE

BRISBANE

ADELAIDE 49

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Judges Associateships

Interview with Associates of the Supreme Court of South Australia Claire Whittington is Associate to the Honourable Justice Blue of the Supreme Court of South Australia; Jacqueline Lau is Associate to the Honourable Justice Doyle of the Supreme Court of South Australia.

How do you apply for an associateship?

C: The CAA website sets out how to go

about applying for an associateship. It is proper practice that applications are sent by post to a particular Judge’s chambers. Some applicants apply to every Supreme Court Judge, some apply to a specific Judge/s depending on the area in which they wish to eventually practice because a Judge with a commercial background may hear more civil matters than criminal matters (and vice versa).

J:

I sent my application, academic transcript and resume to the Judge. There are no set times to apply for an associateship, so I applied early to make sure I did not miss out.

What kinds of roles and responsibilities do Associates undertake on a typical day? Do these tasks vary depending on which Justices you are primarily assisting at the time?

C: Typical roles an associate will undertake

include: Listing hearings; setting up the Court for hearings; administration (liaising with parties and court staff, scheduling hearings, file management, diarising); drafting Orders after Court; legal research; Judgment proofing (checking typographical and grammatical errors, confirming the facts and law); swearing in witnesses and taking exhibits during a trial; drafting front-sheets to judgments; drafting judgments (the factual background for the matter); printing submissions; finding authorities for hearings; and attending mediations.

J: The primary role of

an associate is to keep the chambers running smoothly. This means a lot of administrative work. Every day I will make sure I have updated the calendar and organised the files. If I have court that day, I will make sure I have all the documents ready for the Judge. I will also pass on any correspondence to the Judge and contact the parties if a matter needs to be listed. Other than this, my role will vary according to the tasks I have for that day.

Some days I may be conducting research, on others I may be proofing judgments or assisting with drafting.

What are the most rewarding and the most challenging aspects of being a Judges Associate?

C: Working in the Supreme Court has been without question one of the best professional and Career Pathways: Legal Practice

personal experiences I have encountered. This job has provided me with a wealth of different opportunities (including sitting in the Victorian Supreme Court for almost two weeks to hear a trial) and increased familiarity with Court process and procedure. Associate’s can be faced with various challenges, however many can be overcome through organisational skills and the ability to problem solve. It can be daunting performing certain roles in Court, for example swearing in a witness or finding a document on the file, but these roles become much easier with experience and confidence. You will succeed in this role if you are conscientious, use your initiative and plan ahead.

J: No single aspect of

being a Judge’s associate is more rewarding than another. The whole experience is rewarding. It is a unique opportunity to learn from the most experienced members of the profession, and there is never a dull day. The most challenging aspect is keeping on top of everything. It can get very busy especially when we have court.

Do you work with the other associates within the Supreme Court, or do each Judges chambers and staff operate in isolation?

C: While an associate works primarily for the

Judge who hires them, there is overlap when other chambers might need urgent assistance or where there are Full Court of CCA hearings. In Full Court and CCA hearings the associates to each of the three presiding Judge’s work together in receiving submissions, finding authorities, listing the matters and dealing with any issues or queries raised by the parties. All three associates will also go into the appeal hearing together and undertake certain roles during those hearings.

Furthermore, in some chambers, a Judge hires two associates and those two associates work very closely together and share the same office.

The Supreme Court is an incredibly supportive and friendly environment, and because of that it’s a common occurrence that associate’s not only assist each other with whatever queries might arise out of the ordinary course of work, but also build strong friendships.

J: Chambers are separate in the sense that each

chambers handles its own matters, however there is a level of cooperation between the chambers, especially for appeal matters. Also, when I come across something I’ve never seen before, I’ll often ask another associate and see if they have handled a similar matter.

Tell us about any work experience or part time employment that you undertook during your degree, and any roles you undertook after graduation?

C: Early in my degree I worked in reception/ administration roles at chiropractic clinics and a gym. In my third to last year, I started working as a part-time clerk at Finlaysons where I stayed 50

for almost two years. I did my PLT with a Senior Counsel, and then was offered a research clerk position with a Queen’s Counsel. I worked there until I was admitted, at which time I applied to be a Supreme Court Associate.

J:

During my studies, I wanted to gain experience in as many areas of law as possible.

I completed internships with an NGO in New York City and a Land Council in Broome. I also undertook placements at a small law firm in Adelaide, with a Barrister and at the Crown Solicitors Office. After I graduated, I gained employment at a private law firm. I started there as a clerk and was then offered a solicitor position upon my admission.

What kind of experience do you believe would be beneficial for students who are looking to secure an associateship to undertake during their studies?

C: I strongly believe in the importance of balancing part-time work with university study because, perhaps inadvertently, you learn how to prioritise competing demands, problem solve and to make sound decisions based on common sense and initiative. These skills are not just imperative to working as an associate, but to any graduate role. Personally, I worked in administrative and clerking roles, and those experiences have been helpful in terms of personal organisation, file management, phone manner, professional etiquette and confidence around the workplace.

J:

Each Judge looks for different things, so I cannot recommend any kind of experience that would assist more than another. However, I think applicants should have experiences that demonstrate that they have developed a variety of skills. This indicates that they are well rounded and adaptable.

Do you have any other pieces of advice for law students looking to secure an associateship?

C: Associates are often asked when is the best time to apply for a position. Judges hire associates at different points during the year and for varying durations (contracts range in length from 12 months to 2 years). This means that there is often associates coming and going at various points during the year. When an application is received, they are stored on file and a Judge often reviews the applications when the time comes to interview the next Associate.

My two tips would be to apply in advance, and not be disheartened if you are initially knocked back because there is no vacancy.

J:

Research the judge you are applying for and tailor your application to suit them. For example, research if the judge you are applying for is more criminal based or civil based and tailor your application accordingly.

Your future is waiting...

Let us open the door.

Experience 12 months of legal practice being mentored by some of South Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most respected practitioners. Explore a variety of professional pathways through our diverse practice areas.

Apply now for Finlaysonsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 12 month clerkship program.

Applications open: 1 March 2016 Applications close: 29 April 2016 Commencement of clerkship: 18 July 2016 Open to students with anticipated admission to practice in late 2017/18 For further enquiries call our People and Development Department on 08 8235 7400 or visit: Finlaysons.com.au/careers.

finlaysons.com.au

51

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Becoming a Barrister Pathway to Advocacy

What is a Barrister?

All South Australian lawyers are eligible to practise as both Solicitors and Barristers.

Solicitors engage the services of Barristers to act on behalf of the Solicitors’ clients in court.

Barristers are specialist advocates with an advanced understanding of the law and court procedure.

Additionally Barristers provide advice on legally difficult or complex matters and develop sophisticated legal strategies. In court a Barrister will present the client’s case and examine and cross-examine witnesses. Barristers generally practise as independent lawyers in Chambers instead of law firms.

Bar Reader’s Course

To become a barrister, practitioners must undertake the Bar Readers Course, operated by the SA Bar Association. The Course consists of two components: seminar series and reading period.

The seminar series curriculum is divided into six units which cover topics such as: role and responsibility; preparation for court; advocacy; chamber work, pleadings and other court documents; alternative dispute resolution; and courts and tribunals in South Australia.

The Course involves reading, for a period of three months, under the supervision of a mentor who has been a practicing Barrister for at least five years.

Upon successful completion of the completion of both components course the applicant will be enrolled as a member of the Bar Association .

A certificate of satisfactory completion will be obtained after a further period of review by the mentor of the applicant’s legal work. The applicant will then be a fully qualified member of the Independent Bar.

Finding Chambers

After completing the Bar Readers Course, the next step is finding somewhere to practice.

Finding Chambers in South Australia is a relatively informal process. In limited instances a Chambers with vacancies will advertise via the SA Bar Assocaition website.

Working at the Independent Bar An Interview with Andrew Harris QC, Jeffcott Chambers

Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from law school?

I completed my law degree at the University of Adelaide in 1978. At that time twelve month Articles of Clerkship was one means of gaining admission to practice and I was articled to Ross Duffy the then senior partner of Wallman & Partners.

Like many firms at that time Wallman & Partners had a broad litigation and commercial practice. Ross Duffy frequently appeared in the Full Court as counsel and in the week that I commenced articles another partner was appearing as counsel in a murder trial in the Supreme Court. Most counsel work was done “in house” and there were many opportunities for me to appear in the Magistrates Court in what would now be called Minor Civil Claims.

This was a wonderful opportunity to learn the basics of advocacy from frightening crusty old Magistrates who appeared to take delight in terrorising young inexperienced articled clerks who stumbled their way through adjournment applications. Regrettably the opportunities for young practitioners to have this sort of “real life” learning experience nowadays are very limited.

I was admitted in February 1980 and stayed on with the firm where I continued to do mainly counsel work in both criminal and civil jurisdictions. In 1981 Neil Lowrie (later Judge

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Lowrie of the District Court), John von Doussa QC (later Justice von Doussa of the Supreme Court and Federal Court) and David Bleby QC (later Justice Bleby of the Supreme Court) were sounding out members of different law firms about the possibility of establishing a new set of barristers’ chambers in Adelaide.

law and workers compensation cases of which there were many. In 1987 the Government of the day substantially changed the workers compensation laws and, as I had become a little tired of doing that sort of work, I decided that I would not read the new Act, which spelled the end of my work in that jurisdiction.

At the time there were about 25 specialist barristers practising in chambers in the traditional sense and accepting briefs only on referral from solicitors.

I had always been interested in media law and I was very fortunate that Bruce Lander QC had a very busy defamation practice that gave me opportunities to appear as his junior. In addition to having a prodigious capacity for work, Bruce was one of the most effective crossexaminers I have ever seen. I learnt a great deal from him and from all of the other members of Chambers who were only too happy to help me.

One of the people approached was a partner of Wallmans, David Smith (later to take silk and be appointed a Judge of the District Court) and David suggested to the promoters that perhaps it might be a good idea to have a young person around to do some legal research. He put my name forward and I became one of the twelve founding members of Jeffcott Chambers in 1982.

I have practised from Jeffcott Chambers since 1982 and am the only remaining original member of Chambers. At the twentieth anniversary celebrations for the founding of Jeffcott Chambers Bruce Lander QC remarked that it would have been easier to just get rid of me and that way everyone else could have stayed!

In my early years at the bar I did pretty much everything including criminal jury trials however, increasingly I specialised in common

52

I have been retained by certain media organisations to act for them in defamation and contempt cases since the mid eighties. I have also always been interested in medical negligence cases and I have been retained by medical protection organisations in such cases for about thirty years. Aside from those specific interests, my practice is quite general and includes commercial, insolvency and intellectual property cases.

I was admitted as a barrister in the Northern Territory in 1985 and have appeared in that jurisdiction regularly since that time. I have been an Associate Member of a floor of barristers in Sydney for the past fifteen years.

Cont’d...

Cont’d...

You were appointed a Queens Counsel in 1999, how does a barristers career change once they have been appointed silk?

Leadership is what first comes to mind for me. It is no longer the case that you occupy the comparative safety of the junior’s seat at the bar table. The searching, uncomfortable and occasionally pungent judicial comments are all aimed at you and have to be managed by you. The appointment of silk is itself an acknowledgment of leadership and, in my opinion, carries with it obligations to maintain high standards of advocacy and professional responsibility as an example to the profession and the wider community.

Leadership also involves being available to more junior members of the profession (and specifically junior barristers) to provide guidance and mentoring. I owe an enormous debt to the silks who guided and assisted my early years in practice and, without presuming to compare myself with any of them, I do my best to provide such guidance and assistance as I can to the junior bar.

One of the great pleasures of my time as Queen’s Counsel has been the opportunity to work with some incredibly talented young legal practitioners. Watching those young people grow and develop as barristers has been very rewarding.

In my opinion, taking silk ought not, of itself, be some sort of passport to glamorous legal work at the bar. An applicant for silk should already have developed a silk’s practice before asking to be considered for the appointment.

What is the environment like at Chambers? Is it social and supportive, can it be isolating?

Do these factors differ greatly across different Chambers?

Life in Chambers is very agreeable. It has always been an extremely harmonious environment in which to work most probably because of a shared abhorrence of meetings amongst its past and present members.

When Chambers was established the company that was incorporated to hold the lease was named Rumpole Pty Ltd, after the famous character of fiction created by John Mortimer QC. Each year on the second Friday in May we celebrate the birthday of Horace Rumpole with a dinner for past and present members and their partners.

There has always been a preparedness to discuss legal problems and assist other members of Chambers, which I imagine is common to all Chambers.

What have been the most rewarding, and the most challenging aspects of your work at the Bar? I think that the proudest moments of my life

as a barrister were the two occasions when I appeared in the Supreme Court of New South Wales and moved the admission of my two elder daughters as legal practitioners. I hope to experience that feeling again when I move the admission of my youngest daughter in early 2017. I hasten to point out that I did not press gang my daughters into taking a career path into the law. My son is only three however he is already proficient at making an argument.

The “vigilante mentality” is, in my opinion, something to be deprecated in all its manifestations. By and large politicians will embrace it if there are votes to be gained. Some sections of the media and all of the chattering classes all too often view freedom of speech as the right of anyone to say or do anything which the media and chattering classes agree with and the right to shout down and marginalize anyone with whom they do not agree.

Unattractive clients charged with unfashionable crimes or espousing unfashionable views are just as entitled to effective legal representation as the fellow travelers of the chattering classes. In our free society, statements about the importance of the Rule of Law and the central role of an independent bar in its maintenance sound almost quaint and a little pompous. However, the most challenging aspects of work at the bar involve taking a stand for clients even if to do so is to incur the ire of the chattering classes, politicians and social commentators.

What do you enjoy the most about oral advocacy?

Good advocacy has its roots in intensive preparation well before the door of the courtroom. I think that the most satisfying thing about counsel work is to identify the relevant problem, devise a plan for how it is to be overcome and to execute that plan in court to a successful conclusion.

There are many potential slips along that journey and not all of them are within counsel’s power to control. Of course exposing an untruthful witness in cross-examination is a bit like the perfect golf shot - it doesn’t happen very often but it is enough to bring you back to try again.

You are the current President of the SA Bar Association, what is the role of the Association and how involved as its members?

Do you see the value for young practitioners of moving to the bar early in their career or do you recommend practitioners gain a few years of experience in a firm environment before becoming a barrister?

Given the fact that I joined the independent bar eighteen months after I was admitted at the age of 26 it would be a little odd if I counselled others against going to the bar early!

Without wishing to sound too much like a dinosaur, there were many more opportunities for young lawyers in firms to get courtroom experience forty years ago than there are today.

Moreover, there is less minor civil work around today for young barristers to cut their teeth on.

This is probably just another way of saying that the litigation landscape is a little bleaker now than it was back in the day.

Presently, the requirement for young practitioners to have two years of supervised legal practice is not satisfied by being a reader in chambers. This is something that is presently under discussion with the Law Society however once a young practitioner is possessed of an Unrestricted Practising Certificate then it is open to them to enroll in the Bar Readers Course operated by the Bar Association. I certainly recommend undertaking that course before any move to the independent bar.

Do you have any other pieces of advice for law students and graduates interested in pursuing a career at advocacy?

It would be the rankest hypocrisy for me to preach to law students of the virtue of long hours of study and sacrificing a social life in the pursuit of a career beyond university.

Nevertheless the competition for jobs in law firms is intense, and traditional areas of practice that sustained the bar are contracting through legislative change and economic downturn.

A position as a Judge’s Associate provides excellent exposure to litigation however these positions are also hard to come by.

More than anything, remain optimistic, remain committed and keep at it.

The Bar Association has a membership of 232 in 2016. The Association has extensive dealings with Governments and the Law Society in relation to proposed legislation as well as legal issues affecting the community more generally.

Primarily, the Association exists for the benefit of its members and in that regard it conducts a CPD program each year.

The Association also maintains good relations and is in regular communication with the judiciary in relation to matters affecting the administration of justice in South Australia.

These issues are as diverse as criminal listing problems, flexible court sitting times, the scale of legal costs and procedural rules.

53

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Advocating for Social Justice An Interview with Julian Burnside QC

Explain the mentality behind your transition from representing primarily commercial clients to increased involvement in pro bono legal work focusing on human rights and social justice issues.

It was not a deliberate choice to move from one area to another, it really happened by accident during the Tampa crisis; A friend of mine who I’d done a string of interesting commercial cases for had a clever ideal about a possible legal argument to break the impasse when the Tampa was stopped. He understood about refugee issues. Prior to that I had no idea what was going on with refugee policy, I had never turned my mind to it. However, I personally find hot weather very uncomfortable and could imagine how hot it was for those people stranded on a steel deck in the tropical sun, so I agreed to act. [editor’s note: see Ruddock & Ors v Vadarlis & Ors [2011] FCA 1329] After my involvement in the Tampa case, I found myself being asked to do more asylum seeker cases, and I began to engage with the cause. The percentage of my time dedicated to asylum seeker cases varies, as demand comes in lumps. My normal commercial practice still represents around 60%-70% of my work, which provides me with an income: I don’t accept payment for any refugee work.

What do you enjoy the most about working at the Bar? I like arguing cases. While it is often the goal for clients to see cases resolved or settled, I really enjoy oral advocacy and the process of appearing in Court; it is an interesting strategic and intellectual challenge trying to persuade another person of your arguments.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your work in the social justice field?

Seeing justice being made available to people who could not afford it otherwise. For all sorts of deeply buried personal reasons the idea of justice is very important to me and I can imagine what it must be like for people who feel that they have suffered an injustice but cannot afford to go to the law, for those people they may feel they have no hope of ever receiving justice.

Have you faced any prejudices or backlash as a result of your work advocating for these types of issues?

Yes, certainly. Within the Bar for the first six years I felt something hovering between hostility and resentment because I was speaking out. There is idea sentiment at the Bar – an unwritten rule, perhaps - that you take a socially and professionally conservative stance, so back then I was a voice in the wilderness. It is very gratifying to see so many more barristers joining

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

me to support these issues now.

In 2003, my wife Kate and I were at a fancy social event, and the wife of a very senior, highly respected colleague came up to me and said “Do you think it is appropriate that a member of the Bar should be speaking publicly about these matters?”. Some part of me shared the same sentiment, and I replied ‘Do you think it appropriate to know about these matters and remain silent’. That moment had two advantages for me, the first is that it captured the argument for speaking out, the second was that she didn’t speak to me again.

My involvement in the asylum seeker issue also had some impact on my client base as the big end of town steered away from me; because they get a lot of work from the government, so why would they tarnish their reputation or prospects with the government by briefing someone who was criticising it. This trend shifted back after about 2008 to about where it was before.

And I got death threats and tons of hate mail, especially between 2001-2006/07. Tampa was the first case for which I received death threats, which is surprising because I have done some fairly contentious cases.

Do you believe law students and lawyers have an obligation to engage with or speak out about issues that impact disadvantaged and marginalised groups?

An obligation to engage with issues, yes; to try and resolve the issues, yes; to try and give those people access to something like justice, yes. But none of those are the same thing as an obligation to speak publicly about these things.

The obligation exists because, apart from anything else, law students and practising lawyers have the privilege of understanding the legal structures that create injustice, so we need to be alert to see injustice where it happens and see if we can change things. The Indian author Arundhati Roy once said “a thing once seen cannot be unseen, and once you’ve seen a great moral wrong, to remain silent is as much a political an act as speaking out.” When you see that an important element in society is in some way diseased, or if you recognise wrong behaviour, then you have to make a choice: do you tolerate it (and by implication support it) or do you oppose it? Of course, that is precisely the dilemma Hamlet famously soliloquised about.

It also depends on the size of the issue, as a lot of issues just affect individual people. It’s very interesting because this is where access to justice and access to law tend to run together. Lord Darling, an English Judge once said “the law courts of England are open to all men, like the doors of the Savoy hotel”. Those of us who are lucky enough to work for the big end of town are accustomed to the idea that people

54

can access law and, through that, justice. But they pay a lot for it. If you cant afford it then you are stuck.

Let’s suppose a person has a fairly arguable claim against someone who is tough and wellheeled. It may not be worth their while to run that claim as it is too expensive and they know that their opponent will take every possible point to run the Plaintiff into the ground. When you consider the gap between solicitor/client and party/party costs in litigation with a commercial edge you can see clearly how much money is not worth fighting for. If you postulate someone with a problem of that sort and no resources they are in a hopeless position.

The current generation of law students needs to understand that things can be achieved, but it takes time. When I was at Monash University as an undergraduate, there were lots of people fighting for things that seemed unachievable: fair consumer laws, laws against inertia selling, so that if someone sent you unrequested goods by post you did not have to pay the invoice.

It was partly as a result of campaigning by a number of law students and activists in several States that the consumer provisions of the Trade Practices Act was established. It is very easy for young students to forget that the TPA included a revolutionary provision at the time - section 52 – which prohibited misleading and deceptive conduct. Before section 52 was introduced into Australian law in 1974, misleading and deceptive conduct would generally not have any legal consequences. A lot of well-targeted activism preceded the introduction of section 52.

How does the nature of your work, and the tasks that you undertake to achieve your goals, differ when the case or issue garners media attention? Take your recent work on the Myki system for example.

I couldn’t care less if the media pay attention to the cases I do or not. It does not change my approach at all. Everything in the way I run a case is driven by what I think the case needs forensically.

I was persuaded to do pro-bono defence on a Myki fine as it was obvious the system was deeply flawed and the flaws are magnified by the system being poorly administered. I thought it was worth exposing. I set up a team of thirtyplus volunteers and we have been taking these cases and running them in the Magistrates Court. Now the Victorian Government has established an internal review to report to Minister by the end of March 2016, and I expect system will change.

Cont’d...

Cont’d...

The way the Myki system is operated in Melbourne looks uncomfortably like a standover racket. Let me give one example.

A passenger had touched his Myki card on before boarding the train: that is the passenger’s obligation. When he got to his destination, he had his Myki card in his hand, ready to touch off so the barriers would open. As he hurried to the barriers, he dropped his card. It fell onto the tracks. The Authorised Officer saw this. The passenger was then unable to touch off, and it would be a criminal offence to climb onto the tracks to retrieve his Myki card. The Authorised Officer booked him for not having a valid ticket.

Now, for most people it is cheaper to pay the $75 on the spot penalty fare than to take a day off work to go to court.

That’s how a standover racket works: make the price look more attractive than the alternatives.

Our Myki cases were a conscious attempt to have the faults of the system exposed publically, as most people in Melbourne hate the Myki system.

In addition to your work as an advocate, you are involved in charity and the Arts, contribute to the media and author publications; how do you ensure that you maintain your mental health and wellbeing while juggling so many involvements?

Well, I drink a lot of coffee. I live on stress, to be honest, and most doctors would probably think my health is appalling. That said, I did give up smoking in 1999!

What do you see as the benefits and drawbacks for students and young lawyers of affiliating with political parties?

I have never been affiliated with any political party, and I do not intend to be. That said, I think you should be interested and involved in whatever you want, but it would be a mistake to let it shape your life.

Politics in Australia, and in the western world, seems to be a deeply contaminated well. If you look at the political process at the moment, one of the problems is that we seem to have drifted away from conviction politics to a position where politics is all about gaining and holding power, and not about principles or ideas.

I never had any interest in politics. I managed to stay clear of it, which was bliss. But I remember the way the political debate went back and forth, when I was growing up Back then, even I (entirely uninterested) could tell when a person belonged to a particular party because you knew more of less what the major parties stood for: that was a result of their backgrounds and origins.

Now, the two major parties depend much less on their origins and history, and much more on how they read the news polls. Politian’s are supposed to do what the majority of the people want, but on big issues like capital punishment, abortion, things with a profound basis in philosophical thinking, those are the issues where politicians should stand up and say ‘This is what I believe and this is why you should agree with me’. In the past 30 years in Australia we have this Jim Hacker (Yes Minister) style of politics: “I am their leader, I must follow them”. Social justice issues like capital punishment, asylum seekers, the Stolen Generations, Indigenous disadvantage and so on are issues that ought to be the subject of conviction politics rather than opportunist politics.

Do you see the value for young practitioners of moving to the bar early in their career or do you recommend practitioners gain a few years of experience in a firm environment before becoming a barrister?

Yes, I have a strong view on this and one that probably goes against the common view. I think if people want to go to the bar they should go as soon as they are able too. Clearly you need to have up some money saved up to establish yourself, but advocacy is a skill rather than a body of knowledge and the best way to build any skill is by doing it.

Do you have any other pieces of advice for students looking to emulate your career path?

For students planning to be lawyers there is an important point I want to address – don’t lose sight of why you decided to practice the law; every year you are at University, write in a diary why you are studying law. Then when you have gone into practice, every year or so look at what you wrote in that diary. Most students (at least when I was a student) studied law because they had some sort of passion for the idea of Justice, and by the time they had been in practice for a

55

few years, saying you had a passion for Justice sounded so undergraduate that many became too embarrassed to say it, which I find sad.

An English writer called Frederic Raphael once wrote a short story (in a collection called Oxbridge Blues) about a young man who enrols in law at one of the great universities.

He also enjoys writing poetry. While at law school he meets his future wife and bit-by-bit she persuades him to stop writing poems and to concentrate on law, which he does. He does well and becomes a barrister; he does well and gets silk. Later he is appointed to the Bench.

Upon his appointment to the bench, he spends a weekend in his chamber clearing out the collected papers of a career at the bar. The last paragraph of the story is devastating: “He had quite forgotten about his adolescent poetry and was astonished to come across a batch of it at the bottom of a cupboard. He smiled – golly! – at the sight of it and took it out and started to read, for a laugh. He expected clinching evidence of the folly of youthful pretensions. His whole happy life had been founded on the assumption that he had been right to abdicate before his wife’s gentle, unmistakable judgment. He sat on the floor of his chambers, boyishly grey, and prepared to be embarrassed by those unburnt embers. Instead, the poems passed sentence on his life. At last, he closed his eyes to escape their indictment, but the unblinking eye in the centre of his forehead gazed and blazed with unique and undeniable vision. He cowered on the floor of the dusty cave and saw that the years of his life had escaped, like Odysseus’s men under the panicky sheep of the blind, deluded Polyphemus. ‘Who are you, who are you?’ he cried. And the voice of the man who had blinded himself replied ‘No-one. No-one.’”

This is what happens if you choose to live a life that someone else chose for you. So examine your motives: write down why you want to be a lawyer. Ask yourself why you have chosen this path.

Also don’t forget that there is a great world outside of the law, try to have an interest in something else – the arts, sports. The law is important, but it is not everything. Without Law we won’t have Society; without the Arts we won’t have Civilisation.

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

The Crown Solicitor’s Office

Author: Ashley Knights, Senior Solicitor in the Commercial, Environment and Native Title Section of the Crown Solicitor’s Office.

Working in Government, and in my case in the Crown Solicitor’s Office, presents a unique working environment with the opportunity to work as an in-house solicitor, on various types of matters and transactions, emanating from a broad range of Government services and functions.

The Crown Solicitor’s Office

The Crown Solicitor’s Office (also referred to as Crown Law or the CSO), through the Attorney-General, provides legal services to South Australian Government Ministers, agencies and departments. It’s work ranges from constitutional law, native title, employment law, large property, commercial, and infrastructure matters, through to major litigation.

The CSO acts for the SA Government only and does not have any private or other clients.

It employs approximately 250 staff, comprising 190 lawyers and 60 support staff.

My Career Pathway

At the completion of my law degree in 2002, I undertook a number of clerkships with private firms before commencing employment with the CSO. I had always anticipated entering commercial law, and was attracted to the practice of advising on, documenting and negotiating business transactions.

Although, at the time of choosing my career path, it seemed necessary to consider which area of commercial law in which to specialise, I was encouraged upon commencing with the CSO to have and maintain a wide range of expertise.

Working in the CSO has allowed me to practice in procurement, construction, intellectual property, information technology, and property, amongst other areas of commercial law.

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Working in the CSO

The nature of the transactions and advice required of a CSO commercial solicitor is limited only by the services and functions of the South Australian Government. This is obviously diverse, and so at any time a request for advice or documentation could emanate from, for example, health, education, planning, transport, infrastructure, community services, defence, environment, or industry development.

The work involved can attract significant public interest and comprise of some of the largest transactions in South Australia (for example, the public private partnership in relation to the new Royal Adelaide Hospital). The transactions can be complex and have strict time restraints, however provide considerable satisfaction upon completion.

A project that has taken up much of my time in recent years is the $670M sale of forest forward rotations in the Government’s forest plantations in the State’s south-east, which cover an area of over 80,000 hectares.

The CSO provided assistance to the Department of Treasury and Finance from the time of the initial conception of the sale, throughout the competitive processes to completion, and in resolving any post-completion issues.

This involved working with the department and its consultants, collaborating with private solicitors engaged to assist with the process, negotiating with large consortium purchasers and their solicitors, liaising with Ministers and Cabinet, and achieving an outcome in an expedient and appropriate manner.

It becomes increasingly clear, sometimes in hindsight, that a chosen career path is a life choice. Although family time may not

56

necessarily be at the forefront of your mind on leaving university, it can become increasingly important as you move into the next phase of your life.

A core public sector principle is to be the employer of choice. This includes an acknowledgement of the importance of work/ life balance, including family time. I have always found this a valuable aspect of working in the CSO, and is particularly important upon having children.

Advice for students

In a competitive employment environment such as we have at the moment, it is important to do what you can to enhance your CV, such as undertaking Honours, Clerkships and a Judge’s Associateship. However, it is also important to maintain your ability to be personable and customer focussed.

The CSO offers placements to students wishing to complete the Practical Legal Training component of their professional qualifications, and has a summer clerk program for law students in their final years of study.

Graduates may apply to the CSO Graduate Solicitor Pool. Successful applicants are placed in a pool and notified as suitable vacancies arise (valid for 12 months).

If you would like further information about the CSO or these programs, please refer to the CSO Career Fair Brochure or http://www.agd. sa.gov.au/government/about-us/department/ crown-solicitors-office.

Legal Services Commission

An Interview with Eilise Sullivan, Legal Advisor at the Legal Services Commission of SA Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from Flinders law in 2012?

After graduating in 2012 I worked as a solicitor in a mid sized commercial law firm, specialising in industrial law and WorkCover matters. From there I accepted a role as a Legal Adviser within the Legal Services Commission at the end of 2013. I have worked at the Legal Services Commission ever since.

What attracted you to working in legal aid?

While working in a commercial firm it became evident that I was not obtaining the satisfaction from my work that I was seeking. I undertook my law degree because I was passionate about issues such as access to justice and lack of equality before the law within the community.

This led me to look outside of the traditional law firm environment and to other avenues of employment which would allow me to explore these issues. The Legal Services Commission is the ideal community-focused workplace to refocus my legal skills towards those who need it most.

Tell us about any volunteering experience or part time employment that you undertook during your degree which you found to be beneficial?

During my degree I volunteered at the Environmental Defenders Office, a community legal centre which specialises in public interest environmental law. My experience there was invaluable as it gave me my initial exposure to community legal centres and the vital work they do in the community.

I undertook a clerkship in a commercial law firm towards the end of my degree, and I also worked part time during my degree as a rounds clerk and then law clerk in the commercial firm where I spent my first year working as an admitted solicitor. Doing both commercial work within a firm, and volunteer work at a community legal centre (and comparing my experiences between the two) enabled me to more clearly define what career path I wanted to take after graduation.

What does the ‘average’ day of a lawyer at Legal Services Commission of SA look like?

Within the Legal Services Commission I work in our Access Services department as a Legal Adviser. I offer free general legal advice to members of the public on most legal issues. I do not represent clients but advise them on how

to help themselves with their legal issues and provide a certain level of assistance to achieve that. My day will usually involve seeing clients in free half hour face to face appointments. I also spend time answering legal queries on our free legal helpline (1300 366 424) or via our online chat service, “Legal Chat”.

The type of issues I assist clients with varies from disagreements between neighbours over fencing issues, underpayment of wages claims by employees, contractual disputes, issues over property settlements and children after separation, debt issues, drink driving charges, and so on. I am a member of a number of committees, such as the Murray Bridge Regional Collaboration on Violence Against Women and Children, so I also spend time participating in meetings and collaborating with other community organisations in this respect.

What are the most challenging, and the most rewarding aspects of your work?

Quite often we are dealing with the most disadvantaged members of society, whether they are of low socio economic background, are suffering from mental or physical impairment, do not speak English as their first language, are elderly, or have a limited or incorrect understanding of the legal system. It can be challenging in dealing with this section of society on an ongoing basis as quite often (and understandably) they are coming in frustrated, angry, or wary of the legal system and on occasion that frustration can be misdirected at us. Conversely, though, this is also probably the most rewarding part of my work – knowing that I can provide free assistance to the community and hopefully empower them in relation to their rights and responsibilities. The people we see are the people who need help the most, and we are able to help them in a way which is not dependent upon their financial situation or their capacity to pay for legal advice.

Can you tell us about the role of the Legal Services Commission more broadly?

The Legal Services Commission is responsible for the provision of legal aid services to South Australia. It is jointly funded by both the State and Commonwealth governments for the primary purpose of increasing access to legal services and providing representation for those who cannot afford to pay for such services.

The majority of the work the Legal Services Commission does is providing grants of aid and therefore representation to eligible applicants in criminal and family law matters. Aside from

57

this, the Access Services section provides advice and education to the community in a broader sense. Appointments with legal advisers are not means tested, unlike grants of legal aid, so anyone can book in provided it is for legal advice on an area of law that we can advise on. Quite often clients will be referred directly through community organisations, financial counsellors, social workers, government agencies, etc. The Legal Services Commission also has a migration law section, a community education team, and a policy team.

What other qualities and personality traits do you believe make an individual suited to working within legal aid?

One of the comments you will often hear employees of the Legal Services Commission say is that everyone is working there for a common purpose- to further access to justice within the community. Employees have a strong sense of both the importance of equality within the legal system but also how far that inequality currently stretches. I would say that individuals have to be passionate, patient, communityminded, and have a strong sense of equality and access to justice. For individuals looking to further equality before the law, the Legal Services Commission can be a stimulating and rewarding workplace.

Do you have any general advice for law students and graduates looking to pursue a career within legal aid?

I would generally encourage all students to consider doing any work experience or volunteer work that they can access- such as the Flinders Legal Advice Clinic, volunteering at a community legal centre, undertaking a clerkship, or volunteering for a Barrister. All are invaluable experiences and can assist you in standing out from other graduates when applying for positions including those within legal aid.

Finally, I would say that it can be difficult at times to keep positive with the status of the job market at the moment, but don’t be disheartened if your first job post-graduation is not your dream job. Sometimes starting off in a position that may not be exactly what you want can open up further opportunities. In this regard, networking and making connections within the profession can also be helpful- attend CDPs, attend Law Society events or become a member of groups such as the Young Lawyers (Law Society) group or Women Lawyers’ Association.

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Director of Public Prosecutions

An Interview with Sandi McDonald SC, Deputy Director (Counsel) of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from law school?

When I went through law school I didn’t really know very much about the practicalities of working in the law and I didn’t know anyone who worked in the law. I had topped my year in criminal law I decided that that was probably going to be my thing.

I hadn’t been involved in extra curricular experiences during university, I think because there was more work around then, there was no question that I wouldn’t get a job as a lawyer.

Then towards the end of my last year a number of my friends were doing summer clerkships in some of the big firms and I thought perhaps I should do something similar so I sent a letter to the Attorney General enquiring about opportunities available and he passed it onto Paul Rofe, ODPP Director at the time. Paul brought me in for a chat and explained that that the Office doesn’t normally have summer clerks here, but based on our meeting he would like me to start here, and so I did a summer clerkship.

Back then your GDLP was 12 months long and you had Fridays off so you could work if you wished. So after my clerkship I stayed at the DPP on Fridays, did my placement here and was given a job at the end of the year. Then I did my first jury trial a week after I was admitted in December of that year.

I have been here ever since, always in the position of a trial prosecutor. I made my way up through the ranks, becoming a manager, then a senior manager, then head of Counsel section, then within three days I was made a Senior Counsel and became Deputy Director.

What attracted you to working in criminal law? Why did you decide work as a prosecutor role

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

rather than working in criminal defence?

I don’t think many people would argue that the criminal law is very interesting. I really never sat down and thought do I want to be a prosecutor or a defence lawyer, because I fell into the position here and it suited me and I love the work. Another aspect is that while I understand that everyone is entitled to representation, I enjoy very much feeling like I wake up each day and I have the moral high ground in the sense that, as a Prosecutor you never have to run an argument you don’t believe it, yes you take instructions from a Director, but not from a client. The other thing about criminal law is its very much about people, so if you are a people person its very good for you.

What kind of roles make up the majority of the work the office does here?

The office is divided into two different sections, you have the Director who sits at the top, then you have two Deputies – myself who oversees Counsel section, and Ian Press who oversees the solicitor section. All the lawyers in the office are either solicitor or Counsel.

Those in the solicitor section are divided into teams, there are six managers and underneath each of those sits a team of about 6.Each lawyer carries a file load; each is expected to do some court work in both the Magistrates Court and District Court. If their accused pleads on a particular file, they will make the sentencing submissions. They will see their files right through to the committal stage in those two Courts, through to the point at which it goes onto a Prosecutor, which is the other group of lawyers in the office.

In the Counsel section there are four managers who head up four teams, a group of 5-6 Prosecutors sit in each team. We work on a ratio of about one week of preparation to one

58

week in court. Your average trial takes 5 days, but of course for longer trials mean you get more preparation time. A lot of trials don’t get reached, there’s no judge or they plead on the morning of trial, in which event the Prosecutor gets another brief immediately. So as a Prosecutor you’re working on one file at a time and seeing it through, for the solicitors it’s a much broader practice with multiple files at a time.

What have been the most rewarding, and the most challenging aspects of your work at the ODPP?

The most rewarding is that you can make a real difference as a prosecutor. I have a very strong view that you are a public prosecutor, and the public is entitled to expect the best that you and the organisation can provide. You can choose your hairdresser and doctor, but you cant choose your Prosecutor, so for that reason it is terribly important that we only put forward people who are giving their best work.

When dealing with people at their lowest times you can really make a huge difference for them, maybe not even in terms of the outcome but in terms of how they experience the process.

I was speaking recently to a woman who’s son was murdered 20 or 30 years ago, she told me that she had sat through the trial in relation to that murder for 2 weeks, coming to court every day and giving evidence, and never once did the Prosecutor speak to her. Now that would never ever happen today, but you can imagine the experience that she had. From my point of view the notion that you can create a different experience to that is huge. It is also important work, I did the body in the barrels trial, I am doing the Louise Bell trial right now, historically these are things people remember and their aren’t many people that are privileged enough to have the opportunity to leave such a big footprint.

Cont’d...

Cont’d...

The most challenging is the long hours. I have an 8-year old daughter so my pattern during trial is to finish court at 4.30pm, come back to the office, try not to stay back working later than 7.30pm, get home put her to bed at 8.30pm and then work until about midnight. In the morning I will get up at 5am or 6am and be back in the office at 7am. If it is not quite so busy I will get up at 5am or 6am, work a few hours at home, get my daughter ready for school and then come into the office. So there is literally no down time when you are doing this sort of work and that is challenging. You need to have a flexible lifestyle to be able to accommodate it.

The weeks that you are preparing for trial give you more balance, because some afternoons you can pack up early and go home and work for a few hours.

Criminal law matters have the potential to involve emotionally taxing issues; do you employ any strategies to ensure that you maintain mental wellbeing?

Not everyone is cut out to be a prosecutor or work in the criminal law. We see a lot of people move on quite quickly for that reason, for some it is that emotional toll, you can’t control the outcome, defence lawyers don’t always do the right thing or play by the rules. For others it is the fact that we see a lot of people at the absolute worst point in their lives, whether its people who have been sexually abused, people who have had a relative killed, the wife of an accused who’s husband is going to jail for a long time. For others it is the sheer horror of what we deal with, things like the photographs of the dead bodies, the audio recording of a 000 call.

Those aspects of the work can take their toll and it can be really draining on people. We have to be conscious of that as a management group, there s a government wide counseling service and we are currently working to implement wellness check for the office.

Personally, I’ve been very lucky in that I’ve always been good at managing it and compartmentalising. I live in the hills, you can’t see another house from where I live so it’s very

much a clean separation of home and work.

I’ve never had difficulty sleeping or anything like that. There are others who it may not come as naturally for, but you do build that resilience.

How does your work as an advocate differ from barristers who are members of the independent bar, if at all?

We work very much as a group here, it’s a team environment and that is very different to the Bar where people work very autonomously, which I imagine can be lonely at times. At the Bar the focus is singularly on your work, you don’t have to worry about an organisation or its staff. Not to suggest there is not a collegiate atmosphere in chambers, but each person has their own work, whereas all the work in this office is my responsibility at the end of the day.

How does the DPP recruit for positions?

One of the problems with recruiting at the DPP is that it is a very specialised skillset, it is hugely competitive to get into the organisation.

Occasionally we might get someone from an interstate DPP who is relocating back to South Australia, that is a big win for us. It is vary rare for someone across from the Bar, in-part because they get used to a certain sort of lifestyle and for many it is more lucrative being at the Bar.

Do you have any other pieces of advice for law students and graduates interested in pursuing a career at the ODPP, or in advocacy more broadly?

Get into court and watch, learn and absorb. It is amazing how many empty courtrooms I see in the Samuel Way Building. I do some of the most high profile work in the state and it is extremely rare to have a law student come into the court room, you are more likely to get a science student come in who wants to get into forensic science than you are a law student. Even the Magistrates court, whatever you can be exposed to is helpful.

Apply for associateships, they are a great gateway into the DPP as you get used to the jargon, and we get to see and get to know you, which makes a big difference. We have had a few who volunteered with barristers during their studies and that sort of experience doesn’t hurt. Of course marks are really important too, because when you are trying to discrimination between individuals if you have someone with an outstanding academic record they will be the once chosen.

Within the DPP there are 5 levels. Level 1 is graduate entry, or more commonly someone has spent 1 year working as an Associate. From time to time we will advertise, normally for levels 1-3, and we receive hundreds of applications each time. We then we put a panel together who will shortlist and interview applicants. Because that process takes so long we create what we call a pool of the top 10 applicants ranked in order who’s applications we keep on file for a period of time. If a position becomes available during that period, the next person in the pool is offered the position.

Generally speaking we don’t take people straight from law school because there are so many applicants who have a year or two of experience.

We end up with a large number of ex-Supreme Court or District Court associates, likely because that was their career plan from the outset and they have now had some experience in Court and we have had the chance to see them.

59

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Inhouse Counsel: Investment Bank An Interview with Bill Miels, Executive Director and Legal Counsel at Morgan Stanley

Tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from Flinders University law school in 1997.

After finishing university, I spent time in Adelaide doing a traineeship for stockbroking, followed by some time working in the family business while planning what I wanted to do.

During that period I made a few trips to Sydney to do some networking with a view to moving there. I was keen to find a job and study for a MBA.

I decided to go traveling at start of 2000 and ended up in London with no grand master plan.

While there I ran into old friends from school and Flinders, many were doing contracting work in different law firms and banks. There was a very robust contracting market in early to mid 2000. Law firms and banks took on Australian, New Zealand and South African lawyers on 6-12 months contracts to cover projects and it paid well. The pound was buying $3.30 in 2000/2001, so to a poor student it seemed like a good place to stick around. I started looking for contracts and secured one within the team of lawyers and consultants working on the wind down of the Millennium Dome in 2000/2001.

At the end of that contract I decided I should undertake my PLT with College of Law, because back then it was separate to the law degree and I didn’t get to it before leaving Australia. I returned to London early 2002 and went to work at Deutsche Bank on a contract initially and then joined as a permanent staff after a year.

In 2005 I moved to Morgan Stanley. I had some decent experience from Deutsche but this role was a major step up. I have been there ever since and have covered equities, derivatives and prime brokerage the entire time and my other coverage responsibilities have evolved as the Firm has. In 2011 my partner and I had our first baby on the way, so we felt like we needed either to commit to London long term or make the move back to Australia. Initially there were no roles in Australia that I could relocate to, but I was working a global role covering Operations at the time so the Firm allowed me to work my global role from the Sydney office. For the first 12-18 months in Sydney I was working London hours, then an Asia coverage role came up, which I moved into and remain in now.

What appealed to you about working in-house rather than in a traditional corporate or commercial law firm?

I never wanted to work for a law firm, I was always more interested in finance. I was attracted to the idea of working in a global business and realised lawyers get to look at the mechanics of business in real detail. I cover the Firm’s global sales and trading business so I work closely with colleagues in NY, London, HK and other locations on a broad range of legal and regulatory issues. My role involves advising on legal and regulatory issues in respect of transactions, markets, counterparties, new Career Pathways: Legal Practice

products, regulatory reform, etc. It is really varied work in terms of the types of clients, products and markets that we look at.

How did the lifestyle differ working in Morgan Stanley in London versus in Sydney?

In London I was working in a Morgan Stanley building with 8000 colleagues. I often sat on the equities trading floor with several hundred people - it is a dynamic and fast paced environment. It was amazing to work in what is the nerve centre of the business with the heads of the various businesses, especially through the crisis in 2008 where I learned so much.

In Australia I sit in an office with the Legal and Compliance team around me. We have a trading floor but it is small compared to London. At times I feel a little bit removed from global decision making in London and NY. Things tend to take longer to get done with lots of conference calls.

The legal team size for international banks in Australia are generally between 1-10 lawyers reporting up to a regional management level in Asia and a headquarters in US or Europe.

There is not a large travel budget so work with the overseas teams is generally conducted via conference calls and lots of emails.

What are the most rewarding and the most challenging aspects of your work?

The most rewarding aspect is the global dynamic; being a part of a global US investment bank which is active in so many markets. Many interesting issues arise and we work as a team to resolve them and give excellent service to clients.

The global dynamic presents challenging aspects as well; There is a reasonable amount of bureaucracy in a global firm with multiple stakeholders, you have to learn to develop judgement about who to involve in different issues, when you can make a call yourself, when you can escalate an issue.

What does Morgan Stanley look for when recruiting lawyers?

We generally hire at the 4-8 year PQE level because we are not as well equipped to develop junior lawyers as a law firm. The main thing we are looking for is direct experience in the area that we are hiring for; that is, experience and knowledge with the products the role is covering e.g. if we are recruiting a wealth management lawyer we want experience with wealth management at a law firm or bank. Sometimes we hire lawyers from law firms and sometimes from other banks.

The focus is less on grades or the degree they studied alongside law. Academic marks are relevant, we would glance at them, but they are not our primary consideration. Experience and fit are key. A conventional way into an in-house investment bank role would be to first work at a top tier firm (such as Ashurst, Clayton Utz, 60

Allens etc.) in finance or corporate teams. This isn’t the only path but it is the most common.

What qualities make an individual suited to a legal career within an investment bank?

They need to be commercial and pragmatic.

They need to know how to be a risk manager as well as a lawyer. In a law firm your job is to prepare detailed and concise advice for client and deliver a perfectly polished product. In house lawyers juggle multiple issues and are generally giving short advice by email or on calls. Frequently it is a line or two in an email but there are plenty of big jobs as well. You need to be good at working out where to focus limited resources and when to worry about an issue, or when you should simply take a view that the issue doesn’t matter in the broader context.

Experience helps with this so someone more junior may struggle. Flexibility is also important, the ability to be across various different competing priorities and not to be frustrated by that is vital.

Banks have a reputation for being high pressure and demanding work environments; how do you ensure that you maintain your mental health and wellbeing?

One of Morgan Stanley’s values is to ‘keep your balance’. There is a big focus here on work life balance. Working as needed (for me that means lots of morning and evening calls) rather than a constant 8-6 every day. I work remotely a lot - mostly conference calls and emails from my trusty blackberry. This morning I had a conference call at home at 8am, then dropped my 4-year-old at kindergarten at 9am, and arrived at work at 9.40am. Sometimes I can fit a run in during my day which is nice.

We are encouraged to use our leave. I try to use my holidays effectively to take a real break, and pay limited attention to my Blackberry for at least one holiday per year.

Do you have career advice for students looking to work in a legal role within a bulge bracket bank?

If you want to work for an international investment bank your best route is via a position in a law firm or bank overseas. Virtually all the lawyers I know in global investment bank roles in Australia have spent time working in London, or Hong Kong or NYC and then relocated back here. Some will move across from a top tier law firm to a bank, or some will come into the bank on secondment from a firm and then not return to the firm. This is the most common, but not the only avenue into a bank; we also have direct hires from within Australia currently on staff.

ADVICE | TRANSACTIONS | DISPUTES Domestic & Cross Border

START YOUR CAREER WITH A LARGE AUSTRALIAN LAW FIRM Thomson Geer is a large Australian corporate law firm.

We have over 90 Partners and more than 450 lawyers and staff operating out of our offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide.

We are in the top 10 Australian law firms and are Australia’s largest professional services firm with a head office in Adelaide. Our industry coverage and client work is diverse.

Our clients include companies in banking and finance, construction, energy and resources, healthcare, telecommunications, property development, wealth management, tax, gaming and leisure, and media, broadcasting and entertainment.

“As a Graduate Lawyer in the Property and Environment team, I was exposed to a variety of national clients while working on construction and infrastructure projects. I also had the opportunity to work closely with communities on local projects.” Matthew Curran – Lawyer, Adelaide “After two years working in the Adelaide office I applied for a role in the Sydney office when a position became vacant. I was able to seamlessly change offices and live in a new city.” Venks Ananthakrishnan – Lawyer, Sydney

OUR CLERKSHIP PROGRAM At Thomson Geer we are looking for law students who have excelled academically, are client focused, commercially minded, and work well in a team environment.

We offer a structured four week program where clerks learn through a combination of hands-on experience, training, coaching and observation. We will do our best to match you to your preferred area of practice – it’s really important to us that the clerkship experience helps you to make the right choice for your career.

OUR GRADUATE PROGRAM We recognise that the Law is an incredibly rewarding profession, but we also understand that it can be demanding. For this reason, we aim to create an environment in all of our offices that is friendly, personable, collegiate and professionally stimulating.

Students who complete a clerkship with the firm will be eligible to be considered for a position in the firm’s next graduate program, commencing in 2017. This program runs for 12 months consisting of two rotations and ensures you undertake real work and get real training to become skilled across multiple areas of law.

APPLICATIONS If your ambition is to develop a career in commercial law and you possess the drive to make your ambitions a reality then we want to hear from you.

If your ambition also includes a desire to work interstate one day also let us know! While our interstate offices run their own programs we welcome the opportunity to assist our team members with personal career development.

Applications open 21 March 2016 via cvMail or the Thomson Geer website. www.tglaw.com.au Sydney | Melbourne | Brisbane | Adelaide

61

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

Inhouse Counsel: ASX Top 50

An Interview with Christian Paech, General Counsel at Santos Ltd. Can you please tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from Law school?

My first full time job as a lawyer was working for Kelly & Co (now HWL Ebsworth) here in Adelaide. After a few years there I ventured to London and was lucky enough to land a job with City firm Ashurst Morris Crisp working on M&A and private equity transactions.

After tiring of the English weather, I returned home to get married and took a job as a Senior Associate at Freehills in Melbourne, again in the Corporate and M&A team. After around three years there, I was enticed by a former Freehills partner to join him in helping establish the Melbourne office of Piper Alderman as a partner. It was from there I returned to Adelaide to take on a position at Santos working with the Corporate Development and New Ventures team. I took on the role as General Counsel at Santos in September 2010.

What appealed to you about moving to an in-house role after working in various corporate law practices?

I had from time to time been frustrated in private practice by only being asked to get involved towards the end of a transaction and I had often wondered if there would be a greater opportunity to be involved in deal design from a position in house. It also seemed to me there would be a greater opportunity to be involved in running a business which had always appealed to me. We also had two young children at the time and my wife and I were also looking for an opportunity to return to Adelaide to be closer to family and friends.

How does you role as general counsel differs from the role of external advisors who also provide legal services to Santos?

How do the types of tasks differ?

How does the lifestyle differ?

Work as General Counsel is very different to that of an external adviser in that you are intimately involved in the operations of the business, assessing and managing risks and ensuring that the company complies with its legal obligations and maintains sustainable business practices. It requires more emphasis

Career Pathways: Legal Practice

on leadership and people management and contributing to business decisions beyond just the legal considerations.

No one day is ever the same and you are never quite sure what issues and problems will present themselves. Work as an external adviser tends to be more focused on providing technical legal analysis and document production. Of course if you build the right rapport with clients (especially those with no or a small legal team) you can definitely become intimately involved with the business and expand the possibilities to add value and contribute to the clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success.

What are the most rewarding, and the most challenging aspects of your work?

The most rewarding aspect is working with a team of highly motivated and smart lawyers who like to solve problems for the business It is also fun to work with a raft of other professionals including geologists and engineers who often have entirely different thought patterns and perspectives. I think the key challenge in house is that you need to embrace risk and the imperfections that exist in commerce and sift through what really matters in managing the business.

Tell us about any other volunteering experience or part time employment that you undertook during your degree that you found to be beneficial to your career development?

I worked at the Ramsgate Hotel at Henley Beach in various capacities to fund my time at University and did a few clerkships in my final year. My own observations of the legal market for graduates is that it is extremely challenging to find employment at the moment and much harder than it was when I left University. I would definitely encourage students to seek out any opportunity for work experience in a firm.

There is no substitute for it and it will really assist to give context to what you learn at University.

You have previously worked in London and Melbourne, how did you find the experience of practicing in larger cities with

62

bigger deals, more competitive legal industries and different jurisdictions?

Probably the most advantageous thing of working in the larger legal markets is that you are given lots of responsibility at an early stage and this accelerates your learning experience and builds confidence to take on anything and not be easily intimidated. It also means that you are exposed to the best, which is a great way to hone your skills. You are a long time working, so trying a few different jobs and locations early on is a good thing.

Do you believe it is beneficial (or even necessary) for law graduates to work for a few years within a law firm environment before moving to an inhouse role?

I definitely think it is beneficial as law firms are much better equipped to provide training support. It also means you experience how firms tackle client service and this is invaluable when you are in-house.

Do you have any other pieces of advice for law students and graduates looking to pursue a career an inhouse position?

I think a career in house can be hugely rewarding and if you think you would like to go down this path you should ensure you take on any secondment opportunities that come your way in private practice as it is a great way to get a sensel for what it may be like. I would also encourage lawyers to forge close relationships with the clients whose businesses interest them.

Once they discover how cleaver you are they may offer you a job!

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

Working in State Parliment

An Interview with Chris Picton MP, State Member for Kaurna and Assistant Minister to the Treasurer of South Australia What do your roles as Member for Kaurna and Assistant Minister to the Treasurer involve?

As Member for Kaurna I am responsible for representing the people of this southern suburbs electorate in Parliament. That includes regularly meeting with people discuss issues that they have, going out to talk to people to find out what their thoughts on issues, and within Parliament, speaking on issues, voting on legislation and motions that come before the house.

Since being appointed Assistant Minister I work with the Treasurer on different aspects of that portfolio. As he is also the Minister for Energy, and a lot of that work has been on the energy area with certain projects that he has delegated me to work on. I have also been working with the Premier on a couple of issues, for example working on reforming our State regulations covering food trucks to try and improve the vibrancy of South Australia.

Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from Flinders Law? I started at Flinders law in 2001, and it was really while I was still studying that I started my career. I began working part time for a Senators office two days a week doing speech writing and writing opinion articles. After that I as offered a position working for John Hill, the then Environment Minister who became the Health Minister. I was working 4 days a week doing that and trying to finish my degree at the same time.

People gave me good advice that I shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t loose sight of getting my degree finished, so I managed to complete my studies by choosing elective subjects that could fit around my work schedule. At the same time I ended up running a campaign for Amanda Rishworth who was running for the first time for the Federal seat of Kingston.

What motivated you to consider politics? Were you involved in politics on campus while studying at University?

I joined the Labor party when I was 15 when John Howard was running for reelection.

One of the big issues at the time was about differential HECS which is now part of life unfortunately, there was also a big campaign for full fee paying places at university that motivated me and many others at the time to get involved, because I could quite clearly see and still do now that access educations should be based on merit.

I became more heavily involved in on campus politics from my first year at university, in 2004 I was the President of the Flinders University Union. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the great benefits of university, people can find their passions through involved in different things â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the law association, political associations, sporting clubs.

I saw a quote form Hilary Clinton about her involvement in student politics when she was young, she said that it gives you the opportunity to have a strong leadership position at an early age, which was true for me it provided great opportunity to learn how to run a campaign, manage a team, work on budgets and handle management issues.

Do you actively apply the skills and knowledge garnered through your law degree in undertaking your work?

Absolutely, It is very helpful in Parliament because you are dealing with the drafting of laws and amendments. It is also important in terms of helping constituents because a lot of issues that people have will be when they come up against barristers in the legal system, and while its not for me to give people legal advice, it certainly helps to have that background knowledge and be able to point people in the right direction.

In 2009 I was offered a job in Canberra working for Nicola Roxon who was the Federal Health Minister. I worked in that capacity for 3.5 years, then she became the Attorney General and I became her Chief of Staff, which was a return back to legal frameworks. When she resigned from the ministry I returned to Adelaide and worked at Deloitte Access Economics as an Associate Director doing consulting work predominantly in public policy areas. At the same time I got an offer to be the candidate for this electorate of Kaurna, so was running for Parliament at nighttime and on the weekends.

Then at the start of 2014 I was elected to Parliament.

What has been the highlight of your work thus far?

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

64

During the years I worked for Nicola Roxon when we worked on introducing plane packaging for cigarettes, when the High Court handed down their 6 to 1 Judgment upholding our laws that was a momentous day for us. To have the laws develop out of an idea put forward to us, to announce it as policy, undertake implementation, negotiation it through Parliament, and then to have a huge opposition campaign against it, to finally have a Judgment saying that it could be law and would be passed that was a big highlight.

What are the biggest challenges you have faced as a politician?

Managing the balance between your personal and work life is always difficult, we are having a baby later this year and as our family grows that will be an increasing challenge as its important to still have time to invest in our kids and family life. Running for an election is also quite a challenge, it was certainly something I threw everything at and you are never quite sure how it is going to turn out. That hour or so between when the polls close and when the results come in is one of the most nervous times you will ever have.

Do you employ any strategies to ensure that you maintain mental wellbeing with your busy schedule?

I certainly try to make sure I get some downtime and the occasional sleep in helps to recharge the batteries, trying to make time for family and friends is also important.

Both in politics and practicing the law you need to learn how to manage showing passion and concern for the cases you are dealing with, but not take everything on as your own personal burden because that can become quite difficult, particularly if you are dealing with difficult criminal cases. We have just seen in Victoria that the Police Minister has taken leave because he has said the burden of the cases that were coming to him became too much and he was struggling to handle it, hopefully he will be able to make a full recovery and get the help that he needs. Probably 5 or 10 years ago someone would not have come out and said that publically, but would have pretended and struggled through the best they could.

Do you have any final words of advice for students and graduates looking to pursue a career within politics?

Get involved and meet people who are involved.

There is a great internship program run through the Flinders University politics department that places students with South Australian MPs. Get along to see whether you are interested in the youth wings of different political parties, as well as the student political associations. However, make sure that you finish your degree, as there are people who can get heavily involved in politics and struggle to finish their qualifications.

Academia

Author: Professor David Bamford, Flinders Law School My career trajectory

Career planning is not something I can give advice about - that is because I have never planned a career. As a result I have had several.

I ended up at Royal Military College Duntroon because a school friend was very keen to get in and when he told me, the selection procedure involved a couple of days away from school, I was happy to go along , never having considered it before. I ended up in politics because the local Member of Parliament offered me a job the day before I was about to decide whether I wanted to be a cadet journalist with the ABC (I really wanted to be a historian but who needs historians?). I had never considered doing law until working for the MP made realise how important legal skills were if you want to reform law.

I became a barrister by accident – I had left the legal firm I had been working for with no fixed plan because I wanted to work part-time and help raise my children. Within a week I was being briefed by solicitors who knew I was no longer working in a firm to represent their clients at trial. I fell into academia when Flinders rang up and asked me to help develop some of the professional skills programmes that made their law programme so unique.

This has worked for me because I have not been personally ambitious for money or position but always wanted to do something that socially useful, was interesting, and varied.

Legal Practice v Academia

In some ways the last twenty years has seen me transition from a legal practitioner with academic interests to an academic with an interest in the way law works. While that transition has meant I have earnt less than had I stayed in legal practice, it has given me the opportunity to take a broader perspective. In practice one is usually far too busy worrying about today’s work and tomorrow’s case – one does not have the luxury of sitting back and asking ‘why are we doing this, this way?’ ‘is there a better way of doing it?’ I doubt I read an academic article in years when in practice and the only cases I read were the ones immediately relevant to the sort of legal practice I was engaged in.

Academic work has been a real privilege – I get to work with interesting and intelligent people many of whom will the future leaders of our community. I get paid to think about are there better ways of doing things and to contribute the development of legal education, the justice system and legal practice. I am, to large degree, able to determine where to put my intellectual endeavours and that keeps changing all the time. It has taken me to many places around the world.

The hours are no less – in fact the distinction between work and non-work can become blurred because as an academic you are interested in ideas and almost any experience can influence ideas. Academic work inherently involves performance anxiety – whenever you speak or write publicly, you are effectively on stage but with your own script as well.

But the autonomy that comes from being an academic is almost incomparable. While there is now a lot of accountability, provided you are achieving the desired outcomes, there is considerable freedom about how you go about achieving those outcomes

While civil litigation has long been an essential part of legal education, it is only in the last twenty years that it has become a truly ‘academic’ (in the best sense of the word) field. All societies have justice systems and we can learn a lot from other societies (who in some cases have better systems than ours).

International Visiting Professorships

I have been very fortunate in having opportunities to teach and research at law schools in different part of the world. These include in England, Canada, United States, Indonesia, South Africa, Finland and Sweden.

I have also been very fortunate to have been invited to be a key speaker at conferences around the world – most recently as a key speaker at the World Congress on Procedural Law in Istanbul where I reported on a comparative law research project I had led working with academics in nine countries in the world (England, Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Israel, South Africa).

Want a Career as an Academic?

Civil Litigation – Research and Teaching

The route for the legal academic has changed dramatically over the last twenty years. Back then, few legal academics had doctorates. Now doctorates are an essential requirement for most academic posts. For the more highly desired positions, those beginning their careers may well need to have published in academic literature as well.

When I started I was determined not to repeat how it had been taught to me – basically a set of mechanical rules. I was keen to try to explore why we have the justice institutions and procedures we do have and to ask whether there was a better way.

Like legal practice, success does not depend on raw intellectual ability. Success is much more a product of the personal attributes of personal organisation, discipline and perseverance! Being able to work with people is also essential. The old concept of the brilliant lone academic, holed up in their office with their books and avoiding colleagues and students, is rapidly disappearing.

Again I fell into Civil Litigation. I actually wanted to teach Administrative Law but someone was already doing that and my experience as a litigation solicitor and barrister meant that I was ideally suited to teaching it.

As students who have heard me will know, the issues around civil justice raise difficult questions at all levels. It is a fertile field for legal philosophers trying to unpack the theoretical foundations and values of the justice system through to the empirical researcher wanting to understand what is actually happening in the justice system.

65

It has been a privilege to work as an academic and I recommend it to anyone has an intellectual curiosity and an interest in trying to make the world a better place.

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

Private Business: Big 4 Firm

An Interview with Ellen Heinrich, Analyst (Contract Risk) at Deloitte Sydney

What is Contract Risk? Please explain the kind of work that you undertake and the types of clients that you assist.

Contract Risk (CR) is a specialist division of Risk Advisory in Deloitte which assists businesses to better identify and mitigate the business risks presented by third party relationships.

Our team of specialists helps to improve the effectiveness of the contract monitoring process and controls, ensuring the intended value embedded in a contract is extracted from the contractual arrangement. Our main areas of business are Third party Risk Management, Business Partner Assurance, Software Licence Compliance and Software Asset Management.

Our clients come from a range of industries including telecommunications, insurance, financial services, mining, oil and gas, payments processing and technology.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your work?

The work we do for our clients is vital to the day to day running of the business and often has significant flow on effect to their main business areas; finance, procurement and internal audit.

To be able to assist in mitigating risks and bring about solutions which have a substantial financial impact is very rewarding. However, the rewards do not just come from the work we produce for our clients. Though the business would not exist without them, the team dynamic and work culture play a strong role at Deloitte. It is important at our firm to celebrate everyone’s achievements and share knowledge. I have found it extremely rewarding to work in a team, and indeed firm, where people come from a broad range of cultures, areas of expertise and levels of experience.

How do you apply the knowledge and skills garnered through your law degree within your work?

I believe Law is a degree that can open many doors and the skills and knowledge obtained throughout my degrees have set me in good stead for life, not just work. For my role specifically, the most important skills are professional writing and communications. Working with any client, regardless of whether they are a CEO or support staff it is of the upmost importance to represent yourself and the Company well. The analytical mind and eye for detail that law instills in you is also useful in my line of work as we delve into complex contractual terms and highly technical software issues.

have assisted you in securing your role?

I believe experience outside a degree is very important for personal growth and work ethic, and this was instilled in me from an early age.

Throughout my five years at Flinders University, at which I studied full time, I worked no less than three jobs at any one time. To be able to run a household, support my lifestyle and pay for university this was important. I worked at three very different companies which demanded a range of skills and positions. This allowed me to work in different environments, each with their own pressures and team dynamic, developing real life skills that can only come from this type of experience. Experience in problem solving, team work, finance management and professional client service assisted in integrating into the team and my role at Deloitte.

Beyond tertiary qualifications, what other qualities do you believe make an individual suited to a career within Contract Risk?

Culture and the idea of personal brand are important at Deloitte, and indeed within Contract Risk. Being able to communicate effectively and succinctly while working with a wide range of professionals is an invaluable skill whether you are delivering a project, giving and receiving constructive feedback or communicating with clients. Other important qualities include analytical thinking, an eye for detail, and professional writing.

What process did you follow in applying for an Analyst position at Deloitte, how extensive was the application and interview stage(s)?

Like many other firms, there is a graduate application process. Understandably there are many people who apply therefore there are a few rounds to find the most suitable applicants.

My experience is different to previous graduates as the system is always changing and improving.

My application process involved: submitting an application online and completing a behavioral/ personality test initially. I was then interviewed by a Director and had my final interview with two Partners in Sydney. During this process I did a lot of background work and prepared for each interview in great detail.

What are the benefits of working within a ‘Big 4’ firm?

Tell us about volunteering experience or part time employment that you undertook during your degree that may

The benefits of working for one of the Big 4, as for any large corporations, are extensive. The resources available, the knowledge sharing, the clientele, and range of expertise are just a few that come to mind. The benefit that really stood out for me, and something that I believe sets Deloitte apart, is how well the firm treats its staff.

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

66

There is an understanding that you will work hard and contribute to the business but Deloitte believes it is also important to care for the staff on a broader scale providing; health and wellbeing programs, team events in which individuality and talent are celebrated, recreational activities, and charity events to name a few. Working in a large firm has also allowed me to participate in the pro bono work which Deloitte contributes to each year across many worthy causes which is not possible in a lot of smaller businesses.

Another benefit that cannot be overlooked is the fact that Deloitte is a network of firms across the world, allowing its staff to work with teams in different countries, to travel and produce solutions for clients on the other side of the world.

How have you adjusted relocating from Adelaide to Sydney, what have been the biggest challenges that you have had to overcome?

Moving to Sydney and creating a life for myself here was certainly a challenge but one I was excited about. As I have been lucky enough to have travelled quite a lot and live in Holland for a year before beginning university, living away from my friends and family was not a new or frightening concept. Of course it is difficult to move away from your support network and familiarity of home but the rewards have far outweighed this for me. I will say that arriving in Sydney after living in Adelaide all my life I was overwhelmed by the size of the city (and have still not seen it all) and the experience of rush hour in a big city. Overall my time here thus far has been very rewarding in terms of my career as well as personally.

Do you have any other advice for law students looking to pursue a career in Contract Risk?

Some of the best advice I have ever been given was from a Solicitor I worked with a few years ago, she told me, it was important to not pigeon hole yourself too early in your career and close yourself off to new opportunities. It is this lesson I would like to pass on. Throughout my degree and for a while after graduating my focus and passion were in criminal law. As such, this is the career I pursued after graduating and being admitted to the Supreme Court, not realising at the time how difficult obtaining employment in the legal field would be. After a couple of years of searching for a full time position, volunteering at legal firms and submitting countless applications, I took the advice of my family and friends and became open to the idea of working in a different area of business. Since joining the team I have gained skills and knowledge I didn’t think possible and am working in an area I had not considered at university and am thoroughly enjoying it

LIVE YOUR AMBITION > Global opportunities > Market-leading experience > Create your career with us

Visit www.allens.com.au/careers and www.linklaters.com/ukgrads to find out more.

67

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

Dept. of Foreign Affairs and Trade An Interview with Penny Morton – First Secretary, Australia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations (DFAT)

Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from Flinders law school in 2004?

In 2005 I obtained a graduate position at the then Australian Greenhouse Office. The Office was moved into the Commonwealth Department of Environment that same year and I took up a position in the Department’s legal section. I worked on a variety of legal matters, eventually specialising in international funding agreements related to climate change (funding grants on energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and scientific advances). This role involved a lot of relationship-building and negotiation in different cultural environments.

In 2007, when the Rudd Government created to Department of Climate Change, I was promoted into the new Department to work on multinational negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). I participated in UNFCCC negotiations for the following three years, including at the 2009 Copenhagen Summit. In 2010 I moved into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as a legal specialist.

My roles in DFAT have predominantly focused on multilateral engagements. I negotiated at the UN in Vienna on various crime-related treaties for two years. I then undertook a posting in Kabul, Afghanistan, for two years where I worked to ensure Australia and Afghanistan were protecting the rights of women and detainees.

Since the beginning of 2015, I have been representing Australia in human rights-related negotiations at the General Assembly and other UN fora in New York.

What appealed to you about working at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade? How has your overall experience affirmed, or differed from, your expectations?

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade offers a wide range of experiences for individuals with legal backgrounds and/or generalists. The Department enables me to apply my legal training to a vast range of different cultural and political environments.

Definitely, my experience has exceeded my expectations. I never imagined I’d be speaking with Afghan officials about prison conditions in one of the poorest provinces in Afghanistan or drafting speeches for Australian ministers to deliver at the General Assembly or other UN

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

meetings. Of course being a diplomat involves a lot of non-glamorous and mundane tasks too, like doing a coffee run or rearranging furniture!

What kind of tasks and responsibilities have you undertaken in your previous positions as Senior legal specialist and Assistant Director, and in your current role as First Secretary of Australia’s Permanent Mission to the UN?

An extremely wide range of tasks but the common features are probably writing and relationships. As First Secretary in New York, I work to promote and protect human rights in line with Australian policy and our international legal obligations. This involves extensive discussions with interlocutors and intergovernmental negotiations on topics such as gender equality and women’s empowerment, the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, such as freedom of expression or religion, or addressing sexual violence in conflict. I feed information back to Canberra (DFAT) through written reports in order to inform the evolution of our policies in response to the multilateral environment.

As a Senior Legal Specialist I predominantly worked in multilateral negotiations related to transnational crime. As a State Party to particular treaties, such as the Convention Against Corruption, Australia works with other nations to raise the standard or global response to corruption. We need to ensure the responses are in accordance with our own national laws as do other nations. Given there are up to 193 State Parties to different treaties, these discussions can become difficult and often involve protracted negotiations to reach consensus outcomes.

Building relationships and advocating effectively are therefore key components to these roles.

What have been the most rewarding, and the most challenging aspects of your work at DFAT?

Working at the UN in Vienna, Bonn and New York have been incredibly rewarding, particularly because I enjoy multilateral work.

Building relationships with a variety of parties to enable you to deliver solutions, and to solve problems of international significance, is highly rewarding. The workload has at times been challenging. The most interesting jobs are usually the most rewarding (and busy!).

68

How do you actively apply the skills and knowledge garnered through your law degree in undertaking your work?

My law degree at Flinders University gave me key practical skills that I use daily in my job. I think the focus on employing the skills that we learnt was critical. My job is all about effective communication, being able to adapt and be flexible and to apply a broad range of skills to various tasks. Flinders Law School’s approach to working with others, courses that involved volunteering in legal roles and practicing these skills were incredibly important. Diplomacy and working in the public service requires strong team work, collaboration and communication skills.

Were you interested in public policy and international law/ relations while at law school?

Did you undertake any elective topics within these areas?

Yes. I undertook subjects that involved working at the Small Claims Court, which was a hugely eye-opening experience in terms of being able to apply my legal skills to assist others. I also did subjects such as Environmental Law which gave me an early insight into the application of international treaties such as the UNFCCC, which I later had the opportunity to work on directly.

Tell us about any volunteering experience or part time employment that you undertook during your degree that you believe has been beneficial to your career?

I worked for a small criminal law firm which enabled me to practice my advocacy skills, appearing in the magistrates court. I also volunteered at the Aboriginal Legal Rights Centre, which gave me an insight into how difficult it can be to change public policy.

Do you have any other pieces of advice for law students and graduates interested in pursuing a career at DFAT?

I would recommend concentrating as much on your social and communication skills as much as your legal expertise. In diplomacy, if you can’t develop a rapport with others, your written or oral arguments will fall on deaf ears. Learning how to empathise and influence others is also important.

Adelaide City Council

An Interview with Merryn Cossey, Procurement and Management Adelaide City Council

Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from Flinders law in 2007?

Upon graduating, I commenced working as a lawyer at Finlaysons where I had been working part-time as a law clerk since completing a summer clerkship in 2004/05. I worked as a lawyer at Finlaysons for 8 months before securing a role as a Legal Officer at Pernod Ricard (then Pernod Ricard Pacific).

Before studying law, I completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science with a major in winemaking. I worked in the wine law team at Finlaysons and felt that I was well-placed to work as an in-house lawyer for a wine and beverage company. My role at Pernod Ricard was a contract role for 12 months, following which I worked in commercial law at Cowell Clarke for two years. I then returned to Pernod Ricard as a Senior Corporate Lawyer for another 12 months. At that point I decided to move to local government and became a Strategic Procurement Business Partner at Adelaide City Council. I have held a number of different roles at Adelaide City Council and am now the Team Leader of the Procurement & Contract Management team.

What attracted you to working in local government? Why did you decide to move from commercial practice to a role in a public organisation?

Local government offers great opportunities for many different career paths. Legal qualifications and experience can be applied across many different areas, including policy, governance, procurement, risk and contract management.

In my current role I am still able to develop and apply my legal skills but across many different areas of the Council’s business. By working

for Council I feel that I can add value to the community and the City. I highly recommend a career in local government. The options for law graduates are many and varied.

Tell us about any volunteering experience or part time employment that you undertook during your degree which you found to be beneficial?

I believe that any part-time work during law studies is beneficial. I was fortunate to work as a clerk at Kelly & Co. Lawyers (now HWL Ebsworth) and then at Finlaysons.

What roles and responsibilities do you undertake within the Procurement and Contract Management team?

I oversee all of the formal procurement activity that is run by Council. I lead a small team of procurement professionals who have expertise in various disciplines including ICT, capital works, marketing, events and commodity purchasing.

My team also manages major contracts (such as the physical security contract and the catering contract at the Adelaide Town Hall) and panel contracts. We ensure that procurement activity is carried out with transparency and in line with the Local Government Act and Council’s Procurement Policy. Council is required to ensure that value for money is achieved through its procurement activity and that equitable contracts are put in place to protect Council’s interests.

I also participate in various projects, such as the waste and recycling project, where I provide procurement and commercial advice.

Although I do not act in a strictly legal role, I am called upon to provide advice on contractual

69

disputes, intellectual property matters and other legal issues that arise from time to time.

What are the most challenging, and the most rewarding aspects of your work?

The most challenging part of my role is dealing with many different stakeholders. Council is a large organisation in itself and must also consider the needs and wants of its ratepayers, the State Government and the community. It can be difficult to consider each different stakeholder’s objective and requirements. It can also be difficult to achieve a result that satisfies everyone.

Many aspects of my role are rewarding. I have been lucky to have involvement in some major projects such as the Rundle Mall and Victoria Square redevelopment projects which have been challenging and rewarding. I work with some great people who are committed to making the City a great place to live, work and visit.

How do you apply the skills, knowledge and networks garnered through your law degree and time in practice in undertaking your role?

Procurement is very process-driven, particularly in government. It requires good communication, negotiation and drafting skills to result in solid contracts that clearly set out the rights and obligations of the parties. I am able to apply my knowledge of intellectual property and commercial law to deal with contractual issues that may arise. I have regular interactions with Adelaide law firms in respect of briefing legal issues that arise. I continue to attend Continuing Professional Development courses to keep my Practising Certificate and my skills up-to-date. Also of importance is developing relationships with Council’s suppliers and contractors.

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

Alternative Dispute Resolution Getting out of the Courtroom

It is no secret that litigation can be lengthy, costly and risky. Fortunately there are many options outside of the adversarial courts system that people can use as avenues to resolve disputes.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is an umbrella term, given to the process by which an independent qualified person assists disputing parties to reach a resolution or settlement.

There are three primary categories of ADR; facilitative, advisory, and determinative.

Facilitative ADR requires the assistance of an ADR practitioner to identify the contested issues and provide options and alternatives to encourage an agreement. Mediation, conciliation, facilitation and facilitated negotiation are all facilitative processes of ADR. Advisory ADR is where a dispute resolution practitioner advises the parties on the law and factual matters, again, with the aim to achieve a resolution. Conciliation is an example of an advisory process.

Determinative ADR might involve a formal evidence hearing with the objective of making a determination. An example of this determinative process is arbitration.

Benefits Within courts and tribunals the disputing parties are precluded from controlling the process whereas the ADR process gives the parties more control over the outcome of the process.

ADR is a flexible and practical tool and it aims

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

to resolve partiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; disputes in a cost effective way. Many lawyers encourage participation in ADR to reduce the costs to clients. Additionally the flexibility of ADR can be found in the fact that parties can elect the process they deem appropriate and also elect to choose the ADR practitioner.

Unlike court hearings and court decisions which are published and available to the public, ADR is usually private and confidential. This confidentiality and parties using ADR, not being obliged to seek the assistance of a legal practitioner (thus lowering litigation costs) are both incentives for disputing parties to use ADR. ADR is often considered less threatening to participants. Legal rights are given prime attention in courts and tribunals, but in ADR parties can raise their own interests and concerns. The process of ADR is less formal than in courts and tribunals and chances of success are higher than in said traditional processes.

Mediation Mediation is renowned for its informal nature in helping and encouraging parties to solve their issues without the interference of the courts.

Mediation aims not to deliver judgements but rather to assist the parties to reach a settlement.

As a mediator you will cater for both parties by being a neutral third person.

To become a mediator you need to complete an accredited Certificate in Mediation. LEADR & IAMA, recognised under the National Mediator Accreditation System (NMAS), are

70

one institution that offers this services. For information on LEADR & IAMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s certificate see their website: http://www.leadriama.org/ training/mediation-training

Arbitration Arbitration is the process where two or more parties refer their dispute to an independent third party who then makes a binding decision.

IAMA again offers a Professional Certificate in Arbitration. See their website for details.

Experience For experience whilst at law school, students should consider an internship or relevant volunteer work. The Southern Community Justice Centre, the South Australian Mediation Services, and the Mediation Office all offer volunteering positions.

Students are also encouraged to undertake topic LLAW3241 Dispute Management, taught by Dr Rhain Buth, and participate in the two ADR based competitions offered by the Flinders Law Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association: Negotiation and Meditation.

The legal practitioner who practices ADR can expect to find the activity fulfilling and satisfying as ADR is a highly successful alternative to traditional processes. The ADR practitioner can be assured that the client has been spared the often stressful court procedure and had also saved time and money on lengthy legal processes.

Mediation in South Australia Author: Adele Minge, Caseworker at Mediation SA

I have been a fulltime caseworker at Mediation SA (MSA) for the last 2 years. After completing a double degree of Law and Behavioural Science at Flinders University I began volunteering at our head office, Southern Community Justice Centre (SCJC). A few months later I started casual work with MSA (formerly known as Community Mediation Services) and from this I was offered the permanent position of Intake Coordinator when it became available. For a time I worked both as an intake and caseworker before being promoted to my current position.

Mediation SA Services

As a caseworker I receive files after we have written to the other party/parties inviting them to participate in mediation. As mediation is a voluntary process if they choose not to respond or decline to mediate, there is nothing more that we are able to do. However, hopefully they wish to enter into mediation and from there we work towards seeking a negotiated outcome that everyone is comfortable with. Our services are available to everyone in South Australia, free of charge.

Mediation SA also provides training and education for the community on Conflict Management and Dealing with Difficult Behaviours. The training focuses on what triggers people to react the way they do and how to manage conflict situations in a more positive manner.

Conducting Casework

The majority of our casework is conducted over the phone by speaking with each party separately. Conference calls can be used as well

as face to face mediation sessions or interviews.

We can receive information via letter or email from clients but we cannot negotiate via these methods. At all times confidentiality is maintained. This is extremely important as it builds trust and ensures our credibility as a service.

Part of my role is assisting colleagues when needed, helping train volunteers/students and also attending local community forums. Our service finds the process of having volunteers assist us to be a valuable and rewarding experience, passing on workplace skills which can then be used in their future employment.

Non-Legal Process

As a member of a small, close-knit team, I need to be flexible and assist others as needed. This includes answering the phone, administrative tasks and providing support with colleaguesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; casework as requested. Staff meetings take place once a month while casefile meetings occur more frequently, as the need arises.

Our process is completely non-legal. We remain neutral and impartial and cannot make any decisions. We assist parties to try to keep an open mind so that all possible options or solutions can be explored. Flexible and imaginative outcomes are able to be reached, depending on the willingness of parties. However when parties are no longer able to negotiate they may need to go to court for a decision to be made on their behalf.

We adapt our processes to meet client needs.

Therefore we can travel to neutral locations close to where parties reside, we can work after hours if needed and we can use interpreters if there is a language barrier. With clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s permission we are also able to communicate with their support people, such as counsellors or Housing SA managers, in order to better understand their perspective and background which can aid in reaching an outcome.

At times mediation is not suitable. This can be due to such things as intervention orders, mental health concerns or the possibility of threats or violence. Throughout mediation, especially with behaviour matters, parties are always welcome to contact the police or other agencies if needed.

71

Even though I have an understanding of the law I cannot give any clients legal advice. At times this can be a hindrance. I can outline my concerns and refer them to seek legal advice if they feel that this could be helpful. Clients who do seek legal advice find that this can aid in mediation negotiations.

Rewarding Work

I find it is most rewarding when parties are able to give and take to reach an outcome that they can all live with. Through this process everyone gains a better understanding of the otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective and although the outcome is not everything they wanted, they are happy with it because it is their outcome, they controlled the process.

Having started my career as a volunteer, I would recommend that all experience is helpful. Obtain as much of it as you can, make connections and be known.

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

International Humanitarian Aid

An Interview with Tessa Kelly, Senior Disaster Law Officer at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from Flinders law school in 2007?

Following my graduation, I continued working at the Crown Solicitor’s Office, where I had worked since completing a clerkship in the Native Title Section. I then took up an associateship with Justice Layton at the Supreme Court, which was a fantastic experience. Justice Layton opened my eyes to the possibilities that exist to work internationally and for a cause that you believe in.

My international career path interestingly started from being knocked back. I had applied for a few AusAID youth ambassador positions, and when I didn’t get any offers, I was really disappointed. So instead, I decided to take a risk and a new challenge and pursue the opportunity to work for a local law firm in Laos. It was there that I was exposed to a range of tasks, including managing a project for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) researching the legal framework for disaster response in Laos. That experience then served as a platform for a consultancy with the UN in Vietnam to support the development of a new law on disaster management, a year in Leiden university undertaking an Advanced Masters in Public International Law, the role as Disaster Law Coordinator for Asia Pacific for the IFRC in Kuala Lumpur, and now my current role as Senior Disaster Law Officer for the IFRC in Geneva.

What attracted you to working in international humanitarian assistance? How did you come to specialise in disaster management?

Working in the humanitarian field has always been of interest to me. I remember doing a Clerkship at a private firm and feeling little motivation because the only objective seemed to be making more money. In the context of a changing climate and growing urbanization, we are seeing more and more disasters worldwide and the experience I have had with the Red Cross has revealed to me the importance of law to effective humanitarian assistance. Disaster law is a new and emerging field of law, and I’ve been lucky to stumble across this field of law as it grows in depth and importance.

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

What tasks and responsibilities do you undertake within your role as a Senior Disaster Law Officer? Do many of your tasks directly utilise skills and knowledge gained through your legal education?

While I am not a practicing lawyer, my role as Senior Disaster Law Officer requires legal drafting skills, legal analysis and probably most prominently, legal advocacy. The essence of my role in Geneva, and similarly with my role in Kuala Lumpur, is to advocate for stronger legislation to better protect people from the impacts of disasters, and to provide advice on how governments can strengthen their domestic legislation according to international law and standards. This has involved countless presentations, training sessions, country-level studies and development of recommendations for new legislation.

What have been the most rewarding, and the most challenging aspects of your work at the IFRC?

The most rewarding part of my work with IFRC has probably been the exposure I’ve had to different countries and the insight and opportunity I’ve had to work with National Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and their governments. I’ve had the opportunity to sit with government representatives in many parts of the world, from Nigeria, to Armenia, to Afghanistan and to Fiji, to discuss the legal frameworks in their countries and work out how they could best be strengthened to reduce the impacts of natural disasters. I’ve learned so much from these experiences. The most challenging part has probably been to get my head around the complexities and politics of the international humanitarian system, and at the same time relate to and provide valuable support to country level work, when I am often just flying in and flying out without having the time to fully understand the local context.

You are currently based in Geneva, and previously worked in Kuala Lumpur, Vietnam and Laos, have you found it difficult to adjust to these new

72

cultural environments and legal jurisdictions when starting a new position?

I’ve always loved travel and been fascinated by different lifestyles and cultures. While adjusting to living in a new place always takes some time and each place has had its challenge, I’ve found it always helps to have an open and positive curiosity about a new place and be as flexible as possible.

It certainly takes time to fully understand the legal jurisdiction of a new place, but in most cases I’ve mainly been focusing on advocacy for key issues that domestic legislation needs to address, rather than having to research discrete legal issues. In some situations, like when I was deployed to support the response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and had to provide advice on particular legal issues, I worked with local law firms who knew much more about the relevant legislation.

Tell us about any volunteering experience or part time employment that you undertook during your degree that you believe has been beneficial to your career?

During my studies I volunteered at Amnesty International, the Australian Refugee Association and as a youth volunteer for the Australian Red Cross. These experiences were certainly beneficial to my career, providing an insight to the humanitarian and development worlds, and also making me realise that I wanted to work for an organization or in a role where I was passionate about the purpose.

Do you have any other pieces of advice for law students and graduates interested in pursuing a career at the IFRC, or in the field of international humanitarian aid and development more broadly?

My advice would be to take a risk, go for an adventure, try something new that you’re not entirely sure what the outcome will be. Reach out to people or organizations that you’re inspired by and volunteer your time, and don’t give up after being turned down, you don’t know how one door closing will lead to another door opening.

Community Legal Centre

An Interview with Anastasia Smietanka, Co-Founder of The Animal Law Institute

What is the Animal Law Institute (ALI)?

ALI is a national community legal centre that provides pro bono legal advice and representation to animals and their advocates.

We operate in every state and territory and we are also a registered charity and a member of peak bodies the Victorian Federation of Community Legal Centres and National Association of Community Legal Centres.

Very simply, we unite lawyers who are passionate about protecting animals and provide them with an opportunity to help animals using their legal skills (many lawyers are on restricted practicing certificates which means they cannot engage in any pro bono work unless that is supervised by their law firm, which makes pro bono animal law work difficult because of commercial conflict).

Can you tell us about what your legal role at ALI involves?

I am a Co-founder and Director of ALI. My role involves big strategic decisions to working on the ground with all of our files and coordinating all of our lawyers.

How do you manage your work at ALI with your work as a Barrister at the Victorian Bar?

When you work with a very talented, passionate and dedicated team and we achieve wins for animals every day, it’s so easy. There’s something special about the adrenalin and motivation that drives you when your work involves changing the world to protect those that are often mistreated and voiceless. The coffee helps too …

What do you find to be the most rewarding, and the most challenging about working in a community legal centre field?

The most rewarding part (apart from changing the world for animals) is that our lawyers (and me) get the chance to be part of some really ground breaking, Australia-first work that most lawyers would never get to be a part of in a paid capacity.

We’ve considered how consumer law applies to puppy farms, challenged the decisions made by public officials and looked at applying the concept of habeas corpus to non-human animals.

73

The most challenging part is constantly being faced with the cruelty that our laws legalise – it’s appalling how we allow animals to be treated – from sow stalls, to caged hens.

Do you have any advice for law students or graduates interested in working in an established community legal centre, or founding their own centre?

Stay focused on the bigger picture and keep asking yourself what is it that you want to achieve – it’s easy to get distracted in the day-today routine of your volunteer work, make sure that you’re constantly re-evaluating whether you’re being effective.

Be practical about what the law can achieve but also be brave and don’t just focus on the risks and hurdles.

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

Legal Recruitment

An Interview with Paul Burgess, Director of Burgess Paluch Legal Recruitment

Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from law school?

On graduation I was one of a lucky few of my peers to be offered a grad role in a good law firm, Daenke O’Donovan. We had 3 very strong partners at the time John Daenke, Michael King and Greg Howe, all of whom were leaders in their fields despite being at a small firm, and who were largely patient with me, and great to work for. I practised commercial litigation and personal injury law, for about 3 ½ years. I then left the law, moving on to undertake a graduate management program with the ParkRoyal Hotel chain, was then promoted from that program early and became an Assistant Manager at one of their Melbourne hotels. I moved from there to Mayne Nickless, which at the time owned Armaguard, joining them on a more senior management program before they moved me into one of their facilities in operations. So after 3 years out of law, I tied it all back together by moving into legal recruitment.

I guess I am one of the law grads they talk about who has had 4 careers by the time they are 30!

What motivated your transition from practicing the law, to entering into the field of legal recruitment?

At the time I took my law firm role I had also been offered a management position at the Hyatt in Adelaide – it was paying quite a bit more – and really wasn’t sure I ever wanted to be a lawyer. I took the role as I thought it would be a once in a lifetime chance to practice law, but I think I always saw myself working more in a management or executive capacity. I had a side interest in psychology and HR, having studied psych in my Arts degree, and I was interested in corporate life more than life in a firm. While I enjoyed practising law I found the nature of my role quite stressful. I was running a lot of disputes files, dealing with clients directly, and appearing in Court. I actually think I wasn’t quite ready to be arguing with and appearing against Partners of other firms at times. Like a percentage of the lawyers I see now in my role, I also couldn’t really see myself working as a lawyer forever, and I hated having to account for every minute of my day on a time sheet. For me moving into legal recruitment was the perfect way for me to combine my networks, contacts and understanding of the law with my desire to work in a more transactional manner, and to use my non-legal skills.

What does the average day of a legal recruiter look like?

I thought might be worth having, and I did a lot of networking. The average day for a legal recruiter involves doing a couple of face to face interviews each day, a client meeting each day, and then about 6 hours of phone and desk time, talking to applicants, sending out their CV’s and drafting ads etc.

What have been the most challenging and the most rewarding aspects of your work?

The most challenging? In recruitment you are always only as good as your last placement. So each day I walk in the door I know that if I don’t do something to make things happen, if I don’t push myself, then I may not bill anything. It’s not like a mortgage broker business with trailing commission for example – it’s transactional and you have to make the transactions come off. The most rewarding? I think nothing beats placing a lawyer from one role into a better role, and getting them more money, a better career path or better work. When we do that we also get paid, which doubles the reward!

Do you actively apply the skills garnered through your degree and time in practice in undertaking your current work?

Absolutely. Studying law is a great way of teaching you to think logically and analytically.

Practising law takes things much further, and teaches you about the real world, how to negotiate, how to resolve issues commercially, and how to make good networks. For me understanding how law firms work, and what motivates lawyers and how they can best achieve in their career is paramount to being successful in my role. The networks I made in my time studying and in the law were also a great foundation for me to be able to recruit.

A strength of Burgess Paluch is your access to a large network of lawyers. Would you advise graduates interested in entering the field of legal recruitment to spend some time in practice first in order to cultivate their own professional network?

Yes. Whether you are looking at recruitment in an agency, or HR, recruiting or marketing roles in law firms or corporates, my advice would be to practice law for 3 or 4 years first.

The networks are useful, but the experience is fantastic.

My day is probably not quite like the average legal recruiter because in addition to working as a recruiter I also run a national firm now, so I deal with a lot of business and staffing issues, and I have a strong and pretty loyal client base now. When I started out it was really tough though. I worked hard, never took a lunch break, interviewed every lawyer who applied for a job, chased every potential client who

What are the most common traits law firms look for in a graduate lawyer?

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

74

Each firm has a slightly different list, but generally they are looking for strong performance, either in academics or extra-curricular, combined with good interpersonal skills and presentation.

There are many firms who have a very high

emphasis on academics, so as I’m sure you have all heard before, if you want to work as a lawyer make sure you do well in your studies. It is very competitive and there are many applicants for every role, so firms use academic achievement as a way to reduce the pool.

What are some common mistakes that you see made by graduates in their applications?

Most of the work at graduate level is done directly with firms – we get involved in helping lawyers make their second move, but we have done project work for firms when hiring graduates. I think the biggest mistakes applicants make is just not getting what the employer is looking for, and not tailoring their application to the specific role. With grads the firms are quite specific and there is even information on their websites about how to apply – these need to be followed. We also get some CV’s with errors through them, and application letters spelling the name of the firm incorrectly! With the advent of online applications I think it’s all the more important to check everything before you send it. We also get applications from lawyers who don’t put their contact number on them.

Is there ever a good time to bring up salary for an entrylevel graduate job?

Usually this is either known, or will become known, during or after the interview process. If you are unsure then the time to ask would be once you were well into the process, and you felt it was time to do so. I would also describe it as a “what’s in it for me” question, and I would almost always counsel against asking such questions during the interview process. Ask them once an offer has been made.

Can graduates utilise the services of legal recruitment firms like Burgess Paluch if they are struggling to secure a position?

Sorry – no – we just don’t get briefed to fill those roles and can’t therefore be of assistance. We do have resources on our bplr.com.au website that graduates are more than welcome to use and an article on how to find your first job that should assist.

Do you have any additional words of advice for students looking to pursue a career within a top tier law firm?

You need to work hard at uni to achieve strong grades, and you want to try to get clerkships with at least two firms, and even one interstate if you can do so. When you get a clerkship you want to try to star in that role. The top-tier firms take most of their grads via their clerkship program, and it is difficult to obtain a role with them without having clerked for them.

Legal Learning and Development An Interview with Jenelle Eldridge, Learning and Development Consultant at Minter Ellison

Can you tell us about your career trajectory after graduating from law school?

I initially practised law in a small boutique firm where the work was varied and at times unusual (my first success in court was prosecuting a dog owner where the outcome was the dog’s unfortunate demise). I then moved temporarily to the UK where I worked in an education role, before returning to Adelaide to work at Minter Ellison as a lawyer in the Real Estate team.

What motivated you to transition from practising as a lawyer into a learning and development consultation role?

I suspected early on in my career that I wasn’t interested in the traditional route for a practising lawyer, but it took me a long time to discover what I wanted to do. A combination of education and law was a bit of a dream, but I didn’t know how to go about making that happen. Fortunately for me, I worked in a law firm with a thriving learning culture, and after several discussions with my mentor, I put a proposal together for our HR manager on how I could assist the then Learning & Development consultant and I was able to start in my current role two days a week.

What tasks do you undertake as L&D consultant?

I’m responsible for making sure our people continue to learn and develop throughout their careers at Minter Ellison. We offer graduate programs, leadership programs, online learning, mentoring and coaching to help drive a culture of continuous learning.

What have been the most challenging and the most rewarding aspects of your work?

There are a lot of rewarding parts to my job, but watching people being empowered by what they’ve learnt is the most rewarding part of all. The most challenging thing is consistently making sure that the development offered is of value – you don’t want to take people away from their desks for something that serves little purpose.

How do you apply the skills and knowledge garnered through your law degree and time in practice in undertaking your current work?

We run workshop style sessions where facilitation is required, and having a law degree is an important starting point. It’s also useful when planning technical programs, to ensure that the right material is covered. From a personal perspective, I’ve also found that having a law degree has helped me have a greater understanding of the challenges lawyers face and this has played a key role in deciding what sort of development is required.

Can you tell us about other professional support positions in legal practices, such as ‘risk officer’ and ‘practical support lawyer’?

Management Lawyer, who is responsible for all of the risk issues that come up across the firm. Some of our international offices also hire people to fill Practice Support Lawyer roles, where they do not practise but instead offer training, mentoring and precedent support for a particular team within a law firm.

How do these roles differ from the role of a paralegal or support staff?

These roles require the ability to apply legal principles and use technical skills that only come from having completed a law degree.

Do these positions only exist in the few top-tier legal practices that have greater financial resources?

Usually, but a business case can be made for these roles in any law firm.

Do you have any additional words of advice for law students or graduates looking to pursue a career within a professional legal support position?

If you can, practise law for a while first! The experience will be a good starting point and will help you clarify what professional support role suits you best.

For people interested in legal careers in a law firm where they don’t practise law, there are a few different options. We have a Risk

75

Career Pathways: Beyond Legal Practice

Applications

This section of the Careers Guide aims to provide insight into the practical steps of gaining employment. FLSA would like to thank Flinders University Careers and Employer Liaison Centre for their signifigant contribution to this section.

Developing your Resume Author: Careers and Employer Liaison Centre

“Perfect grades were not the only attribute that got you a position. The firm also looked at life experience, travel and other skills including languages.’ - DLA Piper partner Dan Brown, cited in ‘The secret to getting a graduate job at a top-tier law firm’, Australian Financial Review, Jan 28 2016 at 11:26 AM, by Marianna Papadakis & Edmund Tadros Your resume (or curriculum vitae – the terms are interchangeable) is so much more than a dry listing of dates, details, awards, jobs and the like.

To help you stand out from the crowd when reader of your resume will probably spend no more than 30 seconds reviewing it (after all the hours you have laboured over it), you will need to balance brevity with providing enough information to spark the reader’s interest. And take a moment to contemplate just how many resumes they may ultimately be reviewing.

To get you in front of the employer, your resume needs to provide information that distinguishes you from everyone else in the pile. After all, it is your own marketing document.

In this article we challenge you to consider how you might present this information in an engaging and memorable way. First up, let’s look at the basics.

trailblazer run, knits mittens for koalas injured in bushfires, served on the FLSA Committee, and was a finalist in the Flinders University Constitutional Law Moot?

Each of the activities mentioned here can speak to all kinds of skills and qualities – team work, the ability to organise yourself, motivation and initiative, the desire to make a difference, to set yourself goals.

Taken together, your own experiences are what can set you apart as a unique individual.

As you can see from the quote at the start of this article, employers are interested in your broader experiences and what they say about you. So let the employer see you as a wellrounded individual with a personality; but do so being mindful of the particular sector you are targeting.

Step 2: Analyse them

It goes without saying that each application must be tailored and targeted and this does take time. It can even take multiple versions of your resume!

Consider how diverse the legal sector really is, from multinational firms to social justice organisations to smaller suburban law firms.

Step 1: Analyse you

But by the time you are drafting applications you should be across how the employer describes themselves, their culture, and their unique approach to services and so on.

So are you the law student who:

As well as your academic ability, what are they looking for? Initiative? Commercial awareness?

Team work skills? Curiosity? Imagination?

Analytical skills? Without parroting their brochure, you may wish to use some of their key words in your application.

Developing your Resume (CV) Basically, what’s your story? This is where potentially any part of your work, life and study experiences might make you jump off the pile …you just have to make the connections clear to the reader.

•

•

•

Plays sport, has run 5 City to Bays, and worked in hospitality alongside completing a clerkship, achieving good grades and volunteered for The Young Workers Legal Service?

Studied a combined degree, worked 20 hours/week whilst studying, volunteered in community legal services, undertook a placement through the Aurora Project and supports fundraising for the Red Cross?

Works in retail, consistently achieving KPI’s, is currently training for their first

Applications

Step 3: Create a Coherent Package Plan your resume structure and use headings and sub headings to sequence your information to highlight the most relevant aspects of your experience. Prioritise your most attractive information based on your understanding what the employer needs to know about you.

Step 4: Present it professionally

Aim for an easy to read document that is short and simple (i.e., 2 - 4 pages, and do check if different firms have specific requirements or

78

page limits). Avoid a prose-heavy structure in order to make the resume more visually attractive – astute use of bullet points will be helpful here.

Step 5: Captivate with your content

Your resume relates your career story; celebrate this and deliver a positive presentation of what you have done. Whether you are describing a clerkship, legal volunteering or working in retail, show how you added value to what each organisation was trying to achieve.

Go beyond bland and empty statements such as ‘Customer Service’. More importantly, how do these responsibilities demonstrate your potential to make a difference to the organisation to which you are applying?

Where you have an achievement which is substantial e.g. gaining a promotion, or winning a work performance award, you might include an ‘Achievements’ subheading.

Consider Skill Application

If your employment has ever involved training and supervising new staff, point to the outcome of your work and your approach: “Trained and supervised 2 junior staff who have become valued and capable casuals.”

Working as a Food and Beverage Attendant at a sports stadium might reflect skills in delivering exceptional levels of client service and an ability to relate professionally with VIP clientele.

Hospitality employment in a popular venue could highlight your ability to work under pressure in high volume environments.

Working on the Law Careers Guide demonstrates writing skills, as well as the ability to work to deadlines!

Check for Errors

Check meticulously for any errors of grammar, spelling or punctuation. This will also demonstrate your attention to detail.

More Resources

And for the A-Z of writing your resume go to the Flinders University Careers and Employer Liaison Centre’s FLO site. You will find templates, samples and extensive resources to guide you through strategically developing this vital document.

It’s obvious this is a Resume as it starts with their name as a title.

Matt Flinders

International students could include details of their visa, emphasising working conditions here.

2/56 High Street, Old Town, SA 5999 Mobile: 0400 123 456 Email: mattflinders@gmail.com Twitter: @pedalmatt LinkedIn: http://au.linkedin.com/matt-flinders CAREER STATEMENT

To contribute my strong commercial focus as a Graduate Corporate Lawyer to achieve effective solutions for clients, drawing on my legal sector experience, combined with 5 years’ community and customer service experience.

This is a positioning statement to outline your suitability for the role.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS 2014 – Current

The Law Society - Student Member

Should only be 3-4 lines long.

2013—Current

Flinders University Law Students’ Association

Enables reader to quickly make connection between the role and your experience.

-Participated in the Constitutional Law Moot and the Client Interviewing Competition

Highlight current education as this is the primary credential for the graduate role.

EDUCATION Tertiary 2013 - 2016

Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice

Also include major projects, research experience and so on, depending on your discipline area.

Flinders University Key subject areas: Professional Development 2015

JusticeNet SA CPD Seminar, Fundamentals of Judicial Review

Secondary 2012

Year 12 SACE

Detail dates and training provider.

Old Town High School -Volunteer Peer Mentor, Student Representative & Council Representative Include if recent and focus on activities that differentiate you such as awards, prizes and school leadership roles.

Make sure there are no spelling mistakes.

Proofread before you send the document.

Be consistent in your use of font size.

Use a footer to include your name and page numbers.

Leave space between sections.

79

Matt Flinders

1 Applications

List the most relevant information for the position first. Do you need subheadings? Community? Corporate? Then use reverse chronological order in each section.

LEGAL SECTOR EXPERIENCE Employment Nov– Dec 2015 Premium Lawyers, Summer Law Clerk 

Attending client meetings and interviews, settlement conferences and court appearances



File management, reviewing files and preparing case status reports



Conducted legal research and drafted memoranda pertaining to company law



Drafting documents such as a Summons, Statement of Claims, Affidavits, witness statements, client correspondence, letters of advice



Observing court proceedings at the Adelaide Magistrates’ Court,



District Court, Supreme Court, Federal Court, and Industrial Court.



Team approach to working with support staff, partners and junior solicitors

List specifics and dates for each organisation.

Be specific and descriptive with the tasks you have done. Match these to the position description of the job you are applying for.

List the most important duties first.

Volunteering 2014 - Current

Use action verbs to start each phrase.

Community Legal Centre 

Interview clients to determine eligibility for legal services with concise and accurate note taking



Sensitive approach to responding to diverse cultures and backgrounds



Conduct research and provide advice regarding Family, criminal, civil, consumer credit, tenancy and debt.



Clearly explain legal obligations, rights and remedies and outline possible options



Provide advocacy, support and referral to other agencies as appropriate



Manage my own files and associated documentation

Professional Service 2014 – Current

Include volunteer work, extracurricular activities to demonstrate skills such as organisational, team work and interpersonal skills as well as service to your community.

Event Officer, Flinders Law Students’ Association 

Developed and implemented a year-long program of social, careers and professional events working in a 3-person team.



Attended monthly committee meetings to report on activities.

Applications

80

Matt Flinders

2

EMPLOYMENT 2013 - Current Barista, Flinders Expresso 

Provide friendly & efficient customer service.



Professional attitude to producing consistently excellent coffee resulting in increased coffee sales and repeat patronage.



Coach team members in coffee-making skills.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Jan 2013 – Current Bicycle SA Marshall – Grand Slam Series 

Coordinate team of 10 volunteers



Apply Emergency Procedures when accidents occur and prepare Incident Reports

SKILLS PROFILE 

Professional communication skills developed through legal employment, 2 years’ customer service experience and community volunteering.



Written communication skills demonstrated through achieving credits and distinctions in over 70% of my coursework.



Ability to work in a team as a result of multidisciplinary team-focused placements, sports involvements, and hospitality sector experience.

Provides evidence of your transferable skills.



Effective organisational and time management skills demonstrated through successfully completing full-time study while maintaining casual employment, sporting and volunteer commitments.

Always be honest about your level and proficiency.



Proficient computer skills: Microsoft Office software including MYOB, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.

INTERESTS Play football with Christies Beach Football Club (weekly games and training), member of Audax Australia Cycling Club (participate in non-competitive long distance cycle events), member of Bicycle SA, Green Commuting.

Include at least two referees.

Personal referees are not suitable. They need to be able to speak about your skills and work ethic.

List their job title, telephone contact number and email.

Let your referees know that they have been included on your CV and that keep them informed about the jobs

81

Matt Flinders

3

Applications

Writing your Cover Letter Author: Careers and Employer Liaison Centre

The goal of your one page cover letter is to get the reader’s attention, motivate them to peruse your resume with interest, and inspire them to want to meet you in person.

Sounds like a lot, but take it step by step to achieve attractive and interesting text.

Opening Paragraph

State why you are writing and name the position for which you are applying, and where it was advertised (if applicable).

Grab attention with variations on “I am writing to apply for X”; such as: “With a strong interest in Y, I ….”; “Having undertaken a placement in Z, I …”; With my background in ABC…”

Middle Paragraphs

Next, if this application is get you to the next stage, it must show the employer why you are the best fit and why you are genuinely interested in them.

Why you?

A good place to start is underlining the key words in the job advertisement / recruitment brochure that provide clues about the skills and qualities sought. Use this as your checklist to show convincingly that you meet their requirements.

As a Law student you know all about evidence; you have trained for years in how to present it, debate and justify it, the key difference here is that the evidence is all about you!

Now, this doesn’t mean regurgitating your resume. Rather, aim to give a sense of the ‘big picture’ through touching on what you have to offer across your placements, volunteering, employment, and other relevant experiences.

Tips 1.

2.

Instead of trying to cover each experience sequentially (which is cumbersome to read) – I did this, then that, then that – aim to integrate your information. For example: ‘Through X, Y and Z, I have achieved A, B and C, which will enable me to E, F and G.’ Don’t just list what have done – actively show how your activities demonstrate the skills and qualities sought. For example, a study exchange to Copenhagen could be used to reflect anything from global awareness, intercultural competencies, adaptability, initiative and so on.

Applications

Why Them?

Anyone recruiting Law graduates will be able to spot a generic application a mile away.

Thoroughly researching each organisation you apply to helps convince the reader you are passionate about working with them; and to clearly state the reasons why.

This takes more than a quick look at their website. Get across their practice area strengths, size, client focus, type of cases, corporate partnerships, competitors, reputation/awards, any media coverage, their culture and values and so on.

legal role. You may also refer to the skills gained through extra-curricular activities.

Review your application and finally proof read and have someone else read it and give you feedback.

Cover letter essentials 1.Format

Use a correct letter style, remember to sign your letter and, if the application isn’t an electronic one, print it on good quality paper. 3-4 paragraphs are professional for a business letter.

2.Name Drop

Many organisations will have a commitment to pro bono activities and community engagement (Corporate Social Responsibility). So if disadvantaged youth is a focus and you have volunteered as a youth mentor, you might show an alignment to the values of the firm in a practical way.

Where possible, personalise each letter by sending it to a specific individual, taking care to spell their name correctly and use the proper title. Even better – if you noted the name of the representatives to whom you spoke to at the Law Careers Evening, refer to your conversation and the name of this person!

Final Paragraph

3.Tone

Selection Criteria: When it’s more than a resume and cover letter

4.Show a balanced perspective

Refer the reader to your enclosed resume, application form/responses to selection criteria (if applicable), academic transcript and any other attachments. Finish the letter on a positive note.

For some legal positions, your application will require much more than the ‘cover letter and resume’ approach. If you are applying for positions in the Public Sector, or in a university, you are likely to be asked to respond to the selection criteria in some manner (and if you don’t adhere to the instructions, your application is unlikely to be considered). You could also be responding to application form questions.

As any good lawyer does, make sure you understand your instructions! Read the selection criteria document thoroughly, download any applicant guidelines and speak to the Contact Officer.

Draft and write your application (and be aware that any application you write provides evidence on your ability to write clearly and logically).

Refer to a variety of your experiences; academic, paid and unpaid, community and employment, with an emphasis on the examples closest to the

82

Word your letter carefully. Realise that the reader will view the letter as an example of your ability to communicate professionally in writing so proofread for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Also, Law firms don’t open their correspondence with “My name is …”. So neither should you.

It’s not all about you and how wonderful this opportunity will be for your career – tell them what you can contribute as well.

5 Tailor your approach

It’s worth repeating; different employers look for different things. Some job advertisements for law grads specifically ask you to explain your reasons for applying and one for a regional practice called for a sense of humour! Show you have gone the extra mile to understand them and their needs.

More Resources

Your Careers Centre on FLO has all the resources to assist you with many different application styles– selection criteria, supporting statements and addressing behavioural questions (“Describe a time when…”) with a STAR response (Situation-Task-Action-Result) as part of the selection criteria.

Address your cover letter using the name and position title, phone the organisation to check.

(date) Mary Smith

If this is not possible, for example in the case of large graduate programs, address to Dear Sir or Madam.

Graduate Program Coordinator Law Services 123 Example Street Adelaide SA 5000

Traditionally a cover letter is one page.

However always refer to the requests of the recruiter

Dear Ms Smith After speaking with you at the Law Careers Fair and learning about your innovative culture and holistic approach to legal problem solving I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to undertake a clerkship program with you. Currently I am in the final year of my combined Law/International Studies degree at Flinders University where I have achieved Distinctions in all commercial law topics, demonstrating my motivation and commitment to high standards.

Through community legal volunteering and participation in mooting competitions, I have honed my skills in interviewing, mediation and advocacy. Prior to undertaking my law degree, I worked for five years in legal administration in corporate contexts. This has given me a strong background in providing highly professional services in a fast paced environment, including client liaison, research, file management and drafting documents. As a result I can contribute high level communication, administration and problem solving skills to this clerkship.

In addition, my commitment to community service is longstanding and reflected in my involvement with the Australian Red Cross and the Country Fire Service (CFS) where I assist with fundraising initiatives and event management on a regular basis. In conjunction with my studies and employment, this demonstrates my ability to work successfully in teams, and to organise my time effectively to meet multiple commitments.

With your diversity of practice areas and successful integration of local and international services I welcome the opportunity to contribute my strong client relationship skills to your extensive client networks.

Please refer to my resume (attached) for full details of my training and experience. I look forward to discussing my application with you further at an interview.

State where you saw the job advertisement.

Name the position and vacancy number.

If you have a mutual contact mention the referring party by name.

If you met them at a Careers Fair, then say so.

Why you?

The student lists their skills and experiences. Emphasising technical knowledge gained via their degree and soft skills.

Describe what value you would add to the organisation rather than what you would get out of the job.

Here she demonstrates examples of team work.

Finish on a positive note and refer to any attachments such as your resume, transcripts etc.

Yours sincerely,

Tips:

Jane Jones

Tailor each cover letter to the position you are applying for.

Don’t send an identical letter to employers.

Use an active voice and try to avoid starting too many sentences with ‘I’ Make sure your grammar and spelling is correct.

This cover letter is a guide only to provide an idea of what you should include in your cover letter. The most important quality to convey is enthusiasm, and this must be done in your own style. Once you’ve created your first letter, further letters will become easier to write.

83

Applications

Pre Interview Testing

Author: Careers and Employer Liaison Centre Many large employers use testing as part of their selection process for graduate recruitment. Selection testing is often conducted by psychologists or by human resources/ recruitment consultants, who are accredited in administering and interpreting that particular test.

They may be used to preselect a small number of candidates to be interviewed from a large applicant pool. They are likely to be used in conjunction with other forms of assessment (for example, an assessment centre, interview etc.).

The test may be in a pencil and paper form, or it may be computerised. You may even complete some assessments as part of online application processes.

Aptitude tests

Some of the most common tests are ability or aptitude tests. They assess certain abilities numerical, verbal, diagrammatic reasoning, critical thinking to name a few. All of the ability tests will have a time limit and there will be a right and a wrong answer.

Aptitude tests are strictly timed and typically involve verbal, numerical and diagrammatic reasoning. Work quickly but accurately throughout and have a good night’s sleep the night before.

Personality tests

Personality tests may also be used in graduate recruitment to provide a profile of a personality type or particular characteristics. The personality assessments are generally untimed.

Applications

When undertaking personality tests, be yourself, don’t try to reinvent your personality. They are designed to look at personality factors, e.g. motivations, interests or team style. You won’t know what they are looking for so it’s best to go with your instinctive reaction. Questions are designed by psychologists to detect when someone is being less than honest.

Remember

Test results are just one part of the picture when decisions are made. Interviews are often used to follow up the results of a personality questionnaire.

How to prepare for psychometric tests

Practice can help you know what to expect. The following will provide some examples.

•

Saville Consulting: Practice tests and Preparation Guides - https://www. savilleconsulting.com/PracticeTests

•

SHL Group: Tips on how to succeed with Assessment, and examples of verbal, numerical, and inductive reasoning questions - https://www.cebglobal.com/ shldirect/en/practice-tests/

•

Procter and Gamble : Download a practice test on questions similar to those used their Problem Solving Test as part of their selection and recruitment processes.http://downloads.pgwebtools.com/ practice_reasoning_test.html

84

Can I perform better?

Most test developers would suggest that their tests couldn’t be studied for.

On the other hand, some commentators argue that practice questions help you to develop your confidence and speed in tackling the types of questions you may encounter on these tests. You may become more familiar with the format of questions, and be able to refine your approach to different sorts of questions so that you are more efficient. You may also feel more relaxed about the process!

The Interview

Author: Careers and Employer Liaison Centre Knowledge is Power.

Preparation. This one word is the key to success at interview. But there are many aspects to preparing, which fit logically into the following four area; • Know yourself • Know the organisation • Know the interview format • Know your plan

Know Yourself

Know yourself is not about going to a yoga retreat and working out the meaning of life.

It is about being able to engage on a genuine level with the interviewer so they have a true understanding of who you are.

So, who are you?

The first step is to go back to basics and work out why you chose law in the first place. And don’t just say something like I always watch “Law and Order” or my parents told me to, you need something with a little more substance.

But it must be genuine.

What did you enjoy about your law degree? What subjects got you excited? What direction are you thinking of heading with your career. Be honest here; don’t just tell them what they want to hear. But make sure your response is at least in line with the organisations’ area/s of speciation. For example, don’t say you really want to help out families in need if the company specialises in corporate law.

The practice of law is diverse; as a result different people match different areas. Work out what motivates you, and the answer to this cannot be vague. For example “I like helping people” is a good motivator, but you need to go deeper. If it really motivates you, you will be able to speak passionately about this area.

OK, skills are the next piece of the puzzle. What are you good at? Generally speaking people are not that great at selling themselves and cannot answer the question “why should we hire you?”

You need to work out three or four things you are really good at, and have evidence to back these claims up.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Questions about this might arise, as the interviewer tries to figure you out.

Often this is the thing that they remember the most, and is a great chance to find some common ground. Unless of course you collect Justin Bieber merchandise, which we suggest keeping to yourself.

Know the organisation

As we discussed in our articles on writing applications; check out their website, including the news section, about us and any annual reviews.

Google them. Have a look at the partners/ key staff on LinkedIn (you can logout and view their public profiles so they don’t know). Do you

know someone who works there? - have a brief chat to them about the workplace. If possible try and work out who their main clients are, and who their main competitors are.

There is nothing worse than drawing a blank when asked “so why do you want to work for us?” So have a good read and work out what they do which aligns to your values and motivations.

The information you find on the firm can also come in very handy when they ask, “Do you have any questions for us”? You can use this information such to create intelligent questions.

Know the interview format

Graduate positions often involve various assessment methods, including one on one interviews, group interviews, assessment centres, psychometric testing and cocktail parties. The key here is to at least know what you are in for, and who you are meeting.

If you have adequately prepared, you will be well positioned to respond to most interview questions. Remember that your responses while professional do not have to be perfect; they just need to be genuine. Don’t be afraid to ask the interviewer to repeat the question or instructions, this is much less embarrassing than going off on the wrong direction.

You can also practice some interview responses via our interview training program “Big Interview”, also available via our FLO site.

Law is one of the few professions where a cocktail party or corporate lunch may be part of the selection process. These are a great opportunity to get to know some of the firm’s employees and vice versa. Try not to be the person who corners one of the partners and chews their ear off. Ideally get them talking about themselves.

Of course you must act in a professional manner at all times. Try and observe how others are acting and what the corporate culture is.

Know your plan.

By now you should have a good idea of who you are and what you can bring to the firm.

Before the interview take a step back and try and work out exactly what the firm is looking for. Then develop examples of things you have done which exhibit these skills. For example, if they are looking for someone with a “strong eye for detail”, ensure you have an example where you have shown this.

Another part of your plan might be to go for a 5km jog the morning of the interview. Work out what calms your nerves and do it, this will help your performance at interview.

If you are confident with who you are and what you can bring to the firm this will give you the best possible chance of success. Knowing this will help you be more natural at interview, allowing the interviewer to get a clearer picture of who you are and what you can bring to the organisation. With any luck this will all help you be that little more memorable.

85

Interview Questions ‘Why you?’ questions • • • • • •

Why did you become interested in the legal field?

What practice areas you are interested in, and why? What is your favorite subject at law school?

What can you bring to a team?

Where do you see yourself in five years time? How do you think this Clerkship will help you in your career?

Do you have any weaknesses you can identify, and have you tried to address these?

Are there any relevant or interesting things about you which are not included in your CV?

Behavioural questions

These questions are your opportunity to demonstrate that your previous experience in the workplace, co-curricular roles, legal competitions, or other activities that have prepared you for the position you are applying for.

• Tell us about a time when you had to convince someone of your point of view.

• Tell us a time when you have found working in a team environment challenging.

• Describe a time that a conflict has arisen in a team situation and how have you dealt with it.

• When was the last time you had to work to complete a task against a deadline?

• Describe the most significant presentation/report you ever had to complete.

Situations/Scenarios Questions

• Your client is determined to take a case to court even though there is little chance of winning and have advised strongly against doing so. What would you do?

• Has a recent corporate deal captured your attention: Which side in this deal would you like to work for if you were a lawyer and why?

• How would you reconcile being assigned a case you were morally opposed to?

• How do you deal with poor instructions?

Trends and issues:

• What do you think is the most important issue facing the legal profession at the moment?

• What area of law do you want to reform and why?

‘Why us?’ questions

The organization will be interested in why you chose to apply to them in the first place. This is where your prior research will come in handy.

Your Turn to ask questions

Finally, you will probably be given a chance to ask the interviewers a question or two. This is your chance to demonstrate your initiative, as you can show you have already researched and considered the role itself.

Applications

Careers and Employer Liaison Centre Services Author: Careers and Employer Liaison Centre

Your Future Career

At Flinders University we believe the journey is just as important as the destination. That’s why we offer you career support from day one. Our careers team offer a wide range of services to students and graduates, including programs to develop graduate skills, career advice, professional mentoring programs, access to employers and much more. Some of the programs available to you include:

Skill Development Certificate Make it count

The Skill Development Certificate program provides you with formal recognition for activities, programs and experiences that add to your skill development beyond your course work.

Use the Certificate to shape your University experience, add to your skill set and expand your networks.

The program is highly flexible with three Certificate levels – silver, gold and platinum.

You tailor the program to suit your needs and requirements and can choose programs and activities that align with your personal goals and fit around your study, work and other commitments.

When you complete a Certificate level you will have developed key skills for the global workplace, and be able to articulate these skills, attributes and qualities to employers.

Employability Skills Workshops

These sessions further develop your abilities and place an emphasis on the practical skills necessary in the workplace, while also giving you an opportunity to better understand how to apply these skills through your studies. These 90 minute sessions are offered at two different levels and are open for all currently enrolled Flinders University students at NO COST! Topics range from Critical and Innovative Thinking, Conflict Resolution and Negotiation, Networking and the Workplace to Work Planning, Working Effectively in Teams and more.

Leadership programs

The student leadership programs combine leadership workshops on a range of topics throughout the year with practical handson leadership experiences. You will gain a

Applications

foundation in aspects of leadership and develop your employability skills and knowledge of the characteristics of leadership. Our Annual Leadership Program at the end of each year gives you the opportunity to explore personal characteristics, prepare, develop & broaden your leadership skills and understanding.

Internships, vacation work and skilled volunteering opportunities Student and graduate employment email service

In addition to students and graduates undertaking their own job search the Careers and Employer Liaison Centre regularly lists vacancies and opportunities relevant to students (such as clerkships, Aurora Internship Program etc.) and recent graduates of Flinders University (including graduate programs and positions).

You can register to have these vacancies emailed directly to you.

WorkReady Internship Program

The WorkReady Internship Program is available to all enrolled students who wish to gain work-experience in industry. Volunteering opportunities are also made available to students as well as graduates who wish to contribute to their community whilst enhancing their employability skills.

Get a career mentor

Join the Flinders Ignite Mentoring program and get in touch with an industry mentor who can assist you in preparing for your transition through university into your new career.

Employer engagement opportunities- Expos, Forums and Networking

The Careers and Employer Liaison Centre also regularly presents and sources events, information sessions, student challenges and opportunities held on campus and externally, and together with the Flinders Law Students’ Association brings you the annual Law Careers Evening.

Tailored career advice

At the Careers Centre FLO site students can access our extensive range of online resources, including booklets, checklists, brochures, useful weblinks and more.

86

The Careers Centre team offers their services in Flinders Connect and are available to talk to all students to assist them with their student experience and transition into graduate employment. On arrangement, we can conduct consultations via telephone or SKYPE and a Resume or Cover Letter Email Service is available for basic feedback.

Join the Flinders University Careers LinkedIn Group to connect with employers, alumni and industry professionals. Engage in career related conversations and enhance your professional online presence: www.linkedin. com/groups/4413402 Plus, each year the Careers Centre and FLSA combine resources to present various sessions tailored for Law students. So there are plenty of ways to connect with the Careers Centre throughout your studies at Flinders University.

When you are ready…we are here to help Phone:8201 2832 Email:careers@flinders.edu.au Website: www.flinders.edu.au/careers FLO:Register for our programs, explore careers and access the extensive resources available to you!

Use the resources on FLO to find more information and assistance.To enrol on the Careers Centre FLO site just visit our website and click on the ‘Go with the FLO’ icon on the right hand side of the screen and follow the instructions.

Flinders will help you prepare for a career – not just a job.

Networking It’s who you know

Networking and developing professional relationships can prove to be a valuable asset in paving your career path. Whether you already know someone working in the profession or are just beginning to become involved, there is never a better time than now to increase your connections. Networking assists career development in terms of meeting people, learning new ideas and connecting with people in your field.

It is important to start building networks before penultimate and final year to get you ahead when applying for clerkship and graduate positions. Networks can be a source of advice, can reveal hidden career opportunities and can provide personal recommendations and references.

It is also important to develop networking skills early to give you added confidence during interviews.

Location, location, location

Networking can be done anywhere and everywhere. The Flinders Law Careers Fair is a great place to meet potential employers and firms. The Annual ALSA Conference is also an event where you can meet other law students from across the country.

A fantastic opportunity to meet connections and develop networks is through the Connect@ Flinders Mentoring Program. Students are paired with alumni who support students in planning their career, provide advice and increase student’s networking.

Networking opportunities constantly arise outside of formal programs and events. Be on the look out and take advantage of all opportunities to network.

Preparation

If you know a networking opportunity is coming up, it pays to be prepared.

Researching the individual or firm will equip you with a conversation starter at the very list.

Demonstrating your knowledge to the individual or firm shows dedication and commitment.

However it is important not to go overboard.

Know enough to ensure the conversation is awkward, but refrain from coming across as an overbearing know-it-all.

It may help to have a goal of what you want to get out of the conversation. Having some questions prepared to achieve this will make you seem confident and ensures the individual or firm’s limited time doesn’t feel wasted.

If you are networking with a specific short term goal, such as gaining a clerkship, you may wish to ask the person about their workplace and the clerkship process.

Following up

After meeting someone for the first time it is important to send a follow up communication.

It is best to follow up a networking connection within a couple of days as the person will still have a clear memory of you. An email or handwritten note is appropriate.

The key things to include in your follow up communication are •

Who you are

•

Where you met the person: Eg. My name is Sally Jones and I was lucky enough to meet you at the ALSA conference last week

•

Something nice about the person: If it was a speaker say what you enjoyed about their speech. If it was someone you met at a function let them know how much you appreciated them taking the time to talk to you

•

What you would like now: For example, clerkship information, or the opportunity to have a coffee with them

First impressions

We’ve all heard it a thousand times, but first impressions count! Be sure to introduce yourself to the people you want to meet – don’t wait for them to make the first move, show initiative and take it upon yourself to make the connection.

As you introduce yourself offer a firm handshake, friendly smile and make eye contact – this helps people to remember you. Once you have made the important introduction, don’t lose their interest – make sure you have something to say.

What to say

A good first step is to explain why you wanted to meet the person. You might want to mention your degree and the topics that interest you most. It is not at all inappropriate to discuss non-study related topics. Networking is about developing a relationship and you’ll want to stand out from the crowd.

87

Keep in mind that networking is about both immediate and long term opportunities. It is equally as important to make connections as it is to maintain them. The point of networking is to develop strong professional relationships that you can take advantage of both now and in the future, whether that be next week or in 5 years.

Applications

Social Media Use

With recent media reports announcing two thirds of Australians are using social media, you now have an unprecedented opportunity to develop your reputation, network, conduct research and job search with greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Engage with Employers

Visit organisations’ and associations’ websites – start following them via their social media platforms, be they Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or others. Join Groups relevant to your career to network, take part in discussions, monitor trends, issues and discussion points. Before you start active participation, observe online discussion to get a feel for how the group communicates.

This can give you easy access to job vacancies, matters firms have been involved in, and their other organisational activities, staff profiles, updates and opinions.

Many law firms have a Facebook page aimed at graduates and summer clerks or offer Twitter, LinkedIn, RSS feeds and or even have an iPhone App. You can follow organisations, receive media releases, legal updates, news and opinion pieces via RSS feeds and more.

Protect your Reputation

In any context where you interact with potential employers, the way you present yourself is vital – make your digital profile work for you, not against you (google yourself to ensure your online presence is professional and appropriate).

Staying connected online can be instrumental to making and maintaining professional contacts. However, if you are not careful about what you post online, a less-than-professional online presence can determine the outcome of some job applications. It is not uncommon for employers to Google their applicants.

It is important to monitor your online presence and ensure your profiles do not reflect anything that will come back to haunt you. Here are some tips for social media etiquette that will ensure your online activity does not affect your job applications or professional reputation.

Facebook

It is in your interest to utilise Facebook’s privacy settings. Setting your profile to private is a simple but effective strategy to make sure your online presence stays online, and does not bleed into other aspects of your life. It is easy to think you are somehow anonymous online when saying something ignorant, or when having a go at a friend or colleague. However, people can still find a way to read what you say, and anything you post can resurface later in life.

You must be careful about what you post particularly when you are job-hunting. If you use Twitter, protect your tweets so they are no longer public. Even if you feel you have nothing to hide, it is better to be safe (and private) than to endanger your employment prospects.

Think carefully about what you post on Facebook, and carefully moderate what you are tagged in.

Refrain from adding your colleagues on Facebook until you get to know them properly. Adding colleagues prematurely looks unprofessional, and if you attempt to ‘friend’ someone particularly senior at work, this may have a negative effect in your next performance review.

If your workplace is more relaxed, and adding colleagues and supervisors on Facebook is the norm, you must be particularly careful about what you post. You can modify your settings

so that specific people can only view certain sections of your profile.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an excellent means of ‘connecting’ with your professional contacts, staying up-todate with your network and colleagues, and maintaining a professional profile online.

Your LinkedIn profile is essentially an online CV. You can list your professional achievements, engage in discussion on professional forums, and gradually develop a profile filled with your skills and recommendations.

LinkedIn allows you to keep track of your connections’ job changes and achievements, and you can update your network when you take up a new position or celebrate a professional anniversary.

However, if you choose to set up a LinkedIn profile, ensure it stays up-to-date. While a wellmaintained and professional LinkedIn profile looks good during the job application process, a profile that is out of date can have the opposite effect.

Social Media Etiquette

Be sensible about what you post online. Make sure your personal and professional social media profiles do not overlap, and avoid any posts or photographs that link you to drugs, excessive alcohol, immaturity, illegal activities, or extremism in any sense.

Social networking is an incredible tool, and may be considered a professional necessity by some employers. Staying connected to your colleagues online can help you discover new career opportunities and will help you stay in the loop about developments in your chosen profession.

The Law Society of SA: Social Media Guidelines Exceprts from the Law Society of South Australia’s “Guidelines on the Ethical use of Social Media by Legal Practitioners”.

These Guidelines are not rules of conduct and do not have the force of law. Their purpose is to highlight troublesome issues relating to the use of social media in the practice of the law, and explaining the risks for practitioners that are associated with those issues.

unintentionally disclose that he or she is working with an identifiable client and thereby breach the duty of confidentiality.

Duty to the administration of justice

Ethical risk areas Confidentiality

Every practitioner owes a duty to the court and to the administration of justice. Practitioners must be extremely careful not to say or do things in social media channels that could be viewed as bringing the law into disrepute. Whilst this risk exists in all forms of communication, the informal nature of many social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs may greatly increase the risk.

For example, in circumstances where the fact that a client has sought legal advice is itself confidential, if a practitioner tweets that he or she is in a certain location, either through text or geotagging, the legal practitioner may

In addition, care must be taken to ensure that opinions are not expressed on the merits of potential or current legal proceedings as this could be an interference in the administration of justice and a possible contempt of court.

Similarly, adverse or demeaning comments about judicial officers and fellow members of the legal profession should never be made as they would be likely to diminish public confidence in the administration of justice.

Practitioners owe their clients a duty of confidentiality. The use of social media may expose practitioners to the risk that client confidential information may be inadvertently disclosed.

Applications

88

Other risk areas Defamation

Defamation law allows those who believe their character and reputation has been harmed to sue for damages and other relief. The laws of defamation apply to communications made on social media channels.

Employees’ use of social media

Individuals working in a law practice should not say anything in their personal social media channels which may be interpreted as coming from or representing the views of their law practice and/or which may impact adversely on the law practice.

Risk to reputation

A practitioner’s reputation is a very valuable asset but can easily be destroyed. This is especially so in the world of social media. For example, if something which is damaging to a practitioner’s reputation goes viral on the internet, it will be extremely difficult for the practitioner to repair the ensuing damage to reputation.

Learning from your Failures Author: Picorelli Pal for Beyond Law

What Failures At The Start Of My Career Taught Me About Writing Killer Job Applications

leaders in the field you’re interested in. There’s no one path to a position, but Linkedin can give you a good idea about the kind of experience you need to reach your dream job.

Since leaving university in July 2013, I’ve worked for a large not-for-profit, worked in international arbitration at a top tier law firm in Singapore, and had a taste of diplomatic life at DFAT’s posting to the UN in New York. And yet, for most applications that I’ve submitted since graduation, I did not get the job. Here’s what I learned from my failures.

Find the organisation’s Twitter account or blog.

These posts will give you a good idea about what issues the organisation considers are important in its field. If you can’t work that into a written application, those insights will give you an edge in an interview.

1. It’s not about you, it’s about them

Employers are looking for a particular type of person with a particular skill set. How do you work this out? A company’s website is a good start. Look at how they describe their work, their mission, their values. Pay attention to the language they use to describe themselves.

Without being artificial, you need to paint yourself in a way that fits into that picture.

Say you’ve had experience tutoring migrant children. A community legal centre lists diversity as one of its values. You write that your experience required you to be sensitive and respectful of cultural differences. A notfor-profit describes its employees as socially engaged. You say that you have experience working to remedy social inequalities. You’re a law grad. Get creative with words.

2. Get your stalk on

Use LinkedIn to look up the organisation and its current employees. Look at how their employees brand themselves, and if you have similar work experience, you can brand yourself in a similar way. If you have an experience deficit, look up

3. Do not talk about your passions

As soon as you talk about your ‘passion’ or how much you ‘enjoy’ something, you’re drifting into vague, unsubstantiated territory.

A job application is not about your feelings.

Frame your experience and skills in a way that demonstrates what your passion is. If you have a ‘passion’ for criminal law, talk about why you pursued certain opportunities. You volunteered in a regional community because you are keenly interested in the external factors that cause vulnerable individuals to reoffend. You wrote an article on mandatory sentencing because you are fascinated by the question of why certain penalties are justifiable for some crimes, but not others. This kind of explanation will give prospective employers an idea of the three dimensional person behind the resume, without you ever having to use the word ‘passion’.

difference to add that you were polite, and after consulting the manager, offered a refund. This ensured that the customer left feeling their issue had been addressed and returned again in the future. The first talks about your behaviour.

The second talks about how your behaviour led to a desirable result.

5. You are not entitled to anything

You’re never too good to fail. You can put everything into something, and still not get what you want. There are a lot of good applicants going for the same position, and this just means that some good applicants are going to lose out.

I’m not saying this to flatten you. I’m saying this because as soon as you shake the feeling that you’re entitled to an interview or to a job, you won’t waste time feeling hard done by, and you’ll feel a lot freer.

The secret to success is to keep going. So get going!

Beyond Law is a job-search website for law students, graduates and young lawyers that promotes a range of opportunities around Australia and across the globe. Jobs posted daily on www.beyondlaw.com.au

4. Emphasise results

You’d be surprised at how easy it is to talk about your experience without talking about what the outcome was. If you’re addressing a selection criterion like, ‘diffuses disputes in the workplace’ you can talk about how you were polite to cranky customers at a restaurant. It makes a world of

89

Applications

Employer Directory This section of the Careers Guide provides a catalogue of various employers that law students and graduates may consider applying to. The section is comprised of six different sub sections to give you the most comprehensive overview of career options.

These are Civil Legal Practice; Criminal Legal Practice; Suburban & Rural Practice; Community Legal Practice; Private Non- Legal; and Public Non-Legal.

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Allens

www.allens.com.au Offices Brisbane Hanoi Ho Chi Mihn City Jakarta Melbourne Perth Port Moresby Singapore Sydney Ulaanbaatar

Major Practie Areas Arbitration Banking & Finance Capital Markets Client Products Climate Change Company Secretariat Competition Law Construction & Major Projects Energy Environment & Planning Financial Services Regulation Funds Management Insurance Intellectual Property Litigation & Dispute Resolution Mergers & Acquisitions Patents & Trade Marks Personal Property Securities Privacy & Data Protection Private Equity Real Estate Regulatory Investigations Resources Restructuring & Insolvency Superannuation Tax Technology & Outsourcing Water Workplace Relations

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Allens is an international law firm with offices throughout Australia and Asia. On 1 May 2012, we formed an integrated alliance with Linklaters. This has resulted in the two firms working together closely for the benefit of clients around the world.

The Allens and Linklaters integrated alliance provides our clients with access to market leading lawyers through a global network of 40 offices across 29 countries, including to emerging markets in Africa, Asia and South America. The alignment of our complementary practices enables us to offer an integrated service to clients, with one point of contact, a unified team drawn from the best resources of each firm, and consistent quality advice and support.

Our clients

Allens has some of the world’s longest ongoing client relationships, stretching back more than 150 years. It’s a fact of which we are immensely proud and one we never take for granted.

We work with many of the world’s leading organisations - including 55 of the world’s top 100 companies and more than 75 of Australia’s top 100 companies. Whether you’re a global multinational or a suburban-based company with a bright idea, our commitment to providing excellent service remains the same: combining technical excellence with commercial insight to provide the clearest of answers.

Our services

Allens provides access to leading lawyers and resources throughout Australia and Asia, covering all commercial issues, from acquisition finance to workplace relations. We are praised for our innovative approach to complex work and delivering market-leading solutions to clients.

Clerkship at Allens

Gain first-hand exposure to life as a lawyer at Allens. Get involved in work as soon as you set foot in the firm. Work alongside lawyers and partners; learn from their feedback and enjoy their support. And get a feel for who we are and why we’re different.

You’ll come away with all the insights you need to make an informed decision about your future.

We offer a range of experiences across a number of different practice groups and sectors.

Here’s a quick rundown of what you can look forward to.

• An induction program that introduces you to our people and the work we do.

• On-the-job training with support from a partner and junior lawyer who’ll act as your supervisor and buddy.

• The opportunity to work with many of Australia’s and the world’s top 100 companies.

• Tasks similar to those of a junior lawyer.

• An opportunity to hear first-hand from our Partners and Corporate Service teams on topics ranging from Allens as a business to Allens in the community.

• Sports and social events where you will really get to know us.

• The chance to get involved in our community work.

• An opportunity to build a network of peers.

We accept applications from students who are in their penultimate or final year at the time of application.

Clerkship Application Dates Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

Brisbane

Summer

1 Mar

21 Mar

9 May

Melbourne

Summer

11 Jul

14 Aug

11 Oct

Perth

Seasonal

18 Jul

5 Aug

21 Sep

Sydney

Summer

15 Jun

17 Jul

23 Sep

94

ABOUT US

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

If you want to make the most of your career in law, our global network is the perfect place to start. Our worldwide capabilities give us access to the most interesting markets, the most exciting clients and the most significant and complex transactions. For you, this means the chance to work on market-leading deals with some of the most experienced and talented lawyers in our industry, together with access to international secondment opportunities from early in your career.

Initiative A curious mind is vital, as is plenty of initiative. The more adaptable you’re prepared to be and the more energy you bring, the more you’ll get out of your career here. You’ll be able to steer a path that turns possibilities into realities.

Excellence

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?

Excellence is essential; it’s a guarantee we give our clients. Intellectually rigorous, driven and eager to learn, you’ll set the highest standards for yourself and strive to be the best you can be.

It begins with our people

Commerciality

It’s our people who make us great. It is our priority to ensure they are constantly challenged, recognised, rewarded and empowered throughout their careers.

Successful lawyers understand that law is more than an academic pursuit. It’s about understanding the client – their objectives and the challenges they face – as well as the wider commercial environment in which we operate.

Our unique way of working

Resilience

We adopt a flexible approach to the way we work, which builds strong and diverse teams, and is one of the reasons our lawyers tell us a career here is so rewarding. You won’t be limited to working with a particular partner or group. Instead, you will have the opportunity to drive your career by working with a range of lawyers and partners.

Positive people thrive in our environment. We look for people who can build sustainable careers with us; people who successfully juggle a busy life and varying commitments while maintaining their wellbeing. Like us, you’ll believe that leading a full, active life outside the law can make you a better person to work with.

We make the complex simple

Well-rounded

We are known for the quality of our legal minds. That’s why we attract some of the most complex legal work, and why our lawyers are recognised as the best in the profession.

Our clients often tell us we have ‘great people’. And it’s true. We look for diversity – people who bring a fresh perspective and energy to everything they do, with the ability to create strong relationships with each other and with clients.

Life-long learning

Teamwork

As a graduate, we’re committed to giving you the best professional and personal development opportunities. Our training programs provide graduates with practical legal education of the highest professional standard. You’ll build your knowledge of the law and business and find an area of law that inspires you. We will support you with leading learning and development programs to round out your skills and put you on the path to becoming a market-leading lawyer.

The ability to work collaboratively and efficiently with others is of fundamental importance to working successfully at a commercial law firm. Negotiations involve work with multi-disciplinary teams across borders and successful lawyers work to reach the best possible outcome in transactions, mediations and arbitrations.

CLERKSHIP PROGRAM Come and explore a career with us by applying for one of our clerkships.

Our clerkships offer ambitious penultimate-year law students an insight into the workings of a large corporate law firm, and offer an exceptional opportunity to experience our work, people and culture.

Anything is possible with us – provided you are willing to work hard and are committed to achieve whatever you put your mind to.

Attention to detail Lawyers are expected to have an accurate and meticulous approach to their work. You need a good eye for detail to be able to communicate effectively on paper with both colleagues and clients. Attention to detail is part of providing a quality service to our clients.

HOW TO APPLY www.allens.com.au/careers ww.linklaters.com/ukgrads Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice 95 www.linklaters.com/hkcareers 15306D

GENEVA SEKULA At the start of 2015 when my law school was abuzz with the prospect of completing clerkships, I had not decided if I was even going to apply.

I had heard a lot about cocktail nights and canapés and interviews, but I didn’t know much about what completing a clerkship actually entailed or why I should sacrifice my beloved summer holidays to do one. Having spent the summer at Allens, I can definitely recommend doing a clerkship. It’s an invaluable way to see the inner workings of a commercial firm.

opportunity to experience first-hand how commercial law operates in a different legal system. I had some memorable experiences zipping through Saigon traffic on a motorbike and visiting tourist hotspots; certainly different to the weekends I would have been having at home!

Although I didn’t come back particularly fluent in business Vietnamese, I definitely came home with a broader international perspective on commercial law, and felt privileged to have been able to experience life in one of the Asian offices.

I was unspeakably nervous on the first day of my first rotation. I had never worked in a law firm before and I was concerned that I didn’t remember an awful lot from my first year Contracts class at university.

I needn’t have worried. That first day I hardly got through any work because the people in my team kept stopping by to say hello, have a chat and see how I was going with everything. I was amazed at how genuinely interested everyone was in getting to know me and making sure I was feeling confident in my work.

I was exposed to lots of different work during my time at Allens. I helped to draft letters, write research memos, conduct title searches, proofread contracts, and attend meetings, among many other things.

But the summer was much more than simply doing a job. It was an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the firm and we went to a number of seminars which helped to shed more light on the culture of the firm. We heard about Allens’ pro bono work and presence in the community and about the alliance with Linklaters, we heard from a panel of partners who gave us insight into their career progression with the firm, and we heard from a panel of graduates who answered any and all of our questions. I attended Christmas parties (yes, plural), was invited to welcome yum cha, and had many, many coffee catch-ups with lawyers and other clerks. Beyond the legal work and the firm, the clerkship is a great way to expand your social networks. We also went to inter-firm trivia nights and the clerk cruise, and had lots of other opportunities to get to know each other, and the clerks at other firms.

This was indicative of the wider culture of the firm and I was deeply impressed by how supportive and enthusiastic everyone was, and how much time the lawyers were willing to take to explain tasks to me or answer my questions. The firm instigates a formal support network with a buddy, development lawyer and supervising partner, which was a great source of comfort and helped to keep me on track. But, beyond that, there were plenty of lawyers who were keen to get involved with the clerkship and offer their help and feedback.

One of the reasons I decided to go to Allens was because I saw it as a firm where there would be opportunities to work overseas, and having an international dimension to my career was important to me. I hadn’t ever guessed that my first chance to travel with Allens would be in my sixth week working for the firm. After the Christmas break, instead of boarding a train to Wynyard, I found myself boarding a plane to Ho Chi Minh City where I was to complete a three-week rotation.

The Ho Chi Minh City office was very different to the Sydney office. For one thing, it was a lot smaller, and the contracts were in both Vietnamese and English. I had an amazing time in Vietnam experiencing different food and a different culture, but also having the

Allens is a firm full of opportunities. In 10 weeks I travelled internationally, went on an overnight trip to a client office, went on a tour of a coalmine, experienced a Women at Allens panel, visited the Sydney Children’s Hospital, and had the chance to work on pro bono matters. I can’t tell you exactly what to expect from an Allens clerkship, because you never know what opportunities will be there for you to take. The clerkship program gives you the chance to peer inside a commercial firm and to think about your future. I loved my time with the firm and can’t wait to start my career. A clerkship with Allens feels like unlocking the door to an incredible future and I would recommend it to anyone.

CLERKSHIPS AND GRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice 96 WITHIN A GLOBAL NETWORK

15306D

Arnold Bloch Leibler www.abl.com.au

Arnold Bloch Leibler is a premier Australian commercial law firm that has earned a reputation for its passion, results and its innovative and commercially focused advice.

unique culture. We do not hide behind smoke and mirrors. Instead, we offer a programme where you have the opportunity to be an integral part of our firm.

The firm is regularly involved in some of the most important landmark transactions in the country and assists its clients with their most important or difficult legal matters - when their reputation is at risk, in crisis situations or when embarking on key initiatives.

Generally, we only take students in their secondlast year of study. Our experience has shown that, by this stage, students have reached a level of their education that can be developed further with us.

The firm provides strategic legal and commercial advice nationally to a diverse range of leading Australian corporations, high-net-worth individuals and large family businesses as well as international corporations.

In Melbourne, we offer approximately 40 to 45 seasonal clerkships each year, timed to coincide with university holidays. A clerkship runs for four weeks, and there are three main intakes yearly: June/July, December and January/February.

With only 12 to 15 clerks at any given time, you won’t get lost in the crowd.

Seasonal clerkships After years of lectures, assignments and exams, you are probably planning to sleep in late and relax during the holidays. Tempting as that may be, if you want to get ahead, consider doing a seasonal clerkship at Arnold Bloch Leibler.

Melbourne Clerkships

Offices Melbourne Sydney

Major Practie Areas Banking & finance Commercial & corporate Competition Litigation & dispute resolution Native title & public interest law Property & development Public companies Reconstruction & insolvency Taxation Technology & intellectual property Workplace advisory

Sydney Clerkships

In our Sydney office, we usually offer 1-2 clerkships per year, pending needs. We follow the New South Wales model of a 10-12 week clerkship over the summer holiday period.

A seasonal clerkship at Arnold Bloch Leibler offers you the opportunity to experience firsthand life as a lawyer and our stimulating and

Australian Government Solicitor www.ags.gov.au

AGS became part of the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) on 1 July 2015 and is now one of 4 groups within AGD. It has an independent functional identity within AGD and is unique among legal service providers because we are a government agency set up to provide legal services to the Australian Government and its various departments, entities and agencies.

that the Australian Government has access to high-quality legal and related services to advance the national interest. We work in government and public law, and specialise in constitutional and legislative interpretation across all the portfolios. AGS has an unmatched High Court practice and also provides extensive commercial law services to government.

AGS is one of Australia’s largest national law practices, with more than 300 lawyers and an office in every capital city.

AGS conducts the Australian Government’s constitutional litigation, which involves essential and core aspects of our system of government that can have enduring and whole-ofgovernment implications beyond the interests of any particular portfolio. Such considerations require a specialised level of legal expertise and central coordination.

AGS is one of Australia’s largest national law practices, with more than 300 lawyers and an office in every capital city.

We successfully contest for work against Australia’s top-tier law firms. We also undertake tied work (non-contestable) in the areas of constitutional, national security and public international law, as well as Cabinet matters.

We are dedicated to government and assist the Attorney-General as First Law Officer to ensure

Offices Canberra Melbourne Sydney

Major Practie Areas Government and administrative law Corporate and commercial law Dispute resolution and litigation

AGS delivers services through 3 national legal practice groups: Office of General Counsel AGS Commercial AGD Dispute Resolution.

Clerkship Application Dates Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

Canberra

Summer

15 June

17 July

Late Sept

Melbourne

Summer

15 June

17 July

Late Sept

Sydney

Summer

15 June

17 July

Late Sept

97

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Ashurst www.ashurst.com

Offices Adelaide Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Perth Sydney For international see website

Major Practie Areas Capital Markets Commercial Contracts Commodities Construction Corporate Data Protection and Privacy Dispute Resolution Employment Environment Finance Intellectual Property Investment Funds Native Title Outsourcing PFI/PPP Planning Private Equity Project Finance Public Sector & Government Real Estate Insolvency & Reconstruction Tax

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Ashurst is a leading international law firm advising corporates, financial institutions and governments. Our core businesses are in corporate, finance, dispute resolution, and the development and financing of assets in the energy, resources and infrastructure sectors.

In November 2013, Ashurst LLP and Ashurst Australia (formerly Blake Dawson) merged to form one global team.

We have 28 offices in 16 countries. With over 400 partners and 1,700 lawyers in total, we offer the international insight of a global network combined with local market knowledge.

We provide consistently high quality, commercially relevant legal advice worldwide, and build teams that are specific to our clients’ needs, combining specialist legal skills, industry experience and regional know-how. We have a track record of successfully managing large and complex multi-jurisdictional transactions, disputes and projects. Our focus is on getting to the heart of your legal needs and delivering practical, commercial solutions.

In Australia, we work with leading global companies and government clients. Our clients include 73% of the top 100 ASX companies.

We are proud to have advised on many of Australia’s and the world’s largest and most complex deals. We bring together lawyers with the required technical knowledge, direct industry experience and regional capability to support your legal needs and projects in Australia, Asia and across the globe.

98

Clerkships at Ashurst

Wondering what life as a lawyer might be like?

Ashurst’s clerkship program will help you make the transition from academic life to professional practice. A seasonal clerkship is a snapshot experience of the commercial legal profession and will influence your future career decisions.

A clerkship is typically undertaken in the penultimate year of your Law degree.

Who are we looking for?

We appreciate the diversity of skills, experiences and perspective brought to Ashurst by all of our people. We also recognise that attracting the best talent with complementary strengths is critical to achieving the best team-based outcomes for our clients and our people. We look for the character and strengths we know are key to success from graduate through to partnership.

You will excel at Ashurst if you demonstrate academic capability and commercial awareness, show an ability to build rapport with a range of people, and work well in a team-based environment. We also expect that you will have resilience, motivation and a willingness to learn.

Our clients expect the highest quality legal skills, commercial advice and first class service – but they also want lawyers who enjoy working with them, and each other.

From experience, graduates who have balanced their studies with other activities like part-time work, university competitions, law society positions, exchange programs, sports and hobbies tend to have a range of other skills they can offer the firm like teamwork, leadership, time management and commercial awareness.

ANDREW Graduate Lawyer Studied: Bachelor of International Relations, Australian National University and Masters of Law, Monash University

It’s hard for me to pick a highlight so far – unless it’s the variety I’ve been exposed to, both in terms of the type of work and its scale. But one I could single out is my involvement in an IPO to help a company raise approximately $52m. I got to see the whole process from start to finish, discover all the intricacies of how the business worked, and learn what the company went through to reach a milestone in its development.

I also helped turn round a large-scale due diligence project within an extremely tight timeframe. It was an adrenaline-charged experience where graduates and lawyers from offices right across Australia all pulled together to hit the deadline. It showed how effectively we all work together at Ashurst. I definitely felt I was part of the team, not just working for a team. That feeling applies whether you’re working in a practice group, with other groups in your office, interstate and even internationally.

People here trust you to get on with things and show what you can do, but they’re also there if you need advice or support. While more junior associates teach you the practical parts of being a lawyer, partners show you how lawyers think. But everyone is as interested in your development as they are in the work you produce.

99

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

careers.ashurst.com

Baker & McKenzie www.bakermckenzie.com

Offices Melbourne Sydney Brisbane For international offices see website

Major Practie Areas Banking & Finance Mergers and Acquisitions Private Equity Capital Markets Commercial Real Estate Construction Dispute Resolution & Litigation Employment & Industrial Relations Energy, Resources, Infrastructure & Corporate Technology, Communications & Commercial Intellectual Property Media Tax Environmental Markets

At Baker & McKenzie we are different in the way we think, work and behave. Like no other law firm we were born global.

Baker & McKenzie was conceived and built as a global law firm, so thinking and working globally is embedded in our culture and we understand the challenges of the global economy. We were formed in 1949 when an entrepreneurial Chicago attorney, Russell Baker, met the litigator, John McKenzie. McKenzie shared Baker’s vision of creating the world’s first multicultural, global law firm and our first office outside the USA was opened in Caracas in 1955. We are now the world’s largest law firm by markets, revenue and headcount and have a network of 77 offices in 47 countries around the world.

Our most recent offices to be opened were Johannesburg, Casablanca and Lima in 2012, Seoul and Dubai in 2013 and Brisbane and Yangon in 2014.

We opened our first office in Asia Pacific in Manila in 1963, and have grown to 17 fullservice offices across 13 jurisdictions. With more than 1,000 locally qualified lawyers across the region, and 77 offices globally, Baker & McKenzie is the firm with the greatest depth and breadth of coverage across the dynamic Asia Pacific markets.

We have been a global law firm in Australia since 1964 and our Australian practice is now the fourth largest in our network with more than 85 Partners and over 180 lawyers across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Baker & McKenzie Australia offers our people access to complex, market-leading matters for leading multinational and domestic companies and the ability to work with some of the world’s best legal minds – people who know the law and who understand business. We have an unrivalled ability to provide training and secondment opportunities across our global network. Locally, we have an inclusive culture of learning, coaching and opportunity where you will work in small teams on matters that often cross borders. We value people who think ahead and get noticed.

Clerkships

We consult with our summer clerks before they commence to understand whether there are any areas of law in which they are particularly interested or practice groups which they would like to experience. We structure their placements according to these preferences where possible.

Summer clerks will complete a placement in one of our specialist areas but are encouraged to seek out work from other practice groups. Right from

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

100

the start, our summer clerks get involved in real work. You will be exposed to our Australian and international clients through client meetings, shadowing, research and other everyday activities within your assigned practice group.

Our summer clerks work closely with other lawyers and are guided by a supervising partner/ senior associate and associate ‘buddy’. You will develop practical and legal skills through our national learning program for junior lawyers and by attending workshops specifically designed for summer clerks, as well as firm-wide sessions on a range of legal and non-legal topics.

You will also be supported at every stage by our graduate team in Talent Management who will facilitate a comprehensive development program for you - including induction and skills development (such as business communication, networking skills and other skills crucial to ensuring you have a successful clerkship). We will also provide you with opportunities to enable you to network with colleagues around the firm - through our ‘speed networking’ program, social events with your buddy, our partners and lawyers, and our end of year party.

You can also gain more practical experience on completion of your clerkship through casual research clerk work with the Melbourne office during your final year of university and before you commence with us as a graduate.

In addition, summer clerks who accept a graduate role with the firm can also apply for an ‘international clerkship’, with the opportunity to work for up to 4 weeks in one of our overseas offices in the year following their clerkship.

We look for people who enjoy a challenge and seek new opportunities; who share our global perspective; who have sound academics and are practical in their approach; who like taking responsibility and getting things done; who express themselves confidently while staying open to new ideas; and who seek a friendly and inclusive culture that encourages making a difference to our local and global communities.

The majority of our graduate roles tend to be filled by former summer clerks. However, the firm will also consider students who, within the two years preceding the date of offer, have completed a minimum of 30 days paralegal work with the firm in accordance with the LIV Traineeship Guidelines 2015. This allows us to recognise people who have invested in us through a previous clerkship/paralegal work and with whom we have established a positive working relationship.

Find us at @BakersAUS

www.bakermckenzie.com/careers/australia/melbourne/ 101

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Camatta Lempens www.camattalempens.com.au

Offices

Camatta Lempens Pty Ltd Lawyers is a long established Adelaide law firm.

Adelaide

We practice in commercial and civil litigation, corporate and commercial law, personal injury, native title, criminal law, family law, and estates.

Major Practie Areas Bankruptcy Civil Dispute Resolution Commercial Litigation Corporate And Commercial Criminal Law And Traffic Law Estate Planning Estates And Probate Family Law Franchising Insolvency Liquor Licensing Mergers And Acquisitions Personal Injuries Property and Commercial Leasing Wills

Our client base is incredibly diverse. We act for local, national and international businesses across a range of industries, as well as individuals. We are particularly active in the not-for-profit sector.

Camatta Lempens is committed to offering a safe, flexible and pleasant workplace. At the same time, we ensure that our people are rewarded for hard work with highly competitive remuneration and benefits, as well as rich opportunities for professional development and advancement.

As a midsize Adelaide firm we are large and reputable enough to attract quality clients and work, but small enough that our senior lawyers are accessible and that all staff make real contributions to our matters.

Cosoff Cudmore Knox www.ccklawyers.com

Offices Adelaide

Major Practie Areas Commercial Disputes Commercial Transactions Construction & Engineering Mergers & Acquisitions Private Client Services Taxation & Tax Disputes Technology & IP

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Cosoff Cudmore Knox is a commercial law firm with a strong reputation for resolving complex commercial matters quickly and cost-effectively.

We take on the largest law firms in Australia, with an outstanding success rate.

We offer clerkships throughout the year for law students in their final or penultimate years of study. Applications are generally accepted in the middle of each year for places in the following calendar year.

Clerkships typically run for four to eight weeks, and can be part time (at least two days per week) or full time as studies allow. Students who are undertaking pre-admission practical legal training courses may count their clerkship towards any practical experience requirement.

102

We seek motivated, hard working people who are interested in working with experienced lawyers on complex legal matters, and who want to be part of the ongoing growth of the firm.

Clerkships at Cosoff Cudmore Knox include the opportunity to be involved in first class commercial legal work, personal mentoring by one of our lawyers, a comprehensive induction process, regular and constructive assessment of your work, and priority consideration for graduate positions.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth www.corrs.com.au

Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a premium independent law firm. We work with our clients as true partners in their business. We bring insight, innovation and agility to create success for them on a global stage.

Clerkships

Corrs has a strong history spanning more than 170 years but we are firmly focused on creating opportunities for our clients in the rapidly changing business landscape of today and tomorrow. Our vision as a world class law firm is to drive Australia’s competitiveness and its economic engagement with Asia.

Our program will give you an insight into what working at Corrs is like and how we differ from many other law firms. It will also give us an opportunity to learn about you and discover the qualities that make you different. Each of our offices has a Seasonal Clerkship Program. The dates, durations and formats vary slightly.

We have offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth as well as a strong partnering relationships throughout the Asia Pacific region and worldwide. Our independence and our network of the world’s best independent firms provide a competitive advantage for our clients. That gives us the flexibility to deliver the most effective and expert solution for their international needs.

As a clerk, you will be closely supervised by partners and senior lawyers. Junior lawyers will also be on hand to answer any questions you have about the firm, and who can settle you in and provide you with an informal level of support and guidance during your time at Corrs.

Our clients want a different type of law firm that is strategic, creative, flexible and able to work in their worlds. These are the qualities that characterise and differentiate our people - world class lawyers who are prepared to think big and do things differently.

With more than 600 lawyers, including 120 partners, our people are consistently recognised for world class services and results. This year, 57 of our partners and special counsel were named leading lawyers in Chambers Asia Pacific and Global Guides and 129 were listed as Best Lawyers in the annual Best Lawyers peer review.

We have built a culture of collaboration and excellence in which each person is encouraged, supported and trained to be world class. This is the key to excellent results for our people and our clients.

Our commitment to our people has made us a much sought-after employer. We are consistently recognised as an Employer of Choice, and are the only large national law firm to be awarded ALB Gold Employer of Choice two years in a row – as voted by our staff in an independent national survey.

Your first step towards a career at Corrs is a Seasonal Clerkship. In fact, the majority of our graduates are recruited through our Seasonal Clerkship Program.

The Program is a great opportunity for you to experience the people, clients, work and culture that differentiates Corrs from other firms.

You will have the opportunity to work with some of Australia’s leading lawyers on high profile work for major Australian and international clients across all industries.

You will be exposed to a broad range of interesting matters, plus perform tasks such as conducting research, reviewing and presenting documents, attending client meetings, court hearings, mediations and settlements, as well as shadow partners and lawyers in client meetings and business development activities. It’s the perfect way to discover the area of law that excites you the most.

Offices Brisbane Melbourne Perth Sydney

Major Practie Areas Capital Markets China Climate Change Communications and Technology Competition and Regulatory Construction, Major Projects & Infrastructure Corporate Cyber Security Employment, Workplace Relations & Safety Energy & Resources Environment & Planning Financial Services Foreign Investment into Australia Global Regulatory Government Health India Intellectual Property Litigation & Dispute Resolution Mergers & Acquisitions Property & Real Estate Restructuring & Insolvency Royal Commissions & Inquiries Tax

LIV Priority System

In accordance with LIV (Law Institute of Victoria) guidelines, students who have completed a clerkship with this firm are eligible for priority graduate offers.

Clerkship Application Dates Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

Brisbane

Seasonal

1 Mar

21 Mar

9 May

Melbourne

Seasonal

11 Jul

14 Aug

11 Oct

Perth

Seasonal

18 Jul

5 Aug

21 Sep

Sydney

Summer

15 Jun

17 Jul

23 Sep

103

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Cowell Clarke www.cowellclarke.com.au

Offices Adelaide

Major Practie Areas Agribusiness Banking and Finance Building, Construction & Infrastructure Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Commercial Transactions Competition Law Corporate Defence Employment & Industrial Relations Equity Capital Markets Energy, Resources & Environment Financial Services Insolvency & Reconstruction Intellectual Property & Information Technology International Trade Personal Property Securities Act Pharmacy Private Client – Asset, Estate & Succession Planning Property Superannuation Tax & Revenue

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Cowell Clarke is a specialist commercial law firm based in Adelaide. We act for clients in all sectors of business and industry in Australia and internationally.

Our areas of expertise include corporate advice, commercial property, banking and financial services, employment, tax planning, construction, energy & resources, asset protection, IP, IT, defence and dispute resolution.

Through our exclusive membership of ALFA International ® the Global Legal Network, we give our clients access to specialist legal resources virtually anywhere they have business worldwide.

Clerkships

Cowell Clarke has an outstanding Career Development Program which includes Clerkships & PLT Placements. We offer several Clerkships, usually to commence in July each year.

Clerkships and placements are an integral part of the commencement of a career in law. They can also lead to a full time position as a graduate solicitor.

104

You will have access to and work with senior lawyers who are recognised as being the best in their fields. You will have direct client contact.

In addition, every clerk is given an opportunity to work in our corporate & commercial, dispute resolution and property practices.

An element we believe sets us apart from other law firms is the focus that our partners have on creating a supportive and enjoyable work environment. You won’t be expected to work 16 hours per day. We recognise that it is not the time you spend at work, but rather what you do when you are there.

We work with you to ensure you make the most of your experience at Cowell Clarke. Our Career Development Program includes supervision by senior lawyers and the opportunity to participate in our Professional Development Program, including sessions tailored especially for you.

Our clerkship program enables our clerks to experience the broadest range of practice areas, with rotations through property, corporate & commercial, and our various dispute resolution teams. While the focus is on variety, we are also happy to accommodate particular areas of interest.

Bridging the Gap: Student to Lawyer Annalise Andrews, University of Adelaide Law Graduate In 2014 I began my penultimate year of law with the same anxieties as most final year students: should I start looking for work experience now? Is this the right time for me to be applying for a clerkship program? And above all, is the legal profession the right career for me?

Fortunately, I decided to take the plunge and applied for the summer clerkship program at Cowell Clarke and I have never looked back. Fast forward to 2016, I am now a Lawyer in the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commercial litigation team.

I have found Cowell Clarke to be the perfect professional environment to assist me in developing my own legal skills.

The firm has given me a well-rounded taste of what is to come, three main reasons being; the structure of the clerkship program, the support and mentorship of the solicitors and the culture of the firm.

Clerkship Program 2016 is an exciting time to be applying for Cowell Clarkeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clerkship program. Cowell Clarke will be accepting applications for Summer Clerkships in association with the South Australian Law Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Council Uniform Clerkships scheme. Applications for PLT placements are also currently being accepted for 2016.

When clerking at Cowell Clarke you will carry out work in our litigation practice groups including commercial litigation, insolvency & reconstruction, building & construction and employment & industrial relations. You will also rotate through our advisory practice areas which include corporate advisory, capital markets, banking & finance, IP & IT, energy & resources, property, environment & planning and tax & revenue. This wide exposure to different areas of law and different people within the firm is essential for law students making the transition to lawyer, as it will assist you in deciding in what area of law you will ultimately practice.

Support and Mentorship Our solicitors, ranging from junior lawyers to senior partners create an environment that promotes creativity and a strong work ethic, and encourages your overall development which means it is an exciting place to work and learn.

Unlike other clerkship programs where you might be assigned to a single practice area, Cowell Clarke will give you the opportunity to experience a variety of work and to work with a range of lawyers. This will allow you not only to be involved in different areas of law, but it will also provide you with the opportunity to observe the array of different working styles of the solicitors at our firm.

Each solicitor is happy to assist you in developing your own professional skills such as research techniques, drafting and communication skills, which I was greatly unfamiliar with before stepping foot into a law firm.

As a law clerk you will have the opportunity to work side by side with partners on challenging and rewarding matters.

While I was a law clerk, I assisted lawyers in the litigation team with tasks such as legal research, drafting pleadings, letters of advice and correspondence with clients (not to mention an odd sprint or two to the Courts to file documents which is a rite of passage). I was also regularly able to attend court, mediations and meetings with clients and barristers.

Even in such a short time working at Cowell Clarke, I found our solicitors went out of their way to impart their wisdom and advice regarding the profession, which has been an invaluable tool for me.

Culture Cowell Clarke prides itself on fostering an enjoyable working environment. The firm provides opportunities for young lawyers to thrive and to feel part of the team.

Friday night drinks are always a hit and our Social Club Committee organises events ranging from Go-Karting to historical walks (pub crawls) and movie nights on a regular basis. Cowell Clarke also facilitates programs such as fitness boot camp, yoga classes, the City to Bay, and supports us attending networking and professional development activities. These activities are always well attended and I enjoy participating in them.

Many of the solicitors I work with, including a partner of the firm, have started their legal careers as a law clerk at Cowell Clarke, and their longevity is a testament to our clerkship program and wonderful work environment which will allow you to bridge the daunting gap between student and lawyer. Hope to see you soon!

105

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Clayton Utz www.claytonutz.com.au

Offices Brisbane Canberra Darwin Hong Kong Melbourne Perth Sydney

Major Practie Areas Banking & Finance Capital Markets & Securities Competition Construction & Major Projects Corporate/M&A Energy & Resources Environment & Planning Governance & Compliance Insurance & Risk Intellectual Property International Arbitration International Trade Legal Technology Services Litigation & Dispute Resolution Native Title Private Equity Product Liability Real Estate Restructuring & Insolvency Taxation Telecommunications, Media & Technology Workplace Relations, Employment & Safety

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Clayton Utz is one of Australia’s leading law firms, with a reputation for standing out – and for being outstanding. With 187 partners and over 1,300 employees across six offices, we continue to build on our reputation for confident, innovative and incisive legal advice.

With a genuine commitment to client service, we are trusted advisers to a diverse base of private and public sector organisations. Our clients include many of Australia’s top financial institutions, multinational corporations operating in a range of sectors, and state and Australian government departments and agencies.

We are also a global leader in pro bono, with one of the largest pro bono practices of any law firm outside of the US. As an independent firm, we have relationships with leading firms around the world. That means our clients can be confident they have access to the best possible advice, wherever and whenever they need it.

106

We offer the sharpest legal minds. The clearest advice. And an unshakeable sense of what’s possible.

Clerkships

Our Clerkship Program will expose you to the fast pace of a full-service commercial law firm and show you the law in action. You’ll be working under the guidance of some of the sharpest legal minds in Australia, on challenging, complex and high-profile transactions and matters. You’ll be mentored by partners and lawyers who are leaders in their fields, in a firm where individuality is embraced and innovation actively encouraged.

LIV Priority System

In accordance with LIV (Law Institute of Victoria) guidelines, students who have completed a clerkship with this firm are eligible for priority graduate offers.

Crown Solicitor’s Office www.cso.sa.gov.au

The Crown Solicitor is responsible for the provision of high quality legal services to the Government of South Australia. The Crown Solicitor’s Office provides legal advice to Cabinet, Ministers and government agencies, represents the Government of South Australia before courts and tribunals, drafts legal documents for the government, provides conveyancing and other property related services, investigates on behalf of government, and resolves native title claim issues through negotiated agreements.

Clerkships

The Crown Solicitor’s Office (CSO) and Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) Summer Clerk Program offers 12-14 law students an opportunity to gain practical legal experience within a government environment, and undertake work within a legal practice.

Law students completing their final years of study are invited to apply for a summer clerk program.

The CSO and ODPP are interested in students who are high achievers in both their academic and personal lives, with good interpersonal skills, relevant legal work experience and references.

The CSO and ODPP Summer Clerk Program offers successful applicants the opportunity to take part in a structured program, including training and development sessions covering a range of legal and non-legal topics: • Introduction to a State government agency.

• Tour of the Attorney General’s Department library, and training in the use of on-line facilities.

• Training in drafting and legal research.

• Information session on practice management systems.

• File and matter management.

• Assisting in client matters, under supervision.

Students offered clerkships will be remunerated for the full eight weeks. Each summer clerk is allocated to a section within the ODPP or the CSO, or alternatively will be outposted by the CSO to various government agencies.

Summer Clerk Programs are offered for a period of eight weeks each year, commencing in Late-November. Summer Clerkships conclude in time for students to attend the first Practical Legal Training Program offered by the Law Society.

Offices Adelaide

Major Practie Areas Civil Litigation Commercial, Environment and Native Title Public Law Outposted Crown Counsel

For more information about the program and how to apply, please visit the CSO website.

Practical Legal Training

The CSO offers placements to students wishing to complete the practical legal training component of their professional qualifications.

Placements are offered to approximately six students three times per year, for a period of six weeks (225 hours) in accordance with the guidelines set by the Law Society.

Potential applicants are advised that the dates available for 2016 are as follows: •

16 May to 1 July 2016 (last applications by 1 April 2016)

•

1 August to 16 September 2016 (last applications by 24 June 2016)

Applications will be considered as they are received and will be filled on a rolling basis. The last date possible date of application (should the placement period not already be filled) is indicated above.

For more information about the program and how to apply, please visit the CSO website.

Clerkship Application Dates Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

Adelaide

Summer

Now

30 April

June (approx.)

107

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

DLA Piper

www.dlapipergraduates.com.au Offices Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Perth Sydney

Major Practie Areas Corporate Employment Finance and Projects Intellectual Property and Technology Litigation and Regulatory Real Estate Restructuring Tax

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, positioning us to help companies with their legal needs around the world.

We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality and value to our clients. We achieve this through practical and innovative legal solutions that help our clients succeed. We deliver consistent services across our platform of practices and sectors in all matters we undertake.

Our clients range from multinational, Global 1000, and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging companies developing industry-leading technologies. They include more than half of the Fortune 250 and nearly half of the FTSE 350 or their subsidiaries. We also advise governments and public sector bodies.

In Australia we are trusted legal advisors to approximately a third of the ASX 100 companies or their subsidiaries and all levels of government. We spend time getting to know our clients, so that we can understand their businesses and provide strategic legal solutions that are practical and commercially focused.

Clerkships

A clerkship is a great way to gain insight into our firm. It is also an important step if you are interested in a graduate position with us, as our clerkship pool forms the basis of our graduate recruitment.

During your clerkship you can expect to do a variety of things both in and outside the office.

The tasks you are involved in will depend on the team you are assigned to and the work they have on at the time. Some common examples include accompanying lawyers to court, attending client meetings and mediations, and assisting on large corporate transactions.

All clerks are assigned a buddy (usually a current graduate) and a supervisor (senior associate or senior lawyer) who will support and guide you through the clerkship.

LIV Priority System (Melbourne)

In accordance with LIV (Law Institute of Victoria) guidelines, students who have completed a clerkship with this firm are eligible for priority graduate offers.

DMAW Lawyers www.dmawlawyers.com.au

Offices Adelaide

Major Practie Areas Practice areas Acquisitions and Sales Administrative Law Banking and Finance Building and Construction Business Law Business Structures/Reorganisations Capital Raisings Compliance and Corporate Governance Corporate Advice Defamation Dispute Resolution Employment and Industrial Relations Financial Services & Superannuation Franchising Immigration Information Technology Intellectual Property Liquor Licensing Major Projects Media Law Native Title & Aboriginal Heritage Professional and Directors Liability Property Tax and Revenue Takeovers and Schemes Trade Practices

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

DMAW Lawyers is a leading South Australian based commercial law firm providing services throughout Australia.

Our approach is to develop focused team environments that offer true expertise in practice areas important to our clients. Experience suggests that this is the best structure to provide our clients with the specialist skills, flexibility and the responsiveness necessary to achieve the results that they seek and expect.

We are committed to the delivery of prompt precise results of real value to clients.

Our lawyers bring genuine expertise and experience in the areas of legal practice that are important to business.

We also pride ourselves on understanding our clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; businesses, and we bring to the table a commercial approach and the experience of having been involved in a variety of industry and business sectors.

Clerkships

We offer summer clerkships. Applications are invited from penultimate and final year law students for clerkship intakes over November / December and January / February each year.

Clerkships are for a duration of 4 weeks and involve a range of genuine work and activity on client instructions, closely supervised by our Senior Lawyers.

Clerkship Application Dates Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

Adelaide

Summer

11 Mar 2016

11 Apr 2016

TBA

108

Fisher Jeffries www.fisherjeffries.com.au

Fisher Jeffries practices exclusively in commercial law. Based in Adelaide, we act throughout Australia and internationally for Federal and State Government agencies, major corporations and financial institutions and prominent not-forprofit organisations.

With 14 partners, and over 60 legal and other staff, Fisher Jeffries has the depth and expertise to handle all manner of commercial transactions and disputes, from the routine to the most complex commercially and legally.

Our longstanding experience as a leading commercial law firm has led to work practices that allow us to offer clients highly competitive prices and outstanding service. Our service is highly responsive and efficient.

Fisher Jeffries’ reputation for providing the best commercial legal advice available is based on the considerable talent and commercial acumen of our lawyers. We are described by our clients as being effective and pragmatic. A strong appreciation of our clients’ business objectives and the balance between cost and quality, underpins our advice.

Our approach to any assignment is flexible and determined by the strategy that best suits client needs. Early and realistic case assessments, strong project management and budgeting differentiate us from our competitors. We stick to our budgets, work hard and achieve excellent results.

Fisher Jeffries is also a member of the Gadens Lawyers National Practice, offering clients a national solution to the provision of commercial legal services.

Clerkship Application Dates Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

Adelaide

Summer

21 Mar 2016

11 Apr 2016

30 May 2016

Offices Adelaide

Major Practie Areas Aged Care & Retirement Villages Agribusiness Arts & Entertainment Banking & Financial Services Construction & Engineering Corporate Advisory Corporate Risk & Insurance Energy & Resources Environment & Planning Franchising Gaming & Licensing Government Business Health Infrastructure & Projects Insolvency & Corporate Reconstruction Intellectual Property & Technology Litigation & Dispute Resolution Media & Defamation Property & Development Trade Practices Wine Workplace Relations

Are you a rising star, looking to become one of tomorrow’s leading lawyers?

Apply online at

fisherjeffries.com.au

Established in 1885, Fisher Jeffries is a specialist commercial law practice. Our partners are recognised as leaders in their fields and share a reputation for both clever and practical advice. We are looking for new talent to develop Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice 109

and nurture into tomorrow’s practice leaders. Interested? Apply now to join our clerkship and graduate program.

Fisher Jeffries is a member of Gadens National Practice

Finlaysons www.finlaysons.com.au

Offices Adelaide Darwin

Major Practie Areas Agribusiness Banking & Finance China Commercial Disputes Corporate Defence Energy Environment, Climate Change & Planning Family Business Health Insurance IP, Technology & Media Property & Development Resources Tax & Revenue Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Wine Workplace Relations, Management & Safety

Finlaysons is a leading Adelaide law firm with a blue chip client base and commercial focus.

We maintain our standing by evolving with the market and the changing needs of our clients.

Our goal is to work in partnership with our clients, providing the best advice for the best outcome. To deliver this, we have specialist teams with intimate knowledge of diverse business sectors.

Learing and Development

Professional excellence is expected as standard at Finlaysons. We are fully committed to the continuing professional development of all of our people. We know that lawyers develop much of their expertise by working alongside more experienced colleagues. All staff are encouraged to use every day work situations to help develop the skills and experience of less experienced colleagues.

Our people have access to many learning opportunities both within and external to the firm.

These include: In-House Continuing Legal Education Program Seminars are presented on relevant topics to both professional and support staff. The training is delivered by a mix of our own partners and lawyers, internal specialists from finance, human resources, business development and external

experts.

External Training Attending seminars and courses that are relevant to your area of practice and personal development.

Specialised Programs Programs such as the Graduate Lawyer Development Program and other specialised programs that are run for both professional and support staff.

Technology Training All new staff undergo a comprehensive onboarding program that familiarises users with software packages, firm procedures and general operations at Finlaysons.

Post Graduate Study Support The firm will reimburse 100% of the tuition fees for approved higher education courses that are relevant to your position and/or career progression.

Clerkships

Clerkships are open to students with anticipated admission to practice in late 2017/18. Please contact the People & Development Department on 08 8235 7400 for more information.

Clerkship Application Dates

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Start

Adelaide

12 Month

1 Mar 2016

29 Apr 2016

18 July 2016

110

Hi everyone, my name is Alicia and I am in my final year of a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice at Flinders University.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to be one of three applicants selected to undertake Finlaysons’ inaugural 12 month clerkship program.

The program commenced in July 2015. It is structured so that each clerk has a period of four months in the three major departments: Property, Corporate and Commercial, and Litigation.

I started out in the Property Department and I am currently in Corporate and Commercial. I will soon be changing over to Litigation for my final rotation.

For me, being able to practice in the different departments (each for a substantial amount of time) has been one of the best things about this program. It has helped me decide which areas of law appeal most to me and which area I ultimately want to practice in. Rotating also helps develop your skills “across the board”.

Finlaysons is dedicated to the development of clerks and graduate lawyers. I have participated in monthly training sessions and have been allocated a buddy and a coach in each department. The buddies and coaches are your “go-to” practitioners for any questions or concerns.

The social aspect of the clerkship has also been really enjoyable. I’ve been to a wide range of informal events that have allowed me to get to know my colleagues on a more personal level. I have made some great friends within the firm which has added to the positive experience.

The program has worked really well for me, as I have been able to schedule my working days around my university timetable and take time off to do intensive topics. For example, next month I am going on the China study trip. I’ve also been able to keep my casual job in retail where I work on Saturdays.

My take away message is that what you learn through practice cannot be taught in a lecture or tutorial. Applying for this clerkship was one of the best decisions I have made and I definitely encourage all penultimate and final year law students to apply.

111

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Gilbert + Tobin www.gtlaw.com.au

Offices Melbourne Perth Sydney

Major Practie Areas Banking + Infrastructure Competition + Regulation Corporate Advisory Employment Energy + Resources Intellectual Property Litigation Real Estate + Projects Technology, Media + Telecommunications Pro Bono

Gilbert + Tobin is a leading top-tier corporate law firm and a key player in the Australian legal market. We provide innovative, relevant and commercial legal solutions to major corporate and government clients across Australia and internationally, particularly the Asia-Pacific region.

We are as restlessly ambitious and innovative as when the firm was established 28 years ago.

Employing more than 500 professionals, we are proud of our continued recognition as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality and acknowledgement as a pioneer in providing pro bono services.

With a focus on dynamic and evolving market sectors, we attract the brightest legal minds in the country; a diverse mix of highly talented and motivated people who work with some of the world’s most successful organisations on ground breaking projects and matters. We have become the legal adviser of choice for industry leaders who value our entrepreneurial spirit, creative approach and determination to succeed.

What we look for

G+T values diversity and individuality, so we don’t just look for strong academic results.

We’re looking for candidates who are interesting people, can clearly demonstrate their ambition, creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and ability to collaborate. We want people who can identify with G+T’s core attributes of performance, innovation, authenticity and collaboration. And it’s equally important that you enjoy what you do and don’t take yourself too seriously

Clerkship Application Dates Office

Period

Melbourne

Summer Winter

Perth

Summer Winter

Sydney

Summer

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

& Mon 11 July

Sunday 14 Aug

Tues 11 Oct

& July

Aug

Sept

Sun 19 July

Fri 23 Sept

Wed 15 June

Griffins Lawyers www.griffins.com.au

Offices Adelaide Gold Coast Melbourne Perth Sydney

Major Practie Areas Arts & Entertainment Civil Litigation Commercial Litigation Commercial Tenancies Construction Corporate Advice & Insolvency Criminal (Workplace Crime) Defamation Advice & Litigation Dispute Resolution Employment & Industrial Insurance Advice & Litigation Liquor Licensing & Gaming Issues Planning, Environment & Local Government Sports & Representation

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Griffins Lawyers is a dynamic, rapidly growing law firm with offices in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Perth.

Ultimately we provide business solutions for our clients through the provision of practical and strategic legal services.

We specialise in commercial, insurance and planning, environmental and local government law.

Our vision is to be recognised as an inspiring company leading the way in the legal profession.

We have over twenty years experience in providing technically proficient and astute legal advice to both national and international clients in all jurisdictions of Australia.

We recognise the importance of providing customer service and consistently deliver service of a high standard, ensuring our clients receive the best possible representation.

112

Herbert Smith Freehills www.herbertsmithfreehills.com

Takeovers and mergers. Arbitration and litigation. We’ve got it all. And because we’re one of the world’s leading law firms, we also work with some of the biggest international organisations on some of their most ambitious projects.

Thanks to the quality of our international network, we’re able to offer our clients both domestic and cross-border services, which means you get the chance to work in a truly global way.

Our work is incredibly varied. We provide top quality tailored legal advice to major corporations, governments and financial institutions as well as different types of commercial organisations. We’re proud to be a full-service firm and we’re proud to be able to do more for our clients.

Herbert Smith Freehills is a place where you won’t just experience everything, you’ll be a part of it. So if you’ve got the drive and ambition to

become an exceptional lawyer, we’d like to hear from you.

Clerkship

Finding the right fit for you is key to deciding where to start your legal career. Since working together is a good way to get to know each other, we offer a range of summer and winter clerkships in each of our Australian offices. We encourage students to participate in our vacation clerkship program and we fill the majority of our graduate positions through this program.

Spend part of your vacation with us and you’ll get a great understanding of how we go about meeting the needs of our clients. The program includes a detailed introduction to the firm and to each practice group, as well as the opportunity to work with our legal teams on real matters.

For more information, visit: careers. herbertsmithfreehills.com/au/grads/vacationclerkships

Clerkship Application Dates Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

Brisbane

Seasonal

1 March

21 March

9 May

Melbourne

Seasonal

11 July

14 August

11 October

Perth

Seasonal

18 July

5 August

21 September

Sydney

Seasonal

15 June

17 July

23 September

Offices Brisbane Melbourne Perth Sydney

Major Practie Areas Banking & finance ComAsset management and investment funds Capital markets Competition, regulation and trade Compliance and regulatory Corporate Corporate crime and investigations Corporate governance and head office advisory Crisis management Dispute resolution Employment, pensions and incentives Environment, planning and communities Finance Intellectual property Mergers and acquisitions Projects and infrastructure Real estate Restructuring, turnaround and insolvency Tax

Hunt & Hunt www.hunthunt.com.au

Established in 1929, Hunt & Hunt is a vibrant, mid-sized law firm that provides tailored legal advice to clients across Australia and internationally. Our broad client base includes large and small businesses, government departments, major insurance firms, not-forprofit organisations and private clients.

Our professionalism, combined with our friendly and energetic approach, has made Hunt & Hunt a trusted advisor to some of Australia’s largest and most diverse organisations

Offices Adelaide Brisbane Darwin Hobart Melbourne North Ryde Perth Sydney Shanghai

Major Practie Areas Asset Protection and Succession Planning China Advisory Corporate and Commercial Competition and Consumer Law Employment and Workplace Relations Environment and Planning Family Law Intellectual Property Insolvency and Restructuring Litigation and Dispute Resolution Mergers and Acquisitions Property Wills and Estates Planning

113

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

HWL Ebsworth www.hwlebsworth.com.au

Offices Adelaide Melbourne Brisbane Sydney Perth

Major Practie Areas Automotive Banking and Financial Services Building and Construction Capital Markets Climate Change and Sustainability Competition and Consumer Corporate and Commercial Energy and Resources Government Health Insolvency and Securities Enforcement Insurance Intellectual Property and Trade Marks Litigation and Dispute Resolution Owners Corporations Planning and Environment Real Estate and Projects Retail and Franchising Taxation Technology, Media and Communications Transport Workplace Relations and Safety

At HWL Ebsworth, our edge is not only our expertise, experience and ability to assist our clients in meeting their commercial objectives, but also our ability to offer a better value proposition.

HWL Ebsworth recognises the importance of an organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture and its powerful influence on performance and service delivery.

Our culture is one that places a strong emphasis on open and honest communication at all levels, continuous improvement in our practices and encouragement of innovation and forward thinking. We benchmark our practices against the best advisory firms internationally to achieve our vision.

The values of our firm characterise our approach to practising law and partnering with clients. These values ensure that honesty, trust and respect drive our working relationships with clients and with each other. We also encourage our staff to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life.

Continuing Professional Development

Through our relationships with training providers and educational institutions nationally, we actively encourage our staff to engage in professional development activities. Partners work with employees on a one-on-one basis to help identify appropriate professional development opportunities with the overarching objective of ensuring that career development goals are achieved. We also actively support our employees in undertaking further study to develop and enhance their expertise and practical knowledge.

Career Development Program

At HWL Ebsworth we recognise the importance of clearly articulated career paths for our practitioners and the need to identify specific goals to be achieved in order to progress within the firm. The HWL Ebsworth Career Development Program has been developed for this purpose and clearly identifies the expectations of practitioners wishing to progress through the firm at the Associate, Senior Associate and Partner levels.

Performance Model

Management

Our Performance Management Model is a structured feedback and supervision system that uses continuous dialogue and adjustments to manage work efforts, outcomes and behaviours.

All of our staff participate in quarterly performance discussions which focus on forward

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

114

planning and the development of strategies to encourage continuous development and up skilling.

Relationship Marketing

All of our Solicitors and Partners participate in a Relationship Marketing Program tailored to each industry or area of practice. Our Marketing team works with individuals to develop a personal business development plan aimed at harnessing personal networks and pursuing opportunities to build their own practice.

Mentoring and Coaching Many of our Partners are experienced coaches and mentors and they themselves are committed to continuously improving their own skills and their leadership capabilities. Graduates through to Senior Associates have the opportunity to become coached and mentored and have access to the wealth of knowledge and experiences of our Partners.

Graduate and Clerk Program

Our Graduates and Articled Clerks have the ability to rotate through our main practice areas in each office and gain the advantage of having hands on involvement in matters and interaction with clients. Graduates and Articled Clerks are assigned to a Partner in each practice area and have the benefit of constant feedback in relation to their development.

Adelaide Clerkship

The continued success and growth of our firm has created an exciting opportunity to open up a 2016/17 Summer Clerkship Program within our Adelaide office.

Our Summer Clerkship Program will run for four weeks and we offer a choice of two placement periods. Successful candidates will join our firm either between Monday 21 November 2016 and Friday 16 December 2016 or between Monday 23 January 2017 and Friday 17 February 2017.

These positions are open to penultimate or final year students. Please note that students who are currently undertaking or who have completed their Practical Legal Training will not be eligible to apply.

In line with the SALSC Uniform Clerkship Scheme, applications will open at 9am on Monday 21 March 2016 and will close at 5pm on Monday 11 April 2016.

For more information on our Summer Clerkship Program and to find details of how to apply, please visit the Graduate Centre on our website:www.hwlebsworth.com.au

Johnson Winter & Slattery www.jws.com.au

Johnson Winter & Slattery is engaged by major Australian and international corporations as legal counsel on their business activities, disputes and most challenging transactions throughout Australia and surrounding regions.

Our role

Our representation of major corporations in many landmark and transformational deals and complex disputes positions us as a leading independent Australian firm.

Our approach

With an appreciation of our client’s commercial needs, we blend legal expertise with commercial and market awareness to deliver high quality legal services. This means working closely with clients and their in-house counsel to understand their commercial objectives, and ensuring our approach is tailored to deliver timely commercial outcomes.

Our difference

Our higher ratio of senior lawyers means clients engage directly with the tactical minds and industry expertise required to succeed in complex and high stakes deals and disputes. A partnership ethos of service, technical excellence and collaboration ensures the most relevant specialist expertise and experience is brought to bear on every assignment.

Clerkships

Written applications should include a covering letter, CV and current official academic transcript. They should be addressed to Wilma Lewis, Professional Development Advisor.

All applications must be submitted via cvMail.

A Clerks Insight

By Nicholas Mitchell, Associate – Johnson Winter & Slattery I joined Johnson Winter & Slattery (JWS) as a Summer Clerk in January 2015 and started as an Associate after my graduation and admission in September 2015.

While most law firms offer largely similar clerkship programs, a JWS clerkship has several points of difference, which stem from the organisational and cultural differences between JWS and its competitors. As a result, it is a fantastic place to further your career development and take important steps towards becoming a successful lawyer.

Firstly, JWS operates as a collaborative team rather than in sections or silos. While senior lawyers have their expertise and specialisation in one or two areas, junior lawyers and clerks are encouraged to be involved in a variety of the firm’s different practice areas and work with a range of partners and clients. There are no formal rotations or allocations in the clerkship and graduate programs; instead you are given a great degree of freedom to pursue the areas that most interest you.

In my 12 months so far at JWS, I have been able to do work relating to corporate law, dispute resolution, insolvency, energy and resources, employment, intellectual property, regulatory issues, and projects and construction. Many of the firm’s matters and clients have needs that stretch across different practice areas, which in turn provides clerks and junior lawyers with many opportunities to try different areas.

JWS’ collaborative culture also extends across offices and levels of experience. Whilst working in the Adelaide office, I have had the opportunity to work with talented lawyers from other JWS offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane on matters covering all corners of Australia.

Offices Adelaide Sydney Melbourne Perth Brisbane

Major Practie Areas Transactional & Advisory Dispute Resolution Energy Resources & infrastructure Competition Corporate Corporate Governance Debt Finance Dispute Resolution Employment Energy & Resources Funds Management Intellectual Property & IT Regulatory Restructuring & Insolvency Tax

Additionally, JWS operates on a ‘low-leverage’ model where the partner-to-associate ratio is about 1:1. This allows junior employees to observe and learn from experienced partners on a daily basis. I have found every partner in JWS to be approachable and willing to assist their junior colleagues. They have a wealth of experience and expertise which they regularly share, and are always open to discussing questions about the law and legal practice. These mentoring relationships develop naturally due to the nature of the firm’s structure and are invaluable to junior lawyers’ career development.

Finally, despite being much smaller than Australia’s biggest law firms in terms of number of lawyers, JWS has a long list of leading Australian and international organisations amongst their clients. When working with these clients JWS focusses on complex transactions and disputes that present engaging legal issues to work through. JWS does very little standard or mundane work and each day presents a new challenge.

I would recommend a clerkship at (JWS) to any law student interested in a career in legal practice, as you are exposed to top-tier matters and clients while working alongside top-quality people.

Clerkship Application Dates Office

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

Adelaide

21 March

11 April

30 May

Brisbane

1 March

21 March

9 May

Melbourne

11 July

14 August

11 October

Perth

18 July

5 August

21 September

Sydney

15 June

17 July

23 September 115

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Kain C + C Lawyers www.kaincc.com

Offices

Attracting and retaining quality young lawyers is a key driver of the success of our business. For this reason, we invest significant time upfront, identifying, employing and nurturing candidates who have the skills and the cultural alignment to become long-term members of our team and help us achieve our strategic objectives.

Adelaide

Major Practie Areas Business Structuring Business Succession Commercial Advice Corporate Finance Corporate Governance Dispute Solutions Equity Capital Markets Financial Services Funds Management

Our clerks undertake training in our systems and in practical applications of legal theory as well as obtaining real-world experience with clients.

Those who excel in the clerkship program will generally be offered further positions in our business.

If you’re in your penultimate year of study, then you should apply for a place in our summer clerkship program. The five-week program will provide you, as a law student, with a taste of what it’s like to work in an exciting and progressive legal business.

Application Dates Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

Adelaide

Summer Clerk and Graduate

2 Mar 2016

29 Mar 2016

22 April 2016

King & Wood Mallesons www.kwm.com/en/au

Offices Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Perth Sydney See website for international offices

Major Practie Areas Practice areas Acquisitions and Sales Administrative Law Banking and Finance Building and Construction Business Law Business Structures/Reorganisations Capital Raisings Compliance and Corporate Governance Corporate Advice Defamation Dispute Resolution Employment and Industrial Relations Financial Services & Superannuation Franchising Immigration Information Technology Intellectual Property Liquor Licensing Major Projects Media Law Native Title & Aboriginal Heritage Professional and Directors Liability Property Tax and Revenue Takeovers and Schemes Trade Practices Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

King & Wood Mallesons is a new breed of law firm combining local depth with a global platform. Offering a different perspective to commercial thinking and the client experience, 2,700 lawyers across more than 30 international offices are working with clients every day to understand local challenges and navigate through regional complexity. With access to a global platform, we are providing commercial solutions and transforming the way legal services are delivered.

How do we do this? By focusing not just on what you want, but how you want it. Working in close partnership with clients, our relationships are built on delivering a market leading experience and providing access to deep legal insights and local connections, with the benefit of a global platform.

As the only firm in the world able to practise PRC, Hong Kong, Australian, English, US and a significant range of European and Middle Eastern laws, we open doors and unlock opportunities for clients as they look to unleash the fullest potential of the Asian Century. Our ability to connect emerging opportunities, with market leading capability, is pushing the frontiers of what can be achieved - connecting Asia to the world, and the world to Asia.

Clerkships

We offer clerkships for students who are in their penultimate year of university. Working under the supervision of a partner, development coach and buddy, the program will enable you to get the most out of your placement and to become familiar with the firm and how it operates.

116

Our Clerks participate in a comprehensive clerkship program. The program is designed to: • Help clerks to understand our firm, its practices and procedures • Equip clerks with the information and skills needed to get the most out of their placements at King & Wood Mallesons.

Induction for King & Wood Mallesons’ Clerks incorporate practical, lively and relevant sessions that are conducted by Partners, Senior Associates, Solicitors and our in-house experts.

Sessions cover material on King & Wood Mallesons’ structure, strategy and culture, our systems and processes and some key skills to assist in managing legal work whilst you are here.

Our clerks also get the opportunity to network with their peers as well as with King & Wood Mallesons Graduates/Trainees and lawyers in their own and other practices.

For most, the Clerkship Program is the first stage of continuous professional development at King & Wood Mallesons.

Clerks have described King & Wood Mallesons lawyers as “approachable, having a sense of humour, good work ethic, a pleasure to work with, both clients and work colleagues”. Others have emphasised the “ability to build strong and enduring relationships, based on trust, getting things right, focused and technically excellent”.

The benefits of clerking at a top tier firm

By Nicholas Baum and Maddy McIntosh (Solicitors)

The glamour Clerking at a top tier firm, you will get the opportunity to work on disputes and transactions that make national and international headlines. You will be working at an international firm with offices across the globe. You will be working for clients whose names and logos you will recognise from real life, such as Telstra, the NAB or the AFL. That glamour adds excitement to your work, whether as a clerk or a graduate.

The standards You will be working for clients that, given the sums of money involved, have very high expectations from their legal advisers. You will also be working for and with lawyers who are similarly demanding of themselves and those around them. That isn’t and shouldn’t be something that scares you – it’s an opportunity! Clerking at a top tier firm you will be given extensive training on how to make yourself a better lawyer, and will walk away with new skills and knowledge. Firms like King & Wood Mallesons provide regular training throughout the clerkship, so you won’t be learning only by osmosis.

The scale Many law students, as perennial high achievers, are used to being the smartest kid in the room all through high school and undergraduate degrees. You will likely have been involved at the heart of your schools and communities. At a top tier firm, you will likely find yourself a smaller cog in a bigger wheel. That’s a learning experience in and of itself. Top tier firms have the resources and support staff to ensure that clerks are not stranded at a photocopier for hours on end but get to do real work, for real clients. Finally, as a clerk, you will be working with partners who are market leaders in their practice. The chance to watch and learn from the close-up is riveting.

A new side of the law The work of corporate lawyers at top tier firms can be a long way from the law learned from books at university.

Many transactional lawyers boast about how many years it has been since they last read a case. On the other hand, tax lawyers can spend hours delving into the intricacies of provisions you couldn’t even find, much less know existed. For those of you less than enamoured by the compulsory fare served up at law school, a top tier firm will give you an insight into some very different parts of the legal universe. At King & Wood Mallesons, each of the practice areas will present to you during the clerkship so you get a sense of the whole firm, and not just the team you sit in.

A cosmopolitan workplace Top tier firms are big, diverse employers, having legal and support staff from all different backgrounds and all walks of life. That is a benefit that only large-scale employers can truly offer. No matter who you are, there will be people who you can relate to. Equally, you will meet new and interesting people, and perhaps take yourself outside of your comfort zone. Apart from anything else, the graduates will be eager to take you out for coffee on firm funds, so make the most of it!

Top tiers in the community Size and resources also give top tier firms the opportunity to devote time back to the community. As a clerk, and as a graduate, you will have the opportunity to work for a diverse range of pro bono clients, working in human rights, homelessness, youth and refugee law. Top tier firms have the ability to devote serious time and energy to community legal issues that smaller firms simply do not have the capacity to address. Being a part of that on your clerkship can be immensely rewarding.

A step towards a job The vast majority of graduate positions at top tier firms are offered to previous vacation clerks as part of the priority offer system. Putting in the hard work now to give yourself that chance at the very least is an important step in keeping the door open to a graduate position at a top tier firm, while you continue to figure out what you would like to do when you leave university.

It’s fun Finally, clerkships at top tier firms are great fun! There are lots of social events, and if you are lucky, the firm Christmas party, always a highlight. Top tier firms have larger clerkship groups than other firms, which means you will get to meet other law students going through the same experience you are. There are lots of firmorganised opportunities to socialize, get to know one another and build rapport – all while getting paid!

117

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Lipman Karas www.lipmankaras.com

Offices Adelaide Hong Kong London

Major Practie Areas Complex Litigation Corporate Investigations Governance Advice Dispute Resolution Corporate Insolvency Risk Minimisation

Lipman Karas is a specialist legal practice representing clients throughout Asia Pacific and internationally.

Our team of professionals has a proven track record of consistently outstanding results, in some of the most significant disputes and regulatory inquiries.

We incorporate practical and academic based activities into our clerkship program so that successful candidates will experience varied and challenging work, including: •

Working closely with our clients, we apply rigorous financial, analytical and legal skills with unsurpassed tenacity, to develop and implement successful strategies.

• • •

Lipman Karas is a firm of choice for clients facing complex legal and commercial issues who require personalised service, independent advice and effective solutions.

•

Described by peers as the best investigative litigators in Australia’, Lipman Karas has an international reputation for achieving consistently outstanding commercial results for its clients.

Our Clerkship Program

Lipman Karas offers clerkships to penultimate and final year students who have demonstrated academic excellence and practical ability and who through their studies and extracurricular activities show a commitment to the highest levels of achievement.

Our clerkship program is progressive, flexible and adaptable to the individual’s needs.

Talented, energetic and committed individuals are provided with a unique opportunity to develop their professional careers and personal skills in a rewarding team environment.

A clerkship at Lipman Karas ensures exposure to a diverse range of professional and practical tasks. Our team based approach ensures direct contact and communication with principals and senior members of Lipman Karas.

Drafting and presenting research memoranda and advice to senior practitioners Preparing court documents Attendances at court Involvement in all facets of case preparation Assistance in preparing client advices

You will also be exposed to the practical side of working in a law firm, receive training on our office procedures and resources and participate in legal education.

From a career perspective, Lipman Karas offers practitioners a chance to work on commercial matters that are unique in both magnitude and complexity. We compete actively and successfully with national firms for the most significant and challenging projects. A career at Lipman Karas provides opportunities and experiences that are unrivalled in South Australia.

Application Process

We are offering up to 20 placements over the course of 2016/2017 Applications for 2016 close on 11 April 2016.

We offer clerkships of a minimum threeweek duration at mutually convenient times throughout the year and in particular during summer and winter university holidays.

Lipman Karas will accept applications throughout the year and may offer additional clerkships to outstanding candidates who apply after the primary round of offers.

Clerkship Application Dates

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

Adelaide

Seasonal

Now

11 Apr 2016

May/June

118

Insight from an LK Senior Associate I started at Lipman Karas as a winter clerk. What immediately struck me about the firm in my first week still rings true as a Senior Associate seven years later. LK stands apart for three reasons: the quality of the work, people and culture.

Work LK is an exciting place to practice law.

As a lawyer at LK you have the opportunity to work on some of the most complex, challenging and interesting litigation projects in Australia and internationally.

These cases require in-depth legal analysis and the distillation of large amounts of factual data. Young lawyers at LK work directly with Principals, as well as counsel and independent experts, on all aspects of their projects, where leading national and international firms act on the other side.

Within eighteen months of being an Associate at LK, I found myself assisting in court in the appeal of Westpac v The Bell Group Limited, which was at the time the largest civil litigation action in Australian history. Other junior lawyers at the firm get similar experience, working on major projects in Australia, Hong Kong, England, the US and several other Asian and offshore jurisdictions.

People The practitioners and support staff at LK are experts at what they do. They are dedicated, intelligent and resourceful. LK offers unrivalled opportunities for work and to learn from leaders in their field.

But the LK experience is not about technical and strategic acumen only. The people that work at LK are friendly and

approachable. They understand that the best results are achieved by working as a team where everyone participates. Each member of the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contribution is valued and recognised.

Culture The culture at a law firm, like any place of work, is extremely important. LKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture is open and community oriented. The firm has an active social and community program, with regular social gatherings, fun walks/runs and community initiatives. The firm regularly undertakes pro bono work. Junior lawyers are encouraged to contribute to the direction of these programs, which in turn offers them an insight into the role and functioning of a law firm beyond our core practice of law.

LK takes a genuine long term interest in its lawyers. It has a strong training programme but more importantly, it treats its lawyers as individuals. After clerking at LK for six months, I took a leave of absence to undertake an associateship with Justice Vanstone in the Supreme Court of South Australia, returning to LK afterwards. The firm was also supportive in my undertaking part-time postgraduate studies. Other young lawyers at LK have pursued similar paths.

As the firm has grown, LK has remained an exciting and rewarding place to practise law, steadfastly maintaining its high standards in relation to its projects, people and the opportunities offered to staff.

Lucas Arnold Senior Associate

119

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Lander & Rogers www.landers.com.au

Offices Brisbane Melbourne Sydney

Major Practie Areas Anti-discrimination and equal opportunity Building, construction and engineering Capital raising and financing Company and securities law (including ASX) Compensation Law Competition and consumer law Dispute resolution Employment Energy and resources Environmental compliance Family and relationship law Financial services & Superannuation Government Industrial relations Infrastructure and PPPs Insolvency, restructuring and mortgage recoveries Insurance Intellectual property and technology International trade and investment Investigations Mergers, acquisitions & joint ventures Occupational health and safety Privacy Law Project development Property Regulated industries Risk management Sport and events Training

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Lander & Rogers is a leading independent Australian law firm operating nationally from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. We have seven main areas of practice and are a principal advisor to many publicly listed and private Australian companies, Australian subsidiaries of global companies, as well as all levels of government.

We provide practical legal advice, along with exceptional client service, and we are renowned in Australia for our down-to-earth and friendly culture.

Clerkships

Our seasonal/summer clerkship program is a law student’s key opportunity to gain firsthand experience of the law in practice, and our working environment.

The clerkships are the time to test run what you’ve learned at University (with the reassurance of a safety net), and a perfect chance to gauge whether or not Lander & Rogers offers the type of working environment that’s the right fit for you.

You’ll be well looked after... our seasonal/ summer clerkship program is built on learning and fun. We know you’ve joined us because you’re curious about what it’s like to be a lawyer, so we’ll do everything we can to show you the way by giving you a chance to have a go for yourself.

The work you’ll find yourself doing... on joining us you’ll be teamed with two lawyers (one experienced, and another a little closer in level to you) who immerse you in the day to day running of their practices. What that means on a practical level will vary depending on the practice group you join (we’ll ask you to indicate your preferences), and could involve: • researching points of law and summarising your findings • drafting correspondence • court documents and sections of commercial agreements • •eviewing and analysing legislation and case law • observing our lawyers in action at meetings, conferences, mediations and court • attending practice group discussions.

120

It’s not all work though... you’ll also have plenty of time to get away from your office to join the other seasonal/summer clerks in your group.

This can include: • participating in practice group case study sessions to build on your understanding of our areas of expertise • careers sessions to map out your career possibilities • skills-based workshops to build practical skills like letter writing and taking instructions • time out to discover the best coffee shops, or do a yoga class, just for fun.

• We know most of these experiences will be brand new for you, so before you’re faced with learning new things, we’ve built in time for the basics, like time to get to know our people and the other seasonal/summer clerks you’re working with, and time to learn how to navigate your way around the office.

These experiences will provide you with a much clearer idea of what it means to be a lawyer.

You’ll also develop a better feel for the human side of Lander & Rogers, such as why our people work here, where they’ve come from, and what they do when they’re not being lawyers.

We aim to recruit and retain law students who have a friendly and down to earth style of engaging with others. We see this as important to your success in working with your clients and colleagues, and critical to the preservation of our happy workplace.

You’ll also need intelligence to tackle the most interesting of legal scenarios, energy to absorb new concepts and changing laws, and a willingness to work productively with lots of different people.

We don’t expect that you’ll be a gun at all of these things straight away, but when we meet you at interview we’ll be curious to learn more about your potential to handle these things in the future, based on the skills and experience you’ve already built through studying law (combined with other disciplines like arts, commerce and science) and any legal and non-legal part-time work, volunteer work and university activities you’ve tackled.

Applications for 2016/2017 clerkship positions will open via cvMail in June/July 2016.

Lynch Meyer www.lynchmeyer.com.au

Our law services provide a vast range of useful services for small-to-medium enterprises, large corporations and not-for-profit organisations.

We also provide specialised wealth management services to our private clients.

As a leading Adelaide law firm, we pride ourselves on offering all our clients practical, commercial legal advice and first-rate service.

Most of our clients are based in the construction and engineering, property and development, finance or retirement villages and aged care industries. Many are leaders in their field.

Our advice is strategic - everything we do is designed to strengthen our clients’ commercial position and deliver the outcomes they want.

When you join us you’ll be part of a progressive, dynamic firm that offers stimulating work from a diverse group of clients, and real work life balance.

Ours is a culture which encourages people to speak up and be heard. We expect our people to listen to colleagues and clients alike.

When we do things really well we recognise our people for their achievements and we celebrate.

Offices Adelaide

Major Practie Areas Aged Care and Retirement Villages Agribusiness Banking and Finance Construction, Infrastructure and Engineering Environment, Planning and Resources Credit Management and Debt Recovery Not-for-Profit Sector Property Transport, Freight and Logistics

Maddocks www.maddocks.com.au

We work collaboratively with our clients to build strong, sustainable relationships – our longest is now more than 100 years old. Our lawyers aim to deliver consistently high standards of service, and we understand the importance of accessibility, responsiveness and transparency. Working with us, you’ll enjoy open communication, meaning well scoped, appropriately resourced and effectively managed matters.

Maddocks’ Seasonal Clerk program is a great opportunity to experience working in a dynamic legal office and familiarise yourself with the firm.

It starts with an orientation, followed by a period in three of our seven practice groups.

Our clients tell us they come to Maddocks because we have the expertise they require, delivered with a strong emphasis on personalised service. What’s more, they explain that the difference between a Maddocks lawyer and others they deal with is that we’re welcoming, we value long-term relationships and provide clarity and commerciality in our advice.

For each rotation, you are assigned a co– coordinator who allocates work, provides support and evaluates your progress.

You will be exposed to a variety of areas within the firm and your experience may help you in determining your main areas of interest.

121

Offices Canberra Melbourne Sydney

Major Practie Areas Advertising, Brands & Marketing Advocacy Asia & International Banking & Finance Commercial Contracts Competition & Regulation Compliance & Enforcement Construction & Projects Consumer Markets & Franchising Corporate & Commercial Debt Recovery (Local Government) Dispute Resolution & Litigation Emergency Services Emerging Companies Employment Energy & Resources Environment Equity Capital Markets

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Minter Ellison www.minterellison.com

Offices Adelaide Darwin Perth Auckland Gold Coast Shanghai Beijing Hong Kong Sydney Brisbane London Ulaanbaatar Canberra Melbourne Wellington

Major Practie Areas Dispute Resolution Corporate Financial Services HR & IR Insurance & Corporate Risk Real Estate Workers Compensation

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Minter Ellison SA/NT is locally owned and has 32 partners and over 200 staff representing the Adelaide and Darwin offices. It is connected with the wider national and international MinterEllison Legal Group, one of the Asia Pacificâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading law firms operating in Australia, Hong Kong, mainland China, Mongolia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Offering legal services and commercial solutions, the firm advises local and multinational companies, public and private sector clients.

Our people have extensive experience delivering services to businesses across a range of sectors including higher education, agribusiness, health and aged care, and energy and resources, encapsulating mining, oil and gas, power and water. Additionally, many of our specialists have been independently recognised among Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preeminent legal advisers.

We understand the challenges that businesses operating in a globalised marketplace face, and offer clients services that are multi-disciplinary and industry facing. Our deep understanding of how business is conducted in our region, local language skills, and proven track record for delivering outstanding work mean that clients can access local experience and expertise that is informed by an international perspective.

Clerkships at Minter Ellison

Our vacation clerkships offer you real life work experience. A comprehensive induction program and learning on the job will help you to build your legal skills and commercial acumen. You will work closely with partners and lawyers on active matters giving you exposure to complex and challenging work.

Our success has been driven by the vision of our partners, the in-depth industry expertise of our lawyers, and our commitment to work closely with clients to deliver seamless service wherever they need us.

Clerkship Application Dates Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers Made

Adelaide

Summer

21 March 2016

11 April 2016

30 May 2016

Brisbane

Summer

1 March 2016

21 March 2016

9 May 2016

Canberra

Summer

15 June 2016

17 July 2016

23 Sept 2016

Gold Coast

Summer

1 Aug 2016

19 Aug 2016

30 Sept 2016

Melbourne

Summer

11 July 2016

14 Aug 2016

11 Oct 2016

Perth

Summer

18 July 2016

5 Aug 2016

21 Sept 2016

Sydney

Summer

15 June 2016

17 July 2016

23 Sept 2016

122

At Minter Ellison SA/NT, we invest in our people. Your growth is our growth; your success is our success. We'll support you to advance your career and help you to develop the legal and business skills needed to become a 'trusted adviser' to clients anywhere in the world. Our lawyers become innovative thinkers, strategists, and tacticians. As one of our lawyers, you'll be part of an elite team â&#x20AC;&#x201C; closing deals, resolving disputes and solving problems.

2016/17 clerkships Our clerkship program gives you the opportunity to experience first-hand what it is like to work at MinterEllison, including culture and environment and how we work. It is an 8 week program, comprising of a comprehensive induction, presentations by each practice team, and a number of social activities. Additionally, to develop your technical and client service skills, we offer in-house training seminars and firm wide professional development opportunities, as well as sessions for junior lawyers. You are also encouraged to take part in community work with the Housing Legal Clinic and JusticeNet. Clerks are placed in two teams, with a senior lawyer from each team as a supervisor, as well as a buddy. However, all clerks are encouraged to source work from the whole firm to gain experience in a broad range of practice areas. At the end of the clerkship, many of our summer clerks are offered graduate positions within the firm, or, if they have not yet graduated, are retained on a part-time basis while they complete their studies.

As a summer clerk, you can expect to undertake work such as preparing advices, legal research, drafting legal documents, attending court, counsel briefings and clients meetings. You will be given continual guidance and feedback from supervisors and other lawyers, who take a genuine interest in your learning.

To find out more about our clerkships and how to apply visit www.minterellison.com/careers/adelaide.

Candidate attributes When considering clerks we look for a number of traits, including intellectual curiosity, confidence, empathy, clarity of thought, commercial astuteness, ability to see the bigger picture, ambition to grow personally and professionally, and a passion for a career in commercial law.

Feedback from our 2015-2016 summer clerks MinterEllison genuinely invests in its summer clerks; the care and consideration that has gone into structuring the 8 week clerkship program is evident from day one, with thorough induction training, weekly feedback sessions, a designated supervising partner and junior buddy, and an open door policy that places an emphasis on clerk learning and wellbeing.

Each clerk is placed into two practice teams, but is encouraged to take advantage of working in SA's largest commercial firm by gaining exposure in other practice areas that interest them. As a result, the work is both highly engaging and varied, with clerks completing challenging research memos, drafting letters, creating presentations, assisting with applications, meeting with clients and attending trials and mediations.

MinterEllison distinguishes itself from other law firms in Adelaide by placing a heavy focus on the people who make up the firm. Consequently, the firm has an incredibly friendly and welcoming culture. This is fostered through regular social events including Friday night drinks, team lunches and meetings, in addition to the famous Christmas party. The 20152016 summer clerks formed a great team bond, and were fortunate to all receive offers of ongoing positions with the firm at the conclusion of the clerkship.

Philippa Ewens, Liam Higgins, Alexandra Lontos and Sarah Swan 123

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Norman Waterhouse www.normans.com.au

Offices

Our ability to exceed client expectations has led to our success in a range of services embracing all aspects of business and family law. The Norman Waterhouse philosophy means that we consider ourselves to be part of your team.

Adelaide

Major Practie Areas Commercial Dispute Resolution Corporate & Commercial Employment & Industrial Relations Environment & Planning Family Law Intellectual Property Local Government Local Government Governance & Regulatory Services Migration & International Business Native Title, Resources & Associated Land Access Property, Construction, Infrastructure & Development Taxation & Wealth Management Wills & Estate Planning

We provide legal advice and representation in transactions and dispute resolution to a broad range of clients, both public and private, nationally and internationally. Our people demonstrate considerable skills in commercial and legal environments and are committed to providing advice and solutions that maximise opportunity and minimise risk. Our advice is always focussed on the best strategic outcome.

Established in 1920, our partnership is built on values of excellence, integrity and trust.

Our people form a cohesive, creative team, and provide timely and effective advice, while remaining sensitive to the commercial realities of the marketplace.

Summer Clerkship Program

As a Summer Clerk at Norman Waterhouse you are offered the opportunity to experience working with highly regarded and respected practitioners who are experts in their respective areas of practice.

During the four-week program, you may be performing a variety of duties such as drafting letters of advice, research, and attending client interviews, firm meetings and events. Also, when the opportunity presents you may observe attendance at court and other pre-trial stages such as mediation conferences, negotiation and direction hearings.

A number of our practitioners began with the firm as Summer Clerks.

Selection Process

It is a great opportunity for you to show us your passion for the law and explore the different areas of law and career possibilities. We seek students who, not only excel academically but inspire to be the best that they can be and who have the attributes in keeping with our Core Values. We consider driven, engaged, wellrounded individuals who are committed to embracing new challenges and new experiences.

With the fluctuation of workloads in our practice areas, it isn’t always possible for each of our practice teams to offer a placement, therefore, we ask you to include in your application your top three preferences. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted to attend an interview.

Norton Rose Fulbright www.nortonrosefulbright.com

Offices Brisbane Melbourne Perth Sydney

Major Practie Areas Banking & Finance Competition & Consumer Construction & Engineering Corporate (equity capital markets, M & A, Private Equity) Employment & Labour Energy & Resources Environment & Planning Financial & Investment Services Health, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology Insurance Intellectual Property Litigation and Dispute Resolution Real Estate Restructuring & Insolvency Taxation Technology, media & Communication Transport and logistics

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Norton Rose Fulbright is a leading global legal practice offering a full business law service to many of the world’s pre-eminent corporations and financial institutions.

Summer Clerkship

Knowing how our clients’ businesses work and understanding what drives their industries is fundamental to us. Our lawyers share industry knowledge and sector expertise across borders, enabling us to support our clients anywhere in the world.

You will have the chance to spend five weeks in one practice group and then rotate to a different practice area, to broaden your knowledge as much as possible. Our clerkship programme is your opportunity to start building a career with a global law firm, doing meaningful work of value.

You will also be able to get to know our people, working closely with – and learning from – our associates, senior associates and partners. All in all, it is an opportunity to experience what life is really like as a graduate.

We are strong in financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and health care.

We take the view that we are only as strong as our people – which is why quality training and flexible work programmes are paramount to our business. We deliver an extensive range of training programmes targeted at specific stages of our lawyers’ professional development. Our graduate lawyers have the opportunity to follow a unique Asia Rotation programme and to spend time in one of our Asia Pacific offices.

Come and explore our world.

124

The summer clerkship programme runs for 10 weeks in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney over the summer.

The summer clerkship programme is the primary source for our national graduate programme, which feeds directly into our international opportunities such as the Asia Pacific International Rotational programme.

Language skills in Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese are highly regarded.

Piper Alderman www.piperalderman.com.au

Clerkships at Piper Alderman

Rather than a short lived summer clerkship, we offer our clerks a two-year program that may lead to a graduate position. Clerks work two days per week commencing from their penultimate year of study through to graduation. Our clerks progress quicker because of this ongoing experience.

We know that flexibility is key, so you get to choose the days you work each semester depending on your university timetable. We understand that as a student, you may have other commitments that require time away from work such as exams or exchange programs. Our range of leave policies allow you to apply for time off when you need it.

and development. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t recruit law clerks to become additional administrative assistants, but rather to offer real legal support to our lawyers and partners. You will be kept busy with legal research, drafting and attending court.

Graduate Positions

We recruit our graduates from our existing clerks, however from time to time we need additional graduates and will recruit outside of this. Keep an eye on our Current Opportunities page on our website or in CVmail for graduate opportunities.

We pride ourselves on offering real work, real experience and real opportunity. Providing our clerks with the opportunity to participate in real legal work is important for their engagement

Offices Adelaide Brisbane Melbourne Perth Sydney

Major Practie Areas Agribusiness Banking & Finance Competition & Consumer Construction & Infrastructure Corporate & Commercial Dispute Resolution & Litigation Employment Relations Energy & Resources Government & Administrative Law Health & Life Sciences Hospitality, Tourism & Gaming Insolvency, Turnaround and Recoveries Insurance IP, Technology & Telecommunications Planning & Environment Private Client Services Privatisation Property Taxation & Superannuation Transport & Logistics

Sparke Helmore www.sparke.com.au

Sparke Helmore Lawyers is a firm of 600 people working from nine offices across Australia. Our expertise spans corporate and commercial to construction, workplace to insurance, IP to IPOs, mining to manufacturing, and property to procurement.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is central to us achieving our strategic vision, that is, to be a world-class independent Australian law firm that clients value for its people and performance. Our immediate area of focus is on gender equality.

Our strategy puts our clients at the heart of everything we do. It involves having true legal subject matter expertise and targeted industry knowledge to deliver a level of insight that helps our clients find better ways to solve problems; from the everyday to the business critical. It also puts our people at the heart of everything we do, because we know they are business critical for us and our clients.

Our Employee Advisory group strengthens communication channels from and to our people on issues that affect our workplace. This group is representative of our workforce and provides insight into different employee perspectives, offering ideas and feedback that assists us to focus our efforts in this space.

Offices Adelaide Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Newcastle Perth Port Macquarie Sydney Upper Hunter

Major Practie Areas Commercial & Projects Corporate Government Insurance Workplace

125

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Thomson Geer www.tglaw.com.au

Offices Adelaide Brisbane Melbourne Sydney

Major Practie Areas Banking & finance Competition & regulation Construction & projects Corporate & advisory Employment, workplace relations & safety Environment & planning Insurance Intellectual property Litigation & dispute resolution Mergers & acquisitions Property Restructuring & insolvency Superannuation & wealth management Tax Technology

Clerkship Program

and

Graduate

Our Clerkship and Graduate programs are designed to ensure that you quickly become embedded in our high performance culture, enabling you to get the most out of your experience and make a valuable contribution to your team from the word go.

We are looking for talented and ambitious law students who are passionate about commencing their career with a dynamic commercial law firm. You should be willing to take on personal responsibility and also able to thrive in a collaborative environment. Most importantly, you should be as committed to making the most of opportunities for personal and professional growth as we are to facilitating them!

We know you’re not just a student on work experience We want to give you a realistic and stretching introduction to the legal profession. How does this happen? From day one, you’ll be an active participant in the team, involved in all aspects of legal practice, and working directly with experienced practitioners. We also want you to enjoy your time with us – there are loads of social events you can get involved in – and what better way for you to get to know your future colleagues?

Developing your skills to set you up for a bright future We view all of our clerks as potential graduates, and all of our graduates as potential partners.

We will dedicate significant time to your development as an up and coming lawyer in our

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

126

team: an investment in you is an investment in our future, and the future of our valued clients.

You will find that all of our partners and staff are approachable and always happy to share their knowledge and experience with you. We encourage our clerks, graduates and trainees to get as much exposure to different practice areas and ways of working as they can – this is a reflection of how we work as a wider organisation; a fully integrated, cohesive, national team.

Enabling success through guidance and support You will find that all of our partners and staff are approachable and always happy to share their knowledge and experience with you. You will have access to a supervising partner, a mentor, and a buddy, to help you navigate through the transition from uni to work and begin to build your chosen career. We encourage our clerks and graduates to get as much exposure to different practice areas and ways of working as they can – this is a reflection of how we work as a wider organisation: a fully integrated, cohesive, national team.

The Law is an incredibly rewarding profession, but we recognise that it can also be demanding.

For this reason, we aim to maintain an environment that is friendly, collegiate and professionally stimulating.

We work hard to enhance this culture through open and authentic communication, and by ensuring we are respectful and accountable to each other every day.

Thomson Geer Clerkship – An Insight Alexandra Meeuwsen – Graduate Lawyer A clerkship with Thomson Geer is a great way to gain an insight into the operation of a successful, fully integrated national corporate commercial law firm and what it can offer you in your career. It provides an opportunity to experience the various elements comprising corporate and commercial law practice. Before my clerkship and graduate year I never fully comprehended the vast scope of work and projects that I would be involved in commercial practice. You are given the opportunity to learn from and work with lawyers and partners who are continually recognised locally and nationally for their knowledge and expertise in their respective fields.

Thomson Geer values and invests in continued development and training for their practitioners. Such opportunities are regularly offered and include training in hard skills, such as technical use of software, and soft skills, such as conflict resolution training and managing work life balance. Thomson Geer offers in house continued practical development lectures and encourages involvement with relevant professional organisations and associations.

But don’t worry it's not all work and no play. Thomson Geer values networking and appreciates the importance of relationships with your peers. We have weekly drinks on Friday night, which provides an opportunity to get to know each other socially and professionally. This is particularly important as we are established across three levels in our Adelaide office. We have a Social Club who arranges various events throughout the year including quiz nights, wine tours, cocktail nights and even a Mid-Year Ball.

The Clerkship The four-week clerkship program begins with induction week. It was evident from the outset just how invested Thomson Geer was in our development with the firm. These first few days we heard from younger lawyers and current graduate lawyers about the firm culture and general practical expectations. It was nice to have some advice and reassurance from people who had been in our position only 12 months before. We also heard from practitioners from each department who provided insight into their practice area and the type of work they do. This gave a much clearer picture of the services we offer and the diversity of our clients.

At the beginning of the clerkship you are assigned to a practice area and a supervising partner. However during your time are also encouraged to experience work with other teams. During my clerkship I worked in the Property team but also assisted the Corporate, Tax, and Employment teams with work. The opportunity to experience multiple practice areas was extremely beneficial and allowed me to reflect on areas of practice I would consider pursuing. The types of work that the clerks were given included drafting, reviewing transactional documents, researching and drafting memos, attending client meetings, discovery and attending court. The work you do is real and worthwhile.

Support is offered to you throughout your clerkship. We would meet with HR each week to debrief and raise any issues that concerned us. You were assigned a mentor who worked in the same practice group as you – my mentor was a great support and gave a lot of practical assistance. He was always approachable and would make time for any queries I had.

The Graduate Program Graduates at Thomson Geer are often recruited straight from the clerkship program. The graduate program runs for 12 months, which includes two six-month rotations in different practice areas. Graduates are assigned a mentor, who guides you in relation to your work and performance. You are also assigned a buddy, who is generally another young lawyer, to offer support and advice more generally about being a young lawyer and the transition from University to working life.

The type of work you undertake in the graduate program is an extension of the work you performed whilst on your clerkship. The firm encourages graduates to become involved in matters and to engage directly with clients. The training is also ongoing with New Lawyer Training sessions being run every month or so to assist the graduates as new lawyers learn practical skills. These sessions were based on topics such as drafting, court appearances and how to manage file.

The most valuable aspect of the graduate program is the two rotations. The opportunity to immerse yourself and experience multiple practice areas before settling into one practice area is exceptionally beneficial. As a young lawyer you are able to learn new legal skills and knowledge from different teams and then take that as experience into the practice area in which you ultimately practice.

Participating in the clerkship and graduate programs at Thomson Geer, whilst at times challenging, is very rewarding. I encourage you all to apply for a clerkship with Thomson Geer and wish you the best of luck with your applications.

127

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Wallmans www.wallmans.com.au

Offices Adelaide

Major Practie Areas Business & Commercial Competition & Consumer Financial Services Hospitality & Licensing Insolvency Insurance Litigation & Dispute Resolution Mediation Medical Mercantile Planning & Environment Privacy Property, Construction & Infrastructure Retirement Villages & Aged Care Taxation & Superannuation Transport & Shipping Workplace Relations, Employment & Safety Personal Injury Taxation & Superannuation Wills & Estate Planning Commercial & Property Governance Litigation & Dispute Resolution Planning, Environment & Licensed Premises Workplace Relations, Employment and Safety

Wallmans Lawyers is an established multipractice commercial firm, providing an integrated team of nationally recognised leaders with extensive knowledge of key industry sectors.

While predominately Adelaide based, the firm services a significant range of local, national and international clients across the corporate, private and government sectors as well as individuals.

Comprising a full service team of 96 staff, our lawyers have a reputation for understanding our clients’ business, their objectives and goals, whilst ultimately providing solutions that are cost effective and commercial. As a multi-practice firm, we are able to offer complementary services that are essential to effective business operations including tailored taxation, superannuation, property, workplace relations, litigation and dispute resolution assistance.

We act for a wide variety of clients from medium sized businesses through to publicly listed organisations across a broad range of industries, including financial services, professional services, government, health, aged care, transport and shipping, not for profit, insurance, hospitality and wine, tourism, media and property and construction.

Clerkships and PLT

Wallmans Lawyers offer six-week clerkships for students wanting to undertake their PLT placement and a four-week Summer Clerk Program during December and January.

Many summer clerks have been invited back to do their Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP) or PLT placement with us.

In return, we will offer an opportunity to experience life in a successful city legal practice, and welcome you as part of the team. You will work with lawyers at all levels on a daily basis, and the program will be coordinated by our Human Resources Manager to help make your transition from student to pre-admission lawyer as smooth as possible.

You will receive full training on our systems and procedures when you arrive and practical feedback when you finish the program. We will also seek your feedback to ensure continuous improvement.

A typical clerkship at Wallmans Lawyers includes: • Attending client meetings and interviews with witnesses • Conducting and reporting on factual and legal research and draft opinions • Collating and indexing documents for use in trials and mediation • Preparing letters to clients, barristers and witnesses • Drafting court documents and commercial documents • Accompanying clients to a barrister’s chambers or to court • Attending court registries and public offices • Participating in practice area section meetings and our in-house training program.

We look for students with ability, enthusiasm and motivation who are friendly team players with strong communication skills. In other words, Wallmans people.

Clerkship Application Dates

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Office

Period

Apps Open

Apps Close

Offers

Adelaide

Summer

21 Mar 2016

11 Apr 2016

30 May 2016

128

Clerking at Wallmans

Ellen Gordon, Solicitor, Workplace Relations, Employment and Safety team At the beginning of the final year of my law degree, I made the decision that I actually wanted to practice law. Knowing that I needed some practical experience, I attended the careers fair to see what each of the Adelaide firms had to offer.

For me, Wallmans stood out from the crowd. The firm had a wide range of practice areas, including some more unusual areas such as medical and maritime law. The Wallmans representatives were also particularly friendly, outgoing and were clearly proud of their firm. This gave me a really positive first impression and I thought that Wallmans sounded like the right type of place for me.

I then went through the process of writing my application. After covering academics and part time work, I wondered what else I could include to make myself ‘stand out’. I chose to focus on the things I had done outside of study but which were still relevant to life as lawyer. For me, this included the time I spent as a SASI athlete and my love of travelling. In the end, it was these things that I actually spent the most time talking about in my interview and at the cocktail evening.

After a few nervous weeks, I was lucky enough to get ‘the call’. I was told that my placement would be in the workplace relations, employment and safety team. Even though I hadn’t studied labour law at university, I thought this practice area could be something I would really enjoy. Luckily, I was right!

During my clerkship, I was exposed to all parts of legal practice. I drafted correspondence, legal documents, attended client interviews and observed negotiations. My team gave me consistent feedback and support and my skills certainly improved as the weeks went on.

The clerks were also encouraged to participate in the firm’s social activities. Friday night drinks were a great way to meet people from all over the firm and to catch up with the other clerks after a busy week. I was also lucky enough to attend the firm Christmas party on the final day of my clerkship which was a great way to top off my Wallmans experience.

So if you think practice might be for you, I suggest your consider applying for a clerkship with Wallmans. The Wallmans program will enable you to build on your knowledge and skills but it will also encourage you to have some fun along the way.

129

Employer Directory: Civil Legal Practice

Employer Directory: Criminal Legal Practice

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions www.dpp.sa.gov.au

Offices

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) is responsible for prosecuting offences in South Australia. Lawyers working at the ODPP may either serve as a prosecutor, appearing in court, or a solicitor, preparing matters for prosecution. The ODPP aims to provide the people of South Australia with an independent and effective criminal prosecution service which is timely, efficient and just.

Adelaide

Summer Clerkships

The Office also offers summer clerkship positions over the summer break period. These positions are renumerated and applications are processed through the Crown Solicitors Office.

For more information about those positions and for information about the application process, please consult the Crown Solicitors Office website.

PLT Placement

Applicants should register their interest by writing to the Office enclosing an up to date curriculum vitae and a copy of their academic transcript.

Applicants should indicate what placement period they are interested in and provide a short summary of why they are interested in completing their placement with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Applications should be made in writing. See the website for postal address details.

Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions www.cdpp.gov.au Offices Adelaide Brisbane Canberra Cairns Hobart Melbourne Perth Sydney Townsville

Employer Directory: Crinimal Legal Practice

The Office of the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service established by the Parliament of Australia to prosecute alleged offences against Commonwealth law, and to deprive offenders of the proceeds and benefits of criminal activity.

It aims to provide an effective national criminal prosecution service to the Australian community.

The CDPP prosecutes a wide range of alleged criminal offences, such as offences relating to the importation of serious drugs, frauds on the Commonwealth including tax and security fraud, commercial prosecutions, people smuggling, people trafficking (including sexual servitude and sexual slavery), terrorism, and a wide range of regulatory offences.

The CDPP’s vision is for a fair, safe and just society where the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia are respected and maintained and there is a public confidence in the justice system.

The CDPP’s purpose is to provide an ethical high quality and independent prosecutions service for Australia in accordance with the Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth.

The CDPP’s prosecution practice is as wide as the reach of Commonwealth Law. State and Territory Directors of Public Prosecutions are responsible for the prosecution of alleged offences against State or Territory laws.

132

Anderson Solicitors

Caldicoot Lawyers

Colthorpe Lawyers

www.andersons.com.au

www.caldicottlawyers.com.au

www.colthorpelawyers.com.au

Andersons Solicitors has offices in Adelaide, Port Adelaide, Morphett Vale, Murray Bridge, Mt Gambier and Whyalla. They specialise in personal injury law, including injuries resulting from a motor vehicle accident, workplace injuries through WorkCover or ComCare, asbestos, medical negligence and catastrophic injury resulting from an accident in a public place. Andersons Solicitors also practice in industrial and employment law, family law, wills and estate planning, commercial, business and criminal law.

Caldicott Lawyers is a specialised law firm that works exclusively in all areas of criminal law. The firm handles all types of criminal matters, from serious charges including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, drug offences, sex offences, serious assaults, violent offences, theft and fraud, to traffic and driving charges, including drink driving, drug driving, causing death by dangerous driving and driving whilst disqualified. Caldicott Lawyers is a member of ADLA (Australian Defence Lawyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Alliance), which is a group of leading criminal law firms in Australia.

Colthorpe Lawyers specialise in criminal defence law, including defending all prosecutions for traffic related offences, licence reviews and the lifting of immediate police suspensions of licence. We frequently deal with simple traffic offences such as speeding and other minor offences but also drink driving offences, driving whilst disqualified, driving to evade police, in a manner dangerous and cause injury or death by negligent driving. Colthorpe Lawyers is located in Christies Beach.

Mangan Ey & Associates

Michael Woods & Co

Websters Lawyers

www.manganey.com.au

www.criminallawexperts.com.au

www.websterslawyers.com.au

Mangan Ey & Associates Barristers and Solicitors specialise in criminal and traffic law. They are one of Adelaideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest and experienced specialist criminal law firms, established in 1982. They practice in murder and manslaughter cases, all types of drug offences, sexual offences, assault, disorderly behavior, domestic violence, theft and robbery, fraud, firearms and weapons offences, serious criminal trespass, drink driving, general traffic offences and demerit points, and driving without due care.

Woods & Co is a specialist criminal and traffic Law firm located in the heart of Adelaide. The firm services all court areas in South Australia, and has developed a reputation for providing forthright and honest advice. Michael Woods & Co believes in being experts and providing a boutique service to our clients that is second to none. The firm provide a 24hr emergency service.

Websters Lawyers are a firm of experienced barristers and solicitors from a diverse range of areas who have the common aim of providing a more personal and efficient legal service than clients are likely to have received elsewhere.

133

Websters Lawyers practice in a wide variety of areas, including personal injury and public liability, family law, workers compensation, motor vehicle accident claims, criminal law, traffic and police matters, estate administration, equal opportunity and discrimination claims, victims of crime claims, court litigation, wills, and commercial litigatio

Employer Directory: Crinimal Legal Practice

Employer Directory: Suburban & Rural Practice

AM Legal

Beger & Co Lawyers

Boylan & Co

www.amlegal.com.au

www.beger.com.au

www.boylanlawyers.com.au

AM Legal provides advice and dispute resolution, as well assisting people with planning and managing their legal affairs of both a personal and business nature. AM Legal specialises in workplace relations as well as commerce, personal relationships (marriage and de facto), personal services (wills and estate planning) and public law.

It is also strongly committed to participating in the community also undertaking a significant amount of pro bono work.

Beger & Co Lawyers is an accredited Law Society of South Australia “Gold Alliance” Adelaide law firm. The firm is a general practice of experienced Adelaide lawyers and conveyancers located in St Peters, South Australia. The lawyers at Beger & Co Lawyers are all highly experienced in court disputes, employment matters, litigation, wills and estates, commercial law and property law. Beger & Co guarantees a service of the highest quality in a friendly and comfortable environment.

Boylan Lawyers are not only located in the CBD of Adelaide but they have five rural locations to extend their assistance throughout the state. Their areas of practice include; wills and estates, injury law, family law, property and commercial law, litigation, work law and notarising.

Dewar Legal

Hume Taylor & Co

Jankus Legal

www.dewarlegal.com

www.humetaylor.com.au

www.jankuslegal.com.au

Dewar Legal is a personal and business legal firm based in Adelaide. The firm practices in the fields of, family law, estate law, and criminal law. The firm offers a full range of legal services with a particular focus on assisting individuals, families and small business to resolve complex legal disputes.

Hume Taylor & Co Lawyers is a medium-sized, South Australian law firm with offices located in Adelaide, Millicent and Whyalla. The firm represents a diverse range of clients, maintaining a sizeable commercial, corporate and private client base. They practice in areas ranging from family law to criminal law, wills & estate planning, probate and estate administration, personal injury claims, commercial law, industrial law and conveyancing

SMEs or business owners that require practical and cost effective business law advice make up most of Jankus Legal’s clients. They want to set things up well for the long term and to carry on their business without spending too much time or money on lawyers. Jankus Legal addresses its clients’ needs by working efficiently and effectively, and where possible providing a fixed quote for legal work. Jankus Legal provides legal services in business documents and advice, business structures, wills and estates plans, and notary public.

Employer Directory: Suburban & Rural

136

Johnston Withers

Georgiadis Lawyers

Kyrmis Lawyers

www.johnstonwithers.com.au

www.georgiadis.com.au

www.kyrimislawyers.com.au

Johnston Withers is a progressive, mid-sized South Australian law firm with a social conscience.

It has been serving Adelaide and regional SA clients for nearly 70 years. It has a head office in Adelaide; regional offices in Clare ,Port Augusta and Whyalla; and regularly visits Roxby Downs.

Johnston Withersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; areas of focus are injury law, employment law, commercial and property law, family law, wills and estates, criminal law and dispute resolution. They are highly regarded for particular expertise in some niche areas: defamation; native title and Aboriginal legal issues; food, wine and agri-law; environmental law; and legal assistance for not-for-profit organisations and associations. Underpinning all they do is a focus on building strong personal relationships with clients â&#x20AC;&#x201C; helping them in their workplaces, in their families, in their businesses and in their lives.

Georgiadis Lawyers is a boutique firm specializing in a range of corporate and personal practice areas.

The firm practices in commercial and business law, property law, family law, wills, estates and succession law, criminal law, personal injury law, WorkCover law and employment law. Georgiadis Lawyers has offices located in the Adelaide CBD, Salisbury, Christies Beach, Mount Barker and Port Adelaide.

Kyrmis Lawyers is a full-service regional law firm based in Mount Gambier, aiming to provide the highest quality legal services in a timely fashion.

The firm practices in areas of wills and estates, commercial law, workplace law, land brokerage, criminal law, family law, civil disputes

Mellor Olsson Lawyers

Stokes Legal

Scammell & Co

www.mellorolsson.com.au

www.stokeslegal.com.au

www.scammell.com.au

Mellor Olsson has permanent offices in Adelaide, Port Lincoln and Clare, as well as (by appointment) offices at Boardertown, Kadina, Keith, McLaren Vale and Nuriootpa. The lawyers at Mellor Olsson can assist with personal injury, wills and estates, commercial services, employment law, local government and planning and conveyancing. At Mellor Olsson, high quality legal advice goes hand in hand with high levels of personal service. The firm takes pride in providing legal solutions for all South Australians.

Since 1988, Stokes Legal has provided effective legal solutions, advice and court representation.

Being a small, client focused firm, it offers a high level of personalised service with the convenience of accessible offices with easy parking at any one of five suburban locations and our Victor Harbor office. Stokes Legal practices in family law, wills and estates, business and property law, and debt collection.

Scammell & Co cover a wide range of legal and associated matters, but the firm has extensive experience in injury claims. The firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s services include personal injury, family law, commercial services, litigation, wills and estates and criminal law.

137

Employer Directory: Suburban & Rural

Employer Directory: Community Legal Practice

Australian Refugee Association

Central Community Legal Service

The Family Violence Legal Service Aboriginal Corporation (FVLSAC) – is a free community legal service assisting Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander victim/ survivors of family violence and/ or sexual assault in the state of South Australia.

The service work with families and communities affected by violence.

The Australian Refugee Association (ARA) was established in 1975 by a group of concerned people who volunteered their time to help people arriving in Australia from Vietnam. Volunteers are an integral part of the work that the ARA does, and there are currently approximately 600 volunteers.

Central Community Legal Service is a community organisation set up to provide free legal information, advice, referral and assistance. It offers three different types of services:

The service has offices in Port Augusta, Port Lincoln and Ceduna and provide services in the Spencer Gulf Region and West Coast Region and surrounding communities.

The ARA’s mission is to help refugees become settled and participating citizens of Australia. Our vision is an Australia where refugees are an integral art of a thriving, prosperous community.

FVLSAC provides face to face and/or telephone legal advice to victim/survivors of family violence and/or sexual assault. The service also provide client support services and community legal education.

The ARA provides advice, assistance, advocacy and practical support with settlement services, migration services, employment services, youth services, public education, policy and advocacy.

Aborigional Family Violence Legal Service www.australianrefugee.org

JusticeNet www.justicenet.org.au JusticeNet SA is an independent, not-for-profit legal service that provides pro bono legal assistance to individuals and charitable organisations in South Australia. The organisation is run by experienced lawyers and assisted by volunteers, and aims to provide a safety net for individuals or groups who cannot afford a lawyer.

JusticeNet accepts applications for volunteers yearround and opens positions on an as-needed basis.

The major intake is during November. Places are competitive. To apply, please send a cover letter, CV and Academic Transcript to Louise Young at admin@justicenet.org.au.

www.australianrefugee.org

Northern Community Legal Service Northern Community Legal Service offers free legal information and a referral service to people living in the northern Adelaide metropolitan area.

Ongoing legal assistance is only provided to those people who are on low incomes and who are not eligible for legal aid.

The centre has a specialist Child Support Service, which is available to parents receiving, or those eligible to receive child support, as well as parents who are paying child support.

A free financial counselling service is also available to members of the northern community.

Outreaches are conducted at Nuriootpa, Murray Bridge, Gawler and Kadina.

Employer Directory:Community Legal

140

www.yourbestlife.org.au

1. Generalist Legal Service 2. Disability Discrimination Assistance 3. Children’s and Youth Legal Service There are outreaches available at Marion Youth Service in Oaklands Park, Medindie Gardens and Pitt Street in the city, shopfront in Salisbury, The Platform at Elizabeth and Streetlink in the city.

Riverland Community Legal Service

www.riverlandlegalservice.org.au The Riverland Community Legal Service is one of approximately 150 community legal centres throughout Australia.

With offices located at 8 Wilson Street Berri the Service provides free legal advice, representation and community legal education throughout the Riverland region.

The Riverland Community Legal Service is funded by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s department and is accredited with the National Association of Community Legal Centres.

Roma Mitchell Community Legal Centre

Southern Community Justice Centre

Welfare Rights Centre (SA) Inc

The Southern Community Justice Centre provides a number of free services to the community in a professional and friendly environment.

The services are operated under three main departments:

Welfare Rights (SA) is a non-governmental agency that exists to assist people in their dealings with Centrelink where the nature of a recent, or impending, decision leaves the client with cause for some concern. Welfare Rights can advise clients on their rights and legal entitlements, and can contact Centrelink of their behalf and attempt to resolve the problem. This is a free service.

www.scjc.com.au

Roma Mitchell Community Legal Centre is a volunteer run agency offering free legal advice on Monday and Thursday evenings by pro bono solicitors. Their services include legal advice and referral, promotion of human rights, Aboriginal reconciliation and volunteer opportunities. Such volunteer activities include Centrelink Activity Agreements, legal training placements, and work experience placements by negotiation.

• •

•

Legal Services: provides assistance in various areas of law, including family, civil, and criminal law; Child Support Services: provides specialist assistance in the area of child support to people residing in most areas of South Australia; and Neighbourhood and Community Disputes Service: this Service provides Alternative dispute Resolution Services in neighbourhood and other community disputes to most residents of South Australia

www.wrcsa.org.au

The Welfare Rights Centre also manages the Housing Legal Clinic, which exists to provide pro bono legal advice to people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless. This Clinic was established to reduce the marginalisation or people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and over 1,500 clients use this service.

Westside Community Lawyers

Women’s Legal Service (SA) Inc

Young Workers’ Legal Service

Westside Community Lawyers, located in Port Pirie and Hindmarsh, acts for people who require legal assistance and representaion in court.This service also advise Not for Profit organisations and help people to understand their legal rights through education and information. Ongoing legal assistance is provided to those who are not eligible for legal aid from the Legal Services Commission of South Australia.

The Women’s Legal Service (SA) Inc. is a community based legal centre providing a legal services to women in South Australia. The Service focuses on assisting women with legal information, advice, representation, referrals and education on a wide range of issues including domestic violence, family law, criminal injuries compensation, discrimination, employment, debts, and immigration. Every year the Women’s Legal Service (SA) Inc. provides advice to over two thousand women.

The Service provides: • A free and confidential legal information telephone service; • Free and confidential legal advice, assistance, referrals and representation; • Metropolitan Outreach services such as at the Southern Women’s Community Health Centre; • Outreach services to rural, regional and remote areas including Port Augusta, Coober Pedy and the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands; • Community legal education workshops and seminars; and • Law reform initiatives and activities that work towards positive key legislative and policy changes for women.

The Young Workers’ Legal Service (YWLS) provides workers under the age of 30 with free, confidential advice about work-related matters.

The YWLS is staffed by volunteer advisors - in their final or penultimate year of law – under the guidance and supervision of trained Industrial Officers. The YWLS is a once-off Service. That is, once you have been a client of the YWLS you are no longer eligible to obtain advice/information about an unrelated matter.

www.westsidelawyers.net

www.wlssa.org.au

141

www.ywls.org.au

The advice that the YWLS provides is free of charge. However, young workers are responsible for legal costs incurred, including lodgement fees, obtaining evidence and attending Tribunal hearings.

Employer Directory: Community Legal

Employer Directory: Private Non-Legal

Allianz

www.allianz.com.au Allianz offers a wide range of insurance and risk management products and services. These services include: personal insurance (such as home and contents, motor, boat, travel, and CTP and life insurance); industrial and commercial insurance, which includes those for such things as farms and businesses; corporate insurance, such as those for construction, liability and professional indemnity; public and products liability; worker’s compensation; and loss control and risk management strategies.

As an Allianz Graduate, you will be placed into a defined program, but will also have the chance to work with your Graduate peers crossfunctionally. You will work on enterprise related projects with your peers and substantially further your education. During your two-year program you will also gain diverse experiences through rotations across our business, as well the opportunity to participate in a number of personal development activities.

Graduate Programs: • Underwriting & Risk Management • Agriculture • Relationship Management and Sales • General Insurance leadership • IT Business Solutions • Workers Compensation

Allianz is an insurance company that provides services in both Australia and New Zealand, and employs over 3,800 staff.

Allianz Insurance Australia is part of the Allianz Global Group operating in every State and Territory in Australia, and is one of the leading private workers compensation cover.

Allianz Australia only takes on a small number of graduates each year, which allows you to receive a highly tailored and supportive early career experience.

Applications for the 2017 Allianz Graduate Program closed Close on 30 March 2016

ANZ Banking Group www.anz.com.au

ANZ is a publicly listed company that provides a range of banking and financial products and services to almost 8 million customers. It is one of the five largest and most successful listed companies in Australia, and operates in 32 markets globally with representation in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Pacific, Europe, America, and the Middle East. ANZ provides personal services, services for small businesses, as well as business for the corporate sector.

You’ll benefit from all the rewarding experiences and guidance you’ll need for a thriving career. What’s more, you’ll receive feedback, support and advice from a range of ANZ managers as well as build on your personal associations within the bank.

ANZ offers all our new graduates something no other financial institution can – unique and exclusive access to our international network of professionals from their base in Australia or New Zealand. It’s all supported by our position as one of the world’s strongest, safest and most sustainable banks.

The 2017 graduate program has already been filled.

It’s simple. We’re here to give you all the encouragement, guidance and industry nous you’ll need to make the smartest move – for you.

BDO

www.bdo.com.au BDO was established as an association of firms in Australia in 1975. Today, the company is one of Australia’s largest associations of independently owned accounting practices, with offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney.

Applications for the 2017 Graduate Program in the Adelaide office applications are currently open and close Sunday 3 April 2016. Applications will close once all positions are filled.

You will need to submit a covering letter, resume and copy of your academic transcript. Applications will only be accepted online.

In Australia, BDO offers the expertise of more than 150 partners, supported by over 1300 staff. The company provides services to a diverse range of clients, from large corporate organisations to private businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals across a broad array of industry sectors.

Graduates As you near the end of your time at university, the next step in your career progression is to start thinking about where you want to work. BDO offers Graduate programs across Australia which are targeted at final year students or have recently graduates of degrees in Accounting, Law, or Finance.

Employer Directory: Private Non- Legal

144

BHP Billiton www.bhpbilliton.com.au

BHP Billiton is a global resources company that is among the world’s largest producers of major commodities, including aluminium, copper, energy coal, iron ore, manganese, metallurgical coal, nickel, silver and uranium along with substantial interests in oil and gas.

In addition to learning at work and excelling in your day-to-day activities, you’ll complete a number of work-based, team and experiential activities to help you build your functional base, develop decision-making, communication and stakeholder engagement skills, and learn what it takes to be an inclusive leader at BHP Billiton.

BHB Billiton offers graduates unique opportunities to learn and excel in their day-to-day work, engage with exceptional leaders, build a global network of colleagues and work with educators from some of the world’s leading business schools.

Applications for 2017 close on the 28th of March 2016.

Graduate Positions Our Program smoothly transitions our graduates from university to a work environment and includes a variety of learning styles to meet the needs of our diverse graduate population.

Deloitte

www.deloitte.com.au Deloitte Australia provides a broad range of audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients. It has expertise that spans industry sectors including automotive; consumer business; energy & resources; financial services; government services; life sciences & health care; manufacturing; real estate; and technology, media & telecommunications.

Our people are our most valuable assets. Each year we recruit a large number of outstanding graduates for our in-demand Graduate Program to inject new ideas and energy into Deloitte.

Graduate employees start with us in early March and early July. Each new employee is paired up with a ‘Buddy’ and a counselling manager to help with a smooth transition into Deloitte life.

The Australian partnership of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is committed to growth, client service and its people – 640 partners and more than 5400 people located in 14 offices across the country, plus offices in PNG, TimorLeste.

We provide the right kinds of tools and training to ensure all our graduates can achieve career success through mentoring, peer support, e-learning events and Deloitte’s own graduate development program called D. Academy.

Vacationer and Graduate Programs The Summer Vacation Program offers significant client exposure, networking opportunities, training and feedback from a strong support system. Graduates spend three to eight weeks in one of our service lines, with the prospect of securing a graduate position. If you are in your penultimate year at university you are eligible to apply.

Applications for our 2017 Graduate Program and Summer Vacation Program are now open.

Ernst & Young www.ey.com.au Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services. Our 167,000 people are united by our shared values, which inspire our people worldwide and guide them to do the right thing, and our commitment to quality, which is embedded in who we are and everything we do.

You’ll begin to build your technical, leadership and communication skills, and be responsible for parts of projects right away, working in a business area of your choice. As a graduate with EY you’ll be able to add value to your clients and shape your career as a professional.

Applications are now open, buta pply early - applications will close once positions are filled. Applications for the Adelaide program close 31 March 2016.

Ernst & Young is committed to doing its part in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

Graduate Program With early responsibility and the support and training to grow, you’ll build the confidence to pursue your goals. Exposed to a wide range of clients, you can expect to develop your networks, collaborate with specialists, learn from mentors and even study for postgraduate qualifications, including the Chartered Accountant qualification or a Masters of Tax.

145

Employer Directory: Private Non-Legal

Edwards Mashall www.edwardsmarshall.com.au

Undergraduate Program Work for a truly great firm that values and appreciates their staff!

Our Undergraduate Program is a fantastic opportunity to commence your career and gain valuable experience whilst still completing your studies.

Edwards Marshall is an advisory firm based in Adelaide that provides clients with a number of services, including: • Audit and Assurance Services; • Business Consulting Services; • Corporate Recovery; • Financial Planning Services; • Forensic Accounting; • Information Technology Services; and • Mining Resources.

If you are willing to undertake your study whilst working full time with generous study support, then submit your CV together with a copy of your academic transcript.

The program commences in February of each year and EM accept applications throughout the year

Edwards Marshall has an Undergraduate Program in which students are able to work on a casual basis at the firm while completing their studies.

While the Program begins in February every year, Edwards Marshall accepts applications from students throughout the year. Students are able to submit their CV via the website to be considered for the program.

Ferrier Hodgson www.ferrierhodgson.com

Established in 1976, Ferrier Hodgson is Asia Pacific’s most widely recognised and highly respected provider of turnaround, reconstruction and forensics services. The Ferrier Hodgson Group has over 30 partners and 300 staff and offices in all major Australian capital cities, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.

At Ferrier Hodgson Graduates will be provided with opportunities to continuously evolve your professional and personal growth. In addition to our extensive L&D framework that starts from week one where as a new graduate you will attend our National Learning Program, coaching and mentoring are well-established forms of personal and professional development at Ferrier Hodgson.

With specialist industry advisers, Ferrier Hodgson are able to address both the operational and financial aspects of each matter to come up with the optimal solutions. Ferrier Hodgson prides itself on the specialist nature of its practice, thus we are usually free from the conflicts that affect many of our competitors.

The 2017 Graduate Program applications close on the 29th of March 2016

We have offices across Australia and Asia as well as a strong association with international firms Zolfo Cooper and KLC Kennic Lui & Co to provide services globally.

Goldman Sachs www.gs.com.au

Goldman Sachs is a financial management firm, which operates in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. The firm is able to apply their global knowledge of worldwide finances to the specific Australian perspective.

The summer analyst role is for candidates currently pursuing a college or university degree and is usually undertaken during the penultimate year of study. While your discipline or major are not important, we are looking for candidates with an outstanding record of academic achievement and an interest in the financial markets.

Goldman Sachs focuses on corporate advisory, securities and investment management, with key business areas in asset management, cash products, corporate advisory, principal investment area and securities.

Applications for 2016 close on 7 July 2016 for Melbourne, and 21 July for Sydney and Perth.

Goldman Sachs is primarily focused on client interests, as well as teamwork and dedication. Amongst striving to anticipate the changing and varied needs of every client, Goldman Sachs aims for all employees to maintain the business principle that integrity and honesty are the heart of the business.

Employer Directory: Private Non- Legal

146

Korda Mentha www.kordamentha.com

KordaMentha is an advisory firm, which reaches across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and has a strategic affiliation with Alix Partners in the USA, UK, Europe and Asia. The firm’s Australian offices are in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Gold Coast, Townsville and Adelaide.

KordaMentha specialises in Corporate Recovery, Turnaround and Restructuring, Real Estate Advisory and Forensic Services.

KordaMentha has been involved with many voluntary administrations, including the largest voluntary administration in Australian history, as administrators of Ansett. Other clients include Griffin Energy Group, Timbercourp Group and the Oracle Towers at Broadbeach.

Aplications for the 2017 Graduate positions in Australian cities close at various times throughout March 2016.

KPMG

www.kpmg.com.au KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 155 countries and have more than 162,000 people working in member firms around the world. In Australia, KPMG has around 6,700 people, including over 400 partners, with offices around the country.

Graduates will receive world-class training and mentoring, and mix with some of the brightest minds around. Plus they’ll have the opportunity to work on community and environmental programs that make a genuine difference to our society.

Our clients turn to us because we get the job done through our dedication to quality and our collaborative approach. Our people aim to succeed by delivering industry-focused services that create genuine, sustainable value for our clients.

Our position is built on the professionalism of our people, the quality of the Audit and Assurance, Tax, and Advisory services we offer and the contribution we make to the wellbeing of the communities in which we live and operate. With one of the country’s most diverse range of projects – in advisory, tax and accounting – KPMG will graduates working with the nation’s most respected companies from day one.

Applications for the 2016/2017 Vacationer Positions in Adelaide close on 27 March 2016. Applications for 2017 Graduate Positions in Adelaide also close on 27 March 2016.

Macquarie Group Australia www.macquarie.com.au

Macquarie Group Australia provides a diverse range of services, including banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services throughout the world. With a focus expertise and risk management, the firm instils confidence in its clients, which assists in providing strong clientfocused services.

Macquarie Group Australia is driven by strong business management, careful risk management, and having a strong and committed team.

Applications for our 2017 Graduate program are open now and will close 7 April 2016.

The main services provided by Macquarie Group Australia include organisational structure and business activities, corporate governance, and leadership. The firm acts for institutional, corporate, and retail clients both nationally and internationally.

147

Employer Directory: Private Non-Legal

National Australia Bank www.nab.com.au

National Australia Bank Group is a financial services organisation with over 12,700,000 customers and 42,000 people, operating more than 1,700 stores and business banking centres globally.

The National Australia Bank commits to provide quality products and services and fair fees and charges. The National Australia Bank places a strong emphasis on corporate responsibility, and the relationship between customers, employees and communities.

Our major financial services franchises in Australia are complemented by businesses in New Zealand, Asia, and the United Kingdom. Each of our brands is uniquely positioned, but built on a common commitment to provide our customers with quality products and services, fair fees and charges, and relationships built on the principles of help, guidance and advice.

With the ultimate goal of providing sustainable business, the National Australia Bank strives to accelerate efficiency, quality and service, as well as investing in their own people, and always continuing to develop a strong business portfolio.

Applications for 2017 Graduate positions close 28 March 2016.

Proctor & Gamble www.pgcareers.com.au

P&G provides products and services to worldwide consumers. P&G strives to improve the lives of consumers by increasing their life quality. Two of the firm’s main principles are diversity and inclusion, which assists in accumulating employees from various backgrounds, to assist the firm in connecting with the global marketplace.

P&G has such a broad range of business that enables it to work on a technological level to connect categories and global regions in new and innovative ways through a collaboration process which ultimately increases the firm’s products’ demand, reach and sales.

Graduate Program Dates for Australia are unavailable at this time

P&G is extremely consumer-focused, and aims to keep in touch with its consumers to ensure that the firm is fulfilling its key business principles. One way of doing this is by utilising a unique organisational structure, which provides a framework for increased efficiency. This enables the company to conduct all services and procedures at a high quality level. This also allows P&G to have a reliable network of partners and suppliers, which assists in the strong relationship between P&G and its ultimate consumers.

Price Waterhouse Coopers www.pwc.com.au

Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) provides financial services including tax and advisory services for clients in the areas of Corporate Accountability, Performance & Process Improvement, Risk Management and Structuring and Mergers & Acquisitions.

of our graduate roles via these Student Programs (e.g. Vacation Program, Trainee Program), we will continue to hire graduates straight into the Graduate Program to fill the few remaining positions.

Applications for the 2017 PwC Vacation Program open in March 2016.

For Summer Clerkship candidates, applications will open on Wednesday 15 June and close on Sunday 17 July.

The lawyers in PwC’s legal team work in conjunction with the other divisions of the firm (including Advisory, Assurance, Tax and Private Client Specialists) to ensure that clients are provided with the most comprehensive advice and solutions.

Graduate Programs PwC encourages students to apply to our Student Programs before you graduate. It enables you to put what you’ve learned at university into practice and gain valuable work experience, so you can see first-hand what it’s like to work with us before you graduate. While we fill the vast majority

Employer Directory: Private Non- Legal

148

Rio Tinto www.riotinto.com.au

Rio Tinto is a leading mining and metals company that produces iron ore, coal, bauxite, alumina, aluminium, uranium, copper, gold, diamonds, employing 60 thousands people world wide across more than 30 operating sites

professional development, as well as orientation and engagement with the company over the course of the two-year Program.

The company recruits graduates based on their varying requirements year to year. Graduate opportunities are listed on graduate recruitment site.

Rio Tinto has roles for students that are business related, which include: commerce/accounting, economics finance, relations/communications, international/external relations, human resources, procurement, and information technology. Graduates are provided development support,

Wesfarmers www.wesfarmers.com.au

Graduate Programs Wesfarmers have an opportunity for graduates to join their team as a graduate analyst as part of the Wesfarmers Business Development Team.

Graduates have the ability to apply and develop their skills on a diverse range of strategic projects, including mergers, acquisitions, divestments and major capital investments. Whilst working on live projects with experienced team members, as well as providing relevant training and gaining valuable professional development.

Wesfarmers started out in 1914 in Western Australia as a farmers’ cooperative, and is now one of Australia’s largest listed companies on the ASX. The company has diverse business operations that include a number of different sectors, which include: supermarkets, department stores, home improvement, and office supplies; coal mining; insurance; chemicals, energy, and fertilisers; and industrial and safety products.

Westpac

www.westpac.com.au The Westpac Banking Corporation is one of the leading banks in Australia, and was established in 1817 as the first bank in Australia. The bank has branch locations and controlled entities throughout Australia and New Zealand and has financial centres throughout the world.

Graduate Programs To apply for the Graduate Program, graduates should go to the Wesptac Graduate Website and apply online at: http://graduates.westpacgroup.com.au/

The Westpac Group has three main customer divisions, including the Australian Financial Services, which focuses on retail and business operations (comprising Westpac Retail & Business Banking; St. George Banking Group and BT Financial Group Australia); Westpac Institutional Bank, which focuses on a commercial, corporate, institutional and government level;

In order to apply for Westpac’s Summer Internship Program, students must go to the Graduate’s Website and check for updates for when applications open.

149

Employer Directory: Private Non-Legal

Employer Directory: Public Non-Legal

Attorney-General’s Department www.agd.sa.gov.au

The Attorney-General’s Department drafts laws and provides regulatory framework to protect the rights and interests of businesses and consumers in South Australia. Several agencies are included within the banner of the AGD such as the Office of Crime Statistics and Research, Office of the Equal Opportunity Commissioner, Office of the WorkCover Ombudsman and the SA Classification Council.

For more information on the AGD, as well as a list of different divisions within the AGD, visit the website.

Graduate Program The AGD offers a 12 month training and development Graduate Recruitment Program. The opportunity to apply for the program will be advertised at http://www.graduate.sa.gov.au/.

Australian Law Reform Commission www.alrc.gov.au The ALRC conducts inquiries into areas of law at the request of the Attorney-General of Australia. The ALRC’s objective is to make recommendations for law reform that bring the law into line with current conditions and needs, remove defects in the law, simplify the law, adopt new or more effective methods for administering the law and dispensing justice, and provide improved access to justice.

While the ALRC’s core function is to provide advice to government, ALRC reports also assist the legal profession—lawyers and the Courts; community legal centres and those engaging in arguments of law, and the general public, who may consult ALRC reports for answers. Law reform reports also contribute to legal history in providing a distilled snapshot of the law at a particular moment in time.

In 2016 the ALRC will be working on an Inquiry into elder abuse, reviewing laws and frameworks to protect the rights of older Australians and protect them from Abuse. The Attorney described elder abuse as ‘a symptom of attitudes which fail to respect and recognise the rights of older Australians to make decisions, to live self determined lives, to live with dignity and live free from exploitation, violence and abuse’. The Attorney-General may give the ALRC an additional law reform Inquiry during the year.

The ALRC is the only federal agency dedicated to national law reform.

ALRC internships provide an opportunity for students to work alongside Commission members and legal staff, learning about law reform issues and witnessing first-hand the law reform process.

Employer Directory: Public Non-Legal

152

ALRC Internships The ALRC offers internships to students in their penultimate or final year of an undergraduate or graduate law degree from any university. Legal interns contribute to the work of the ALRC primarily through their research and writing skills. Typical tasks include producing research briefs and memos. Interns are supervised by a Legal Officer and undertake work determined by the needs of the ALRC. Wherever possible, interns will attend team meetings, consultations, Advisory Committee meetings and law reform proposal workshops, and work closely with the Inquiry team they have been assigned to. Intern work is credited in ALRC publications.

Students can apply for an internship through the ALRC website (http:// www.alrc.gov.au/about/legal-internship-program). There is a formal selection process and the ALRC will only consider applications that address the selection criteria. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an interview.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission www.accc.gov.au

The ACCC is an independent statutory authority. It was formed in 1995 to administer the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the Act) and other Acts. The ACCC is the only national agency promoting competition and fair-trading in the marketplace to benefit consumers, business and the community.

Australian energy sector. The ACCC role is role is to protect, strengthen and supplement the way competition works in Australian markets and industries to improve the efficiency of the economy and to increase the welfare of Australians.

The 2017 graduate Program Closes 10 April 2016.

The ACCC also regulates national infrastructure industries to promote effective competition. The ACCC includes the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), which is responsible for the economic regulation of the

Australian Securities and Investments Commission www.asic.gov.au

ASIC is Australia’s corporate, markets and financial services regulator.

• • • • •

ASIC contribute to Australia’s economic reputation and wellbeing by ensuring that Australia’s financial markets are fair and transparent, supported by confident and informed investors and consumers. ASIC maintains, facilitates and improves the performance of the financial system and entities in it.

Applied Finance, Maths and Statistics Law Social Sciences Information Technology Communication Design

Applications for the 2017 ASIC Graduate Program are now open. period.

The ASIC Graduate Program has continually evolved over the last 16 years and is designed to make the most of your strengths and skills. We are looking for graduates in the following disciplines: • Accounting and Auditing • Business and Economics

Security & Intelligence www.asio.gov.au / www.asis.gov.au

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation The Australian Security Intelligence organization (ASIO’s) main role is to gather information and produce intelligence that will enable it to warn the government about activities or situations that might endanger Australia’s national security. There are number of generalist roles available within ASIO that would be suitable for law graduates.

Australian Secret and Intelligence Service ASIS is Australia’s overseas secret intelligence collection agency. Our mission is to protect and promote Australia’s vital interests through the provision of intelligence services as directed by Government. ASIS Graduates gain experience through corporate and operational work placements as well as the opportunity to travel and undertake specialist training. The Graduate Program provides you with a broad overview of ASIS.

153

Employer Directory: Public Non-Legal

Australian Taxation Office www.ato.gov.au

The ATO is the principle revenue collection agency of the Australian Government.

The ATO’s role is to effectively manage and shape the tax and superannuation systems that support and fund services for Australians, including: collecting revenue, administering the goods and services tax (GST) on behalf of the Australian states and territories, governing a range of programs which result in transfers and benefits back to the community, administering the major aspects of Australia’s superannuation system and being a custodian of the Australian Business Register.

The ATO offers a graduate program to law graduates. During the 12 month program you will get to experience a range of work while also undertaking hands on training. The ATO is one of the largest public service employers.

Applications for the 2017 Graduate program are open from 17 March 2016 and close on 20 April 2016.

Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade www.dfat.gov.au

The department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), provides foreign, trade and development policy advice to the government. We work with other government agencies to ensure that Australia’s pursuit of its global, regional and bilateral interests is coordinated effectively.

a broad range of areas — from security to human rights, international trade to development and aid development & management, and represent Australia in a formal capacity while serving overseas.

Applications for the 2017 DFAT Policy Graduate Program will open from 18 February – 22 March 2016. Applications for the 2017 DFAT Management (formerly Corporate) Graduate Program open from 3 March – 29 March 2016

DFAT is the lead agency managing Australia’s international presence. We manage a network of 96 overseas posts in five continents and we have over 4200 staff located in Canberra, state and territory offices and overseas posts. An additional 2400 are employed overseas as locally engaged staff.

Graduate Program The DFAT Graduate Program is for applicants from all academic backgrounds and prepares successful candidates for a career as a generalist policy officer. Policy graduates work to advance Australia’s interests across

Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet www.dpmc.gov.au

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) advises the Prime Minister on policies across the full range of government activities and the machinery of government, and ensures implementation of cabinet decisions.

work on special taskforces which could include areas of counter-terrorism, Commonwealth-State relations, deregulation, women’s policy, cyber security and international delegate events. Some of our previous Graduates have even had the chance meet members of the royal family or heads of state!

The Department provides high quality advice and support to the Cabinet, Portfolio Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries to achieve a coordinated and innovative approach to the development and implementation of Government policies.

As part of the Graduate Programme you will undertake rotations in each of our four Canberra-based business groups, our Regional Network (state and regional offices) and in an external partner organisation in the notfor-profit, non-government or private sector. These rotations will give you the opportunity to develop a broad knowledge and understanding of the Government’s priorities, and experience the development and implementation of government policy and its effectiveness on the ground first hand. New graduates start work in February each year.

Graduate Program The Department of Prime Minster and Cabinet Graduate Program is a two year, structured, on-the-job development program that provides you with the support, opportunities and challenges you need to kick start your career in the Australian Public Service (APS).

Applications for the 2017 graduate program will open in April 2017.

.Graduates will work on matters of particular importance to the Prime Minister, current government priorities, social and economic policies, Indigenous affairs and national security. You may also get the chance to

Employer Directory: Public Non-Legal

154

Department of Premier & Cabinet www.dpc.sa.gov.au

The Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC) occupies a key leadership role in the public service, supporting the Government’s vision for South Australia as a place where people and business thrive.

The Department of the Premier and Cabinet provides the opportunity to be closely involved in the future of South Australia. A position in the DPC will entail supporting the Premier of South Australia through the provision of leadership in issues affecting the future prosperity of South Australia.

The DPC offers a 12 month graduate program that will equip you with a range of skills, knowledge and experiences.

This includes the provision of quality economic and policy advice supporting the Government’s priorities - including the ten Economic Priorities - and strengthening engagement between Government and the community.

Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources www.environment.sa.gov.au

Graduate Program The DEWNR offers a 1-2 year graduate program that will give you the opportunity to work across a variety of departments in an environment focused upon training, mentoring and career development. The opportunity to apply for the program will be advertised at www.graduate. sa.gov.au/.

The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources is responsible for managing and protecting South Australia’s natural resources. Positions in this department can vary from drafting policy to playing a hands on role in determining how natural resources should be divided.

Regardless of your duty, a position in the DEWNR will give you’re the opportunity to work on pivotal issues such as water security, climate change and conservation and advise the government, industries and community on how to better protect the environment and responsibly use our natural resources.

Department of Treasury and Finance www.treasury.sa.gov.au

The Department of Treasury and Finance plays a key role in the provision of South Australian economic policies. They conduct research, analyse information and give advice, including policy advice, with the goal of advancing South Australia to a position of prosperity and growth. DTF assists in the development of budgets, balancing the Treasurer’s ledger and administering public sector superannuation schemes.

it ideal for students who completed a combined law and commerce qualification.

Applications for the 2017 DTF Graduate Development Program (GDP) open March 2016, and are co-ordinated by the Department of Treasury and Finance via external partner’s website, Locker HR

Graduate Development Program The GDP is a 12-month structured training program with graduates employed by in finance-related roles across a diverse range of South Australian Public Sector agencies. The program seeks graduates in accounting, commerce, economics and finance disciplines, making

155

Employer Directory: Public Non-Legal

Notes

Legal While every care has been taken in compiling this publication, FLSA does not accept any responsibility for any errors, inaccuracies, omissions or changes made subsequent to print. FLSA accepts no losses, direct or indirect, howsoever caused (including negligence) by any error, omissions or inaccuracy contained in this publication.

Copyright reserved.

Š

2016.

All

rights

No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form by any means without the prior written permission of FLSA. Please contact Philippa Ewens, FLSA Vice President for further enquiries at vice.president@flsa.org.au.