Any solicitors out there... tell me about your life!

I am looking to commence a bachelor of law next year.

As a mature age student studying part time i will be close to 36 before i finish the course then i understand i need to do a 2 year intern placement before i get my unrestricted liscence. (being 38 ouch)

So i have some questions...

1. Do you like your job?
   
2. how do the find the hours with children?
   
3. What special areas did you focus on in your studies?
   
4. Do you think mature aged entries are welcomed into the workforce (this one worries me).?

any good, bad and ugly comments about the profession are welcomed

xx

Hi,

I've been practising in Victoria for almost 5 years. I mainly work in family law, but have lots to do in the family violence jurisdiction (intervention/restraining orders). About 10% of my work is in crime. I work in the community sector for a large govt-funded organisation (you can probably guess the name).

In answer to your q's:

I love my job. It's challenging, rewarding, varied and interesting. Part of the reasons I enjoy it is because of my desire to work in the community sector though - my colleagues and I do it for love, not money.

The hours and conditions at my work are family-friendly and flexible, but we get the same govt benefits as other govt employees. I don't know what the private sector is like, but a law firm worth it's salt knows how to treat it's female employees.

I didn't focus on anything in particular in my studies. I knew I was interested in human rights, and by chance I did a class in family law. I don't think you need to "specialise" until you've been practising for a few years. I majored in psychology as my arts major, which has helped on my field.

Mature-age lawyers ("later lawyers") offer something that school-leavers do not - life experience. People don't like hearing legal advice from someone who looks like they're still at school.

I say go for it. A law degree opens many doors and is great fun to do. It's great for learning how to critically analyse the world around you.

I have more but will bbl.

thanks so much for responding.

As for specialities - i am meaning more the electives in the course - they are so varied i guess i need to sit down closer to that time and see what is interesting me as i do the course.

My only option is external study - my local uni doesnt do it at my campus - but need to attend a few weeks of intensive workshops at the other campus (250km away) which is fine. will make it a mini family holiday lol.

I will have such a big hecs bill (hoping i am eligible things have changed it seems since i was at uni - post 2005 studies or something lol). but you get that.

I am just looking for a new lease on life, wanting to get out of my current profession as i have been losing the passion not for what i do but for the political rubbish that goes along with it. (sad isnt it).

i would love to chat more - any info let me know
xx

Hi hun

Firstly, you don't need what is called an unrestricted practicing certificate to practice law. What an unrestricted practicing certificate allows you to do is run your own lawfirm and have a trust account (hold money on behalf of your clients). If you always want to work for someone else then there is no need to get it, but after you have done your first two years you can do the course for an unrestricted certificate any time you want (it is run by the NSW Law Society - there is probably info on their web site - it isn't like a uni course - more like a couple of weekends and a couple of assignments to do - but it is constantly changing) You would find that probably 60% (I am guessing here) of solicitors on NSW don't have an unrestricted practicing certificate. And if anyone is telling you that you earn less if you don't have it (if they are offering you a job for instance) then they are yanking your chain.

As for hours, depends a bit on where you work and what sort of law you practice. Something like criminal law can take more hours because you are working in court, and specially out of cities you can need to work some weekends to see the people who have been locked up on a Friday or Saturday night (sorry - I don't know exactly where you live - but in regional areas the solicitors in town generally share the duty - so it is usually only once a month or couple of months that you are on call for the weekend). Generally something like property law generally has better hours but is a bit dry - you are however unlikely to get clients demanding to see you at a moments notice.

However, as a young practitioner (in experience rather than age :) ) who isn't in a major city the chances are that you will do whatever the senior members of the firm don't want to do. Think the crazy woman who is onto her eleventh divorce and brings all 16 of her screaming children to every appointment (a slight exaggeration but still...)

In the end, with regard to subject choices, it may be that you don't get much (depends on where you study - some courses are quite prescriptive, others let you study pretty much anything). Do things that interest you if possible, it is always easier to do well in things that interest you. Career wise, it won't make much difference what subjects you chose.

Age, I personally dont think it is an issue - particularly if you want a job in the area you already live, showing that you aren't going to run away to the big smoke as soon as they have trained you is probably more important.

Good luck with your decision.

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Hi hun

Firstly, you don't need what is called an unrestricted practicing certificate to practice law.

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Sorry my fault -i got the terminology wrong.

As for moving away lol No. We are not moving to the big smoke. Moved away from the city twice cause we hate it so much.

I am curious about whether you would get the tedious work in a small regional practice.

Watching DH's experiences with the city and the small towns, (different profession yet professional services nevertheless) he works very closely with the principle and gets great mentoring and experience, where as when he was in the city he was a lemming - put in a room with others with like experience drumming away medial tasks.

i guess it is a matter of getting in with a practice that is supportive and proving myself.

Thanks Beda - yes Barristers too lol. i wont decide what or how i wish to use my degree until i am doing it lol.

As for the mature aged getting their way lol... i remember thinking this too when i finished my first degree. I wasnt a school leaver but noticed i got all the nights, public holiday (xmas) and late shifts because i didnt have kids to pick up and it frustrated me too lol!. I will remember this when i go back to full time work though and remember how i felt pre children! :)

Is there much difference between the LLB and the JD (post grad) (Melbourne Uni offer a JD course) - is the qualification the same?

What about employment wise, is there a prefernce shown for one over the other

Excuses any mistakes in my reply because I'm typing one handed on my iPhone whilst holding snoozing bub.

I've been admitted since 2002 and I love my job. I started as an Judges Associate (awesome job, I learnt so much) then became a Governmental Advisor and now I'm a Senior Litigator for a Government agency.

I find my job is never boring. I am always pushing myself and you can never know everything, there is always so much more to learn.

My work fits really well with my family life. I'm lucky to work for the Government because I have very family friendly working conditions. I am really pleased that I can manage to hold such a typically family unfriendly position and make it work.

In terms if being a mature student, I think there are some positives. I went straight from school to uni and to a certain extent the legal fraternity is still an old boys club ( although this us changing ) and I can't tell you how many times I had to go that extra mile to prove myself because people assume because I was young I didn't know what I was talking about.

All in all I can't fault my professional life. I've got to work with some amazing, inspiring people who have taught me so much. I've always worked in a very particular area of the law (Industrial Relations) and I feel that I'm getting to a stage where I'm now passing some of my knowledge to the more junior solicitors. That feels really satisfying,

I'd say go for it.

With respect to the external study, I studied internally at a NSW regional campus where 70% of students were external and mature-age...it's UNE in Armidale, if that helps.

I did post-grad study at Monash in Melb. The LLB is different from the JD, but I *think* only in form, not in the final outcome ie. I think a JD might make you just as qualified as an LLB, but is for people who have other qualifications - it would be worth asking the Uni for more info, cause I'm only guessing!

Oh, and I wanted to qualify what I said before about working for love, not money...certainly there are parts of my work that can only be done for love, and are only rewarded in love. But I am actually paid well enough...it's just that I will never get rich doing my job, nor is that my ambition. The social belief that lawyers are money-hungry ambulance-chasers is not by any means accurate. Hope that helps.

Thanks Girls

Persephone - Did you like the program there?
It is an option or SCU (lismore). Either way i need to travel 250km for the intensive study weeks attached to external mode.

The money isnt important . i am willing to take the pay cut as i understand the work is different to my current job.

x

what is the different jobs you can do with a LLB? barrister, solicitor...?

I loved being an internal at UNE, best fun ever, great course, great teachers. I can't comment on the external experience except that so much of the learning is online and audio anyway.

I think it's the same Aus-wide, but in Victoria at least: a solicitor works in an Office, takes in clients, gives advice, prepares documents for court hearings, etc. A barrister is self-employed and accepts "briefs" from solicitors, to do the court appearances and represent clients in court. A solicitor does the grunt work behind the scenes, the barrister does the hard yards in court advocacy.

Many solicitors do a lot of court appearances as well, and a lot of my work involves working as a Duty Solicitor at court. Barristers rely on solicitors to brief them in order to earn a living, but they get to do some really interesting advocacy work whilst the solicitors have prepared all the documents.

In many cases, law grads start as solicitors and perhaps later do the Bar Readers Course, and become barristers, which means many barristers used to be solicitors. The two options allow you to choose the lifestyle and areas you enjoy the most - the office legal work, or the court advocacy work.

Hi Everyone.

Not a lawyer, but this make my 10th year at uni studying it. ;)

I am finding this thread very interesting. I originally studied fulltime internally at UNE (armidale), but for the last 5 years have been studying part-time externally (had kids and moved to canberra). I am still undecided as to whether I will actually do my PLT and enter the legal field when I graduate next year, or go back and get my dip Ed and teach Legal studies and commerce (my other degree) at high school.

I have studied such a broad range of subjects: ciminal law, family law, taxation law, I am doing banking and finance law this semester along with medico-legal issues. I find it all extremely interesting to study - just not sure how suited I am to an office job.

Misty, I started at UNE in 2000...so there's a good chance we know each other or the same people, small world that it is! I was at Duval College 2000-2002, then a townie till I left at the end of 2004.

(sorry, off-topic).

I've been a barrister for a few years now, and before that was a solicitor for some time. I know how the system works. Here are my answers:

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1. Do you like your job?

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I love my job. It's fabulous.

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2. how do the find the hours with children?

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I am a single Mum to a Year 1 boy and a pre-schooler. I have been on my own for nearly 4 years now. I do all my preparation either in the afternoon or after the children have gone to bed. Sometimes this means late nights (I prefer that to early mornings!)

Barristers have more flexibility in relation to working hours than solicitors. I can choose when to work and when not to work. However I don't get paid if I don't work... so most of the time I just work! I can take days off when, for example, it's the first day of school/kinder duty day/just feel like it/wanna go shopping...

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3. What special areas did you focus on in your studies?

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I did four electives: Family Law, Negotiation and Mediation, Forensic Medicine, and Advanced Family Law.

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4. Do you think mature aged entries are welcomed into the workforce (this one worries me).?

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In the country, they'll take whatever they can get, as most law grads will only work in the city. Most junior solicitors gravitate towards the city eventually anyway, as they find they don't like the country lifestyle. However, I know a number of "later lawyers" who are doing well as solicitors - as long as they realise how much there is that they do NOT know....

It really depends on what you do before you become a solicitor. The ones I know who are doing well generally have some form of justice/social work/nursing background, for example police, former DOCS/DHS workers, people who have worked in Courts.

With regard to the JD/LLB, they have the same end result... I haven't seen any difference between them work-wise.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

Thanks Divvy
I have been In the nursing industry for almost 11 years now. Not sure i will lean towards any kind of medical legal sides of things though. like i said before i will have to see what interests me.

I can guarantee i wont be graviating to the city. I am staying put. i moved to regional lifestyle for a reason lol - not going back to the city again. :). I understand pay is less and jobs arent as plentiful but i still have my nursing to fall back on until i secure work .

Thanks so much for all the info it has been very helpful

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