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![[Post New]](/australian-graduate-forum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif) 16/05/2009 13:26:17
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mike
Vice-Chancellor of Posting
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Joined: 29/10/2008 21:38:29
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Location: Sydney Australia
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Top Law Firms in Australia Graduate Programs and Internships
Below is a list of the top 30 law firms (by size) in Australia. Most offer Graduate Law Positions, but usually offer roles for interns who them become graduates once graduated. If you are looking for an internship role in a law firm this year I would suggest starting from the top to ensure you apply for the majority of law firms. Also remember that law firms are not the only option for legal graduates. Graduate law jobs also exist in corporates aswell as state, regional and federal government.
Let me know if there are any firms I have missed 
Minter Ellison
Mallesons Stephen Jaques
Clayton Utz
Freehills
Allens Arthur Robinson
DLA Phillips Fox
Blake Dawson
Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Deacons
Gadens
Baker & McKenzie Australia
Sparke Helmore
Middletons
Russell McVeagh
HWL Ebsworth Lawyers
Simpson Grierson
Hunt & Hunt
Bell Gully
Chapman Tripp
DibbsBarker
Maddocks
Henry Davis York
McCullough Robertson
Gilbert + Tobin
Holding Redlich
Kensington Swan
Buddle Findlay
Moray & Agnew
Piper Alderman
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Mike Casey
GradConnection Director |
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01/02/2010 00:43:15
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strawberryfields
Doctorate in Posting
Joined: 01/02/2010 00:37:23
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That's a useful list. I'm not entirely sure I want a career in a big scary firm, though I'm not really sure overall where I want to go with my law degree. My marks are average and I have very little legal experience to go with them (hoping to get some experience in my final year). Is it worth applying to these places anyway to see what happens, or just a wasted effort? I'm thinking with my marks and lack of experience I'm going to have to try a scattergun approach.
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01/02/2010 10:45:49
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mike
Vice-Chancellor of Posting
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Hi StrawberryFields,
Beatles Reference by chance? Grades are important to some firms and not others. There are plenty of organisations out there that are hungry for law students, and are not concerned with grades. Using GradMaker at this link
http://www.gradconnection.com.au/graduate-jobs/index.htm#j1-i11-31
I have ranked all law employers (that we know about) that are interested in legal graduates, based on which ones accept a pass grade average. We don't have much information on law firms yet, however you can see that there are options out there for you.
I would be very weary of the scatter gun approach, as graduates who do this usually don't get as far. Successful graduates will apply for an average of 6 graduate programs.
Where do you want to work? And what area of law do you want a graduate job in?
Cheers,
Mike
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Mike Casey
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28/02/2010 15:45:17
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strawberryfields
Doctorate in Posting
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Thansk for the info Mike. I'm really not sure what I want to do - I have a couple of favourite areas of law (found the readings in those subjects a breeze and enjoyable compared to the others) but I don't know if I'd really be able to work in them. Most seem to have small firms working in those areas though who don't take grads and prefer people who already have 2-3 years PAE. I will be applying to the 4 Departments on that list though.
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02/03/2010 13:09:07
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mike
Vice-Chancellor of Posting
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You can always gain your 2-3 years PAE on a graduate program and then look again. I am not sure if this is true, but you would think that some firms would be very interested in someone with governmental experience, especially if they put forward a lot of legal tenders for government departments.
It is a hard one though, and you are not the only anxious graduate out there! Are you planning to stay in Canberra or is Sydney and Melbourne also an option?
Cheers,
Mike
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Mike Casey
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02/03/2010 13:49:55
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strawberryfields
Doctorate in Posting
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I am not sure if this is true, but you would think that some firms would be very interested in someone with governmental experience, especially if they put forward a lot of legal tenders for government departments.
I've heard that too so I hope it's true. Then again if I end up doing something non-practising right from the start I might be putting myself at a huge disadvantage which will just increase if I ever try to work for a firm.
Are you planning to stay in Canberra or is Sydney and Melbourne also an option?
Ideally Canberra, I think the stress of a new place might be too much as well, and financially it would be hard. I guess I'll look outside Canberra if I have no luck here but I suspect Syd and Melb are more competitive and I'll be even more out of luck.
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04/05/2010 12:44:53
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CharlesGeoffrey
Certificate in Posting
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Mike
I have to say (as a recently elected Director at the Law Institute of Victoria and a Director of a major victorian regional law Firm having practiced in both city / corporate and regional vitoria for over 30 years )that your advice to many students about seeking work at the top law firms is not neccessarily the best way forwards. Oppurtunities abound in major australian regional centres for Graduates where they will often be provided with outstanding grauduate professional training and rapid exposure to major client work with a work/ life balance which is often is not avialable in major city law firms. Often the focus of major city law firms is a sausage machine mentality whereby only those Graduates who are prepared to endure huge work hours and file loads survivebeyond the graduate professional year. Many of today's Gen X/Y/Alpha are after a more wholistic approacjh to their careers and regional law firms have a vested interest in higher graduate retention . In my view it maybe time for you to lift your navel above the sky line of major city firms to other graduate law firm oppurtunities.Size does not always matter.
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04/05/2010 13:40:24
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mike
Vice-Chancellor of Posting
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Hi Charles,
I would love to hear more about your advice for Australia's legal graduates. We are in the process of building a new graduate wiki which is a collaborative collection of advice for Australian grads. Would you be interested in contributing?
Cheers,
Mike
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Mike Casey
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04/05/2010 14:00:56
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CharlesGeoffrey
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Most definitely and via LIV resources there is a wealth of oppurtunity to widen the career horizons for upcoming Graduates.
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05/05/2010 16:23:00
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mike
Vice-Chancellor of Posting
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Great Charles, can you email me directly so I have your contact details?
Mikec@gradconnection.com
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Mike Casey
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31/05/2010 18:49:40
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Mohini
Certificate in Posting
Joined: 31/05/2010 16:27:42
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Thanks for the list of law firms. It is of great help for me as I am a foreign lawyer who has just got admitted to the Sup Crt of NSW and am in search of job.
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31/05/2010 19:05:55
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Mohini
Certificate in Posting
Joined: 31/05/2010 16:27:42
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I graduated from Qld Uni of Tech in 1999 and then did my admission course in Fiji and 2000 and got admitted to the High Court of Fiji. I was offered a lawyers position without much effort and worked in Fiji for over 7 years, initially as a general practitioner and then focussed on property & commercial law and wills and estate. I worked for a reputable commercial law firm in Suva city. This firm and its partners have been noted as outstanding and very professional in Fiji by Chambers Global.
I moved to NSW in 2008 and did my admission course here through the College of Law. I did not have any difficulty with the course with College of Law and have good academic record. I did my 75-day work experience with a suburban sole practitioner. With my qualification and Fiji work experience, I did not have any difficulty working in the property law, commercial law, victim's compo, wills and estate anf family law matters during my work experience here in NSW. I got admitted to the Sup Crt of NSW just over a week ago.
I have been applying for jobs prior to my admission and am now continuing to do so. I am having difficulties in finding a role due to my limited NSW work experience. Some of the legal job agencies have advised that they would not be able to assist me in my job search as they have set instructions from employers and these instructions normally include at least 1 to 2 years of local work experience even for a junior role.
I am a a cache 22 situation - can't get a job as lack local work experience BUT then how will I gain local work experience if I am not offered a role to at least prove my ability and capabilities. Wonder if there is anyone who can assist / guide me with my job search.
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02/06/2010 10:05:34
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mike
Vice-Chancellor of Posting
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Hi Mohini,
I remember when we moved over from New Zealand, my girlfriend who was an accountant had a very similar problem. Eventually she got a job through a recruitment agency but not in public practice which is what she did previously. To be honest there is no easy way around this. You have to keep applying, there will be the right law job out there for you. I would suggest going a long to industry related events, or perhaps look for a legal firm or company that has interests in Fiji. They would probably jump at the opportunity to hire you.
After you have nailed this first job things will get much easier.
Good luck!
Mike
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Mike Casey
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03/06/2010 13:27:20
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DMoo
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Joined: 03/06/2010 13:21:29
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Mike,
Thanks for the list. I'm a mature age law undergraduate (last exam is next Tuesday but who's counting), working currently as a Commercial Analyst at a GOC and have 3 years experience in doing so, admin background before that. I'm keen to utalise my degree but a graduate salary is a reasonably large step backwards. Any suggestions as to getting practical legal experience (as a graduate or as some other position) without going backwards? Thanks
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04/06/2010 10:22:52
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mike
Vice-Chancellor of Posting
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Hi DMoo!
Last exam! Woo hoo! Good luck and make sure you celebrate your hard earned degree. I remember leaving my final exam at university, and heading straight to the pub with my friends and having what was arguably the best night of my life!
The way the public practice is setup is to have a large amount of junior positions, and a smaller amount of senior positions. To get around this I would probably look at going straight into the public sector or finding a job as an internal lawyer in a corporate.
Being realistic, I would suggest that any career change will involve a bit of a salary drop, but I would probably not want to go to an entry-level role in a firm. Instead I would find a job and then when the time is right transfer over to the public practice taking a managerial position.
I do not have the strongest understanding of the law industry from a graduate perspective so don't take this as gospel!
Have you looked at federal government? Departments such as the DBCDE and FaHCSIA are hungry for lawyers. Unfortunately all their graduate programs have now closed applications, however you might still be able to find entry level legal jobs (that pay more that public practice) on the careers sections of their website.
The Australian Treasury, DEEWR and ACCC are also good examples.
Another option would be too look into the resources industry. Not many people realise just how big their internal law teams can be!
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Mike
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Mike Casey
GradConnection Director |
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01/07/2010 11:23:07
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strawberryfields
Doctorate in Posting
Joined: 01/02/2010 00:37:23
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mike wrote:Departments such as the DBCDE and FaHCSIA are hungry for lawyers.
I know so many law students, myself included, who got rejected outright from FaHCSIA's graduate program! Disappointing!
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06/07/2010 15:05:13
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mike
Vice-Chancellor of Posting
Joined: 29/10/2008 21:38:29
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Its the way of the world as far as graduate programs are concerned, there are so many different positive and negative factors that make up decisions, and these factors vary greatly from graduate employer to graduate employer.
How many did you apply to? How far have you got with them?
Hopefully we can help you and your friends out in some way!
Mike
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Mike Casey
GradConnection Director |
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08/07/2010 16:53:38
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karen
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Joined: 08/07/2010 16:48:43
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Hello,
Do firms accept people who have graduated (graduates) for their clerkship programs?
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09/07/2010 12:18:21
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mike
Vice-Chancellor of Posting
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Hi Karen,
Yes I believe all but a few will consider graduates from other internship / summer clerkship programs.
Cheers,
Mike
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Mike Casey
GradConnection Director |
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19/07/2010 13:19:33
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strawberryfields
Doctorate in Posting
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mike wrote:Its the way of the world as far as graduate programs are concerned, there are so many different positive and negative factors that make up decisions, and these factors vary greatly from graduate employer to graduate employer.
How many did you apply to? How far have you got with them?
Ah yes I've definitely been noticing that throughout this process, I'm just surprised because I know people getting through at least the first stage in most places (myself included) yet for some reason I got an outright rejection from FaHCSIA. Which I thought okay because that's been happening sometimes, but then when talking about it with friends I heard everyone else complaining too, whereas with other departments at least one of us would get through. My marks are pretty standard but my friends are D average law students! So they can't be that hungry for lawyers.
As to how I'm going throughout the whole process everywhere - let's just say I'd rather not talk about it. 
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