How To Become A Successful Lawyer

A lawyer can be a great asset to any business or individual in need of legal counsel, and with the right education and plenty of hard work, anyone can become one.

But becoming a lawyer in Australia isn’t as easy as it may seem at first glance. The road to becoming successful in this field is long and arduous, with many steps that must be taken before you can practice law.

Education in Law

The most important thing about becoming a lawyer in Australia is that you must go through law school. You cannot practice law without going to school first because you need training before gaining entry into the profession. Law schools teach students how things work in our legal system, what different areas of law there are, what different types of legal proceedings there are, and more importantly how lawyers are expected to behave ethically in dealings with their clients.

When it comes to education, there are law schools, and there are law schools. Unfortunately, not all of them can be as prestigious as the University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, or Monash Law School. Most students who want to become lawyers need to look for a good law school that is relatively affordable (but still has quality training) and respected. Luckily, there are online law schools now, and you can choose to become a juris doctor online nsw, for example. This option is a great choice for people who cannot afford to study in a brick-and-mortar school or cannot commit all their time to lessons.

The Bar Exam

Now that you have your degree from a good school (or online), and you’ve spent years learning the ins and outs of Australian Law, it’s time to take some exams. This is where all that hard work pays off because you get to show the world how much you know about Australian laws.  The Bar Exam in Australia is much like the bar exams in the United States because it tests your knowledge of legal practice and ethics. Both are necessary to be a successful lawyer. At this point, there are alternatives to taking the regular Bar Exam, such as preparing for it online.

After successfully passing the exam, you must then go through at least 12 months of practical training called articles. This is where you get to work under experienced lawyers who will give you advice on how things work in real life.

Also, there is still one more step before you get to practice. You need to work under an experienced Australian Lawyer for at least two years (minimum). This allows new lawyers like yourself to gain valuable experience and earn the respect of their peers.

What Will You Learn as a Lawyer

You could either specialize in one area of law or practice general law. Unlike being a barrister where you’re only able to practice litigation, being a general practitioner means that you can work with many different types of cases. While there are certain rules to follow for each type of case, your main objective is still to defend or accuse someone. You must be ethical so as not to prejudice your client’s interests while also thinking critically about all kinds of issues.

The other option is specializing in one area. That way, you’ll become an expert on what it takes to win, say, family law cases. However, this will make practicing much more difficult because you’ll only be able to defend or argue certain cases. Specializing is a much safer option in the long run, but it means you will need to spend much more time practicing different types of cases.

How Long Does It Take

Becoming an Australian lawyer takes years and years of studying and training. You can become a barrister in less than three years if you’re willing to work hard and sacrifice other areas of your life for this purpose. On the other hand, becoming a general practitioner takes around five years if you don’t take into account all the time spent working under experienced lawyers. This profession requires taking many exams before finally being able to practice law so it might feel like it takes forever before you finally reach your goal. But if you think about it, it’s worth all of the hard work because not many people can say they are successful lawyers.

Legal Assistance

If you want to become a successful lawyer, then you will probably need some help along the way. Luckily, there are many ways that aspiring lawyers can get free or low-cost legal advice.  For example, in Melbourne, Australia, they have volunteer “lawyers on call” who give up their time and advice for people who cannot afford legal services. Also, there are some informative websites out there such as the Law Society of NSW that can provide you with information on becoming a lawyer.

Other than that, you’ll just have to be patient and keep looking for new opportunities to prove yourself. At the end of the day, being a successful lawyer requires hard work and determination, so you have to be willing to put in the time.

Experience and Good Feedback

The truest and honest point of view is that you’ll need experience, a lot of it, to become a successful lawyer. Having classmates and friends in legal fields is also a great way to get the public’s point of view on how you will be as a future lawyer. Expectations and opinions like these can help you find your path and determine if the law is truly the profession for you. Asking for expert feedback from people who have done this before should be one of your top priorities because they tell you what it really takes to succeed in having an amazing career as a lawyer.

The road to becoming a successful lawyer is long and winding, but it can be done. You’ll need to earn your degree, volunteer, and work with experienced lawyers to make your way. But in the end, it all pays off because you’ll be able to live the life of an amazing lawyer who helps people every day!