Top 10 Careers in Law

5 December 2023

Are you dreaming of a career in law? Do you know how many possible career paths exist for Australian law school graduates?

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Having a career in law isn’t just about writing briefs at a law office or representing a client in a court room. There are a variety of opportunities that can provide law graduates with an exciting and rewarding career!

So, what can you do with a law degree from an Australian law school? Check out the list below—is there something that catches your eye?

1. Intellectual Property Lawyer
Intellectual property laws protect ideas, such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, and other profitable concepts. They do this by advising clients on legal rights and actions relating patents and trademarks, drafting contracts and licensing agreements, working with trademark and patent offices, negotiating legal settlements, and more. Intellectual property lawyers are in high demand as businesses are increasingly seeking legal protection for their ideas.

2. Family Lawyer
Family lawyers assist their clients with legal issues pertaining to familial relationships. They’ll draft prenuptial agreements before a couple gets married, represent their client’s best interests and handle all the necessary paperwork when a couple gets divorced, and represent and advise their clients if child custody disputes arise between separated parents.

3. Personal Injury Lawyer
Personal injury lawyers represent clients who have been injured by a product or in a location and aren’t personally responsible for their injury. Personal injury lawyers do research to determine who is responsible for the injury and to what degree they hold responsibility for the injury, collect insurance information from all applicable parties, and negotiate settlements.

4. Tax Attorney
These attorneys work with both individuals and businesses to solve tax issues. They help with estate planning and represent clients in cases involving the Canadian Revenue Agency. They’re often essential consultants when someone is starting a business or when business contracts must be drafted.

5. Real Estate Lawyer
Real estate lawyers assist clients when they’re purchasing a home or property. They review purchase agreements and other legal documents, ensure there are no existing claims against the property, ensure their clients have a valid title to the property upon closing, arrange for Title Insurance, ensure property taxes are up to date, close transactions and ensure that all conditions were met, and more.

6. Employment Lawyer
Employment lawyers work with both employees and employers to resolve issues in both union and non-union workplaces. They represent their clients in workplaces disputes like occupational health and safety issues, harassment, discrimination, refusal to provide benefits, wage-related issues, and wrongful dismissal.

7. Immigration Lawyer
Immigration lawyers help their clients with issues relating to immigration status. With more than 100 ways to immigrate to Canada, immigration lawyers provide specialized knowledge and experience with helping clients determine the best path to immigration, complete necessary paperwork, understand legal documents, and appeal immigration decisions.

8. Insurance Lawyer
Insurance lawyers provide legal advice relating to issues with insurance claims. They might handle property damage claims, car accident cases, health insurance benefit claims, disability cases, business liability issues, and more. They’ll review the facts of their client’s case, create a legal strategy, launch lawsuits against insurance companies, determine a fair settlement, force compliance against insurance companies, and establish whether a claim was made in good faith.

9. Judge
After substantial experience practicing as a trial lawyer they can become a judge upon appointment by the Governor in Council. Judges are responsible for understanding the facts and evidence presented to them, previously rendered decisions, and the laws applicable to the case before them. They are then required to provide fair decisions based on that information.

10. Law School Professor
Law school professors teach courses in law, perform research, and publish scholarly works in their fields of expertise. They might also run legal clinics so students can gain first-hand experience with practicing the law.

In conclusion, the legal field offers a wide range of career opportunities for those interested in law. Whether you’re a lawyer, judge, or legal support professional, there’s a career path for everyone in this exciting and dynamic field.

Have a law degree but don’t want to be a lawyer, judge, or professor? Consider these careers:

  • Politician
  • Public servant
  • Entrepreneur
  • Financial planner
  • Investment banking
  • Estate planner

What Are Australian Law School Graduates Doing Now?

  • University of Sydney Law School graduate Mark is now working in international arbitration.
  • University of Sydney Law School graduate Janko is now working in immigration law.
  • Bond University Law School graduate Ali  is an articling student in criminal law.
  • Bond University Law School graduate Ryan works in commercial litigation with focus on construction law. Email law@oztrekk.com to watch the “From Law School in Australia to Practicing in Canada” webinar we hosted with Ryan!
  • Griffith University Law School graduate Supreet Dhillon works in family law. Check out this clip from our webinar with Supreet.

Australian Law Schools for Canadians

Australia offers a variety of Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Juris Doctor (JD) programs for Canadians. The main difference is that the LLB is offered at the undergraduate level and the JD is offered at the postgraduate level.

OzTREKK represents 12 Australian law schools, each of which provide a solid foundation for students planning to practice law in Canada (with the exception of Quebec).

 

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What would you like to do with your law degree? Contact OzTREKK at law@oztrekk.com or 1-866-698-7355 for more info!

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