Written By angela yong, joey lam And joshua ching
a comprehensive guide for australian law graduates wishing to practice overseas
This guide provides some advice and career pathways for Australian law students and graduates who are considering practicing law overseas, particularly in Singapore, the UK and US. Monash law students are also provided specific tailored guidance in these jurisdictions. Please note the guide below was created in 2022, some requirements may have changed and you should provide further research to ensure information you are seeking is fully accurate.
singapore
Visa Requirements:
Candidates have to be a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore.
How to be qualified as a lawyer:
To be a lawyer in Singapore, individuals will have to meet all requirements of being a ‘qualified person’ as defined in the Legal Profession Act read together with the Legal Profession (Qualified Persons) Rules.
There are different requirements for becoming a Qualified Person depending on the university from which a person obtains the applicable law degree. Apart from the Approved Universities in Singapore, the legislation currently recognises certain applicable law degrees from Australia including the LLB, LLB (Honours) and JD from Monash University
To be a Qualified Person, a person must also:
Be a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore.
Be ranked by the Institution of Higher Learning as being amongst the highest 70%, in terms of academic performance, of the total number of graduates in the same batch who have been conferred the applicable law degree.
Pass Part A of the Singapore Bar Examinations.
After passing the final examination for the Applicable Law Degree, undertake the relevant legal training/practice/work.
Candidates must then pass part B of the Bar where they will be required to take 7 courses over a 5 month period. Candidates would also have to undergo a supervised practice legal training period of six months is required to qualify as an advocate or a solicitor.
united kingdom:
Visa Requirements:
Australians will require a work permit to practice in the UK
Aussies who have a british right of abode will not need a visa, however, otherwise, many of the working visas will allow you to practice in the UK. Much of this process is generally handled by the law firm employing you.
Types of visas available:
Youth mobility scheme (18-30 years of age) - for up to 2 years
For those working at multinational law firms:
Senior or specialist worker visa - up to 5 years in the UK
Graduate trainee visa (global business mobility) - for 1 year
Skilled worker visa - most common one
UK ancestry visa - up to 5 years
If you have grandparents that were born in the UK
How to be qualified as a lawyer
If you are already qualified as a lawyer in australia, you can seek to register with the law society of england and wales as a registered foreign lawyer
Requalifying as a solicitor in the UK
UK universities typically offer a LLB degree and do not have JD degrees. After acquiring the LLB, prospective lawyers must complete the LPC (legal practice course) or the SQE, however the SQE will be replacing the LPC over the next 10 years. These courses are typically provided at the university of law
Students from other undergraduate degrees can undertake the graduate diploma of law/postgraduate diploma in law, Masters of Arts in Law (conversion) or Law Conversion LLM as a conversion course before undertaking the LPC or the SQE as well.
SQE preparatory are recommended to be taken before sitting the SQE which may be included in the law conversion courses or taken separately prior to the SQU examinations.
As a australian lawyer/aus law student:
The SQE is now a universal assessment for anyone qualifying to become a solicitor in the UK regardless if from overseas, thus aus law students or lawyers wishing to practice in the UK will have to take the SQE as well
Per the UK law society
Qualified lawyers and students from australia can sit the solicitors qualifying exam to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales.
For aus law students:
Requirements:
Hold a degree in any subject or equivalent qualification (e.g apprenticeship or work experience)
Aus degree needs to be shown as equivalent to UK degree/qualification through a statement of comparability
Or accredited qualification at level 6 or above from the European qualifications framework
Complete SQE 1 and SQE 2
SQE 1 and SQE 2’s written assessments can be sat internationally
But SQE2 oral assessments need to be in the UK
2 years of QWE (qualifying work experience)
Can be carried out anywhere in the world but must be signed off as meeting thet SRA (solicitor regulation authority’s) requirements by a UK solicitor
Can be done at a maximum of 4 separate organisations
Large Global firms in australia such as Allens, Baker McKenzie, Herbert Smith Freehills also provide many international secondment opportunities from their graduate programs and beyond to the UK and many other countries and continents.
Monash Specific:
3 pathways to UK postgraduate study
Kings College London - open to LLB double degree and JD students
For the KCL LLM
Oxford university - JD students
For the Bachelor of Civil Law or Masters in Law and Finance
Cambridge - open to LLB double degree and JD students
For the LLM or MCL (masters of corporate law)
Also are many exchange programs to the many UK partner universities
united states
How to be qualified as a lawyer:
In the US, each state has its own requirements for bar admission. For most states, the applicant needs to have obtained an ABA-approved law degree (which are essentially a JD from American law schools only). The LLB does not exist in America, as law school is a postgraduate only degree. However, common law LLBs are considered an equivalent to a foreign JD.
Popular states for foreign admission are New York and California as the bar exams accept foreign-trained lawyers, typically with a one-year LLM (Masters of Law). There are also preparatory courses such as BarBri, Themis and Kaplan, which focus on helping students specifically for the bar exam.