Hello there and welcome to my Australian law student blog.
About me and my pseudonym, Will
I completed a postgraduate law degree (Juris Doctor) and currently work as a junior corporate lawyer in a top-tier firm.
When I started my degree I didn’t know exactly where I wanted to end up, but I certainly didn’t expect to be at a large corporate firm. Now I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else; the people in my team are great and I love the work (though I don’t particularly love the long hours).
I thought law school was difficult, and I found thinking about my future pretty scary. What made it worse was the constant commentary from friends, family, the media and the legal profession regarding the difficulties of securing a graduate job. It sometimes felt like securing a legal job was completely out of my control.
Looking back at my time at law school, I did a lot of things right – I put a significant amount of work in during my entire degree to make sure I could get the job I wanted. That included gaining relevant experience and (some) networking. I knew there was an element of luck in every job offer, and my aim was to reduce that element as much as I could.
It worked out well for me and I landed in a great graduate role straight out of university. With the right attitude and understanding of law school and the legal industry, I think you can do the same.
So why the pseudonym? Well, there are a number of reasons.
First of all, I’m pretty shy. I prefer working in the background without attracting too much attention to myself. I’m also definitely not the most confident person in the world; no matter where I go, that sliver of self doubt follows. One day, I’ll learn how to deal with attention, criticism, compliments and lack of confidence; it’s a work in progress!
At the end of the day, I just don’t want anyone that I know in real life to know that I’m writing a blog! I feel like I can avoid all of the above issues by posting anonymously, so if you ever figure out who I am, please keep it to yourself!
Starting a blog
I wanted to start a blog while I was actually studying, but I never feel qualified to give out advice or share my experiences; I was a student and struggling through the mountain of work that is law school, just like everyone else, so what did I know?
Looking back, I wish I had started this earlier because I was lucky enough to receive some great advice along the way which could have been shared with other law students. I also learnt some amazing study techniques and other tips which made everything much easier. I doubt that I would have achieved the marks that I did without all of this help. (Perhaps even more importantly, it would have been a great way to procrastinate when I didn’t want to finish off an essay or review cases for an exam.)
From what I can tell, blogging is pretty much dead and social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have taken over. I still like the idea of a blog, so I’ll just stick with that.
About this site
This blog aims to provide encouragement to law students who are doing their best in a difficult, uncertain and (very) negative legal market. I hope that by providing some insight into the skills that helped me get though law school, you will also learn something to help you achieve your goals.
If you are committed to going down the law path, go in with your eyes open to the difficulties and make sure you are doing everything you can to give yourself the best opportunity for when you graduate. Reading through this site is a great starting point.
There aren’t that many other Australian law student blogs out there, so hopefully you find some of this information useful.
Kind regards
Will
An update – July 2019
This about page was first posted mid-2015. My update after 4 years can be found here!
Great blog! Thank you and congratulations.
I was wondering how my GPA was going with respect to securing employment upon graduating. I have 10 subjects down and have a GPA of 6.4 (I topped three of the ten subjects). I have corporate experience from an entrepreneurs perspective having founded several companies in my working career. I would like to go out on my own, in the IP/Equity/Investment area in due course. I hope to edge my GPA back up over 6.5 as we go along. Will this be enough to garner employment interest from a solid firm, providing they like my resume?
Hi Will,
I found your blog very encouraging for a high school graduate who wants to learn a double law degree but also fears of failing as my english score is not very satisfying and I am not sure whether I can ‘survive’ the lots of paper works in law school (I heard law students need to read 50 pages per day). I am not sure whether I can get great uni marks and an opportunity to get a clerkship or internship in a law firm, which will lead to a grad job as I also heard that law graduates are over supply for the job market now. I believe myself as a maths person rather than an art person so I don’t know if law is right for me. I hope you can give some advices. By the way, I am pretty shy too. Thank you a lot.
Hi Will
I am in south africa I have enjoyed reading your blog am a doing my final year LLB Law I working on my own blog thanks for ideas. I will come in and again for guidance
Just wanted to say I’ve enjoyed your blog for the last few years, ‘Will’! I’m starting as a graduate at a top tier firm soon after completing a clerkship and I think your blog is absolutely spot on (especially about clerkships, skeleton answers and the cortex of the Whirlpool!)
Keep up your good work in helping budding lawyers 🙂
Thanks Cass, I’m glad it has been useful! Hope you enjoy the grad position – lots of work but a great experience! 🙂
Hi Will,
This is a fantastic resource, thank you! I’m glad to benefit from an outlet that allows you to maintain your “introvertness”… (if you agree with that description) and still generously share with others.
Mature age law student here NOT doing the JD program – standard degree. I chose this option due to length of degree and I am starting to wonder if it was a good decision, I am also bombarded with how difficult the market is etc but I am not concerned as I have a substantial set of like skills that will hold me in good stead.
All the best!
Hi Lotta
Thanks very much, and yes I’d definitely fall under the introvert category – need plenty of time by myself to recharge (which can be difficult to find given law firm hours).
It’s always a risk making any career change I guess. I think being a bit older helps put everything in perspective though. Good luck with it all!
Cheers
Will
Hi,
I find your blog very encouraging. We have the same background origin although I went back to school at a mature age. Do you reckon that is a great stumbling block? Age?Plus I have a terrible very foreign sounding accent..
Best,
Jaded
Hi Jaded, there are plenty of people in each graduate intake at my firm that are mature age students, so no need to lost hope there. That said, it’s probably around 25% – the majority are young(er) students straight out of undergrad. It might be different in other kinds of firms.
The way I see it, the only reason a foreign accent would matter is if it affects your day to day communication skills. I certainly would’t limit my clerkship/graduate applications on the basis that this would be a problem. I guess there are always people out there that might find an accent to be an issue, but yo should spend your time working on things that are within your control (eg uni marks, networking, clerkship/graduate applications).
Both of the above could obviously be categorised as challenges, so I would take them up in that light and work extra hard to get where ever it is you want to go.
Good luck!
Will
Maaaate, the description in the search engine is misleading! This is NOT a Freeman on the Land website! In fact, it’s the OPPOSITE and pro legal/legalise.
Your description of the FOTL is biased to that effect and in NO WAY describes the men and women who are seeking the truth behind the twisted systems designed to profit off the population by keeping them in bondage.
You swear to the bar and are slave to it and allows you to prosecute even innocent people and free those who are guilty of heinous crimes!
All these wasted years you all spend in study of a corrupt legal system and yet a Freeman can over rule even the ‘so called’ judge and call him out on producing a writ of commission and a bonding agreement.
Good luck to you all and I hope light will shine through the darkness and give you clarity to really delve into the acts and legislation’s that were put in place to PROTECT the people NOT the system.
Haha, yes sorry, it would be quite misleading if you’re here for a pro-freeman love fest.
Unfortunately for you and other freemen, the post (over here for anyone else that’s interested) describes how normal society view the freeman / sovereign citizen movement. I mean, there’s definitely a place for people to rail against the laws imposed by government, and judge made law, but the freeman movement doesn’t do that with any credibility. Most of the time it’s just people crying about how the police told them that they can’t drive around speeding in unregistered vehicles.
There is also the ridiculous language used. For example, your comment talks about lightness and darkness, seeking the truth and keeping people in bondage. What on earth is a “writ of commission” and “bonding agreement”? Also I don’t prosecute innocent people and free guilty people – most of my work involves private M&A, so I don’t really know what you’re talking about, and neither do most other people.
Anyway, it’s unlikely that either of us will convince the other, and there’s no real problem with that. Have a good one!
Will
Very useful resource Will for all law students and aspiring lawyers. A unique legal blog like this will always have its place, separate from any of the more mainstream social media channels or on corporate firm websites. Keep up the great work.
Hi Will,
I’ve been reading through your blog and it’s just fabulous! I’m planning on studying the Juris Doctor next year, and what you’ve written has been really helpful to me. I’m wondering what university you went to?
I’m having trouble deciding whether I should go to The University of Sydney (where I’ve been offered a CSP but would have to relocate) or Macquarie (where I’ve also been offered a CSP but is by distance).
In your opinion and experience, does it make a huge impact on job prospects if you don’t go to a G08 university for law?
Thanks again for all your great info!
Eliza
Hi Eliza,
That sounds like a pretty tough choice, and I’m not too sure how much help I can be! For what it’s worth, I think you’re focusing on one of the most important aspects of choosing where to go – job prospects.
I don’t actually know anyone who has completed an online law degree so it makes it difficult to comment. All I can say is that I don’t know anyone in my firm (or any other large corporate firm) that has one, so if that’s where you want to work then perhaps consider the on-campus degree.
The consensus on online degrees still seems to be that they are more appropriate for people who want legal knowledge to use in their existing employment. That is, they wouldn’t be seeking employment in a private firm at the end of the degree. I think this view will change over time, but it may be worth stalking a few people on LinkedIn who have completed online degrees to see where they ended up.
I’m assuming, of course, that you would prefer not to relocate – on the other hand, maybe it would be worth moving just for the hell of it? Could be fun… 🙂
Cheers
Will
Hi I am Joey, I completed my Certificate in Migration Law and Practice last year. I am required by the registering authority MARA to submit an IELTS exam with a score of 7 with no band score of below 6.5. I asked MARA, if I could use the result of my IELTS that I took in 2 sitting, meaning using the results of my 2 exams. 9/10/2016 exam got a score of Reading 7 Listening 6 Writing 7 speaking 7 and 11/11/2016 IELTS score Reading 7 Listening 8 Writing 6, Speaking 8.
In this regard I wish to use my listening score of 8 from my second exam to satisfy the English requirements. I made a query with MARA and the response was I need to take the exam in a single sitting only.
QUESTION: The legal basis are the legislative and regulations outlined below, but when the law is silent and it does not mention either IELTS should be taken in a single or 2 sitting what should be the interpretation? Can MARA say only results in a single sitting are acceptable or thiscan be contested and argued that results of IELTS exam in 2 sitting should also be allowed as evidence for English language proficiency. I hope with your bright legal mind you can provide me with a comprehensive response.
Section 289A of the Migration Act 1958
Regulation 5 of the Migration Agents Regulations 1998
Legislative Instrument IMMI 12/097
Hi Joey, congrats on completing the migration law and practice certificate! Unfortunately, I’m not here to give legal advice – perhaps you could try a community legal centre near you? Alternatively, you could try setting out your thoughts on the legislative requirements to MARA, and see what their response is. You never know, they might make an exception!
Good luck,
Will
Great blog 🙂 I’m currently working as a paralegal at a top tier firm and have found all your points to be very useful.
Thanks very much and keep it up!
Thanks, and great work landing a paralegal gig at a top tier firm (top tiers are awesome, though I’m totally biased)! If you enjoy it there, make sure you let people know. As in literally tell them that you like it and that you’re going to apply for a clerkship/ grad job. Sometimes the lawyers will be so busy that they just don’t even register that you might want a job after uni finishes…
Best of luck for the rest of your studies 😉
Will
Hi Will! I am an incoming 1L and I put up a blog of my journey. I follow your blog and would like to get to know more of the law/law school bloggers out there. My blog is called The Filipino Law Student, hope you and your friends will get to look at it too! 🙂 I really want to be a part of a blogging community on our particular niche. Thanks! Also signed up to your newsletter. Great posts. 🙂
[Will – I’ve moved the link to my blog list!]
Hi Kim – looks great. All the best with uni, hope you enjoy it as much as I did 😉
Cheers!
Will
Congrats Will on a very comprehensive, detailed and upbeat site. I’ll certainly direct Graduates and junior lawyers we meet to your site for some encouragement and info. It’s a hard path to navigate and I think your blog really addresses some of the information black holes.The first couple of years in law are the hardest, once you survive those your on a path to a really cool career. The issue with the industry is that there arent enough graduate/clerkship roles being offered across the board. Everyone is thinking of budgets now, rather than what happens when as an industry there arent enough lawyers being trained up. This has been the case more or less since 2009. Some skills areas are seeing major shortages as a result, and likely to continue. Best wishes with your career and your blog.
Elvira
Hi Elvira – thanks! Another worrying aspect of keeping the budget looking good is when law firms don’t replace lawyers when they leave a firm. It inevitably leads to the remaining people getting overworked. But as you said, there are lots of opportunities to do some really awesome work as a lawyer, both in private practice and industry!
Cheers
Will
I am an enrolled law student (not started yet) and I feel as though I am more prepared for uni just reading through your site. I’m sure your time is valuable, and it’s really nice of you to take time putting this together to help people you’ve never met. I hope one day you own up to this blog ‘in real life’ because I think you should be proud of the service you are providing. I really appreciate it.
Awwww, so kind! Thanks! I’m glad it’s been useful so far. I really hope you enjoy the degree – it’s hard work but (I think) it’s worthwhile, and you can do some pretty cool things with it once you graduate!
Will
Hi there! I’ve just started up my own law student blog and I’d love for you to check it out! Similarly, I’m hoping to pass on tips to continuing law students so that they may learn from my mistakes… and laugh with me as I stumble through my five-year double degree. I’ve loved reading your work, too! [Edit: I’ve moved the link to The Law Student Diaries to my blog list 😉 http://youveenteredlawland.com/the-best-law-blogs-in-australia/]
Thanks for your comments Ella! It’s great to see a few other law student blogs about. Hope the rest of your studies go well 🙂
Will