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Universities ‘failing’ law grads
A number of Australian law graduates have voiced their concern that the current legal curriculum being offered by universities across the board is failing to prepare them for the challenges the digital age is presenting.
Emma Musgrave
Part 2 of InfoTrack’s Legal Education Roundtable Series heard from several recent law graduates and young lawyers about their perceptions on the current legal education offering in Australia.
The roundtable heard that many believe the academic focus on developing analytical thinking is too theoretical and removes the reality of what the modern legal landscape presents. It was reiterated that the roundtable felt more time should be spent on building practical skills and work presentation methods, with participants voicing the opinion that these are prerequisites for securing a role in law and succeeding at it.
The roundtable acknowledged that while it is known that employers will train graduates around admin, technology and practice management, law graduates often feel left behind when they begin work as they are not equipped with the basic understanding of these concepts throughout their course of study.
According to InfoTrack chief executive, John Ahern, who moderated the session, the biggest takeaway from the roundtable was that graduates do not see a single role for lawyers in their future.
“What is very interesting is that graduates believe they need to be a ‘lawyer-plus’; that is a lawyer and project manager, lawyer and data analyst, lawyer and marketer, or a lawyer and people manager,” Mr Ahern said.
“They want to move away from being a cost-centre to a valuable stakeholder in the business and offer not just a legal opinion but a commercial solution to any query whether in-house or at a firm.
“It is obvious that the role of the lawyer has changed significantly for graduates and that workplaces are adapting to that. What hasn’t changed is the education system”, he added.
The InfoTrack roundtable heard from participants Alex Armstrong-Millar, law clerk at Telstra; Anna Belgiorno-Nettis, graduate lawyer at Gilbert + Tobin; Hannah Opperman-Williams, graduate at Gilbert + Tobin; Marija Yelavich, law student and founder of Dare to Know Publications at Western Sydney University; Natalie Dalpadado, lawyer at Gilbert + Tobin; Sian McLachlan, solicitor at King & Wood Mallesons; Sunil Puranikmath, legal counsel, media and marketing at Telstra; and Mark Jeppesen, lawyer at SMK Lawyers.
Part 1 of InfoTrack’s Legal Education Roundtable Series heard how high distinctions are no longer a prerequisite for securing a job in law firms anymore, with the big bosses increasingly looking for graduates who have a broad knowledge base and curiosity, and fit in at the firm.
When asked about this finding at Part 2 of the Roundtable Series, participants said they are unclear as to how to demonstrate their cultural fit in a measurable way.
The concept of universities failing law graduates has been previously explored by McDonald Murholme managing director Alan McDonald, who said the universities must be held accountable for oversupply.
Speaking to Lawyers Weekly, Mr McDonald called called the universities irresponsible for the vacancies they’re offering students and accused them of “cashing in”.
“The universities have been very irresponsible as a group in allowing the oversupply for their short-term financial gain,” Mr McDonald said.
“Cashing in on people thinking erroneously that having a law degree will benefit them needs to be addressed by regulation … There are a raft of problems that will be created if issues are not quickly addressed.”
The comments caused a reaction from College of Law CEO and principal Neville Carter AM, who said the notion of law grad oversupply is a “conclusion fueled by a myth”.
Several other commenters shared their opinion on the matter, as did Nicholas van Hattem, barrister at Francis Burt Chambers and the director of Piddington Justice Project.
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
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