Attorney (solicitor)189 visa application

[APingo]

Good day, I am an admitted lawyer, currently practicing law in South Africa.  What I would like to find out is...I have read that in Western Australia (Perth) an overseas qualified, admitted attorney can apply to the Legal Practice Board of WA to have a skills assessment done and that you may not practice Australian law until registered, but you can be employed and work under a qualified, admitted Australian attorney until such a time when you are qualified.  So my question is this, will my SA law degree be sufficient for purposes of applying for a 189 visa? In other words, go to Aus and qualify once you get there only? Would appreciate feedback from fellow SA Attorneys please. Thanking you in advance for positive feedback.

[Mara]

@APingo you need a migration agent to explain the ins and outs to you, as firstly, your occupation needs to be on a list, then, in order to claim points for your occupation, I think, but may be wrong, that you have to be already admitted in Australia, before you can do so. I think you may also have a problem with a law firm hiring you, if you do not have Australian law under your belt, as it would be needed in virtually all aspects of the work done in a law firm.

 

Perhaps make contact with either @TeeTMI or @SD_MOA on this forum, they are both registered migration agents and are willing to assist with information. They both come highly recommended.

[RYLC]

@emmayenkanna may be able to provide some experience with this.

[Guest]

Sent you a pm @APingo

[APingo]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your input.

[AlanRB]

@APingo  you will have to have a skills assessment done.  Have a look at the following document to give you some insight on what the standard is  Guideline for assessing overseas applications issued under Rule 9AA(1)(c).  Remember that the state law societies do have some discretion.  Once you have had a skills assessment done you will know what you have to do satisfy the requirements.    Note that they specifically state that no exemptions will be given for 'Ethics and Professional Responsibility' and 'Trust and Office Accounting".  These courses can be done online through a number of universities.  For the sake of expediency, you are better off finding a regional university as the standards are generally lower than the top tier universities but the credit is the same.

You don't mention your experience and expertise but finding a job will be very much dependent on that unless you have someone willing to give you a job.   Junior lawyers struggle to find practical training work placements, never mind full time employment, with around 14,600 new lawyers entering a market of 66,000 lawyers as of 2015.  There are now around 41 law schools in Australia so it is a very popular degree.  This does mean that salaries for junior lawyers are and remain low with long work hours expected.

 

[APingo]

Thank you AlanRB...I was thinking of having my assessment done through NSW legal board, because I heard it was a bit easier than WA for example...do you have any thoughts on that?  

[AlanRB]

@APingo unfortunately I can't help you there as I qualified here so it was not something I had to consider and I haven't come across anyone who has had to do this.  As you probably know, although the various state law societies remain independent, they do have a common skills recognition standard for local and international registrations which is what now allows us to practice in any state.   If it was me though, I would be inclined to be assessed and registered in the state I intended to settle in as that way I would begin to get to know the local state system and hopefully make some connections.  In part also because the psyche in Australia is that the states like to keep their independence and an employer would likely give more weight to a foreign applicant who had been vetted by the law society they belong to which they know and trust.  

I,m sorry I can be of more help than that for now but I will do some digging and if I find anything I will let you know.

[APingo]

Thanx AlanRB, I appreciate it!