Legal Profession in Australia

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the legal profession in Australia. It introduces the main features of the Australian legal profession from the following perspectives. Section 1 provides an overview of the legal profession in Australia. Section 2 illustrates the process of being admitted as the crucial step of entering the legal profession. Section 3 further discusses the common roles in the profession, solicitors and barristers, and the rules and guidelines governing their practice. Section 4 focuses on the foreign lawyer’s rights and limits to practise in Australia. Section 5 examines the roles, practices, and pathways for traditional career choices in the legal profession, including private practice, academia, judges and judicial officers, government, as well as in-house or corporate counsels. Section 6 turns to non-traditional career options and paths in the legal profession. Section 7 examines the ethical obligations of practising lawyers, taking solicitors as an example.