How to get a job as a government lawyer

If you have a passion for government and law, there is no better job for you than working as a government lawyer. Sure, some law firms do work for government clients. However, nothing compares to actually working in the heart of government, contributing to government accountability, and working on matters that have an impact on the community. Getting a job as a government lawyer as a graduate is difficult. The process is even more competitive than getting a job in a private sector law firm. This is due to the complete withdrawal or narrowing of most graduate government lawyer programs and a freeze in the Commonwealth sector on recruiting new permanent employees. In this blog post I explain the types of government lawyers out there and provide tips on the application and selection process.    

Types of government lawyers

The Commonwealth and state governments all have a myriad of lawyers working for them:

1.       In-house government lawyers

Often referred to in government-speak as “Legal Officers”, “General Counsel”, or “Legal Advisers” these lawyers work in government departments, government agencies, tribunals and commissions. Some government departments, such as the Department of Defence have very large in-house legal teams. Other in-house legal teams are much smaller. In-house lawyers generally provide their employer advice on a broad range of legal issues that may arise. If you are a government lawyer in a smaller in-house team you may be required to work on issues as broad as leasing/property, contracts, procurement, employment and industrial relations matters, privacy, freedom of information, defamation and intellectual property. The legal problems will be referred to you by other non-legal teams within your department/agency, such as Human Resources, corporate or customer service.

2.       AGS/Crown Solicitors

Working at Australian Government Solicitors or a state government’s Crown Solicitors is similar to working at a large law firm except all of your work is government work from government clients. Teams are specialised like at any law firm, so expect to see Property, Commercial, IP/Copyright and Litigation practice groups, as well as specialised public law practice groups such as Constitutional law, Administrative law, and Freedom of Information. Lawyers at Crown Solicitors are highly specialised and receive referral work from in-house teams or directly from Departments and government Agencies. For most matters except Constitutional law and some other areas of public law, AGS and Crown Solicitors compete for government work with private law firms.

3.       Law reform lawyers

With budget cuts in recent years, the number of lawyers working in law reform has declined significantly. The Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department employs a number of lawyers in law reform positions, as do state agencies like the Law Reform Commission of NSW. Government lawyers working in law reform generally make recommendations to the Attorney General who then attempts to implement changes in parliament.

4.       Legislative drafters

If you studied “Interpretation” at university and loved it, legislative drafting may be for you. Legislative drafters are lawyers whose full time job is to write legislation and/or regulations. Positions for “junior drafters” are not common, but I have seen one or two positions advertised before. Positions within government departments drafting Regulations are more common, especially in Regulation heavy areas, such as the NSW Office of Land and Heritage which looks after a large amount of Regulations which are predominantly enforced in the NSW Land and Environment Court.

5.       Criminal lawyers

Governments are responsible for prosecuting crimes in their jurisdiction. Those interested in criminal law should look at state DPPs and the Commonwealth DPP. Some government departments will also employ criminal lawyers, such as the Department of Immigration and ASIC (for corporate crime).

6.       Freedom of information and privacy lawyers

Complying with the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act and their state equivalents can be complicated and arduous. Most government departments and agencies will have trained staff processing freedom of information requests and processing privacy complaints. Most departments will also have a Freedom of Information and Privacy lawyer to advise on the difficult matters. This is a very niche area, but there are many career opportunities within government if FOI and privacy is a particular interest of yours.

Which departments and agencies have graduate programs for lawyers?

Unfortunately, many graduate programs for government lawyers have been cut completely in recent years. Remaining programs have shrunk in size, so that only one or two graduates are taken instead of 10 or 15. The good news is that there are more positions for government lawyers with 2+ years’ experience, and if you can’t get a position straight from university, it will be easier to get a position after obtaining some legal experience elsewhere. Some people may recommend accepting a non-legal graduate position in government and then trying to convert to a legal position later. I would advise against this, as getting legal experience early in your career is vital and it is not easy to change to a legal position within government after people have categorised you and seen you in a non-legal position.

Here is a small selection of government lawyer graduate programs. Other graduate positions will arise on an as-needs basis, so always keep an eye out:

Commonwealth

1.       The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC);

2.       The Australian Prudential and Regulation Authority (APRA);

3.       Australian Government Solicitors (AGS);

4.       Attorney-General’s Department;

5.       Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions;

6.       Administrative Appeals Tribunal recruits graduates to be Associates/Tipstaff to AAT Members.

State

1.       NSW Crown Solicitors; WA State Solicitors Office; SA Crown Solicitors Graduate pool; Victoria Government Solicitors Office;

2.       NSW DPP and other state DPPs;

3.       NSW Office of Environment and Heritage usually takes one or two law graduates a year;

4.       State Tribunals such as NCAT and VCAT employ graduates a Associates/Tipstaff to Members.

Look outside the square

1.       Legal Officer in the Defence Force;

2.       NSW Police Accelerated Prosecutor Recruitment Program - become a police prosecutor through an accelerated program which helps you avoid the usual 3 year mandatory service in general police duties;

3.       Legal Aid Victoria Junior Lawyer Program –Legal Aid is an independent statutory body funded by the Commonwealth and relevant state government.

Why working as a government lawyer is amazing:

1.       Government lawyers do work that matters. The public interest must always be at the forefront of your mind. Examples of making a small difference in day to day work include ensuring a member of the public has a fair hearing or ensuring a member of the public’s freedom of information application is dealt with appropriately.

2.       The work of a government lawyer is generally high profile, topical and often covered in detail in the media. While you are not able to join in the conversation, working on such high profile work is exciting.

3.       Many government lawyers are able to contribute to law reform in some way.

4.       The type of work junior lawyers are given is generally much more challenging and interesting than if you were a junior lawyer at a large commercial law firm. This is because government legal departments are top heavy. Most lawyers are very senior. The few junior lawyers that are employed by government tend to get interesting and challenging work. Large law firms tend to be bottom heavy in that there are a lot of junior staff around, meaning that interesting work is spread more thinly, and junior lawyers spend much more time doing “trudge work” like due diligence and assisting with preparing documents for litigation.

5.       The work is extremely varied and interesting. The variety of areas of law the average government lawyer has to adapt to is extensive.

6.       Government lawyers have additional layers of responsibility such as abiding by the model litigant rules, ensuring their standard of behaviour is of the level expected from the public sector, and understanding any document produced could be subject to a freedom of information request and potentially end up in the media.

7.       There is a large emphasis on professional development and support for further study. Colleagues tend to be positive and love the work they are doing. This makes for a great working environment.  

Do not apply for a position as a government lawyer unless:

1.       You enjoy working in complicated areas of law. Most areas of law have additional levels of complication when applied to the government. If you hate statute heavy areas of law and despise statutory interpretation, working as a government lawyer is probably not for you.

2.       You like working hard. I have yet to meet a government lawyer who does not work extremely hard. Budget cuts the last few years has left legal departments very lean. Junior lawyers are often given challenging work that is beyond their experience level. You need to have a positive approach to survive.

3.       You must be adaptable, as you will have to deal with areas of law you may not have seen before.

4.       You must be patient. Government must be accountable for everything it does, so making changes can take time, as the correct process has to be followed. This can be frustrating for lawyers who come from the private sector.

5.       You are happy to be constantly performance reviewed. Government lawyers are paid with tax payers money. Just as government is accountable, employees must also be accountable. Government lawyers will constantly be on a quarterly or six monthly performance plan. This is a positive process, as you will get formal feedback from your supervisor often, and will be able to fast track your legal development.

6.       You are happy to have a “no frills” workplace. There is no free tea/coffee/cookies/Friday night drinks in the public sector. This doesn’t bother me. However, if you are the kind of person who can’t go without a free fruit bowl/free dinner after 7pm/free taxi home, the public sector is not for you.  

A few tips for applying

The recruitment process for getting a job in government goes for months, and is even longer for graduate recruitment where there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of applicants. The usual recruitment timeframe from the application closing date to an applicant being chosen is 3 months. For graduate recruitment the time frame is more like 5 or 6 months. I would start looking for a job in government at least 6 months before you would like to start working as a government lawyer.

Applicants will be subjected to more than just two rounds of interviews. There are additional tests for most jobs in the public sector. For example, NSW DPP and NSW Crown Solicitors both have written tests for applicants in their graduate programs (like a mini exam). Make sure you have learnt the name of your Department head and the Minister responsible for your Department/Agency. Some government recruitment processes also involve attendance at a selection centre. Awareness of where your Department/Agency fits into the government as a whole is important. If you are going for a Commonwealth government position, make sure you have revised the APS Values, model litigant rules and ensure you are on top of any recent legal developments in the area you are applying for.