Why junior lawyers should choose experience over size of pay cheque

In an ideal world all lawyers would work in the area of law they love and be paid a large amount to do this work. The reality for junior lawyers is very different. In the current legal employment market, law graduates are lucky if they can get any job as a lawyer, let alone a job in an area of law they want to work in. It may seem an easy decision to take a position working in commercial law, especially if a relatively large pay cheque is offered. However, if working at a commercial law firm is not your dream job, and you do not have the relevant experience at two years PQE to transfer to your dream job, it may become increasingly difficult to make that transition.

Why experience is key

The magic number in terms of experience junior lawyers need before they have real bargaining power in the legal market is 2 years post-qualification experience (2PQE). After 2PQE you will no longer be on a conditional practising certificate and are considered a fully fledged lawyer. The type of work experience you have at this point is key to scoring your dream job. If you have been job hunting recently you would have noticed that while there seems to be a glut of jobs for graduate lawyers, there are plenty of jobs advertised for 2PQE lawyers. One reason for this is that training graduates is expensive, and with the tight budgets many legal teams are operating under, it is cheaper to hire a trained 2PQE lawyer than train a law graduate from scratch. At 2 years PQE if you are not already working in your dream job, this is your opportunity to make the jump. However, you can only make the jump if you have the relevant experience. If your experience up to that point is not transferrable to the area of law you really want to work in, you may be in trouble.

The allure of well-paying jobs

After slumming it as a law student for half a decade, it can be tempting to look for the highest paying graduate job and go for that. Do not give in to this temptation. In Australia we have strong minimum wages, and regardless of what type of legal job you land you will be paid at least Award rate or minimum wage, which is sufficient to cover rent and living expenses.

You should have a clear idea of the areas of law you are interested in and the type of clients you would like to work for. Law students have a tendency to forget about the type of clients they want to work for when this is as important as identifying the area of law you would like to work in. For example, if you have a keen interest in employment law and industrial relations, your plan will be very different depending on whether you would like to represent employers, employees, or unions. These categories have a number of sub-categories. You will regret choosing the size of your pay cheque over obtaining relevant experience when you later try and transfer into the field of your dream job.   

This is not to say you cannot have both a job you love and be paid well for it. If you can achieve this straight out of uni, go for it. If your life’s calling is to work as a taxation lawyer in a large commercial law firm it may be that you can work in your dream job and be paid well from the get-go. For most lawyers, it can take a while to achieve both goals.

How to get a job in the area of law you want

At 2 years PQE you will have two assets broadly speaking:

1.       The experience and skills set you have gained in those two years; and

2.       A narrative.

These assets are what will get you your dream job. Speaking in the abstract can be difficult, so I will give some examples of how your experience and narrative can land you your dream job:

1.       You want to work at a community legal centre

With funding cuts to community legal centres around Australia, it is almost impossible to get a paid graduate position. Lawyers at community legal centres need to be able to run their own matters with little supervision, so there is a higher chance of getting a job after you have a few years’ experience. Experience in a variety of areas including leasing, family law, mental health, administrative law, and criminal law would assist in getting the job, but experience doing legal work for vulnerable individuals can be more important. If you find yourself at a commercial law firm, try and get a rotation in the pro-bono team. Even better, work at a smaller firm that represents individuals and has a large pro-bono presence, work for Legal Aid or take Legal Aid work as a lawyer. Volunteering at community legal centres after work hours will also show your commitment and add to your narrative.

2.       You want to be a criminal defence lawyer

Luckily, smaller criminal defence firms are often advertising for law graduates, as criminal law is litigious and junior lawyers are always needed. If you can show a passion for criminal law and demonstrate you studied relevant electives at university, you should be able to get a job as a junior criminal defence lawyer. Experience working as an Associate in the District or Supreme Court for a criminal law judge is also well regarded. What you do not want to do is go to a large commercial law firm and then later try and transfer to criminal law. If the only job you can get is in commercial law, at least ensure it is at a smaller firm where you can get litigation and court experience in the Local and District Courts.

3.       You want to work in media law at the ABC

This is a much coveted in-house job in media law. To try and get this job, you will not only need experience in defamation, IP, copyright and contracts, but you will also need in-house experience. It is traditionally difficult for graduates to get jobs in-house. However, if you find yourself at a commercial law firm, you may be able to go on a secondment to work in-house for a period of time. You will also need a convincing narrative that demonstrates a passion for media law and media issues.

Hopefully you can see how important the type of legal experience and narrative you develop after you leave university is key to getting your dream job. If you are fixated on how much you are getting paid, you may miss developing the experience you need to eventually get that dream job. Good luck!