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Doing JD as an international student
  • Vote Up0Vote Down wuyife
    Hi everyone,

    My situation is a bit different here. I'm a international student doing JD program at Monash.
    I have already obtained my lawyer's license in my own country and want to get admit here.

    The most issue I am worrying about is my visa problem. Due to the two year supervision training requirement, it is not that easy to be admitted here when you only have a student visa or temporary working visa.

    Can any m8 give me some idea about this?

    THX
  • 3 Comments sorted by
  • Vote Up0Vote Down TimDavisTimDavis
    Hi,


    I'd love to say I know anything about this but I really don't have much of an idea.


    Knowing how shocking Universities are in disclosing this - they probably painted a rosy picture for you prior to your enrollment whereas the reality is a little different. I imagine you would require a local firm to sponsor your Visa in order to transfer your status to a working visa which would entitle you to remain here for the duration of your employment - if long enough, full residential status. Unfortunately, I really have no idea of any firms that do this or favor this type of arrangement - I am sure that there are some out there and I think it's just a matter of you getting your CV into as many as possible and disclosing this fact up front. I'd also suggest cold-calling some and asking for a chat with their HR Manager to find out their thoughts on this as well if you don't have any info.


    Given the competitive nature [see clerkships page], get unreal marks and you'll be sweet :)


    Hope it helps,


    T.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down wuyife
    Hi,

    Thank you very much for the quick reply.

    I think it may not be the Uni's fault since the immigrant policy has just been changed recently.
    Anyway, I will try my best to finish my JD program first and seek what to do. Hopefully they will make a modification of the policy later otherwise it will be a disaster for international lawyers who want to practice in Australia.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down TimDavisTimDavis
    Hey,


    Just a peice of advice - don't wait. Get out there as soon as you can and find out as much as you can. Leaving this sort of thing to last minute could prove quite telling / stressful and then you're rushing. Start speaking with Law Firms now - develop a relationship and find out their thoughts on this. Then you already have an advantage by knowing what to expect.


    Really can't stress enough how important it is to find out the implications of this now since relying on a policy change is - in frank terms - is a definitively skeptical reliance if you are paying full-fee for a JD degree.


    Best of luck,


    T.
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