For university graduates with a tertiary Law degree or qualification, such as an undergraduate Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or postgraduate Juris Doctor (JD) degree, there are many different and interesting career pathways, roles, and job opportunities you can choose to pursue. For instance, after receiving your Juris Doctor degree, the job roles and careers you can aspire to as a law graduate are both varied and – more often than not – quite lucrative, well-paid, and generous in annual salary.
The learnings, skills, and knowledge acquired during your legal university studies are, in general, applicable to and transferable across a wide range of different legal sectors and areas of specialisation within the field of law. The career opportunities are almost limitless! So, if you’re a law graduate who is curious to hear about what job opportunities you can pursue with your tertiary legal qualification, just read on to learn more.
Lawyer
Needless to say, for a university graduate with a tertiary law degree such as a Bachelor of Laws or a postgraduate Juris Doctor degree, perhaps the most obvious choice of career pathway is to become a lawyer. For JD and LLB graduates who do choose to follow this career path and become Lawyers, their primary role will be, naturally, to give legal advice to clients. They may also be required to draw up, review and analyse legal contracts and documents. Additionally, Lawyers are sometimes asked to attend court appearances on behalf of their clients, although this is not a Lawyer’s primary role in most cases.
Solicitor
To make matters slightly more confusing, law graduates also have the option of becoming a Solicitor. Put simply; a Solicitor is a type of Lawyer – also known as a legal practitioner. However, rather than being employed to provide clients with legal advice, more often than not, a Solicitor will only practice or advocate the law in a courtroom forum.
Barrister
The role of a Barrister is similar to that of a Solicitor in that their domain resides predominantly in the courtroom. As such, a Barristers’ area of expertise and specialisation usually involves court appearances and representing clients in court. This differs from the role of a Lawyer, whose role, as discussed above, is somewhat more multi-faceted and varied than that of a Barrister.
Magistrate
In terms of courtroom hierarchy, a Magistrate sits slightly below in rank when compared with a Judge. As such, while the professions of Magistrates and Judges are similar in terms of the roles they perform, Magistrates are often employed to preside over less serious matters in court. For example, while a Judge may oversee the proceedings of a Supreme High Court trial, a Magistrate is likely to only have the authority to determine the outcomes of smaller trials.
Judge
The highest-ranking and, of course, the highest-paid legal profession, the role of Judge is reserved for only the most ambitious of law graduates. In some cases, it may even be best suited to a graduate with a Juris Doctor degree, as this is a postgraduate qualification. Needless to say, this career is not easily attained – it takes years of hard work, experience, and perseverance. As such, the high-paying annual salary the role of Judge attracts is undoubtedly well-earned.
With so many career pathways on offer and available to university graduates with a law degree, it is without question that a qualification in legal studies avails students of multiple, varied, and attractive job opportunities and outcomes. Of course, the job roles that are available to students upon graduation from their Bachelor of Law, Juris Doctor, or other legal qualification are very attractive – particularly for individuals who are ambitious, hard-working, and passionate about the legal field.
Undoubtedly, studying for a law degree at a university or other tertiary education facility opens many doors, and law graduates who follow a career path in the legal arena are almost always guaranteed a career that is as lucrative as it is well-respected in the community. Further, law graduates can choose to utilise their qualifications to make a difference in society – by using their skills to make social policy changes and even advocate for human rights, if they so choose.
