Work Experience Component
Contents:
Work Experience is similar to but not the same as articles. In work experience, the law graduate works as a law clerk or similar role under supervision.
Extremely helpful diploma – have found it of immense help especially when doing it in conjunction with the work experience component. - Student
Aim of Work Experience
Work experience or "on the job training" is an important part of your pre-admission training. The aim of work experience, coupled with the Continuing Professional Education Component, is to enable you to:
- integrate your legal knowledge and skills with the delivery of legal services
- appreciate the provision of legal services in the context of real settings and problems
- understand the need to avoid exposing clients and fellow practitioners to unnecessary risk, and
- focus on the importance of clear communication, identification of clients' problems and effective and efficient advice.
Students are responsible for obtaining their own work experience positions. To assist the College provides an online Legal Job Vacancies Board.
Approval of Work Placement
The Work Experience Component requires 75 working days of experience (Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm). It may be completed:
-
Full-time, or
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Part-Time (a minimum of 2 days a week)
Your work experience must be in accordance with the Work Experience Rules and approved by the College's Work Experience Committee. Please note: The Queensland Legal Practitioners Admission Board requires that work experience be undertaken in Queensland.
The time at which you may undertake the Work Experience Component depends on the mode you select for the Coursework Component. If undertaking the Coursework Component:
- full time, the work experience may be completed either before or after, but not concurrently with, coursework
- part time, the work experience may be undertaken before, after or concurrently with coursework.
To obtain approval, submit to the College Enrolments Office a completed:
- Application for Approval of Work Experience Placement Form (2 pages), which includes an undertaking from your supervisor to provide work experience.
Your Work Experience
Steps
- Read "Work Experience Rules"
- Find compliant work placement
- Seek approval of work placement from College of Law Work Experience Committee by submitting the "Approval of Work Experience Form". If you have previous work experience you would like considered submit the "Approval of Work Experience Form" with backdated placement dates.
- Submit Work Experience Declation form, once completed
- Read "Workbook" requirements under Continuing Professional Education Component
- Repeat steps for each new work experience placement (i.e. new supervisor, new firm etc)
Your Responsibilities during Work Experience
When entering into a period of work experience, you take on certain responsibilities and obligations. These include:
- carrying out the duties required by your employer
- maintaining the confidentiality of your employer and clients
- managing time, effort and resources to develop good working practices
- achieving the aim of work experience
- seeking clarification through questioning when:
- tasks and work are not well defined or too open-ended
- insufficient facts are provided
- informing your supervisor when:
- there is too much or too little work
- tasks or work are too challenging or not challenging enough
- there is insufficient variety in the type of work and tasks allocated
- being open and honest during feedback and appraisal of performance
- taking responsibility for self-development, and
- informing the supervisor when a mistake is made.
Role of Work Experience Supervisor
The role of the work experience supervisor is to aid the student's learning by providing opportunities for students to:
- experience the routines, procedures and dynamics, commonly found in offices in which legal services are provided
- have contact with and responsibility to clients of the work experience placement, and
- have experience in the process of becoming a professional.
The role of the supervisor has many aspects. It extends beyond supervision to include coaching, counselling, monitoring, delegation and appraisal.
Supervisors provide much of the practical training and their importance in ensuring the successful completion of the student's work experience cannot be underestimated. The lessons learned from a good supervisor will last throughout their career. If a student finds the work done during their work experience rewarding, it will develop competence and they are likely to remain motivated and loyal to the firm or organisation and make a positive contribution to its future. A student will learn little if their work is not properly supervised.
To help develop the student's skills, a supervisor should:
- provide opportunities to observe and review the exercise of professional skills by experienced practitioners
- give feedback and guidance on work
- provide any necessary support, and
- give opportunities to discuss problems.
We suggest that supervisors:
- give work and tasks that are well defined
- give clear instructions and check that they have been understood
- provide sufficient factual background
- suggest available office or library reference materials
- provide a realistic framework for completion of tasks of work
- answer questions which arise
- assign tasks and work with an increasing degree of difficulty
- ensure there is enough but not too much work
- provide a balance of work across substantive and procedural areas
- provide work which requires the use a range of different skills
- create an environment where a student feels comfortable about asking questions
- encourages proposed solutions, even though these may not be correct
- provide regular guidance and feed back on performance
- ensure that achievements and improvements are recognised and praised
- ensure that aspects of performance which require improvement are thoroughly discussed, and
- encourage self-development.
The role of a supervisor is not to assess whether or not the student has satisfactorily completed the work experience. However, a supervisor may have a role in appraising performance, if the workplace has a system of performance appraisal.
Role of Academic Supervisor
Each student has access to an academic supervisor at the College of Law. The role of your academic supervisor is to provide you with any necessary support and to assist you in completing the objectives of work experience. Your academic supervisor will deal with any queries or difficulties that you encounter.
If you require an academic supervisor, contact:
Ms Kay Smith
Director, Professional Program
Ph. 02 9965 7000
Email: ksmith@collaw.edu.au
Changing Work Placement or Supervisor
If you change your work experience placement or supervisor during the period of your work experience, you must submit to the College Enrolments Office:
- a Work Experience Declaration Form to cover the period undertaken, and
- another Application for Approval of Work Experience Placement Form for your new work placement.
Note that if you change the full or part time mode of your work experience you will need to take this into account when calculating whether you have completed your period of work experience and when completing the Work Experience Declaration. You will also need to provide an annexure to your Declaration explaining the change.
Changes in Your Details
Changes of address or telephone numbers should be advised to the College in writing. Please use the Notification of Change of Personal Information form to let us know of any personal information changes.
Work Experience Rules and Forms
The following is a list of the Work Experience Rules and the forms applicable to work experience. Obtaining work experience is your responsibility.
The employer would be asked to ensure that the law graduate:
- experiences the routines, procedures and dynamics commonly found in offices in which legal services are provided
- has contact with and responsibility to clients, and
- has experience in the process of becoming a professional.
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