What's It Like Being a Lawyer in Australia?

Being a lawyer honestly is not like it is in the movies. Sure you get to stand up in front of a group of people, make long and powerful speeches and try to convince people that your side is right - or at least that the other side has failed to make a compelling argument… okay maybe the movies do get some things right. But there’s a lot more to being a lawyer than just those things. In fact, everything you see in the movies? That’s probably one of the least common parts of the job.

How often does a Lawyer attend Court?

The answer to that question depends on what type of lawyer you are, some go to court practically every day, and others you might be lucky - or arguably unlucky - to see a court at all. For the most part, court cases are the domain of criminal lawyers. These lawyers are what you typically see on TV and their lives are hectic, but unless the lawyer is working defence, chances are they spend more of their time outside of court conducting interviews, compiling and researching information as part of the discovery process, reading countless documents in order to prepare their case, and finally, filling out and reviewing dozens of forms for the submission of every piece of evidence.

Despite the perceived glamour and focus of the court, most of the work is done by lawyers and their clerks behind desks long before it ever reaches the eyes and ears of a judge. And don’t underestimate how much work this is, it is a LOT of work and for many criminal lawyers, the time outside of court is both more important and more consuming than the time inside of court. If the lawyer does their job right, they may be able to settle the case out of court, meaning less time in front of a judge and more chance of everyone walking away happy.

But that’s criminal lawyers, what about other lawyers? Well, on the other extreme end of the scale you find corporate lawyers, who mostly take up a position as an advisor to a company or organisation and - if they do their job right - may never see a day in court at all. These lawyers are typically in charge of monitoring changes to law - in particular tax and trade laws - and ensuring that the company is fully compliant with everything they need to be fully compliant in. 

Like criminal lawyers, they spend a lot of their time in meetings, doing research and filling out paperwork, but they also tend to have predictable busy spikes around tax season when everything comes in all at once. This is even more true when the company is interstate or international and lawyers are required to be fluent in the unique laws and requirements of each jurisdiction. This becomes a mountain of work during tax season and even more so the larger the company, but if they do their job right, they’ll never ever see a day in court.

Then there are other lawyers like solicitors who spend most of their time performing complex negotiations or acting as a witness for legal documents and proceedings. Again, like corporate lawyers, they spend most of their time working outside of court dealing with preparation, litigation, and establishing whether or not a case even needs to be sent to court or not. How much time you spend in court depends on the type of lawyer you are, but how much time you spent with clients and paperwork will be omnipresent regardless of your chosen speciality.

A Lot of Work, Is it Worth It?

Absolutely. From a financial perspective, the average lawyer’s salary ranges between $200 and $350 an hour, getting more or less depending on how specialised their job actually is. On top of that, many lawyers find the job comes with many perks, ranging from the social to simply the satisfaction of being able to close a case and move on to the next one. Not only that, but it’s fairly immune to automation, meaning once you’ve secured a position it’s fairly stable and guaranteed work for however long you remain with that legal firm or company. Many lawyers report having a vibrant social life - unless they choose to work overtime - and while lawyers often work more hours than other professionals, since 2017 the amount of flexibility and work-life balance in the industry has been increasing.