A guide to working overseas

Transcription

1 A guide to working overseas

2 Canada United States Australia New Zealand England & Wales

3 Strict visa requirements Policy of employing citizens of Canada before immigrants Long recognition process. National Mobility Agreement. Cost factor of exams/extra courses Decrease in legal recruitment/articling positions. Regulations and licensing for paralegals.

4 Stable economy unemployment at 2.3% Similar common law jurisdiction and practice procedures Average wage of newly qualified solicitor $60,000 Recognition between Ontario and British Columbia Consistently voted most popular place to live. Low cost of living. Most employment opportunities in Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Quebec.

5 1. Application to the National Committee on Accreditation for evaluation of foreign qualified lawyers. Download forms on sp This application costs $535

6 2. Further exams/course at an accredited Canadian Law school. The examinations take place twice yearly, in January and August and cost $525 each. Qualified Solicitors may be able to write challenge exams and forego college. Upon completion, receive cert of qualification. Allows candidates to proceed to admission to a Law Society.

7 3. Completion of a licensing programme of specified Law Society. Includes exams and articling. PLTC(similar to bar exam) 4. Complete professional responsibility and practice course - can now complete online month articling (similar to traineeship)

8 Exemptions/Abridgements to Articling - Ontario Law Society and previous work experience. Transfer to practice in different states under National Mobility Agreement - Look up career map for internationally trained lawyers Internationally trained lawyer program beginning in Autumn Association for legal career professionals.

9 Under 35 s USIT Canada work visa-wait list for for other types of visa, federal skilled worker visa points system and labour market opinion, family sponsorship Can apply online

10 practitioners_foreign_law.html Hunt personnel, addeco.

11 Single set of bar exams and character and fitness assessment. Booming areas of law-bankruptcy, insolvency and crime. Government and public interest sector are still recruiting

12 Economy in recession - American law graduates finding difficulty securing jobs No experience working as a summer associate/intern. No automatic mutual recognition of admission to bar between States Visa restrictions look up article in Law Society Gazette

13 No demand for entry level attorneys Huge redundancies/pay freezes among junior associates in private sector.

14 1. EVALUTION - Request for an evaluation of foreign academic traditional from bar exam website. 2. BAR EXAM - Restriction on sitting bar exam if foreign law degree except New York, New Mexico, Virgin Islands. Solicitors without a law degree can sit California exam. Cost varies, from $250 in New York to $815 in Massachusetts. Sit twice yearly-july/february.

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16 Unemployment at lowest since December 2006 at 5.3%. Law Graduates-2 year graduate program. Similar to training contracts. Summer/Winter clerking for NQS Law Student s Association (ALSA) on

17 Uniform principles for assessing qualifications of overseas applicants for all Australian states. Complete form 16 and pay $200 for assessment. or Applications decided on a case by case basis. Need to show Irish academic qualifications and practical legal training is of equivalent competency to Australian legal training. Irish solicitors with PQE may only be required to pass Trust and Accounting along with Ethics & Professional Responsibility. Possibility of completing exams in England.

18 NQS may need to sit up to 6-8 exams with possibility of Practical Legal Training course (PLT) Can take up to12-24 months. Application on Affidavit to Supreme Court to be admitted. Apply to Law Society for a practicing certificate.

19 In-house recruitment still active. Demand for Energy/Resources/Property/Environmental Lawyers in Perth, Brisbane. Employment opportunities in rural Australia particularly in Victoria, Adelaide, Tasmania. Corporate & Commercial solicitors in Sydney Average $65,000 per annum for NQS Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Regulations 2008 between New Zealand and Australia

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21 1) 1-year under 30 visa, 2) Skilled migrant visa points test. New changes proposed for April Apply for a tax file number from local tax office or online. Australia s department of Immigration and Citizenship

22 Unemployment at 7.3% 5 Step Process. Application to New Zealand Council of Legal Education (NZCLE) for qualifications/practical training assessed. The application costs $1,050. Only required if not first admitted in Auz. Normally overseas applicants are required to pass a number of subjects on the New Zealand Law and Practice.

23 Possibility of having to sit 6 exams Held biannually over 4 days. Cost $350 per exam. Sittings in February or July. Whole process can take months. Can sit exams oversees-nz$80 surcharge Legal ethics and Practical Legal training courses will be required if they don t accept PPC1/2 as equivalent.

24 Complete Professional Legal Studies Course (may be exempt if they accept PPC1/PPC2) Apply to NZCLE for a certificate of completion Apply to NZLS for a certificate of character

25 and search under regulatory for applications

26 Under 30 s can apply for 12 month visa. Skilled Migrant or, Work to Residence category up to 55-years of age. Family members policies Points system earned on basis of qualifications, work experience and job offer. Immediate skill shortage list (ISSL) or Long Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL) Contact

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28 Irish lawyers exempt from sitting Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations AD1 form available from Cost 100. Practising Cert is approximately 1000 Criminal record check required-:garda Central Vetting unit, Racecourse road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary

29 Apply for national insurance number before looking for jobs. Unemployment rate of 7.8%, job vacancies increasing. Less of a commitment. Sterling beginning to grow.

30 Legal Services Act Legal practice clerk best website for NQS Civil Procedure Rules- ww.bpprofessionaldevelopment.com

31 INTERNSHIPS/SUMMER ASSOCIATES/GRADUATE PROGRAMMES/JUDICIAL CLERKSHIPS

32 Graduate recruitment fairs - Public Interest Legal Career Fair- January 30th 2010 American Bar Association Career Fair-Chicago July 30th 2009, Sydney Law Career Fair-April Online applications available on websites of firms, public interest organisations, or court websites. English legal job fairs

33 1) Senior solicitor roles mainly advertised. 2) Need to have a job offer to secure a visa. 3) Obtain letter of support from employer for Minister for Foreign Affairs, 4) Apply for visa through Embassy, normally employer applies for visa for you. 5) Recruitment agencies such as Laurence Simons, 6) Apply directly to multi-national law firms with offices there.

34 Lawyers required for construction, compliance and financial sector. 1) Recruitgulf.com, gulftalent.com, totallylegal.com, Laurence Simons recruitment.

35 Give it 3-6 months of constant job hunting in Ireland and UK before making the move further afield. Make contact with Irish solicitors in country before you go, especially established Irish solicitors practising for a number of years. Be persistent. Many have sent out 100s of CVs. Have at least 5,000 going over. Apply for re-qualification before you go.

36 Ensure CVs thoroughly demonstrate experience in Ireland. Get involved; in bar associations, sports clubs, reading groups, networking associations.

37 Commitment required. Plan to go for 5 years or one-year travel, not both. Employers need to see determination and intention to stay. a partner/associate at the firm. Go to graduate fairs/recruitment websites/law society websites. Be prepared to work as a paralegal or legal researcher, litigation support staff. Cast your net wide.

38 Have a good writing sample. Previous work experience should include a mix of public interest volunteering and internships. Having a career before law school an advantage.

39 Don t waste your time applying for jobs under-qualified for. Don t underestimate the value of experience, i.e. Courts services, public sector. Have a cut-off point. You have to stay positive

40 If you think you are beaten, you are If you think you dare not, you don't, If you like to win, but you think you can't It is almost certain you won't. If you think you'll lose, you're lost For out of the world we find, Success begins with a fellow's will It's all in the state of mind. If you think you are outclassed, you are You've got to think high to rise, You've got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize. Life's battles don't always go To the stronger or faster man, But soon or late the man who wins Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN! By Walter D. Wintle