Career Pathways

Community legal centres (CLCs) are independent, community organisations providing equitable and accessible legal services. CLCs tend to service specific demographics or a particular area of law, such as family law, employment law, criminal law and environmental law. Services provided generally include free legal advice, referrals, representation, community legal education, and advocating for law reform.

Whether you work within a department or statutory body, your role would ultimately involve promoting and safeguarding the interests of the wider Queensland or Australian community.

The following workplaces provide law students and graduates with excellent opportunities to assist Australia's First Nations people:

The international law field offers a diverse range of careers domestically and beyond Australia. With human rights breaches and cross-national conflicts at the cornerstone of the public international law sector, there is a major intersection between public policy and international law. Public international law encompasses diverse practice areas and practices in a vast range of organisations.

Family law is one of the more challenging specialities of law because it involves counselling people through difficult periods of their lives. As a family lawyer, you will assist your clients in navigating divorces, property settlements, post-separation parenting arrangements, financial agreements ("prenups"), child support disputes and agreements. Family lawyers may also deal with family matters involving State based issues such as adoption applications and surrogacy arrangements. Family law can also encompass many different areas of law, such as property law, criminal law and even private international law. While some lawyers specialise in one of these processes, many instead maintain a 'general practice', advising their clients on a range of issues.

Criminal law sits at the heart of justice - it's where law meets human lives at their most vulnerable and consequential. For law students drawn to purposeful, people-centred work, few areas of practice are more directly meaningful.

Personal injury law deals with general physical and/or psychological damages to an individual that are the fault of another responsible party. Plaintiff personal injury lawyers work to ensure that their clients' rights are protected, and that the client receives a fair settlement to compensate for his or her injuries. A career in plaintiff personal injury law is perfect for an individual with a strong sense of social justice, and who would enjoy a career with a high degree of client contact.

The first point to remember about boutique firms is that the term "boutique" is not simply a euphemism for small. Rather, boutique law firms specialise in a niche area of law. Therefore, a boutique firm isn't about size; it's about specialisation. A boutique law firm can provide expert legal advice and services to individuals or businesses in one or a select few areas of the law. Although midsize and large law firms have structured themselves to offer a broad range of services, a growing number of lawyers are setting up these smaller practices, choosing to focus the work of the entire firm on one area of law.