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INDUSTRIES
The STEM Careers Handbook 2020
Law
Overview Being a lawyer isn’t about yelling ‘objection!’ and pointing aggressively. It’s a varied field, with specialisations focussed on maintaining principles of fairness. You could be a consumer law specialist helping clients navigate their rights and defend them against violations, or a family lawyer helping couples negotiate marital disputes. Perhaps you’d like to become an expert in property law and help facilitate commercial transactions. Maybe even help banks navigate a complex merger, or help a film studio with copyright claims. You could even work for an NGO helping draft human rights agreements, or resolve personal conflicts as a civil litigator. Whenever there’s a contract to draft, a law to uphold or deal to be brokered, lawyers are usually involved. What’s involved? Common to all legal specialisations is staying on top of relevant legislation. This means researching and interpreting massive amounts of information quickly. For instance, consumer law specialists must be intimately familiar with Australian Consumer Law, and stay up to date with changes. All lawyers must have excellent attention to detail, as their daily work
Allens encourages people from across the firm to work on the development of new technologies and processes.
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often entails using precise language to file or evaluate documents and communicate findings or advice with clients and stakeholders. Where do legal professionals work? Lawyers can be found throughout both the private and public sectors around the world. Banks and large corporations need them to navigate heavily regulated financial transactions, mergers, acquisitions and contracts as much as think tanks, governments and NGOs utilise them to advise on policy. Entering the legal industry Even the sharpest students face stiff competition. In addition to a law degree, it’s important to take on numerous clerkships early, and involve yourself in competitions like moot court sessions or join relevant student societies to stand out. But in doing so, it helps to begin forming an idea of where you’d like to specialise. For example, knowing you’re interested in mergers and acquisitions can inform your decision to take clerkships at firms specialising in this, and therefore make you a more attractive candidate to similar firms on graduation. Career prospects Complementing a STEM degree with one in law can open doors, not only to advancement within a
