13 July 2011

Australian lawyer shortage opportunity for New Zealand

A big shortage of lawyers in smaller Australian communities has prompted the Law Council of Australia to ask the New Zealand Law Society to make its members aware of the opportunity.

The latest issue of the Law Society’s magazine LawTalk says lawyers are in such short supply in regional Australia that the Law Council believes there is a significant problem for access to justice.

LawTalk says the shortage across the Tasman is so bad that the Law Council has been looking to Ireland to help fill the gap, and is working on a proposal with the Law Society of Ireland to enable unemployed Irish law graduates to take up work placements in regional Australia.

“New Zealand lawyers would have the jump on their Irish counterparts, should they decide to make such a move,” LawTalk says. “This is because New Zealand and Australia have a ‘fast-track’ process where lawyers from one country can be admitted in the other.”

LawTalk says that like many other professional groups, such as doctors and nurses, lawyers in rural, regional and remote (RRR) areas in Australia are experiencing increasing difficulties in attracting and retaining suitable staff.

These recruitment problems are having a direct effect on the legal sector’s ability to service the legal needs of RRR communities. Many law firms are unable to find suitable lawyers to fill vacancies when they arise. As a result, firms are being impeded by the drain of corporate knowledge caused by a constant turnover of staff.

New Zealand lawyers can be admitted to practice in all states and territories of Australia under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition regime. That regime makes admission in Australia very easy, just as it does for Australian practitioners seeking admission in New Zealand.

ENDS

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