8 Surprising Facts About Lawyers
At checklist Legal, we have a great love for lawyers. While some lawyer jokes might be well deserved, we believe there are many things about lawyers that might surprise you.
Here are some of the most interesting facts about lawyers:
1. Lawyers have serious ethical obligations
As lawyers, we are legally required to put our duty to the court first, and then our duty to our clients. Lawyers have a LOT of very serious ethical obligations, and we always act in good faith to uphold them.
2. Lawyers specialise in different areas
Just like different doctors specialize in different areas of medicine, lawyers also specialize in different areas too.
At Checklist Legal, we specialise in Commercial Law, contract design, and innovation. However, we refer our wonderful clients to @GirlFridayIP and @Legiterati for help with Intellectual Property ... we refer people who need help with property or family law to Laura and the team at @NestLegal
3. There are more female lawyers in Australia than men
For the first time in 2020, more women practiced law than men in Australia. Although there is still room for improvement when it comes to gender parity at senior partner levels, it is a promising development that so many women are embracing a career in law.
4. There are over 83,000 lawyers in Australia
In 2020, there were 83,643 lawyers in Australia. This means there are many lawyers available to choose from when seeking legal advice or representation.
5. Becoming a lawyer requires extensive education
To become a lawyer, you need to complete a law degree, which takes around 3-4 years if you have an undergraduate degree. Then, you must complete further study (Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice) before you can be admitted to practice as a lawyer. After that, you must practice law for at least two years with supervision from a more senior lawyer.
6. Lawyers must pursue ongoing professional development
To stay up to date with the law, lawyers must do ten hours of continuing professional development each year. If a lawyer wants to become a barrister or an accredited specialist, they need to do even more formal study.
7. Lawyers have been around for a long time
Lawyers' history goes waaaaay back... it’s a pretty old job! Lawyers have been practicing law since the BC days in Athens.
8. The law is evolving
The law is more fun and interesting than ever! With new technology, design thinking approaches, a focus on usability... there are lots of reasons why it is a great time to become involved in the law!
As you can see, there are many surprising and interesting facts about the legal profession. If you're interested in learning more, we recommend checking out our founder Verity's book on creating contracts that clients love!
Book a contract strategy session, and let's talk Fair Terms:
