3rd Local Law School (UniSIM) for Mid-Career Switchers to Lawyering
 

Greetings to all. With the impending 3rd Law School @ UniSim, I am contemplating whether to take this 1st step for a mid-career switch to lawyering, thus humbly seeking advises here.

Brief profile of myself. 32yo male, coming to 33yo this year. Currently working in a stat board with a monthly gross of about 5.2k. My annual income is about 90k including allowances and bonus. Highest qualification is a pass degree from QUT, Bachelor of Justice. Did this degree during my stint with SPF. Moved on to 2 pte sectors before ending up back to govt in a stat board. Currently i am rather satisfied and in comfort zone. Ideally, if i were to put ambitious one side, this could even be my final job till retirement. However, the job can be rather mundane at times and seriously seems like a retirement ground.

Learning about the 3rd local law school piqued my interest to find out more. Interest and passion is one thing, reality is another. I fear reality will creep in and interest will fade. I know being in this legal industry is not all glamorous due to the hectic working hours and such. Knowing that if i indeed decides to take the plunge and study law, i will be about 40yo by the time i complete my studies and bar exam, etc.

Is starting out a career in the legal fraternity in their 40s too late?

Thanks in advance for any advises out there.

your degree from QUT was entirely online while you were a police officer?

normally the law degree takes only 3-4 years, then u take some law test and do your training contract. you will only be 37-38, still have 20+ years of working left.

worth a try if it is your passion

As a graduate, you'll be joining the Juris Doctor programme at UniSim. The course will take 4 years. After your studies, you will need to take the 6 month Bar course and the Bar exams. Following that, you will need to undergo a 6 month Training Contract with a law firm. That will be 5 years in total before you are qualified. You may be able to work part time during the UniSim course but the Bar Course and Training Contract are full-time commitments.

During your Training Contract, you will be paid an allowance but this will probably be $2,000 or less. Your starting pay after qualification will depend on your class of honours and area of law you work in. But it is quite possible that your starting pay will be less than $5,000 if you are in a smaller firm that specialises in criminal and family law.

Even assuming you manage to work part-time and balance your studies, you will be forgoing a lot of income since you currently earn $5.2k. In addition to lost income, you will also have to pay for your university fees.

You will also have to consider other risks;
1) To qualify as a lawyer, you MUST earn at least Lower Second Class honours (3.5 GPA score at UniSim). If you get a pass degree or Third Class Honours, you will NOT be able to take the Bar Exam and you cannot qualify as a lawyer.

2) You will be among the first batch UniSim law graduates. We don't know what the salaries will be like for this batch.

3) The market for new lawyers is currently in a bad state. There is no guarantee that you will be able to secure a Training Contract with a law firm, or get a full-time job as a lawyer after you qualify.

You need to consider the costs and the risks involved. If you are comfortable in your current position, this may not be a good idea.