criminal law - where?

[wolf22]

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So i'm trying to get information on universities and law - but all i can seem to find out is stuff about working for "top tier firms" and investment banks etc.

But I am not interested in the corporate lifestyle one little bit.. i want to become a practising criminal defence lawyer.

So does it matter which uni I go to? are there better unis for studying criminal law?

Any insightful advice would be helpful

cheers

[subdued123]

nope - all the unis will teach you the same thing. At the end of the day, a law degree can only take you as far as you want it to. And going to an establishment uni will only really matter if you want to work in a corporate setting - which you've already expressed an aversion to.

Maybe look for a place that'll let you combine law with criminology. But really, all law degrees are the same. It's what you do when you finally hit practice that will count, so for now, find a place you're comfy in and go there.

[melsc]

as above,

In the end, any uni will teach what you need. The only thing you may want to look at is what electives the uni has offered in the past/currently offers. MQ I know currently has no criminal based law electives.

Re: Criminology: its not really that helpful but may be good if thats your interest, alternatively you may perfer to do something different, neither will disadvantage you. I know UNSW and UWS allow you to combine criminology and law, not sure if anywhere else does, my memory is a bit rusty!

Keep your options open though, you may decide later you like other areas of law too, I did.

[Lara1986]

Further to what MelSC said about criminology combining with law:

By no means do you need to do so to become a criminal law. I am yet to encounter a criminal lawyer who took that path. In fact, my current boss did the Social Science (criminology)/ B Laws degree and is now working in family law

It may actually be beneficial to do another area in order to broaden your knowledge and job opportunities should you end up deciding that crim isn't for you. Eg a lot of the business/commerce and communications degrees provide useful general knowledge/skills that are attractive to employers.

[hYperTrOphY]

When making your decision, keep in mind that in 5 years you may actually want to work in a corporate top tier firm.

I was in a similar position to you when I started. I wanted to work for the DPP, and studied Social Science (Criminology) / Laws. In my first year of uni, I changed my mind and decided I wanted to be a criminal defense lawyer. Fast forward a few more years and I am now two days away from hearing if I will be offered a clerkship at a top tier firm.

At the end of your degree, you may be more passionate about practicing in criminal law than before you started; but recognise now that the opposite may also be true.

[flamearrows]

Originally Posted by hYperTrOphY

When making your decision, keep in mind that in 5 years you may actually want to work in a corporate top tier firm.

I was in a similar position to you when I started. I wanted to work for the DPP, and studied Social Science (Criminology) / Laws. In my first year of uni, I changed my mind and decided I wanted to be a criminal defense lawyer. Fast forward a few more years and I am now two days away from hearing if I will be offered a clerkship at a top tier firm.

At the end of your degree, you may be more passionate about practicing in criminal law than before you started; but recognise now that the opposite may also be true.

Even further to that, talking to lawyers throughout the clerkship process leads me to believe that many people who held an idea of what area they wanted to work in throughout university and into a professional career still change their minds.

You've indicated you want to work in what is quite a specialised area of the law. If it turns out that you're more interested in an area of the law with any sort of commercial basis, or just in business generally, you might find yourself at a bit of a disadvantage.

[Lara1986]

Originally Posted by flamearrows

Even further to that, talking to lawyers throughout the clerkship process leads me to believe that many people who held an idea of what area they wanted to work in throughout university and into a professional career still change their minds.

You've indicated you want to work in what is quite a specialised area of the law. If it turns out that you're more interested in an area of the law with any sort of commercial basis, or just in business generally, you might find yourself at a bit of a disadvantage.

In that regard also I would say that to keep in mind too that it's not impossible to move into those fields having done a non-law degree that isn't commercially oriented and vice versa.

Eg I did a business degree but have no intention of going in corporate-related legal fields. And I know of a fair few UWS students who did the criminology social science degree who are now working in corporate areas, including at least one i know of at a top tier firm.

So yes it may be disadvantageous but it won't be the end of the world if you do change your mind.


Also i would add to comments that people have made as far as changing your mind goes - to be perfectly honest, of everyone that comes to mind that I have attended uni with, I am the only person who has stuck with what they wanted to do from the beginning to some extent - and even i have changed slightly as initially i was interested in criminal and family but I have decided on family/care and protection as my future career path.

So i would say that sticking to your guns from day one til the end is more an exception to the rule


But please don't be discouraged by these comments if you truly are passionate about criminal - i mean, we don't know you personaly so perhaps there is something in your background that would place you in the exception category. Just make sure you investigate as many options as you can and don't simply go with your first choice without considering others

[ninjapuppet]

hYperTrOphY answered the question already.

I also found criminal law an interesting subject, but i want to point out that this area is relatively a small close knit area. My lecturer was a criminal lawyer and he was telling me how 80% of criminal cases are handled by the same guys as he always see the same faces when going to court.

otherwise you can end up doing legal aid work, which many solicitors frown at, but hey, set up your little firm, and its an easy $800/day and theres plenty of work around. just gotta deal with the occasional "alleged" criminals

http://lacextra.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/...s_20070701.pdf

[MichaelJackson2]

I reckon working at the Commonwealth DPP would be pretty awesome. Firstly, you get interesting work, unlike at your state DPP where I would imagine it would be the same old street-type offences. Secondly, the pay would be pretty decent as your salary comes from the Commonwealth government. Thirdly, unlike a criminal defence lawyer, you won't have to work with the scum of society and pretend you actually care about them.