What is considered a great WAM? + How to improve? (1 Viewer)

[queenb_3]

Hi there!

I was just wondering, what's considered a great WAM for law? For context, I aspire to work within a top tier law firm such as Ashurst, Clayton, etc and be a barrister in the future.

I was also wondering, how do we do improve? What I mean by this is, lecturers, don't accept extra work or essays to submit for marking/feedback (because it puts other students at a disadvantage), and we also just received our final marks for our exams with no feedback, comments, and not even the paper was returned to us. I understand that this is really different to high school, but if lecturers don't accept stuff, how do we know where we can improve and strengthen our work? Any suggestions will be much appreciated : )

Thanks!

 

[jimmysmith560]

In terms of WAM, I think your minimum goal should be to be on at least a distinction average (75+). The higher the WAM gets from that point, the better it is for you (I believe law jobs are pretty competitive?).

I don’t do law myself, but I did complete a compulsory core commercial/business law unit in my first year that dealt with Negligence, Contract Law and Consumer Law (and of course the Australian legal framework). The unit was not enjoyable to me and I found it pretty hard, which was reflected in my marks - I got 2 passes in my first 2 assignments. The problem I have is that my degree has a minimum GPA requirement which I must maintain in order to remain enrolled in the course. This pushed me to study extremely hard during stuvac (about 500 assessable textbook pages in 2 weeks). Thankfully, I was able to achieve a distinction in the final exam, lifting my overall mark to a credit for that unit.

I think that for law specifically, resources are really important. Your knowledge of the laws and legal concepts (including lecture notes and textbooks) are crucial. With the lecturers not willing to provide feedback, this should become a motive for you to study harder and to make sure you thoroughly know every single point, and instead of seeking feedback, ask your lecturers for help with any concepts that you may not fully understand.

I hope this helps!

 

[queenb_3]

Thank you heaps!! This was very helpful!

 

[jimmysmith560]

Thank you heaps!! This was very helpful!

No worries! That’s great to hear, all the best!

 

[RivalryofTroll]

I was just wondering, what's considered a great WAM for law? For context, I aspire to work within a top tier law firm such as Ashurst, Clayton, etc and be a barrister in the future.

Hi

I’m currently a junior lawyer at a mid-tier commercial law firm. I know people who work at the top tiers (Big 6/Top 8 firms) and I also have worked with commercial law barristers and have an idea as to their educational background.

Here’s my 2c.

If you want to be competitive for summer clerkship applications to the top tiers, you’ll want at least a distinction average (75+) in law to make it to the interviews. Ideally, you’ll want something like a 78+ average in law. You could have a shot with a mid-high credit average (70-75) if the rest of your CV is very strong (ie work experience, extracurriculars, etc) and with an excellent application (eg cover letter and screening question answers). My law WAM was something between 70 and 75 and I managed to score interviews with 2 of the Top 8 firms (unfortunately didn’t get any clerkship offers at the end).

As for being a barrister, a good WAM will depend on your aspirations. If I assume you wanted to land a readership at a prestigious commercial law chambers eg Banco Chambers, New Chambers, the Wentworth Selborne floors, anything on Phillip Street, you’ll typically find that the barristers in those chambers would have had First Class Honours (think 80+ law WAM) and a masters at like Oxford/Cambridge. I’d say the “academic requirements” are probably higher for the bar.

In short, if your aim is to be a top tier litigator / be at the bar doing big commercial disputes, you probably should aim for something that will get you First Class Honours. This is especially the case if you want to be at the bar.

 

[queenb_3]

Hi

I’m currently a junior lawyer at a mid-tier commercial law firm. I know people who work at the top tiers (Big 6/Top 8 firms) and I also have worked with commercial law barristers and have an idea as to their educational background.

Here’s my 2c.

If you want to be competitive for summer clerkship applications to the top tiers, you’ll want at least a distinction average (75+) in law to make it to the interviews. Ideally, you’ll want something like a 78+ average in law. You could have a shot with a mid-high credit average (70-75) if the rest of your CV is very strong (ie work experience, extracurriculars, etc) and with an excellent application (eg cover letter and screening question answers). My law WAM was something between 70 and 75 and I managed to score interviews with 2 of the Top 8 firms (unfortunately didn’t get any clerkship offers at the end).

As for being a barrister, a good WAM will depend on your aspirations. If I assume you wanted to land a readership at a prestigious commercial law chambers eg Banco Chambers, New Chambers, the Wentworth Selborne floors, anything on Phillip Street, you’ll typically find that the barristers in those chambers would have had First Class Honours (think 80+ law WAM) and a masters at like Oxford/Cambridge. I’d say the “academic requirements” are probably higher for the bar.

In short, if your aim is to be a top tier litigator / be at the bar doing big commercial disputes, you probably should aim for something that will get you First Class Honours. This is especially the case if you want to be at the bar.

This was extremely helpful, thank you so much!!!!