hi,everyone.i'm considering to apply for the Melbourne JD or top14 us llm. however someone(a us top4 llm) told me that the international acknowledgement of the JD from AU(include UMelbourne) is not high,even in the asian-pacific region. Is that true? Furthermore, is thereanyone know the salary of JD graduates in their first year? 860000 aud tuition plus 3 years' living cost is a huge investment for me. Oh,in addition i've already been qualifed by the chinese goverment as a laywer domestically.will it become a preference for the school officer or my future employee?? thanks in advance,sorry for my poor english(i'm going to spend more time to improve it). i'll appreciate all the information from you guys!

I would think it depends on what your objectives for undertaking postgraduate education are.

If you would like to seek employment in the Australian legal market, then I would say the Melbourne JD is a good choice. Melbourne has an extremely good reputation in Australia. If, however, your intentions would be to seek employment in US then I think completing a US LLM would not be useful anyway given your qualification in China is on civil law - there is difficulty for US Attorneys to get a job, let alone LLM graduates!

If your intention would be to return to China to work, there is no need for a Melbourne JD because the monetary and time investment you are going to put in is not worth it. You are better off going to a more a reputable university in US which would arguably gain more recognition in China.

What do you think?


Cheers,
G

Hi, Gregor, thank you, your suggetion is very valuable. are you a legal consultant now?? : )
I think my fist step is to settle in AU,i love this country, all the aussies i met are friendly, besides this they pionted out my shortage directly and objectively ,i believe i can lean a lot here.After exprience accumulation,i'll back to china.
It appears that you've finished a Jd degree in AU, Could you tell me your opinion about the several JD program in au? Such as University of queen's land and monash? and AUN?
Their recognition in the AU law firm? The salary of the Jd graduate in their first year? Because i don't want to put all the eggs into one basket. Yeah,indeed salary is a very important index to the newcomers like me,however eventually i want to contribute to the communication between china and australia even some people think i'm very fake to say it.
thanks again!

Hello,

Yes, I am an admitted Australian practitioner - not too experienced though!

there are many JD programs offered in Australia and I think the leaders are UniMelb (requires LSAT) and Monash which does not. There is no point considering the University of Queensland JD because it has been suspended/cancelled. The ones you should be looking at would be UniMelb, Monash or the Australian National Uni (ANU). The recognition of the JD is as good as the LLB in Victoria - the concept is still pretty new in NSW/ACT where ANU is.

Salary wise, JDs usually get the same as a fresh LLB graduate which can range from 36k to 55k AUD. If one is lucky, he or she may get a job which is complementary to his or her first degree and may get a higher salary :)

I heard that Monash has a new dual JD program which allows one to undertake the Washington bar exams as well - not sure about this so do check it out.

Cheers,
G

Hi,Gregor ,yesterday i heard from one of my friend that the Umelbourne JD wouldn't accept the person who already got a LLB in the other country before? have you ever got any information about it ? thanks

my understand is that unimelb does accept students with foreign LLB credentials into their JD program. They might even waive the 'elective' component of the JD program but I am unsure if they would waive it on the basis of an undergraduate degree.

do double-check the website, I am quite certain they have information regarding foreign lawyers. If not, drop them an email :)

oh also, unimelb requires the LSAT - just incase you are not aware :)

cheers,
G

Gregor2008 is right, check with the UniMelb faculty. I know they accept lawyers or law graduates from non-Commonwealth countries (ie. civil law) who wish to gain a Commonwealth law degree to practice. If I understand correctly, these students are exempted from having to complete certain subjects.

Gregor2008 is also correct, the Monash law faculty has come up with an arrangement with American University (AU) in Washington where you can graduate with the JD simultaneously from both Monash and AU and be eligible to practice is Australia and the US (after completing traineeship in Aus and/or passing the bar in the US of course).

Oh,it's very kind of you guys.
I found some information i got is overstated.
Now i need to confrim some information.
1. Are GPA,LSAT,IELTS three of the most important index?
which of them is more importan ? My university gpa is not very high,can it be compansated by the other two or my practial experience?
2.What's included in the tertiary study material?
3.Will my former legal practical experience be a very big advantage?
4.Under what kind of situation my JD program can be accelerated?

Thanks again and Meryy Christmas not matter where you guys are on the earth

Hello,

Not too familiar with the questions you have posed but have tried to assist.

In relation to queries (in the order you have raised):

1. Yes, to be honest entry into JD programs in Australia isn't as competitive as US JD programs. There aren't usually 'quotas' so you will most likely be admitted if you meet the minimum requirement for each ocomponent.

I would think your work experience may assist. Most universities would either require a pass degree or an above average GPA anyway.

2. The material would differ from university to university. At University of Queensland, all materials are placed online and you are supposed to print them. At Monash and Uni Melb they will be printed and handed out to students in a folder. The binder of readings usually range from anything from 100 to 500 pages (this was based on my experience from the LLM courses and I assume JD students are treated the same way). You can always check with the University.

3. See number 1.

4. You can usually accelerate JD programs (generally) with good GPA results - the exact score would depend on individual universities. Also, most law subjects in the JD have pre-requisites so you might be constraint in terms of accelerating. Some universities have Semester 3 (Summer) so it would facilitate fast-tracking while some do not. These are probably the main factors affecting your ability to fast-track or not.


Cheers,
G