I'm an engineer with an MBA and I am interested in law from a logical and reasoning viewpoint. For personal development I've decided to undertake a distance learning LLM (from UK) to enhance my understanding of commercial negotiations, product liability and IP.

My question is this: like many non-lawyers out there, I came to look at LLMs without prior legal training and recognise that I will be unable to practise as a lawyer in Australia (or anywhere else!) with just an LLM.

So while considering this I looked at the cost of JD courses in Australia to evaluate the feasibility of becoming qualified, and was horrified to find they cost upwards of 100kAUD.

So my question is this: has anyone entered Australia with an LLM and then gone on to obtain a licence to practice in the commerical field? What route did you take in Australia? JD with exemptions? Did this prove more cost effective to qualify that a straight-JD?

Thanks for any guidance.
tbzbbt

[Edited by tbzbbt on Oct 24, 2016]

I'm not familiar with the qualification process in Australia but do you need a JD? In many countries (England, for example), you can qualify through an LLB and/or a graduate training course. There are lots of accelerated 2 year LLB programs in England for 'senior status' applicants who already hold a university degree.