Graduate Positions

Graduate Program

VICTORIA

Graduate Traineeships

Market Offers

The intake for law graduates into the Slater & Gordon Graduate Program will commence in July 2011.

Please see the below detail regarding application dates and process in order to be considered for a market offer position.

At this stage, it is unknown as to how many Graduate positions will be offered across our Victorian offices.

Applicants are strongly advised that the Graduate Traineeship could be placed in any of our metropolitan or regional offices and they should consider this before submitting their application. Preference regarding practice areas and location are taken into consideration, however due to the growing demands of the business, they cannot always be accommodated.

We are particularly interested in applications from candidates who are based within regional areas of Victoria including; Gippsland (Morwell), Ballarat, Bendigo, Wangaratta, Albury/Wodonga, Geelong, Warrnambool.

To submit an application, please apply to graduatevic@slatergordon.com.au

Application needs to include;
Current CV
Covering Letter
Recent Academic Results transcript

To apply via postal application, please send to;

ATT: Human Resources – Graduate Applications
GPO BOX 4864
MELBOURNE, VIC, 3001

The Graduate Program

As a graduate you will be exposed to a wide range of experiences in the field of litigation. You will actively participate in all aspects of the litigation process, including the preparation of documentation, meeting with clients to obtain instructions, instructing at court, drafting correspondence and attending mediations/conciliations.

From an early stage, you will acquire files under the direct supervision of an experienced lawyer. Our lawyers are very willing to discuss each step that must be taken in relation to a file including client management, legal issues that arise and basic time management concerns. You will also observe client interviews to learn appropriate interview techniques.

At other times you will complete tasks on more advanced files. This involves reading the file and trying to assess and understand basic issues and difficulties of the case, learning to evaluate what stage a claim is at and how to complete tasks in question, for example, prepare and file an affidavit.

We encourage our more junior practitioners to "have a go" in the first instance. There is an emphasis on ensuring that graduates understand each step of the file in order to completely understand file management. There is always the opportunity to thoroughly discuss the essential issues with your supervising senior lawyer.

Structure of Graduate Program

Practical Legal Training

Slater & Gordon have a single commencement date for all graduates in March. The program runs for a period of 12 months. Each graduate is allocated to a practice area for the full duration of the Graduate Program. The College of Law (COL) is our national provider for the Practical Legal Training Course.

The COL Course is conducted part time and is predominantly online. Interactive learning resources used are:

• Online activities, tutorials and feedback
• Individual mentoring and feedback from lecturers
• Communication by email and telephone
• Face-to-face skill sessions at on-sites
• Online research and discussion groups

Induction

All graduates participate in an extensive induction program that involves:

• Getting to know the senior managers and staff
• Learning about our way of life
• Discovering Slater & Gordon's history
• Learning about our different practice areas and meeting the practice group leaders
• Visiting our suburban offices in Victoria
• IT training including our on-line library system
• Learning about finance processes
• Tour of the courts, law institute libraries and barristers chambers
• Information session with our media liaison team to learn about Slater & Gordon's public profile
• Buddy program

Learning & Development

A tailored training program is developed to help our graduates learn about practice management. Our senior managers and lawyers run regular training sessions. There are also plenty of opportunities for our staff to attend external training sessions. Our managers also provide continuous mentoring and support throughout the year and we pride ourselves on our open door policy. 

NEW SOUTH WALES

Graduate Program

Slater & Gordon’s Sydney office isn’t participating in the university organised Graduate Recruitment Program in 2010. However we run a fantastic Summer Clerkship program whereby it is hoped that students will continue with us and eventually become committed and valuable Slater & Gordon legal practitioners. Go to our Seasonal Clerkship page for more details.

For information about our program in Sydney please contact:

Catherine Harris 
HR Advisor 
51 Druitt Street
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 8267 0600
humanresourcesNSW@slatergordon.com.au

Further information on the Graduate Program for the other states will be available shortly.