Supervised Legal Training

 

Inside the Supreme Court

Once a person has completed an approved academic course, which includes all 11 Priestley subjects they must complete practical legal training.

The specified practical legal training prerequisite is acquiring and demonstrating an appropriate understanding and competence in each element of the skills, values and practice areas:

  1. set out in Schedule 2, or
  2. otherwise determined by the Admissions Committee after consulting each of the Boards.

The requirement may be satisfied by successfully completing either:

  1. a practical legal training course conducted by a practical legal training provider accredited by the Board, or
  2. supervised legal training in a workplace for a period of not less than 12 months, under a training plan approved by the Board, which the Board determines adequately provides for the trainee to satisfy the requirements of the Rules.

Supervised legal training is a minimum 12 month period of supervised training under an eligible supervisor during which the trainee must acquire an appropriate understanding of and competence in each elements of the skills, values and practice areas set out in Schedule 2 of the Rules.

You should read the Guide for Applicants Supervised Legal Training in full before you start your traineeship.

Many competencies can be completed within supervised legal training but Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Lawyer's Skills and the Risk Management element of Work Management and Business Skills must be completed through an approved practical legal training provider or another provider approved by the Board. An employer may seek approval to provide training in these areas and that approval will be ongoing. See Approval as a training provider.

Some employers may not be able to adequately provide training in any of the optional areas. In this case, an employer may apply to the Board for approval to provide training in an alternative optional practice area. Once an employer has been approved to provide training in an alternative optional practice area that approval will be ongoing. See Approval to provide training in an alternative optional practice area

The trainee must also file a statutory declaration seeking dispensation to allow variation to Rule 27(b) to undertake a course of instruction in an alternative optional practice area. See Dispensation for variation to alternative optional practice area

It is not possible to commence supervised legal training until the academic qualification set out in Rule 5 (1) has been completed. It is, however, possible to commence supervised legal training prior to graduation.

Your supervised legal training and application for a compliance certificate will be considered in accordance with the provisions set out in the Legal Profession Uniform Law (“the Law”).

Supervised legal training approvals must be sought via the online client portal.  The first three steps should be undertaken within one month of commencing a supervised legal traineeship.

  1. Employer's statutory declaration to be submitted to the Board for approval.  
  2. Once the Employer's Statutory Declaration is uploaded, the next step in the portal will be the completion of an online training plan.
  3. In order for the Board to approve the commencement of your supervised legal training, evidence must be obtained that   the necessary academic qualifications set out in Rule 5(1) have been acquired. This is undertaken by arranging for an academic transcript to be sent directly to the Board from the academic institution.  

An online workbook will be required to be kept for the duration of your supervised legal training.  The workbook is an extension of the training plan.  Once an element of your training plan has been undertaken, it should be marked as completed in the online workbook. 

Should you wish to keep a paper workbook in conjunction with the online version, this is at the discretion of your employer.  See Workbook. The Board only requires a completed online version for demonstrating compliance that must be maintained which records the trainee’s completion of each performance criteria [in the practice areas and other components conducted within the firm].

Employers approved to conduct training in Lawyer’s Skills, Ethics and Professional Responsibility and/or Risk Management should use the same online workbook to maintain a record of the completion of each element and performance criteria required in these units. 

A person may not be the supervisor of more than one trainee at the same time without the prior approval of the Board. See Approval to supervise more than one trainee

SLT Applicants Scheduled Due to Complete their Traineeship 1 - 14 Feb 2024

Employer Completion of Supervised Legal Training

Supervisor Completion of Supervised Legal Training Plan