The public sector offers roles for lawyers at all stages of their careers, and in most practice areas.
Junior and senior lawyers
Senior or junior, Victorian Government lawyers have the opportunity to focus on a specific area of expertise or work in a more generalist role. Many senior legal positions also offer the chance to develop leadership and people management skills.
Experienced lawyers transitioning from private practice typically find their skills are transferrable to a government role given the size and breadth of government and the variety of work available. Individual position descriptions will clearly detail role requirements, and candidates can also speak directly to the hiring manager for further information.
Graduate lawyers
For graduates, there are various pathways into government.
Some agencies recruit trainees in accordance with the timetable in the Law Institute of Victoria’s Traineeship Guidelines, while others recruit through the Victorian Government graduate program. Other arrangements also apply and, therefore, it is best to contact individual departments’ and agencies’ legal teams for information specific to that organisation.
Certain agencies also run summer and winter internship programs for law students. Again, please check with individual departments and agencies.
To learn more, visit:
Where you could work
For an example of where government employs lawyers, see this list of Victorian Government departments and agencies.
Current vacancies
Search on careers.vic(opens in a new window) for all current vacancies by role, department or agency, location and salary.
Bookmark the page and check in regularly for new opportunities. Or register to receive job alerts(opens in a new window) by email.
Many departments and agencies also advertise directly via their websites. You can explore Victorian Government agencies’ websites for current vacancies within an organisation.
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