JGLS students now have even greater career prospects abroad given the recent news that the Law Admissions Consultative Committee (LACC) and the Law Council of Australia (LCA) have recognised the Jindal Global Law School degrees (all LLB degrees) under the Uniform Principles for Assessing Qualifications of Overseas Applicants for Admission to the Australian Legal Profession.
This opens the door for JGLS graduates to pursue a career in legal practise in Australia.
The Indian and Australian legal systems share much in common. Both are democracies with a federal system of government. English is the language of the law in both jurisdictions. There are even sections of the Indian constitution that are based on similar sections in the Australian constitution. In addition, the globalised nature of the legal profession means that Indian and Australian lawyers are increasingly working together on corporate law matters that involve multiple jurisdictions.
However, despite these similarities, opportunities for Indian lawyers to work in Australian have historically been few and far between.
JGLS and the Centre for India Australia Studies (CIAS) of O.P. Jindal Global University are working to create such opportunities.
This recognition by the LCA, coupled with the increasing opportunities created by the CIAS and JGLS, mean that students will have clear pathways to pursue a career in law in Australia.
Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) and Dean of JGLS has welcomed these positive developments and emphasised that
“Providing our students with international career opportunities is a key part of our global vision at O.P. Jindal Global University. The recognition by the LCA is also a part of our vision to promote opportunities for further study and work in Australia. Australia hosts numerous world class law schools and many top law firms. However, despite the similarities between our legal systems, Australia remains a relatively untouched option in terms of further studies and work. We are working to create awareness and access to opportunities for our students in Australia and the recognition of our world class degree programme by the LCA is a welcome step that we must celebrate.”
Duncan Bentley, Member of the Legal Education Committee of the LCA and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Swinburne University of Technology noted that:
“India and Australia share a strong common law heritage. The legal professions and law schools have built deep and lasting connections. I am therefore delighted that Jindal Global Law School has taken these to the next level in seeking and achieving recognition for its qualifications. It will help to streamline the admission of Indian lawyers with a Jindal law degree to practise in Australia. It is a visionary approach to prepare Indian lawyers for practise in an increasingly globalised profession. Jindal Global Law School is to be congratulated.”
Shaun Star, Executive Director, CIAS at JGU and Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean at JGLS said the following:
“The Indian and Australian legal systems share much in common. Despite this, there has traditionally been limited access to opportunities for young lawyers to work in the other country’s legal system. A key part of the CIAS’ vision is to create opportunities for young Indians to work or study in some of the leading organisations in Australia. The recognition by the LCA of the JGLS degree is an important step towards creating opportunities for Indian law graduates to practise law in Australia.
Until now, students have been required to complete 11 subjects in Australia after graduating from their Indian undergraduate law degree. This can sometimes take years to complete. JGLS graduates now have a much simpler and clearer pathway to working as a lawyer in Australia. In addition, the CIAS has facilitated partnerships with law schools and law firms to create even more opportunities. The LCA recognition is also really exciting in light of the momentum that the Young Leaders Externship Advancement Programme (YLEAP) is building. YLEAP is an initiative run by the CIAS that is creating internship opportunities for JGLS students in Australia. A number of law firms and government departments have partnered with CIAS and JGLS for this initiative allowing our students to gain work experience in Australia during their degree.”
Typically, for a graduate of an Indian law school (or any foreign law school) to be able to practise law in Australia, they are required to complete 11 subjects (known as the Priestly 11 subjects) in addition to their foreign degree. However, the LACC has now recognised that given the standard of JGLS, students will have pre-approval of 7 of these subjects (assuming that they score more than a minimum grade in those subjects). Therefore these students will only have to complete four prescribed subjects and complete their practical legal training in order to become a qualified practising lawyer in Australia. This means that it will be considerably easier for JGLS graduates to practise law in Australia.
As the first Indian university listed in the LCA’s uniform principles for recognising foreign degrees, JGLS is once again paving the way for its students and graduates to have a global career. The global career opportunities that are being facilitated are an important supplement to the truly global education that JGLS is providing its students.
Australia is an important part of the global narrative. This landmark development will provide JGLS graduates with the opportunity to pursue a career in law in Australia