Facilitating Effective Work Experience Supervision to Enable Diverse Students to Succeed in the Australian Legal Profession

Abstract

The completion of legal work experience, including internships, has become quasi-mandatory for law graduates to be competitive for paid employment in the Australian legal profession. However, the employability skills and professional connections which students hope to gain through such work experience may be affected by a variety of factors, including if their workplace supervision is not effective. This is a particular issue for law students from groups underrepresented in the profession, who may have less familiarity with legal work and workplaces, whose experiences are less likely to mirror those of their supervisors in a profession which lacks diversity, and who are already experiencing compound vulnerability which limits their capacity to speak up about issues. This, in turn, limits diverse students’ capacity to transition into the profession. This paper considers how to facilitate inclusive and effective supervision within the profession to enable a wide range of law students to maximise the outcomes of their legal work experience. Within this context it outlines a project to promote successful supervision by supporting both law students and lawyer supervisors as one way of helping to turn the tide in favour of a safer, more inclusive legal profession.