What is Practical Legal Training?
Practical Legal Training (PLT) is the necessary step between your law degree and your admission to practice in South Australia. It is a requirement that helps you transition from Law School to real-life legal practice, helping you develop the necessary skills to enter the profession. The Law Society SA / Adelaide University is a recognised provider of PLT.
What is the Structure of the GDLP?
Students completing the GDLP with the Law Society of South Australia and the University of Adelaide will cover three distinct components:
- The completion of six mandatory subjects covering a number of areas of law, as well as two electives of a student’s choice;
- Three weeks (105 hours) of legal placement which must be undertaken while enrolled in the GDLP;
- The accrual of five Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points.
The three components can be completed in any order and over a period as little as 20 weeks. You can, subject to conditions and approval, study the GDLP concurrently with your LLB.
What subjects can I study?
The wide range of courses draw on experts from many areas of the South Australian legal profession to tutor students in their areas of expertise. This direct access allows you to network with barristers, solicitors and other legal experts from various backgrounds, who offer real-life perspectives on legal practice.
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Mandatory Subjects:
- Lawyer’s Skills
- Civil Litigation and Practice
- Commercial and Corporate Law Practice
- Property Law Practice
- Professional Obligations
- Work Experience Placement
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Elective Subjects:
- Criminal Law Practice
- Family Law Practice
- Employment and Industrial Relations
- Planning and Environmental Law Practice
- Wills and Estates Practice
- Administrative Law Practice (Online)
- Consumer Law(Online)
- Banking and Finance(Online)
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The mandatory subjects accommodate the essential skills you will need as you enter the profession, and the elective subjects allow you to study two topics of your choice. The assessment items often replicate the realistic tasks of a solicitor practicing in that area, and are marked on a competent/not competent basis.
Domestic students who satisfy the criteria may have access to Fee Help.
The fee for domestic students for 2021 is $9,920.00 Enrollment You can enroll in the GDLP at the start of any academic month!
Flexibility
You can complete your GDLP in as little as 20 weeks and we can develop a timetable that works for you.
There is also no set order by which to study the GDLP – it is a matter of tailoring your study to suit you.
Courses are offered online in the evening, or you may attend in class weekdays or weekends and a typical full-time load only involves 16.5 days seminar times.
You can also enrol into the GDLP at any time and can commence with an elective or core subject.
Placement Opportunities
We are the only GDLP provider who will assist you in securing a work experience placement.
The Law Society has a wide range of firms who exclusively take on our students for PLT placements. Once you are placed, the placement handbook ensures you are kept busy for the duration of the placement and walk away from it with a range of new skills. Experience and Networking Opportunities The GDLP provides you with direct access to the profession.
Our courses put you in direct contact with legal professionals, as well as a range of other recent graduates, enabling you to build your network of contacts and work collaboratively with others. The courses provide an experience that goes beyond the typical lecture/tutorial study, providing you with a realistic sense of what it is like to practice law in South Australia.
As part of Lawyer’s Skills you will have the opportunity to develop your advocacy skills with judicial officers, senior practitioners and barristers inside an actual court!
The 105-hour work experience placement puts you in actual legal setting, allowing you to apply the skills you have developed during your study to practical situations. For many students, it is the first practical experience they have and can be very influential in developing their careers.
During your placement, you will keep track of your progress in a handbook, completing a number of tasks that may include:
- Drafting legal documents
- Accompanying solicitors or barristers to court
- Drafting letters
- Observing client interviews
You will also have the option to either find your own placement or ask the Law Society to assist you in securing a placement.
You will also accrue five Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units as part of your GDLP program.
The GDLP program ensures all students receive five CPD units:
- Four CPD units - practical legal research; and
- One unit for a well-being survey completed as part of the mandatory course, Professional Obligations.
Those who join the Law Society as a Student Associate can sign up for additional CPD events at the Law Society free of charge.
Early Commencement of Practical Legal Training
The Legal Practitioners Education and Admission Council (LPEAC) requires that students complete their academic qualifications for admission prior to commencing PLT.
Students who want to commence PLT before completion of their academic requirements for admission must apply to the Board of Examiners for exemption prior to enrolling in a PLT course.
The Guide to making an application for exemption to the Board of Examiners is available here, and a template Statutory Declaration, is available here.