The Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) today spoke in support of moves by the legal profession to standardise summer clerkships into a nationally consistent program.
Responding to comments by Clayton Utz Chief Executive Partner, David Fagan, ALSA President, Paul Gordon, said: ‘ALSA supports the move to a system of ‘short-term clerkships’ consistently across the country.
‘It is our belief that shorter clerkships will increase competition in the job market by allowing firms and students to view a broader range of prospective employers or employees. We believe that four weeks is an adequate length of time for firms and students to assess each other.’
Whilst supporting Mr Fagan’s comments, ALSA has called for any review of clerkship programs to extend further than a standardisation of length.
‘One of the key issues relating to summer clerkships is a lack of consistency in the application process. As it currently stands, application deadlines differ not only between states, but often between firms in the same city,’ said Mr Gordon.
‘Whilst some states, such as Victoria have successfully introduced a common date for applications to be made, others such as South Australia have no such system. The problems caused by this are further compounded by students looking to complete clerkships interstate.’
ALSA has called for a national coordination of summer clerkships in order to provide consistency of approach, and recognition of the national nature of such programs.
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