The Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) has today called on top tier law firms and law societies to move toward national and uniform seasonal clerkship dates. 

As it currently stands, there is considerable disparity between the seasonal clerkship systems in each state. Each state has different application, offer and acceptance dates, as well as different bodies administering seasonal clerkship rules.

‘This creates a huge problem for students wishing to practice interstate. It forces law students to pick the jurisdiction in which they want to practice during their penultimate year and hampers interstate mobility of law graduates’, Vice President (Education) Christopher Holmes stated. 

‘Curretly, many students do not even consider undertaking a seasonal clerkship interstate, because the incompatible offer dates would force them to reject offers from firms in one state on the gamble that they will later receive offers from another state.'

At the recent ALSA National Council¹ held at the University of Melbourne from 3 to 5 October, an overwhelming majority of Law Student Societies endorsed the idea of a single national seasonal clerkship scheme incorporating the following:

•        A common national date for seasonal clerkship offers at the beginning of the year, which covers all clerkship offered in the following12 months;

•       Seasonal clerkships of three to five weeks in length; and

•        A multi-round offer system where offers are open for at least 24 hours, but not longer than 48 hours.

 ‘The adoption of this scheme will be another important step towards a nationally mobile legal profession', Mr Holmes stated.

 ‘It will allow students greater mobility, and ensure that offers from interstate are not rejected on the basis that the acceptance date for local offers closes earlier.’

 Media contact
Christopher Holmes
Vice President (Education)
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