The Law Handbook 2024

52 NOTE The law in this chapter is current as at 1 September 2023. Introduction to legal representation Only lawyers are allowed to legally represent you. This is governed by law (the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (Vic)) (‘ Uniform Law ’). This chapter explains: • what’s required to be a lawyer in Victoria; • how to get the most value from your lawyer; • what you can do if you’re not happy with your lawyer (e.g. their costs, their behaviour, their services). The Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner The Victorian Legal Services Board and the Victorian Legal Services Commissioner are independent statutory authorities responsible for regulating Victoria’s legal profession (i.e. lawyers and law practices). The two authorities operate as one organisation under the Uniform Law, and are known as the VLSB+C . The VLSB+C protects and empowers consumers of legal services, helps improve legal practice and ethics, supports access to justice initiatives, and works to grow public trust and confidence in the legal profession. They license lawyers, resolve complaints about them and investigate their poor conduct. Lawyers: qualifications 1 Academic qualifications People wanting to practise law must complete an approved course. In Victoria, these are the Bachelor of Laws ( LLB ) and the Juris Doctor degree ( JD ), both of which include 11 compulsory subjects. 2 Practical legal training Before a law graduate can be admitted to practise law, they need to complete practical legal training. They can meet this requirement by completing either 12 months of supervised workplace training or a practical legal training course. More information is available on the Victorian Legal Admissions Board website (www. lawadmissions.vic.gov.au) . 3 Practising certificates After being admitted to practise law, all lawyers must hold a current practising certificate and professional indemnity insurance to lawfully provide legal services. The first practising certificate of a newly-admitted lawyer will have a ‘supervised legal practice condition’. This means their work must be supervised for a period of time by another lawyer who is fully qualified and who has an unrestricted practising certificate. At the end of this period, a lawyer can apply to the VLSB+C to have the supervision condition removed from their certificate. If approved, the lawyer can then work unsupervised. Solicitors and barristers: the differences Victoria’s legal profession is divided into two distinct branches – solicitors and barristers. If you need help with a legal matter, your first point of contact will usually be a solicitor. Barristers usually 2.1 Contributor: Fiona McLeay, CEO & Commissioner, Victorian Legal Services Board, and Commissioner Legal representation