My Experience with the Practical Legal Training (PLT)

TBH I loved it better than university.

If you’re thinking of becoming a lawyer, you’re going to be doing the Practical Legal Training.

If you don’t know what Practical Legal Training is, it’s what you need to do to get your Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice. You need this Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice and your law degree to get admitted as a lawyer.

I remember how excited I was to start PLT. But I was also very nervous. However, overall, I ended up loving the PLT more than I did with university.

I’ll dive into my experience with the PLT which will hopefully give you perspective on what to expect.

1 – There are no exams

Like the law school style exams, where you’re sitting down for 3 hours and going through the exam questions.

Instead, we have practical assessments, which I will expand more on in the further points.

2 – More practical than theory

You’re going to be building legal skills and practice applying those skills.

For example, instead of cramming a whole bunch of case law and legislation for the sake of answering an exam question, you’re building up legal skills that you’ll actually use when you work in a law firm. These include speaking with clients, drafting emails, and drafting the required legal documents based on the area of law you’re in.

3 – You act like a lawyer

While there is some theory there, when I was doing the PLT, it felt more practical compared to law school in terms of helping you act like a lawyer already.

I did my PLT at Leo Cussen Centre for Law. Leo Cussen structured their PLT in a way that you are already acting like a junior lawyer.

For example, when you’re doing the property module of the PLT, how Leo Cussen conducted it was that you act like a junior lawyer. All the assessments and modules you go through takes you from start to finish with a property file.

For instance, say you are representing a client who is purchasing a property, the entire property module will be from start to finish, which is when you first deal with a client until you close the file.

4 – Assessments are realistic

For example, the written assessments will be like drafting letters of advice, emails, or legal documents. Pretty much, what you will be dealing with in a law firm.

The same thing with the oral assessments. These could be you in a hearing, conducting a client interview, or running a mediation or negotiation. These are things that you actually do when you work for a law firm.

5 – Safety ground

PLT is the safety ground. What I mean by this is that it helps you practice these skills during the PLT before you start applying them in real life.

When you do an assessment, you make mistakes, you get feedback, and you may even get tips.

Placement

A part of the PLT is your placement.

This placement is where you get to apply the skills you learned in the PLT into real life. And yes, this means you’ve got to work at an actual law firm.

When I did my PLT with Leo Cussen, I chose the option (at extra cost) for them to arrange my placement for me. This was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders because the job market is hard and it’s still hard when you’re trying to find unpaid work/internship/unpaid placement.

To Wrap Up

In my opinion, PLT is beneficial to your development as a lawyer. These are the reasons why:

1. There are no exams
2. More practical than theory
3. You act like a lawyer
4. Assessments are realistic
5. Safety ground

P.S I suggest reading these blog posts next:

• Resume and CV Tips for the Legal Field
• 6 Tips for Starting a New Role in a Law Firm
• My Journey in Becoming a Lawyer at 23

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