Requisite Fees

I've reached that time of the year when things seem to slow down considerably for me.  Many people call the lead up to Christmas the Silly Season because of the frenetic gift buying and organizing of family functions.  I guess as someone who doesn't have any real familial obligations in Australia, I just find myself with a lot of free time.  Most of Fenner Hall has emptied out and so there aren't many people around.  Also, as I don't have to worry about exam marks, the only thing I have to do now is wait for graduation.  I do still find ways to keep busy, though.

I still have my job at ACTTAB which gives me a few shifts every week and I'm still studying for those Canadian law exams.  I also took a job at Fenner over the Summer as a Summer Duty Warden.  This is sort of a caretaker position on evenings and weekends, which is when the front office is closed.  SDWs just keep an eye on things and make sure there are no problems.  If any issues do come up, we're trained to handle them.  It's not a very hard job and it does give you a bit of extra money.

Just yesterday there was a very intense line of storms that passed over the Canberra region.  I've never seen lightning and wind of such intensity.  There were multiple lightning flashes per minute and some peels of thunder were deafening.  I find storms so fascinating and exciting to watch.  There are few things I like more than going on the roof balcony and watching an approaching storm front as the lightning bolts light up the night sky.  Such things happen as spring draws to a close and raises the curtain on summer.

I was going over my admission to practice and I realized that assuming all goes well at my admissions ceremony on December 9th, I will very shortly be eligible to practice law in several jurisdictions and in multiple countries.  Under Australian law, once a person is admitted in one jurisdiction (a state or territory) then they are entitled to practice in any Australian state and/or territory, provided they file some minimal paperwork and pay the requisite fee.  What will happen is I will be admitted to practice (I hope) in the Australian Capital Territory.  Now, this doesn't mean that I can just go out and do lawyering things, that requires a practising certificate, but admission to practice is the necessary step to get a practising certificate.  To get a practising certificate, you have to produce a Certificate of Admission which is what you get when you're admitted and then pay the requisite fee to the Law Society.  In my case, because I will be working in the Northern Territory, I will not get a practising certificate in the ACT but my admission here will entitle me to a practising certificate there.

The journey doesn't end there either.  In order to be eligible to practice in federal jurisdictions, like the Federal Court or the High Court of Australia, you have to be admitted in the High Court.  Luckily, that's pretty easy and if you have a practising certificate from a state or territory, you just send the High Court Registry a copy and they admit you onto the roll, as it's called.  If you want an official certificate, you send them the requisite fee.  I plan to do this very soon after being admitted.

There is also a great little international agreement called the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement (TTMRA) between Australia and New Zealand.  It allows people who are qualified in most jobs in one country to have those qualifications recognized in the other.  For lawyers, you first register for recognition in the state or territory you have a practising certificate in, in my case, the Northern Territory by filing some paperwork and paying the requisite fee.  From there, you make an application for admission as a barrister and solicitor in the High Court of New Zealand by filing some paperwork and paying the requisite fee.  I think I'll do that sometime after admission as well.  It's not expensive and if for some reason I ever had to practice in New Zealand, I would be eligible to get a practising certificate without much issue.  I wonder how many Australian lawyers do this?

So, the total comes out to that I'd be eligible to practice law in the ACT, the Northern Territory, Australia's federal jurisdiction and New Zealand.  Not too a bad tally for a few months after admission.  Also, if I pass all my Canadian law exams, I'll have a Certificate of Qualification which means that I could apply to a Canadian law society to do their barrister and solicitor exams to be admitted there too.  I may one day be eligible to practice in no fewer than 5 jurisdictions spread over 3 countries on 2 continents in 2 hemispheres. That's quite an exciting prospect assuming I can cope with all of the requisite fees.

Continuing

This will be a very short post as I can't think of much to report.  With the exam season winding down, Fenner Hall has been emptying out slowly.  I think a lot of people are eager to leave for the summer and get home for those precious few months of freedom.  Those that are staying are in for a quiet time until February.  Summer in Fenner Hall is actually quite pleasant and it's nice and quiet.  This year, though they're moving everyone who's staying in South Tower over to North Tower as they're replacing the carpeting and taking the asbestos tiles out of the floors.  The administration is also planning more activities than in previous years so at least we'll be occupied.

Beyond that, the only other event of note was last Sunday I got together with some friends of mine and we had a venison and mead roast dinner.  As you may know, venison is deer meat and mead is an alcoholic drink made from fermenting honey.  My friends Kai and Eleanor are engaged and recently moved to an apartment.  Kai is a blacksmith who makes Dark Ages weaponry and is a bit of an enthusiast of the era.  A few months back I suggested that Kai, Eleanor and I get together for an old-fashioned dinner involving mead and venison, 2 staples of the Viking diet.

The original idea was that Kai would hunt the deer and prepare the venison himself.  Unfortunately, this year feral deer have been scarce in the mountains so I said that I would buy the venison and supply the mead if he and Eleanor would prepare it and supply the side dishes.  I got a hold of 2.6 kg of venison from a butcher who had to order it in.  I then handed it over to Kai and Eleanor and they agreed to make a roast on Sunday.  In Australia there is a tradition of having a lamb roast on Sundays, called the Sunday roast, so this was a nice little spin on a tradition.

So, last Sunday I arrived at Kai and Eleanor's and along for the dinner were Eleanor's brother, Nathan, and a mutual friend of our's Hagen.  It very much a meat, potatoes and vegetables affair and we each had about 1 glass of spiced mead, which is meant to be served hot.  I commended Eleanor and Kai on their preparation of the venison as it was quite excellent.  It's a shame venison is not readily available in supermarkets as it is quite a delicious meat.  At any rate, everyone had a good time and I'm sure the Vikings would have been proud to see their noble customs carried on today.

Big News and a Big Move

This last little while has been filled with exciting times and exciting news.  It looks like my life is going to take a very interesting change and I'll be doing something in a place I've always wanted to.  I think the coming months and years will prove formative and productive.

Firstly, I'll mention that Australia's great Melbourne Cup was run on Tuesday, November 1st.  That day I was stationed at the City Hellenic Club in what is called a temporary venue.  Essentially, I was in a little booth and took people's bets.  The day was quite busy but very enjoyable and the good people at the club provided lunch, which was a grilled BLT, fries and free drinks.  As the race approached, everyone became glued to the TV and when it finally jumped everyone cheered and waited with anticipation as to which horse would come first.  This year, it really went down to the wire and only the smallest of distances separated the winner from 2nd place.  And when I say smallest of distances, I mean less than 5 centimeters!  It is the closest Melbourne Cup finish in history and it was won by a French horse, Dunaden.  Everyone cheered and gasped when the result was announced.  The owner must have been the happiest person in the country since they got about $5 million for the win.  Although my working day was a bit long, 08:30-18:30 without any real break to speak of, it was so much fun.  I'd gladly do it every year.

The next big thing for me was that I finally finished the last component of my diploma on Monday, November 7th.  That was the day I had my last placement at Legal Aid.  On that rotation I observed a disciplinary hearing at the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the returned to the office to help with some client interviews.  At the end of the day, it sort of really hit me that I'd completed everything and my long road is almost over.  Since it was the last day of the Legal Aid placement for the group, we all went for a quick drink at a local pub, as lawyers are wont to do.  With the GDLP completed, all that's left is my admission ceremony which will be in early December.  Assuming everything goes according to plan, I'll be a lawyer on December 7th.

The biggest news, though, is that I've been offered a job as a lawyer.  The organization is the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) and I'll be working in their criminal law section in the Katherine Office.  Katherine is a town of 5 000 people in the Northern Territory but an important regional center.  I don't know exactly what I'll be doing but I expect it will be providing legal advice and going to court.  Essentially, this is legal aid for indigenous Australians.  The climate will be hot year-round but I've always wanted to work in the Northern Territory and although Darwin has always been my goal, I don't think I can pass up an opportunity like this.  The pay and conditions aren't bad either.  I get about $56 000/yr to start, which isn't much, but 5 weeks of vacation time which is great.  I'll also get to travel around to remote communities and I can't imagine something more fun at this point in my very earliest career.  I don't expect to be at NAAJA forever but I think the experience I gain will be invaluable to wherever I move on next.

I think the story of how I got the job is quite interesting as well.  I found the job posting in an online search but noticed that I had just missed the deadline, or was about to.  I fired an e-mail to the contact person and asked if I could submit a late application and I was told I could.  Having heard nothing from some of the other places I applied to, I jumped at the opportunity.  2 days after I applied I received an e-mail saying that NAAJA would like to interview me.  Somewhat surprised at the speed with which this happened (things tend to move at a more leisurely pace in the Northern Territory), I quickly responded saying I would gladly interview for the position if it could be done over the phone.  3 days after that, I had the phone interview and I thought I went well, but not necessarily stellarly.  The phone interview I think was pretty standard in my opinion and I was nervous after it was over, hoping that I'd done well.

From there, it was just a question of NAAJA contacting my references and then I received THE phone call. Brian Cassels, the director, told me that I was 1 of 2 successful applicants.  You cannot imagine how thrilled I was to hear this.  I was worried a search for a job would be protracted and difficult but I got one fairly quickly, and it was one that I was keen on doing.

So, this means that sometime in the new year I'll be moving to Katherine.  The logistics and the finer details will be worked out later but it's going to be an adventure.  I'll be a "bushie" (someone who lives in a remote area) in not time.  Actually, while Katherine may not be much visited it is not exactly remote, being on the Stuart Highway, the main road from Adelaide to Darwin.  I look forward to this job with NAAJA and I can't wait for the adventure to begin.

The has been one interesting development, though.  The day after I got the phone call from NAAJA, I received a phone call from someone at CridlandsMB, a law firm in Darwin that I had sent an expression of interest to.  They said that they would like to interview me to see if they could work something out.  I thanked the person on the phone but apologized that I had only just accepted the job offer from NAAJA the day before.  However, she went on to say that if things didn't work out with NAAJA and/or I wanted a change, I should let them know and they would see if they could work something out.  If nothing else, it means I have options although I would like to stroke my ego and say that it means that I'm in high demand.

At any rate, my life is taking a big turn.  Just as I wanted, I'll be staying in Australia, at least for the foreseeable future, assuming all goes well.  I think that this is a road I have to travel, if only to see where it leads.