AGS recognises the developmental needs of lawyers in the early stages of their professional career. AGS assists lawyers in applying the knowledge and skills they have gained through their legal studies to develop the skills and expertise required to be a senior lawyer practising at AGS.
For lawyers in the early stages of their professional career AGS offers:
- the opportunity to work on interesting and challenging legal matters in the national interest
- supervision and coaching by some of Australia's most respected lawyers
- a structured plan for their development
- an orientation program which covers matters that are critical to understanding AGS, the business and legal environment in which we operate and how to work as a lawyer at AGS, including training about the role of a government lawyer, aspects of practice management, building client relationships, the use of plain English language within legal writing, how to structure and write legal advice, and how to operate within a supervisee/supervisor relationship
- legal skills training, including through a suite of training courses called our 'Core Legal Skills' program that covers areas of law of significance to the Commonwealth that it is expected that government lawyers should know, regardless of their area of practice
- practice skills, people skills and business skills training
- studies assistance, which may take the form of time to attend relevant study activities or financial support to cover the cost of some or all of the fees associated with study activities where that study supports the business interests of AGS
- the opportunity to apply for academic and business scholarships
- support through the allocation of a buddy or a senior mentor
- a variety of career opportunities, including, subject to business requirements:
- the ability to move between AGS’s offices, between AGS’s practice groups, between teams in AGS’s practice groups or between AGS’s practice groups and AGS’s support services teams to gain a variety of experience on different matters and projects
- the opportunity to undertake a client outpost, including in-house counsel roles, on short-term or long-term arrangements
- the opportunity for promotion and pay reviews considered by AGS management at 6 monthly intervals, noting that AGS promotes lawyers based on their performance and readiness to take on more responsibility, not on their years of experience.