An Australian Longitudinal Study: Directions, Developments and Differences in a Cohort of Law Graduates and Lawyers since 2014

Abstract

"[LinkedIn] will have the stupid linear like lawyer, associate, senior associate and it will say the time periods but I don't think you can look at it if you need the information," commented a lawyer participating in our Australian longitudinal study into law graduates and lawyers. The longitudinal research project, which explores the lives and careers of the volunteer participants, commenced in 2014 through qualitative data collected through interviews and focus groups of law students and early career lawyers. Many of the participants returned for follow-up interviews in 2021 to reflect on the forces, factors and choices that have impacted and shaped their journeys over the past seven years. The participants took the opportunity to consider whether their 2014 ambitions and expectations about family and occupation were met or unmet, and what could motivate or hinder their future trajectories as professionals, parents or partners.This paper will present the preliminary findings and themes from the outcomes of the 2021 interviews, including common variables amongst the cohort that could redefine or refocus their future with reference to their retrospective of the past seven years. Show more