Chapter Five sets out a list of Practical Legal Training Institution courses. A solicitor advises clients of rights and obligations under the law and draws any necessary documentation. Barristers, on the other hand, must practise alone and not in partnership. They appear in civil and criminal trials on behalf of their clients and give opinions upon legal questions, including drafting documents, referred to them by solicitors.
Most lawyers practise as either solicitors or as barristers.
Solicitors can practise alone, in partnership with another solicitor or be employed in private practice or in government. There are substantial numbers of solicitors employed by the Commonwealth and State Public Services such as in the Departments of the Attorney-General, in the offices of the Crown Solicitor and in the Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Large corporations often also have their own legal departments and employ lawyers who act almost as a solicitor in private practice, but with only one client. The work of the lawyer working in a corporation may vary from strictly legal work such as the preparation of mortgages for a bank to the actual negotiation of commercial deals as well as their documentation. Law as a General Education In Australia more than a third of graduates with law degrees do not practise law.