Deakin's Juris Doctor: Building careers with purpose
Careers for graduates of Deakin’s Juris Doctor (JD) are varied, ranging from legal practice, policy and governance to commercial roles, community leadership and more. The degree is delivered online for maximum flexibility and designed for people who want to build a career with purpose, whether starting fresh or advancing from established professions.
Why students choose the Deakin Juris Doctor
Deakin’s Juris Doctor is a postgraduate degree for people with no legal experience, whether in their studies or career. It provides a comprehensive legal education to enable students to transition from another field into a career in law.
Juris Doctor graduates Selena Zhang and Cameron McRae spoke with us about their Deakin experience. Both highlighted how the JD, through its career-focused curriculum, online delivery, strong support and diverse learning community, is ideal for students looking to make a broad impact in their career.
Flexible delivery for program accessibility
Online delivery of the JD makes it ideal for students seeking flexibility. It allows regional and rural students, and those juggling work and family obligations, to access a high-quality, challenging and rewarding postgraduate degree without sacrificing their lifestyle.
Juris Doctor Course Director Dr David Tan emphasises the program's broad accessibility: ‘The Deakin Juris Doctor online caters for students who are still working other jobs or have other family responsibilities but want to retrain for a career change.’
There is no presumed legal knowledge and we build your legal skills from the ground up no matter what your background.
Course Director, Juris Doctor
Who chooses Deakin for a Juris Doctor?
As a pathway into the legal profession for people with no law background, many students enter the JD after several years in the workforce. Their past professional experience enhances learning, providing context to legal concepts and clarity about future goals. Others come directly following their undergraduate studies, bringing the knowledge from those degrees.
Cameron's journey
Cameron came to the JD from a long career spanning finance, taxation, investigations and not-for-profit governance. He has an undergraduate degree and a Master of International Relations.
‘I wanted a qualification that would not only prepare me for legal practice but also allow me to explore the policy dimensions of law,’ he explains. ‘I chose the Juris Doctor because I wanted to study law at an advanced level. The JD offered that dual pathway: the opportunity to qualify as a lawyer while engaging with law as a tool for reform and governance.’
Selena's journey
When Selena started her JD, she was five years out of high school, had a Bachelor of Commerce degree and was aiming to combine full time work with study. Deakin’s 100% online Juris Doctor provided the flexibility she needed.
‘I would be able to study in my own time and at my own pace (albeit with assessment deadlines),’ she says, ‘Other universities were too rigid in structure and had attendance requirements which would restrict my ability to find full-time work,’ she recalls.
But for Selena, it wasn’t just that the degree could be studied online and part-time. ‘I really valued the autonomy of the JD. The degree was a very much a "you get out what you put in" experience. There was real versatility in the electives offered.’
The support and flexibility provided made it possible to balance study alongside the rest of my life.
Juris Doctor
A pathway to professional reinvention
Designed as an entry into legal education, the JD allows students to build a degree aligned to their individual goals and circumstances as they embark on a new career path. It serves as a platform for professional reinvention or advancement, enabling graduates to build careers with genuine purpose.
Flexible course design gives students choice, with a wide range of electives and online or on-campus options for work-integrated learning, mooting and research. Clear trimester planning, asynchronous learning and tailored academic support help students adjust their study load to suit their needs.
For students like Selena and Cameron, the degree has expanded their opportunities – whether in commercial practice, governance, policy or community leadership.
The Juris Doctor attracts a remarkable range of students: early-career professionals, experienced leaders, career changers and people seeking deeper engagement with justice, policy and public purpose.
Students come from backgrounds that include:
- commerce and business
- community services and not-for-profit governance
- health and social sciences
- public policy and government
- IT, engineering and technical professions
- education, communications and the arts
- finance and corporate roles.
Across this diversity, students tend to share a strong sense of purpose, intellectual curiosity and a desire to make a meaningful contribution to society.
The value of diverse cohorts
Students' prior careers enrich classroom analysis and practical projects. Selena's commerce background supported her interest in commercial law. Cameron's governance experience deepened his policy work and community-sector contributions.
The background of each student has learning benefits for their peers. ‘In the Deakin JD, students engage with a wide variety of ideas and colleagues, reflecting the diversity of people and viewpoints in our society,’ says Dr David Tan. ‘This continuous exploration of various worldviews and lived experiences connects law and society and strengthens your legal education.’
Building lasting networks
Selena notes the culture of reciprocity in the online community: ‘Once I engaged more deeply, I found the university community responded in kind, making my studies much more rewarding and shaping my approach to my career.’
Cameron adds: ‘The connections with other students have been equally valuable. Networks have extended well beyond the classroom.’
Integrating policy, theory and practice
A distinctive feature of Deakin's JD is its integration of policy thinking throughout the curriculum. Students explore not only the structure of legal rules but their rationale, impact and reform potential.
For Cameron, this approach was transformative: ‘The highlight of the JD has been how it consistently integrates theory, practice and policy.’
It's not just about learning the rules. It's about understanding law as a system that can be used for reform, advocacy and access to justice.
Juris Doctor
Selena experienced similar benefits: ‘The policy perspective encouraged me to look beyond the “what” of the law and ask the “why”. That habit deepens my understanding and sustains my sense of purpose in practising law.’
Dr David Tan explains this broad approach: ‘We pride ourselves with having graduates who can think deeply. This analytical clarity also is transferrable to any careers our graduates might find themselves in,’ he says. ‘Having a deeper analytical and policy understanding of the law will enable you to be a creative problem solver. If you only have a basic understanding of the rules, it's not easy to deal with new and original legal issues. This analytical clarity is transferrable to any career our graduates might find themselves in.’
Practical learning builds confidence and career direction
Work-integrated learning (WIL) is central to the Juris Doctor, allowing students to apply theory in professional environments.
Selena completed a credited clerkship and multiple mooting units. ‘Mooting sharpened my ability to analyse and articulate arguments and built my confidence in navigating different areas of law, whether international, private or public.’ These experiences, combined with moots and international competitions, helped focus her career direction on commercial law.
Cameron completed a placement with the Deakin Law Clinic, which provides legal advice, assistance and information to people experiencing disadvantage. This placement gave him the confidence to practise law for the first time and led to employment in the clinic as a paralegal and research assistant. In his career, he has drawn on these experiences for his governance work, particularly when preparing submissions to government about legislative changes.
Mooting at Deakin Law School
Meet Swathika, a Deakin graduate who discovered her voice through mooting and now uses law as a tool for change. Discover how Swathika gained confidence and career readiness through our mooting program and practical legal experiences.
Diverse legal career outcomes
On graduation, Selena transitioned directly into commercial practice at MinterEllison, Australia's largest independent law firm, completing rotations in mergers and acquisitions and major projects. She says her interest in commercial law was strengthened through her electives and her mooting experience, which she describes as ‘life-changing.’
Cameron has applied his legal training in governance consulting, community-sector advisory work and supervised legal employment, including verifying AI-driven legal research. ‘The JD has equipped me with the skills and confidence to contribute both within the legal profession and to the wider community sector.’
Outside of legal practice, JD graduates pursue roles in:
- policy development
- governance and risk
- regulatory compliance
- corporate advisory
- community and social impact organisations
- law reform and advocacy
- commercial consulting.
Shaping the future of law
If you want to study law for a career change, Deakin’s Juris Doctor is the degree for you. The people who choose this degree do so with intention. They bring different stories, ambitions and perspectives, but share a commitment to capability, impact and community.
If you want to be part of this, learn more about the Juris Doctor at Deakin.
Frequently asked questions about Deakin's Juris Doctor
Deakin's Juris Doctor has a significant practical experience focus. Students can participate in moot courts and also get experience working with real clients in the Deakin Law Clinic.
The Juris Doctor does not include practical legal training requirements for admission to practice which must be taken separately by a Practical Legal Training course provider.
Deakin offers flexible study options for all types of students. Our JD requires the equivalent of 3 years of full time study but most students choose to study part-time. Flexibility is built into the Juris Doctor course structure, from asynchronous learning to clear trimester planning, adjusting course load, choosing electives that fit your interests and accessing tailored academic support.
Graduates of Deakin's law degrees, not just the JD, work across a wide variety of careers. Many work in consulting or policy development in both the government and private sector.
Deakin's Juris Doctor covers the entire spectrum of law. You study the 'Priestly Eleven' units required by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board to meet the academic requirements for legal practice. These include topics such as ethics, civil procedure, constitutional law, criminal law, commercial law and torts. You also get to choose from a wide range of electives based on your interests and career goals. Visit the Juris Doctor course page for a full list of what you can study.
Visit the Juris Doctor course page for a full list of what you can study.
Deakin's Juris Doctor is a postgraduate course for people interested in become a lawyer but have no undergraduate law studies.
Both are entry points into the legal profession. A Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate degree, primarily for high school leavers but it is also an option for graduates.
The JD is a postgraduate degree requiring an existing bachelor degree (in any discipline). It is designed for those who need flexibility to work around career and life commitments, and is ideal for those wanting to change career paths.
