ACCREDITED SPECIALIST
(IMMIGRATION LAW)
What is an Accredited Specialist?
The prestigious status of Accredited Specialist is the highest official recognition that a solicitor / lawyer can attain. To obtain this status, a solicitor must pass the rigorous assessments that the Law Society conducts – in communication, problem solving, clients relations and in the specialist area of law that they are competent in.
An Accredited Specialist is an expert in the lawyer’s area of practice. Registered Migration Agents and lawyers regard them as the best in the world (Australian Financial Review).
When you engage an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law, you work with someone who has an extremely high degree of technical knowledge and is a vastly experienced Australian immigration lawyer. This is vital, especially in complex matters and in situation where you are in the verge of giving up hope – as they may uncover things previously unnoticed.
Our firm is spearheaded by two Accredited Specialists in Immigration Law:
How Are Accredited Specialists Different From Other Immigration Lawyers?
To gain status as an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law, a lawyer must have practised law full-time for at least five years and worked in the area of legal specialty for at least three years (apart from passing the highly arduous assessments). They also have to always maintain their level of knowledge and skills at the specialist level.
Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law work across the whole field of Australian immigration. From adversarial matters, compliance, and collaborating with other lawyers. They also often act for and advise Registered Migration Agents (RMAs) and other Immigration Lawyers.
RMAs sanctioned by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) are also required to undertake private tuition with an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law
Apart from being teachers, Accredited Specialists play a huge part in the current immigration climate by challenging decision-makers and lawmakers. They set legal precedents and pave the Australian migration landscape we see today.
How Many Accredited Specialists in Immigration Law are There?
There are only 95 Accredited specialists in Immigration Law in Australia, which comprise of university law professors, presidents of legal associations, authors for immigration law publications etc. They are tasked to teach other legal practitioners and are commonly referred as “the lawyer’s lawyer”. Specialist Accreditation Chair, Richard Harvey of the Law Society, said:
“Specialist Accreditation is held by less than 6% of the profession here in New South Wales. We are proud that Specialists Accreditation is such a rigorous process and getting accredited is just the start. When a specialist retains their accreditation year on year their clients know the value of the advice they receive” (Law Society Journal).
A number of fellow Accredited Specialists progressed to be judges of superior courts:
Similar to His Honour Judge Anthony Dilon Morley (Federal Circuit Court of Australia), our founder and Solicitor Director, Jason Ling graduated from Bond University, which gave birth to 3 of Australia’s 97 Accredited Specialists in Immigration Law in the year 2018.
How do I Know if a Lawyer is an Accredited Specialist?
You can identify an Accredited Specialist in few ways. Wikipedia usually provides updated information listing all the Accredited Specialists: Read Wikipedia
The most obvious way is from the prestigious seal from the Law Society.
The second method is to check the post-nominal that appears after the lawyer’s name, for example:
Jason Ling, Accredited Specialist (Immigration Law); or
Angela De Silva, Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law
The Specialist Accreditation logo and the post-nominal are nationally recognised as a ‘mark of excellence’.
The third method is to go to the Law Society website - visit the ‘Find a Lawyer’ page and search for Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law. You will notice that our lawyers, Angela De Silva are listed on page 1 of the search result and Jason Ling on page 3. They are two out of only 45 Accredited Specialists in Immigration Law in NSW, Australia.
Does It Cost More to Engage An Accredited Specialist?
Contrary to popular belief, engaging an Accredited Specialist does not necessarily mean you will pay exorbitant fees. If your matter is very complex, it may be more costly than engaging a non-accredited immigration lawyer; however, in the long run, it is still more economical in reducing time, problems and risks of future complications.
There is nothing worse than spending money on something that causes you more problems in the future. In Immigration law, getting it right the first time means everything – small, tiny mistakes may cost your entire life.
Therefore, getting it right the first time is extremely important. The level of skills, knowledge and experience that an Accredited Specialist has makes a huge difference and impact in achieving your Australia visa goals.