As migration law grows into one of Australia’s most complex and fast-moving areas of legal practice, one expert emphasised that a strong sense of professional community and collaboration is essential for success in this high-pressure field.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Podcast, Rebecca Thomson, BDO national leader in migration law, explained that succeeding in the fast-paced field of migration law requires not only legal expertise but also a strong sense of professional community and collaboration.
In the same episode, she described how the profession is navigating one of its most challenging periods ever, as misinformation, political pressure, and rising public tension converge.
One defining feature of immigration law, Thomson shared, is its rapid and ever-changing nature, which makes active collaboration and ongoing dialogue essential for practitioners to stay ahead and provide clients with accurate, timely advice.
“Immigration law is an interesting space because there are many single-person operators, and it’s actually an incredibly hard area of law to do on your own,” she said.
“It requires discussion because of the level of complexity, and you can go to sleep one night, and you can wake up, and the law is different the next day. Makes it challenging to advise clients because you’re always saying, based on the law as it stands at the moment, it’s not a slow-moving area of practice.”
Thomson explained that this unpredictability underscores the importance of professional connections, with engagement among peers and industry bodies providing not only practical guidance but also a vital support network.
“So I think the opportunity to connect with other lawyers, whether or not you join professional bodies, your Law Institute of Victoria, your Law Council of Australia, is really an opportunity to broaden the discussion and come together,” she said.
With migration law often carrying intensely personal stakes, Thomson emphasised that having a supportive professional community is crucial for practitioners managing the emotional weight of their clients’ outcomes.
“As a lawyer in this space, I think it’s incredibly important. These are emotive outcomes for people, and they’re meaningful,” she said.
“Whether it’s reconnecting a family, whether or not it’s a Vietnamese chef bringing his family out here, and the children going to school. These things can impact you as a practitioner.”
Thomson also highlighted that Australia’s migration services landscape adds complexity, with only a fraction of practitioners legally qualified as lawyers and the rest working as migration agents – making it a challenge for lawyers to stand out and demonstrate their expertise.
“When things don’t go right, finding that support is really important, and there is an opportunity,” she said.
“It’s also important to remember that this is one of those spaces. There are 7,500 migration practitioners operating in Australia, of which only about two and a half thousand are lawyers.
“So it’s a space where we have migration agents also operating. And that can make it very tricky for legal professionals to differentiate the value that they bring due to their legal expertise.”
