A new law firm asking junior lawyers to pay $22,000 for a job is being looked into by the Fair Work Ombudsman, the ABC has learned.

Law students said the two-year work placements at Adelaide-based company Adlawgroup were exploitative.

But the company said it was responding to an oversupply of law graduates, who are desperate for work.

The advertisements for "junior lawyers" were advertised on the job site Seek, but have since been removed.

Adlawgroup project manager Tina Hailstone said the company's supervised positions were an "investment".

"The $22,000 fee is the price for participation in the program," she said.

"It covers a number of things and reflects to a certain extent the cost of being able to provide the opportunity for these students, or well, graduates.

"In the first instance there are quite a few people who've said 'Yes, please, we'd really like to sign up'.

"There is also very few opportunities for the recently admitted lawyer."

A Fair Work Ombudsman spokeswoman said the workplace watchdog was "making inquiries" about the company.

The spokeswoman indicated it may be illegal to charge an employee for a job.

"The Fair Work Act would apply if employees were required to make the payment once they have started work, or if it was deducted from their pay," she said.

"The Fair Work Ombudsman does investigate and has commenced litigation where this has occurred."

No guaranteed income for those who pay for job

Adlawgroup said its junior lawyers can make money, but only if they do work for clients.

But Ms Hailstone said any income was not guaranteed for the junior lawyers who would be hired.

"The employment contract is a different thing, the fees that they earn, the income they earn is derived from providing legal services to our clients," she said.

She said junior lawyers who did not get work with clients would "probably want to move on".

Ms Hailstone said the company was looking at a policy to give a refund to people who choose to leave the program.

Marie Iskander from Australian Law Students' Association said she thought Adlawgroup's pay-for-a-job model was unethical.

"We'd hate to see this business model take off and become the norm, or be emulated anywhere else in Australia," Ms Iskander said.

"It's clearly something that's an opportunist business model that's taking advantage of our law graduates."

The South Australian Law Society was also concerned by the advertisements, according to society president Rocco Perrotta.

"The [law society's] ethics and practice committee is concerned just to ensure that the business model is appropriate," Mr Perrotta said.

Student associations are worried that hundreds of Australian law students cannot get jobs, because of an oversupply of graduates.

The Law Society of New South Wales president Michael Tidball said many law graduates were worried about the jobs market.

"It is very, very tough out there," Mr Tidball said.

"There are 36 law schools nationally but there have been changes that have occurred in the economy, there are increased competitive pressures."

Adlawgroup said it has delayed the onset of its junior lawyers program to satisfy concerns of the South Australian Law Society.