What's your job about?

We are a corporate law firm that helps large companies with any of their legal needs. Whether that is helping with a transaction (e.g., a company buying or selling another company), providing advice on a legal issue, or running litigation in the courts, anything legal a big company needs, we help with. 

There are a range of specialty areas that you can practice in corporate law. During the graduate program at our firm, you rotate through three of those areas over the course of a year. At the end of the program, you pick one to settle in as your specialty. As a graduate, I've rotated through the Employment law team, the Digital Economy Transactions team (think technology law) and the Real Estate team. Each of these teams are quite different so I've done a really broad range of work in the last year.

To give a snapshot, right now in the Real Estate team, I'm often working on a lot of smaller matters at once. I will usually need to prepare lease renewal and variation documents at some point each week. I've also recently been working on some advice about a commercial tenant who is behind on their rent with one of our senior lawyers. I've spent quite a bit of time working on the purchase of a shopping centre by our client, which was a great matter because I got exposure to every step of that process and had direct involvement with our client and the seller.

What's your background?

I grew up in Sydney where I did all my schooling and my first university degree (Media and Communications). After uni, I worked in the travel industry for almost 5 years, during which time, in 2019, I moved to Melbourne. About 7 months later, Covid hit and I was ultimately made redundant. But I had been looking to change careers anyway, and had always thought about doing law, so it was a bit of a blessing in disguise. As awful as COVID was, it was the kick I needed to make me think about what I really wanted to do. 

While I was studying my law degree, I never thought I would want to do corporate law. In my second year of uni I started work at a migration law firm which I really enjoyed, so I thought I would do that. But I was introduced to corporate law by a friend who was a year ahead of me at uni and had recently started a graduate program at another corporate firm, and it got me interested. I started going to events and meeting people from firms. I remember the first interaction I ever had with Ashurst and immediately feeling like this was a place I could see myself working, and from that day on I was determined to work at Ashurst. I was thrilled when I secured a clerkship and later a graduate position. It did feel meant to be!

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Absolutely! One of the things Ashurst really values is diversity of experience. The fact that I have quite a different background to the 'traditional' law student shows that anyone can do this and succeed. Your life experience, however that might look, helps make you a better lawyer, and working in law makes use of many transferable skills learned elsewhere. For example, a big part of being a lawyer is having good communication and organisational skills, which is all stuff you can learn at school and part time jobs. If you can bring those skills along with a positive attitude, a sense of curiosity and a strong work ethic, you can succeed in this job.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

One of the coolest things about working at Ashurst is the types of clients we work for. We work for some of the biggest companies in Australia, companies and brands you probably interact with every day, and it's really interesting to see the 'behind the scenes' of that. It's fascinating to see the amount of legal work and commercial thought that goes into any decision a company makes. It is really satisfying when you solve a problem and find the client the outcome they need.  It's really nice to see the direct impact of your work. And it's always cool seeing something I have worked on in the news (which happens quite a lot!).

What are the limitations of your job?

This job can be demanding and is often challenging. Corporate law is rarely a normal 9-to-5 job. There can be long hours at times and it can be stressful. It is important to know how to manage your stress levels and how to communicate with the people around you if things are getting too much. 

There can also be pressure knowing that the work we do could have a big impact on individuals' lives, making it extra important that we get things right. But for me that is part of what I enjoy – knowing that something is at stake is what drives me to do the best work I can.  

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

1. Trust your gut and do what is right for you. Don't worry about what other people are doing or saying. Everyone has their own path - focus on yours and trust that you know what is best for you.
2. Have a positive attitude towards everything you do. If you are being negative about something, it's probably going to work out negatively for you. You'd be surprised the difference a positive attitude makes (and other people will notice it, too).
3. Don't underestimate the power and benefit of the skills you have learned outside the law. Sure, it is great to have legal experience, but if you don't, that is ok! Think about the skills you do you have and how they are transferable into the law.