Voir Dire : Inspiration Edition

INSPIRATION EDITIONApril 2015

UNSW Law Society Magazine

Editorial

Law school is difficult. Whether you’re a 1st year undergrad, 3rd year JD or a

random non-law studying individual who happened to pick up this magazine, you’ve probably clued into that fact. When it comes to actually dealing with this reality we all have our own survival mechanisms. For some this involves procrastination in the form of exercise, food, friendship or the digital pursuit of cute

animal pictures (see exhibit A below).This issue is about all those ‘ation’ words we need in our life - inspiration, dedication, motivation (you get the idea). We all came to UNSW law for very different reasons; for some, their degree will be the gateway to a 7+ figure salary. For others law school is about making a difference and helping the disadvantaged. If that’s your thing check out ‘A Close Shave’ (Page 9), where we discuss the work of the Aboriginal Legal Service and the recent federal budget talks. Maybe a particular individual inspired your career path and you want nothing more than to be Leslie Knope or one of the other figures we talk about in ‘Lawspiration’ (Page 16). Or maybe all you need to get through your degree is some inspirational study music from ‘Rohan’s Recs’ (Page 15). Hope you enjoy the issue, and see you next month!Emily Haworth | Editor of Voir Dire [email protected]

EDITOR & DESIGNER

Emily Haworth

COVER IMAGE

Roanize Kruger

WRITERS

Simon McNamara, Ann Emmanuel, Madeleine Te o , S a m i J o s h i , Rohan Hora, Brittney Rigby, Bas i l Na imet

V I C E - P R E S I D E N T

(ADMINISTRATION)

Audrey Chan

PRESIDENTS

Simon McNamara & Katerina Jovanovska

GRAPHICS

All images used within th is pub l icat ion are available under a creative commons license or with the express permision of the owner.

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Law Society BlogWhat’s new?

Contents5 | Presidents PodiumSimon discusses maintaining motivation as a law student.6 | What’s Happening in Law?Changes in law for Australia and around the world.10 | A Close ShaveMadeleine talks about the work of the Aboriginal Legal Service and the recently retracted federal budget cuts.14 | Agony AuntGot a problem? Agony Aunt can help.15 | Rohan’s RecsSome songs to get you inspired.16 | Lawspiration7 inspirational legal figures who are awesome at what they do.20 | Inspiration at the BarWe talk with lawyer Russell Sweet about life as a barrister and employment for mature age students.

Check out these articles and more at http://www.unswlawsoc.org/blog

I Don’t Know How She Does It Q&AFind out how HD student Natalie Hodgson does it all. From academic tips to advice she’d give her first year self, read this to glean some great study tips. Some More Words About Mental Illness | Brittney RigbyMany things are said about mental illness. Here is a candid, personal and moving account from one Law student. Maintaining Your Sanity During Your Law Degree | Sarah ParkLaw student life is hard - don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Here are some hints and tips to help you navigate the vicissitudes of being a law student.

Motivation in a student often follows a very simple pattern. It’s the start

of semester, you arrive at university and you are absolutely pumped. Motivation levels are at an all time high and you think “Yes, Land Law is something that I can get behind for 13 weeks”. You fool.

Fast forward two hours, and motivation levels are dwindling at around the same levels you left them at the close of last year. And from here onwards, we have brief spikes of motivation and then return to our inactivity until the next one, something that resembles a heartbeat, but with three weeks between beats.

I work as a presenter for a study skills research company and recently asked a student mid-seminar what these spikes represented, expecting a confident “Exams” in response. She shouted back “Hormones!” to riotous laughter. I had a giggle as well, because I thought it was a response not far from the truth.

As law students we face a large workload. The only other thing we spend more time doing than work is telling everyone on Facebook precisely how much work we do. When it comes to workloads, many

law students seem to breeze through it and never bat an eyelid. This happens for one of three reasons; three separate things you might hear from a student. The first is they genuinely enjoy the academic rigour of complex work and get a sense of achievement from grappling with intellectual questions. The second is that they just don’t talk about their struggle in completing the work at all. The third is that they’re lying about it. Interestingly you never hear a top student say, “I’m just an academic weapon and I go around killing exams”.

I fall in to category two. I tend not to talk about study, I find it boring and I need human engagement to stay positive. Don’t get me wrong, I love to read and enjoy academic work but when starting university a few years ago,

I noticed that the more work I had to do, the less likely I was to do it. I spent hours with my head buried in the sand like an Ostrich – except by sand I mean fridge. This occurs for a very simple reason, which is backed by the current research on this area.

Students - and in particular law students – are study-centric. If you’re surprised by this, I have concerns. They prioritise their life around the work they have to complete to perform academically. They tend to pride themselves on their academic results

and therefore prioritise study in their schedules. In that lies a problem, which is that I have never come home from a big day at university, having done nothing other than work and feeling a little tired and then said “Awesome, time to pump out three hours of readings and notes”. It just won’t happen.

I can only ever work when I’m happy. I will only ever sit down and do some work in a state where I feel like I’m not simply living for my marks. And for me, herein lies the solution: doing something every day that makes you feel human. It can as simple as playing a sport (where endorphins, our friendly hormone returns) or as embarrassing as being caught by a stranger singing like an idiot to “Uptown Funk” blasting in your car. You’ll get home with a grin on your face. The act of sitting down and doing a bit of extra work suddenly isn’t so bad.

I’m not an HD average student. But I have noticed that my marks across a semester are directly proportional to weird extraneous things like how fit I feel, how much music I’m playing and the state of my personal relationships. The animating idea I like to go back to, and you might find it too, is an aim to structure your life around things that are not work to get a little more work done. Invest a little more in yourself to accept the dividends for your marks later.

PresidentsPODIUM

Loco-motivation

Simon McNamara | Law Society Co-President

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notify authorities of planned demonstrations, and escalate to 600, 000 euros were unauthorised protests take place near key infrastructure. The measures come after several protests in February against austerity measures and attempts to limit access to abortions, which had millions of Spaniards protesting in the streets.

TANZANIA Limits on foreignersTanzanian parliament has approved the Non-Citizens Employment Regulations Bill, in an attempt to curb the influx in foreign

workers, especially from China, and respond to the high unemployment rate. The bill requires employers who recruit foreign workers to create a “succession plan” for local workers to take over these jobs. The Bill also increases the discretionary power of the Labour Commissioner in relation to work permits of non-citizens.

UNITED STATES Blurred Lines of copyright laws Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke have been ordered to pay $US7.3 million to Marvin Gaye’s estate after a Los Angeles jury concluded that their 2013 hit “Blurred Lines” infringed the copyright of Gaye’s “Got

to Give It Up” from 1977. Williams recently commented on the outcome, saying that the decision will freeze the creative process in litigation. The songwriters are considering whether to appeal, while Gaye’s family continues to seek an injunction to prevent “Blurred Lines” from being sold or performed, while the parties negotiate royalties.

SPAIN Anti-protest legislation The Spanish government has proposed legislation, expected to be ratified next month, that rights activists warn will significantly limit citizens’ freedom of association and expression. The laws include fines of up to 600 euros for failure to

Around The World

Lawyers need to keep up Michael Williams, senior partner at Gilbert + Tobin has warned that it may become a requirement in the near future that lawyers have a minimum standard of technological know-how in order to practice, as businesses and even courts move to embrace soft over hard copy documents. A recent survey, commissioned by software provider Nitro, has found that law firms still rely heavily on hard copy documents and filing cabinets, while just under a third surveyed had chosen to adopt the eSignature application.

Around Australia

Compo claims from Nauru? The Federal Government’s Moss Review into the alleged “toxic culture of abuse” in the offshore detention centre on Nauru was released on the 20th March 2015. The Review found evidence supporting allegations of sexual and physical abuse, including an apparent trade of sexual favours for marijuana and personal gain. The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) has suggested that the Review demonstrates that the Federal Government does in fact have “a non-delegable duty of care to people detained”, which could be grounds for compensation claims, because it reveals the extent of the Government’s oversight of the centre.

Data retention laws passThe controversial data retention law passed through both Houses of Parliament on the 26th March, supported by both the Coalition and Opposition, despite concerns about privacy and the cost of the policy. The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2015 (Cth) makes it mandatory for telecomm providers to retain records of users metadata for two years, including phone numbers, call lengths and email addresses, but excluding the content of such communications. Security agencies will be able to access this information when it is “reasonably necessary” for an investigation.

What’s Happ ening in Law?

By Ann Emmanuel | 5th Year International Studies/Law


Fast-track your career with Australia’s most progressive law firm.To find out more visit us at me.gtlaw.com.au

Download the Gilbert + Tobin Careers App from the App Store or the Google PlayTM Store Google Play is a trademark of Google Inc.

Think ahead As a vo lunteer w i th the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS), I have been privileged to see struggles which have produced incredible suffering but also incredible stories of positive change and self-determination. However, this reality is not necessarily unique to the clients of the Aboriginal Legal Service at the Downing Centre; it is a story told just as frequently in the rooms of Community Legal Centres (CLCs) such as Redfern Legal Centre and Kingsford Legal Centre.

As the average Austral ian perusing social media platforms and journalism, it is all too easy to lose oneself in the sensationalism of distant ethno-national conflicts, or whether you too would choose to sink your teeth into a raw onion over a caramelised onion quiche. However, before we seek to flex our political muscles in the face of further damaging UN reports, we should consider too, the funding issues that our various

legal advocacy bodies such as CLCs, the ALS and Legal Aid are still grappling with. This is in spite of the positive step of restoring their core funding cuts, as extensive cuts to non-core funding still remain.

So what is the real deal with the funding repeal?Since the release of the 2013-2014 Budget, the federal government proposed to cut $19.6 million from community legal centres, as wel l as redirecting a grand total of $43.1 million under its initiative of “Legal Policy Reform and Advocacy Funding” .

DISCLAIMER: This is not a rant about the sorry state of Australian politics. I’d just like to point out the inadequacy of the Coalition’s drafting of the federal budget and the inequitable distribution of funding to the most vulnerable in society.

Australia’s CLCs, Legal Aid and the ALS provide a range of legal

Clients too often get locked into a cycle of custody once they’ve been sentenced to a full time custodial sentence. Gaol is a place where drugs are easily obtained. Gao l i s a p lace where mental illness flourishes. Gaol is a place that requires a toughness that makes aggression a natural defence. Gao l i s a p lace where you lose your c o m m u n i t y t i e s . Gaol does very little to rehabilitate in my limited experience, and a great deal t o l o c k p e o p l e out of normative modes of being in the world and to worsen almost every circumstance that contributed to the person’s offending t o b e g i n w i t h .

Isabel | ALS Solicitor

A Near Miss with Federal Budget Cuts

A CLOSE SHAVE

By Madeleine Teo | 2nd Year International Studies/Law “

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services, to effectively pinpoint and target issues affecting many minority groups in society. Although these legal bodies have managed to stabilise their funding to an extent, across the board grants are still discontinued by the government which affects their ability to reach out and effectively assist the disadvantaged in society. Michael Smith from the National Association of Community Legal Services conveyed the scale of damage of the proposed funding cuts, where for every community lawyer let go, CLCs would be able to support 300-400 less clients per year.

In most cases, the people who walk through the doors of legal advocacy services seeking help are not the hardened criminals that the media gloats over. As much as they are defendants, clients of legal service providers and CLCs are often victims of a circumstantial lack of choice.

Lynch et al explains in the 2003 ‘Youth Justice: Criminal Trajectories’ Australian Institute of Criminology report that, by the time young people come into contact with the juvenile justice system, they have already been substantially affected by a range of ‘precursor factors’ which can no longer be addressed by just one government agency. At the Aboriginal Legal Service, a key aim is to assist young people in court, to ensure they receive advice and the best possible outcome in their

case. By providing intermediary assistance at an early stage, the ALS reduces the likelihood of a custodial sentence and a young person’s future contact with the justice system. Legal Aid provides a similar service, even referring young people to welfare services such as drug and alcohol counselling and accommodation. However, without adequate funding for a preventative approach, potential long-term consequences may already be felt, as we must face increasing numbers of recidivist offenders without access to intermediary legal services. The fact that in 2010-2011 it cost $652 per day to detain a juvenile offender in NSW, compared to $16.73 per day for community supervision by Juvenile Justice NSW, only serves to provide further cost-efficiency benefits.

Even for adult offenders, CLCs, Legal Aid and the ALS are important sources of assistance. They do not simply give legal advice, but provide a lifeline of support. For example, the ALS provides the crucial Arrest and Custody Notification Serv ice fo r incarcerated Aboriginal people: a response to Malcolm Charles Smith’s horrific death in 1982 and the ensuing Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. From personal experience, I know well the toll taken on those who work tirelessly to ensure that the ALS is aware of every single Aboriginal person that comes into custody and

that they have access to legal advice and emotional support twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. CLCs similarly provide advice targeted at certain groups in society and reinforce these practical services through policy-making init iatives, which push for normative change regarding our treatment of actors and processes in the legal system. The Redfern Legal Centre, for example, produced a submission in 2011 in response to the NSW Law Reform Commission’s discussion of bail and its purposes, supporting the presumption of innocence as a uniform requirement of bail. Working closely with members of the community, legal centre submissions explore trends of how we understand and create ‘justice’ within certain socioeconomic and cultural frameworks. Such law reform recommendations are a long-term benefit to be reaped from sustained funding to CLCs.

When the Attorney General announced last week that the sweeping cuts to domestic violence and Indigenous legal services would no longer go ahead, the nation breathed a sigh of relief. This only partially detracted from the fact that many other advocacy services still operate on a “shoestring budget”, exacerbated by maintained cuts.

What most interested me about this announcement, however,

was a comment from Ivan Simon, Chair of the Aboriginal Legal Service: “…the Attorney-General has listened to the Australian community, some 33,000 concerned members of the community who signed a petition calling for the cuts to be reversed…” (emphasis added).

Australia has experienced an extremely close shave these past few years but what rises from the wreckage is a testimony to the influence of the public; to the immutable power that you hold as an individual and which cannot be unduly understated in the political arena. The reverse to funding cuts must only be the beginning of sustained support towards not s imply f ix ing exist ing problems, but preventing them from developing in the first place. We must encourage disadvantaged communities to become empowered not by dictating their terms of self-determination, but by funding platforms for self-help and creating within society an educated discourse that does not shy away from the reality of systemic and generational disadvantage and, importantly, incites affirmative action.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are not representative of any legal advocacy body. They are the personal views and experiences of the author of the article.

People usually commit crime because their p e r s o n a l c i rc u m -stances have lead them to a certain point - our role is to explain and make sense of our client’s circumstances and assist the court to understand how they came to commit offences and why they are in the predicament

they are in.

ALS Solicitor

In most cases, the people who walk through the doors of legal advocacy services seeking help are not the hardened criminals that the media gloats over. As much as they are defendants, clients of legal service provid-ers and CLCs are often victims of a circumstantial lack of choice.

[There is a] refusal to accept that indig-enous people face ent i re ly d i f ferent social circumstances than other Australians ... There can be atti-tudes in the wider community that our clients are experi-encing the problems they face because of their choices. There is no choice in lives being destroyed by mental illness, sexual and physical abuse, f a m i l y v i o l e n c e , drug and alcohol addiction.

Isabel | ALS Solicitor

I believe the ALS can assist in giving voice to our clients in court so that judicial officers and anyone else that is in court, can understand the reality of our client’s lives…our role is to explain and make sense of our client’s circumstances and assist the court to u n d e r s t a n d h o w they came to commit offences and why they are in the pre-dicament they are in.

ALS Solicitor

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Know the facts. Publications are available from various sources:o The Australian Institute of Criminology provides annual reports under “Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice”o Legal Aid produces a range of publicationso As does the Aboriginal Legal Serviceo Online blogs and journals provide different perspectives on topical issues: - Alternative Law Journal website - Alternative Law Journal twitter

Become involved with Community Legal Centres. There are so many different community legal centres which are looking for volunteers and which provide legal advice in a wide range of areas, from women’s rights to arts law:o For a list of CLCs in NSW, see: http://clcvolunteers.net.auo For more information about CLCs, see: http://www.naclc.org.au

Social media is a powerful tool and can be used to create awareness (but with a caveat of being well-informed and respectful of course!). Platforms

such as Facebook and Twitter provide information about events and where to receive advice:

o Legal Aid facebook pageo Legal Aid twittero Aboriginal Legal Service facebook pageo Aboriginal Legal Service twittero Kingsford Legal Centre facebook pageo Kingsford Legal Centre twittero Redfern Legal Centre facebook pageo Redfern Legal Centre twitter

Writing letters to your local and state member of parliament is never a bad idea! It can be a powerful message to the government when the initiative comes from a young person who shows they are passionate about an issue, as a representative of future generations who will be affected by the policies government makes now.

Talk about the issues that you see and hear. Talk about your volunteer experiences at the Redfern Legal Centre to the rest of the law school community. Talk about your post-colonial structuralist critique of the Bail Act Amendment to the 35% of the population that still does not know we have a constitution! We are both removed and insulated from what is going on in our country and desperately need you to start the conversation!

(1) Be Educated

(2) Get Involved

(3) Educate others

WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP?

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Agony Aunt! Who do you think the most

inspiring person within the legal profession

is?

In a world where Barack Obama, Mahatma Gandhi and Harvey Specter have a law degree, it’s difficult to pinpoint a single lawyer as being the most influential. However, I think Amal Alamuddin is a perfect example of one person who could inspire the next generation. It’s disappointing that some headlines read “George Clooney’s Fiancee to Investigate Possible War Crimes in Gaza,” when the fact she married a greying actor is the most irrelevant of her achievements. She is a trilingual Oxford graduate who has represented Julian Assange, advised the government of Cambodia on territorial disputes and worked with the ICC, ICJ and International Criminal Tribunal. Furthermore, with success in the legal sphere often judged by which multinational corporation you work for, it is a refreshing change for an acclaimed woman to highlight that the protection of human rights can be just as advantageous.

So I’ve just started law and it’s different and

harder than what I expected, and I’m not sure

if I like it. How do you know if studying law is

for you?

Ahh I see, another first-year law student whose enthusiasm has been quickly extinguished by the mountains of readings. I blame Suits, West Wing and How To Get Away With Murder for perpetuating this glamorous legal lifestyle. I’m disappointed they don’t show the 3am meltdowns and the frantic cramming before an exam. I’ll warn you now, the readings get longer and denser, the marking gets harder and the people get more competitive. However while the ‘Introducing Law & Justice’ course provides a solid foundation for basic legal principles, it is not an indication of the work you do in later

years. I would advise you to look up the ‘Torts’ and ‘Criminal Law’ textbooks and past exams for a broader look at what you may do. If you enjoy reading, solving legal problems and looking for ways to manipulate situations to your advantage, then I would say the law would interest you. However if you make the choice that law isn’t for you – don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed. Even the most accomplished law students battle those thoughts!

Agony Aunt! I’m having some trouble making

friends within law school, what advice do you

have?

It’s easy to feel lonely in law school when it seems have post law camp cliques have formed, and people in your classes seem to just enter and leave without much socialising in between. First year is hard as you don’t know if your sarcasm will be received well, and you’re also secretly judging the super eager speakers in your lectures (I know we all do it). Fear not – UNSW law society is super friendly and wanting new people to get involved. There are parties such as Law Launch, Law Ball and Lawlapalooza, regular sporting events such as personal training and intervarsity competitions and academic events such as mooting and negotiations in which you work with a partner – this could be your future best friend, future boyfriend, future High Court judge… who knows. Another easy way is to simply talk to the person next to you in class and open with ‘I’m 100% done with this class already. I just can’t even’. This method allows you to develop a friendship where you can openly and regularly complain about law school, and always works a charm ;)

Sami Joshi | 2nd Year Arts/Law

Agony Aunt

Rohan’s Recs

Independent Woman by Destiny’s ChildSo I’ll be the first to admit, I am a little bit partial when it comes to Beyonce. However one think that I feel we can all objectively agree with is that there is nothing more inspiring than grooving out to a song that makes you feel like a sassy, independent black woman who don’t need no man! Because hearing how Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle, who we all know can already ‘handle it’, bought not only the shoes on their feet but also the clothes they’re wearing, the rock they’re rocking, the watch you’re wearing, the house they live in AND the car they’re driving because makes me a little bit more hopeful that I may be able to do all these things… if I can get me a postgraduate position!

A Thousand Miles by Vanessa CarltonIf I should fall into the sky do you think time would pass me by? So that it’s already holidays again? Seriously how did they disappear so quickly? When I’m overwhelmed I listen to this song and do two things. 1. I plan how I can fall into the sky because it’d really help my time management issues and also gravity is the worst; and2. I re-enact the Terry Crews scene from White Chicks shakes head uncontrollably ‘And I want you, and I need you’ – I may or may not be talking about good marks here.

Jealous by Nick JonasSo I was never really one for the Jonas Brothers but can if I could sum up this song in one word it would be ‘DAYUUUUUUUUUM’! Yes okay sometimes we all get a little jealous of those top performing students, those kids who seem to get everything whilst putting in little to no effort. However, if you wanna make yourself feel better, and inspire yourself to do something more, just turn that cheap music up and puff out your chest! It’s alright to be hellish! We all get jealous!P.S: You’re so sexy beautiful!#Ro’sinspiringwordsfortheday

Break Free by Ariana GrandeIf you want it (HD), Take it (the HD) I should’ve said it before.

Try to hide it (that 50% you got in the last assessment), fake it (telling everyone you got a D), I should’ve said it before. Yeah. Let’s be real, even though Ariana Grande looks like she’s twelve, she’s wise beyond the year. Guys this is the part where I say I don’t wanna, but I’m stronger than I’ve been before!

Get Low by Lil Jon & The East Side BoyzYou know that when you spell your group name as ‘Boyz’ with a ‘z’ then you’re in for a treat. Sometimes, in my personal experience, the only way to make you feel like you can take on the world is just to get low to some good ol’ fashioned 90’s rap! Because you know what, 3,6,9, DAMN I’m Fine!!!

By Rohan Hora | Law Society Music Director

Songs for Inspiration


Lawspiration

Olivia PopeIf you’ve ever watched Scandal, you’ve wanted to work for Olivia Pope & Associates. You’re not just a lawyer, you’re a gladiator. Team Fitz, Team Jake, it doesn’t really matter, because we’re all on Team Liv. She’s a strong, independent woman who only needs a good bottle of red wine and some good ol’ drama in the Whitehouse. Kerry Washington, you are everything.

Leslie KnopeOkay, so Leslie isn’t a lawyer per se, but surely being Queen of Pawnee has to count for something. Local government has never been sassier, funnier and Poehler-ier. By-law drafting? Reviewing Development Applications? Ensuring our contracts with the garbage collectors are airtight? Filming us handling it all with sarcasm and feminism and our very own Tom Haberford for a Sydney version of Parks and Rec? Yes we can.

Just like the weird, kale-eating foodies need their hearty serves of “fitspo,” us law students need some nourishment beyond a tonne of caffeinated beverages. DO NOT treat this list as a substitute for coffee, but as a reminder to always worship the legal ladies who are the reason we haven’t dropped out yet. Yes, this list is all women. We don’t get enough representation in the profession, so I may as well do my bit to draw attention to some kick-ass lady

lawyers. Who run the (legal) world? Girls.

By Brittney Rigby | 3rd Year Media/Law

Prue VinesPrue might be one of the few ‘real life’ lady loves on this list, (don’t make me admit that the ones I love through my TV screen are fictional) but her academic research and commitment to seeing adequate female representation in the legal profession makes her a real stand-out. She’s studied the law through a feminist lens, and anybody who is willing to take down the patriarchy, one essay at a time, deserves a shrine, or at least a spot on this list.

Judge JudyDoes JJ even need an accompanying justification? This sass queen commands the courtroom and shows us all what we should be striving for. Whether it be interrupting witnesses who just don’t want to play to her rules or having a better death stare than Julie Bishop, Judge Judy = life goals.

Olivia BensonIf she’s a worthy enough muse for Taylor Swift’s cat’s name, she’s certainly worthy enough for the title of Leading Legal Lady. Not only can I memorise the SVU introduction better than any statute or judgment, but Olivia’s unfailing

tendency to stand up for female victims shows us how law enforcement should be done. All hail Queen Liv. (I’ve decided Olivia will be the name of my unborn child. Pope/Benson – Olivia’s are doing it, and doing it well).

Julia GillardJulia Gillard achieved a law degree, and her open support of feminism in her political career has made her one of the most prominent women in Australia. Her famous misogyny speech sparked discussion about engrained sexism and patriarchal practices, and her post-political work as the Chair for the Global Partnership for Education is aiming to ensure that all girls have access to education. We love you, JG.

Amal ClooneyWhilst I was slightly disappointed when Amal changed her last name to Clooney, I’m yet to be disappointed by her human rights work and her sassy retorts. E.g. Her response to the all important question that all female lawyers should definitely be asked whilst working on an important case: “What are you wearing?” Ede and Ravenscroft, of course. Keep doing you, Amal.


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It’s late in the afternoon on a midweek afternoon. In walks a man wearing an Akubra hat and Driza-bone. Standing about 220 cm and with the Akubra, he looks about 10 foot tall.

“That bloke’s a barrister”, my ever vigilante co-worker says, working behind the counter of a city convenience store.

“Really?” I said, eyes wide feeling like this was my lucky day. This could be the chance to maybe ask a question or two about becoming a barrister.

“How do you know he’s a bar r i s te r?” I re to r ted as I process customers’ transactions.

“I’ve seen a wig and a gown hanging out of the bag that

he’s carrying. Go on, have a chat to him now’s your chance.”

I only had a year left to complete my Arts degree before embarking on my law degree. This was my chance to strike up a conversation, if only to get a ‘heads up’ on the legal pursuit.

I mustered up enough courage to asked if he is a barrister. “Yes” he said assertively. I asked if I could question him about pursuing a legal career.

“Sure” was his reply. And so started the conversations that would inspire me on my way to studying law.

A f t e r s o m e d i s c u s s i o n about what I had done and what I intended to do, I asked him if I could attend court to watch him work.

“Yes, I can do that, I can show you a few jurisdictions,” he said.

Fascination is the word that comes to mind watching Russell Sweet work.

The first experience I had was the Full Family Court at Downing Centre. Then

a criminal trial matter in the district court and finally a local matter at Manly court. I never saw the outcome of any of them nor did I ask him the outcome. I just wanted to watch the machinations of being in court, and he was inspiring to watch.

Fast forward to 2015, and I’ve met with Russell in a café as he gives me some ‘home truths’ about becoming a barrister, in this day and age.

“The competition at the bar is immense and has become more competitive in the last 10 years. There’s one set of chambers in Sydney…just about every barrister in that set of chambers has read

with a high court judge and has a postgraduate degree f rom e i the r Cambr idge or Oxford. Those kind of people existed years ago, but now, the standards have risen markedly,” Russell said about the challenges facing barristers when it came to getting work.

Would politics be a better career choice for a mature age

person perhaps?

“These days, if you had a law degree, you could well put it to better use in a political career than at the bar. There’s not many smart politicians around. Most politicians I know like Julia Gillard, by the time they’re 50 and they’ve done seven or eight years they retire on a fortune, earn a fortune while they’re in the job [politician], have a better standard of living, and aren’t constantly monitored by the bar association, the Law society, and or the legal services commission, all of whom can be the bane of a legal practitioner’s life.”

So how would one get started later in life?

“Ordinarily one would work as a solicitor, get some experience in running Hearings, and get to know s o m e c o n t a c t s .

Then come to the bar. When I started in 1987 there were about 700 barristers. Now there are about 2000 and the competition is enormous.

“It may be difficult at 40 because when you start working for someone you’re no use to them because you don’t know what you’re doing. I reckon it would take at least 3 years in practice

When I started in 1987 there were about 700 barristers. Now there are about 2000 and the competition is enormous.

Inspiration at the Baran interview with russell sweet


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being watched by someone before you were competent to open up your own shop [business] for instance or go to the bar, or either of them. But it’s just become a very difficult market. I read stories

in the Australian Financial Review on how law graduates are having trouble getting employed which is a matter for concern.”

So what piece of advice would you have for someone over the age of 50 who is at law school and wants to become a barrister?

“I went through law school at 19. There was a gentleman who was about 40. He would have been around the age of mid 40s when he was graduating. He came straight to the bar. I don’t think he worked as a solicitor but he’d had a lot of experience about matters worldly.

“If you get someone that’s 40 odd with no experience and

work them as a solicitor or barrister, bearing in mind that they are trained to be either, if they have the wisdom [life experience] that goes with 40 or 50 years, I think they’re going to be more employable than some 25-year-old kid that’s having trouble weening himself off travel l ing on the North Shore line to the University of Sydney every day.”

And for those who may be thinking it might be too late to start legal practice after the age of 50?

“These days 50 isn’t that old, and it’s not unusual for people to be working at 70, so a 50-year-old has 20 years of working life left in them, or arguably more.”

By Basil Naimet | 1st Year JD

These days 50 isn’t that old, and it’s not unusual for people to be working at 70


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