What's your job about?
I work as a legal graduate at Lander & Rogers, in the firm's Melbourne CBD office. As a legal graduate, I have the opportunity to rotate through different practice groups at the firm to gain as much experience and exposure to the different areas of law Lander & Rogers has to offer. I am currently completing a rotation in the Insurance Law and Litigation team. I always start my day with a coffee before settling into my tasks. Currently, I am assisting with preparing a defence, which involves creating a chronology of relevant records to build an understanding and clear timeline of the events involved in a particular claim, as well as assisting my supervisor in undertaking witness conferences. Today, I am attending a settlement hearing at the Supreme Court of Victoria, and need to take notes of the issues and outcome and then prepare a memo for my colleagues. No two days are the same!
What's your background?
I grew up and went to school in country Victoria, and always knew I wanted to study and work in Melbourne. Once I had finished high school, I set off on a gap year to explore the world, living and working in Europe for 12 months before returning to study a Bachelor of Law/Bachelor of Arts at Monash University. I have always had an interest in law, having loved studying legal studies at school, but I never had a clear plan for what I wanted to do after university. I studied journalism during my Arts degree, and for a long time planned to follow that career pathway. However, two years in lockdown and several existential career crises later, I decided to apply for clerkships in my penultimate year "just in case" I wanted to pursue a legal career. That turned out to be a great decision because I found myself working as a winter clerk at Lander & Rogers in 2022, experiencing work in a law firm for the first time. At the close of my four-week clerkship, I knew I wanted to pursue a legal career and applied for the graduate program. Fortunately, I got the job! I have now been a legal graduate for almost six months and look forward to being admitted as a lawyer at the end of the year.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Yes - absolutely. Obviously, as a legal graduate you do need to have a law degree, but there are many pathways of achieving this, be it through undergraduate or postgraduate study. Many people don't follow a linear path into the law. I think being inquisitive, determined and having a great attention to detail are all characteristics that can help you succeed in a legal career
What's the coolest thing about your job?
As a graduate, I love the variety of work that comes across my desk daily. Working in litigation, I particularly enjoy the opportunity to attend court events and mediations. Getting involved in preparing for these events, including drafting affidavits, preparing briefs to Counsel, and attending witness conferences, has been a highlight of my graduate year. Research is another common task for graduates. Although it can sometimes be tedious, it is a fantastic feeling when you see your research used in a letter of advice to a client, or in a memorandum to Counsel.
What are the limitations of your job?
A legal career is certainly demanding, and it does require you to learn how to prioritise and manage your time effectively. Although as a graduate you aren't responsible for the day-to-day handling of files, you are given a degree of autonomy and responsibility to complete important work. At the start of your career, this can certainly feel daunting. However, you are never expected to be able to do things perfectly from the get-go. It is a learning experience, and as long as you are diligent and committed to improving, your skills and confidence will develop quickly.
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