What's your job about?
I am in the Private Clients team at McCabes. The bulk of our work is Wills and Estates. On a usual day, I am drafting initial recommendations to clients on their estate planning, I am also drafting estate planning documents such as Wills and Power of Attorney documents. I may also apply for probate or help with the administration of an estate. Occasionally, I sit in on client meetings, where I am required to take detailed notes. I have a very varied job and no two days are the same.
What's your background?
I grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and went to primary school and high school there. I studied a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Psychology at Macquarie University. Throughout high school I wanted to be a clinical psychologist, however, when I completed my legal thesis in my final year of law school, I realised that I would like to give a career in law a try.
I met some of the employees at McCabes at the law society careers fair in March 2021. They were all very friendly and absolutely loved their jobs. I always thought that I would work in Family Law or Criminal Law as I studied psychology. However, when I met the people from McCabes I was immediately in love with the culture here. I decided from that meeting that I was going to do everything I could to work at McCabes. I quickly applied for the graduate program and I found out I was successful in June 2021. I have been working at McCabes as a law graduate since December 2021 and I have absolutely loved it.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
If you have a degree in law, you could definitely do my job. Even if you have done paralegal work in another area of law or if you have never done any paralegal or law clerk work, you could definitely work in a law firm like McCabes. I had very little paralegal/law firm experience prior to working at McCabes.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The coolest thing about my job is meeting with clients and drafting their estate planning documents. I find it very interesting as it is like a snapshot of someone's life and how they have accumulated their assets.
What are the limitations of your job?
I think the biggest limitation of working in the legal field is long hours. From what I have seen, it requires a lot of time and dedication to become a good lawyer.
3 pieces of advice for your university self?