The Brief

Amelia Jamieson reflects on building deep expertise in financial crime and AML, an early policy role at RBC in Toronto, and secondments at NAB to her current role as managing counsel for financial crime at the Commonwealth Bank. She compares in-house and law firm practice, what it took to move internationally early in her career without a conventional clerkship path, and why clear, practical writing are the skills that matter most in this regulatory space.

Claire O’Connor SC reflects on a career at the bar in human rights and public interest litigation, including landmark cases such as Al-Kateb v Godwin and Trevorrow v State of South Australia. She explores how strategic litigation can challenge systemic injustice, and discusses gender discrimination, sexual harassment and inequality within the legal profession.

Zali Steggall reflects on her path from four Winter Olympics and a career at the bar in sport and family law to winning Warringah in 2019 and life as an independent MP. She discusses turning client-level frustration with family law into parliamentary reform, campaigning for truth in political advertising, co-founding Community Strong with Allegra Spender, and why law students should treat politics as something that will shape their lives whether they like it or not.

Jessie Scriven reflects on her path from top-tier and in-house legal practice to her role as Law Careers Director at the University of Sydney, and how she now helps students navigate clerkships from application to interview. She explores graduate programs and career pathways beyond the clerkship pipeline for students open to less conventional routes.

Dr Dominic Knight reflects on co-founding The Chaser without practicing law, and how a career in comedy, broadcasting and writing led him back to the University of Sydney to teach media law with a practitioner’s focus on real publishing risk. He urges law students to lean into extracurriculars, question the clerkship funnel, and trust that a law degree can still pull together in unexpected ways.

James Kwong reflects on his path from SULS Vice President (Careers) and Clifford Chance through ITV Studios, BBC Studios and Curio Pictures to Head of Business Affairs at Stan. He discusses what business affairs actually involves, producing his first short film Embarrassing Parents Anonymous, and how M&A training translates when nobody really knows how to make money from movies.

Brae Venn reflects on her years at Herbert Smith Freehills and Allens before leaving big law for Parachute, a legal AI startup. She shares how legal AI is changing what juniors are expected to do, what pro bono at the HSF Asylum Seeker Clinic gave her that corporate work couldn’t, and why it’s worth exploring careers beyond the clerkship path.

David Higgs SC reflects on a distinguished career at the Bar spanning nearly five decades, managing nerves and the weight of advocacy across Australia’s highest courts, and why empathy, relentless preparation, and seeing the person behind the brief remain at the heart of truly great lawyering.

Yasmin Naghavi reflects on fifteen years building Australia’s leading boutique entertainment firm before founding Artis Causa to represent creatives from comedians to game developers, what it means to practice law “for the sake of art”, and why aspiring lawyers should stop trying to manufacture the perfect legal CV and focus instead on becoming an interesting human.

Zoe Lim reflects on moving from an assumed commercial law path to a career in government policy after a SULS panel sparked a lightbulb moment about impact, her work across DFV policy and the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, and how moving sideways can be as valuable as moving up when the thread connecting every move is the desire to do work that matters.

Geoffrey Chen reflects on working through commercial law at multiple firms before realising it wasn't the right fit, the value of deliberately exploring what you don't want before making a change, and how leaving law led him to Seoul to learn Korean and rediscover writing.

Todd Porman and Kezia David reflect on their unexpected paths into insurance litigation, the human element that never leaves even the most technical matters, and how developing a personal compass grounded in faith shapes the way they navigate the hardship of legal disputes.

Isabelle Reinecke reflects on founding Grata Fund and leading strategic litigation to advance human rights, climate action and democratic freedoms across Australia, and how purpose-driven leadership can use the law as a tool for lasting social change.

Professor Doug Jones reflects on his path through law school, the decisions that shaped his future, and how he discovered a passion for a field that would ultimately take him around the world.