BECOMING A KING’S COUNSEL BECOMING A KING’S COUNSEL

King’s Counsel Stuart Wood has had an impressive career in law spanning 30 years. We were lucky enough to sit down and listen to him speak about his journey into law, and what he believes is crucial in being able to succeed in your chosen field

Graduating from Melbourne Law School with both a degree in Law and Organic Chemistry, Stuart found he had developed a passion for industrial relations, and was able to begin working at one of the top law firms concerning this area

I researched who were the best firms and the best partners [in my chosen field], and then found out where one of the partners was speaking It was through analysis of where I wanted to go so I could narrow it down Being able to narrow down who you want to work with made it very easy as they knew you wanted to be there and you had done your research.

Stuart’s comments emphasise the importance of networking in order to work in your chosen area After working at a law firm for a couple of years, he decided to become a barrister and details that transition, initially starting as a young solicitor

When I started as a lawyer there were no unfair dismissal laws, bullying laws, there were sex and racial discrimination laws but they were making little impact

The unfair dismissal regime came in, and brought so much work [into my current law firm] that we ended up needing to brief all these barristers we were briefing a barrister [for a case] and he didn’t even end up coming to court for the case we had briefed him on and I remember thinking, if I go to the bar I can do better - at least I can turn up

It was working with barristers that initially instigated the idea to become one himself. He also highlights advocacy as another of his main reasons

The very good advocates and courtroom performers are barristers It’s hard to do the same thing if you ' re a solicitor, because it’s a lot to manage both clients and advocacy If you want to do court craft, 99 times out of 100 you have to come to the bar, it’s not done to the same standard at a law firm At a firm, there’s no one to talk to or learn from, whereas at the bar, you have a lot more experience and discussion with other barristers, it’s like a surgeon and a general practitioner

Once a barrister, Stuart slowly began his progression, the journey to becoming a King’s Counsel takes around ten to twenty years for most people He highlights the difficult work required and the skills needed to attain such a coveted position

There is around one in ten barristers who are KCs you have to slowly work your way up and build on your skills. A lot of work is required to be a successful lawyer as there is not only a technical side but also a client facing side which requires soft skills In big, high profile cases, hard skills are important but they’re often outweighed by the soft skills

Soft skills are something that Stuart emphasises heavily, he describes a young lawyer’s journey beginning with being rewarded on your technical skills but then once you reach a certain level, your ability starts to develop more from soft skills, which take a lot of time and initially aren’t something you ’ re necessarily taught or acknowledged for.

How would you say you’ve developed your soft skills?

Through making lots of mistakes, being honest with the mistakes, and listening

When people talk about listening, it’s more about sitting in someone else’s shoes and trying to see the world from their perspective It takes a lot of practice of anchoring yourself in someone else’s shoes. You have to figure out a client’s needs and goals and give them a voice

Stuart has additionally been at the forefront of a multitude of high profile cases, taking on an impressive list of cases He elaborates on this unique experience and the skills required for such a case

You have to be very calm in the high profile cases because there’s a team of people involved, you have to try and get along with everyone

It’s about finding a solution that everyone is broadly happy with This means a lot of compromises and trying to bring a coalition of people together whilst being calm despite how much is at stake

Stuart concludes the interview with the notion that if you have the passion, you’ll find law to be a really worthwhile and rewarding profession, something that means a great deal coming from someone who has dedicated their entire professional life to the law