WORKING AS AN AUSTRALIAN WORKING AS AN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SOLICITOR GOVERNMENT SOLICITOR

Katrina Davis Katrina Davis

Katrina Davis works as an Australian Government Solicitor, in the area of civil litigation She mainly works with torts and contract law

Why did you choose to study law?

I chose to study law as I found that whilst completing my business degree I was not fully applying myself and was looking for more of a challenge I enjoy learning and complex tasks I enrolled in a law degree and definitely got what I asked for.

Whilst at law school I realised early on that I thoroughly enjoyed contracts, torts and commercial law I also really enjoyed mooting Taking these into consideration, it appeared the obvious choice when deciding my career would be to pick the areas of law I was most eager to learn about That resulted in me initially entering private practice as a commercial litigation lawyer

What is your favourite thing about the legal field?

My favourite thing was the complexity and breadth of information. As I said, I enjoy learning new things, no matter how obscure I found that whilst studying law there were so many opportunities now open to me and various career paths Studying law provided me with new skills regarding critical analysis, persuasiveness, time management and interpersonal communication

I used and continue to use all of these skills in both my life and career

My other favourite thing about studying law was the opportunities it presented to me My law degree led me to competing in mooting competitions around the country and eventually in England at the University of Oxford Intellectual Property Moot I also received multiple travel grants that enabled me to see the world and attend conferences to meet other like-minded and driven people These experiences opened further opportunities for me on the job market to progress my career

What did your journey into law look like?

I started off as a briefing clerk at the Coroners’ Court of Victoria My job was to assist in investigating and drafting Coronial Findings into reportable deaths It was great! My sole purpose was to assist others and safeguard the community I was, and still am, proud of the work that I did there When I see the community recommendations that I helped make being implemented, it brings me joy.

Once I graduated, I wanted to give private practice a crack so I left and joined a firm. I stayed there for a few years Whilst I liked the work, I did not enjoy the culture

Once I felt like I had spent enough time there for me to learn if it was the right or wrong fit for me, I moved on to join AGS At AGS I have found it combines all the things I enjoy about being a lawyer whilst offering complex and varied work

How does a typical day as a lawyer play out?

My days vary depending on the matters I am working on and how large they are It usually follows a cycle of reviewing, considering and drafting. The drafting component might be drafting advice, correspondence or court documents On larger matters, I might spend days, weeks or even months on one large task such as discovery, or litigation management where I could be doing anything from reviewing documents to managing people’s workloads and answering their questions, all whilst ensuring court deadlines and targets are met

Do you have any advice for future lawyers?

I have three nuggets of wisdom

Make friends in law school:

They will be your rock through assignments, exams and life in general They will get you They will understand in the way your other friends won’t how busy you can be sometimes They will be able to help you with notes, assignments (in a nonplagiarising way) and the general stresses of law school

Keep in mind, the people you go to law school with will be your co-workers in the future

Be nice I ended up at the same firm as multiple people I knew from law school

It helped that we all liked and respected each other

Start prepping for your career now:

Everyone has the exact same qualification as you, so you need to think of what you can now do to convince an employer to hire you over another person Do internships now, compete in moots, join the law society and write articles Essentially do things that will add to your resume and differentiate you from your peers. Good grades are a given and will only get you so far

Take time for yourself and don’t get caught up in the Lawyer Life’ hype:

I have seen more people than I wish to admit exhibit signs of being burnt out Whilst law school is stressful, difficult, and should be taken seriously, you need to also take care of yourself You will see people idolising or joking about how busy they are or how tired they feel. Working or studying insane hours when you don’t have to isn’t cool This is not an episode of Suits (if people still watch that) This is your life; and your mental health is not a joke or something to mess with Take care of yourself and unashamedly reach out to others when you need help