ET CETERA RESILIENCE
ISSUE 1 - 2021
ET CETERA ISSUE 1 2021 | RESILIENCE
About the Deakin Law Students' Society The Deakin Law Students’ Society (DLSS) is one of Deakin University’s oldest and largest student societies. We are a student-run organisation which aims to assist Deakin law students make the most of their time at law school. Across our portfolios, we work to provide a range of events and services to assist you at every stage of your degree. Whether you want to improve your grade or make new friends, the DLSS is your one-stop shop for all things law at Deakin.
DISCLAIMER This publication is provided free of charge by the Deakin Law Students’ Society. Any opinions expressed in this publication are not to be held as those of the DLSS, Deakin Law School or Deakin University. The DLSS, Deakin Law School and Deakin University do not necessarily endorse these opinions; they belong solely to the authors.
COPYRIGHT This publication is subject to copyright. Except where permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this publication may, in any form or by any means (electronic or otherwise) be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any process, without special written consent of the DLSS. © Deakin Law Students’ Society Room EA2.17, School of Law, Deakin University 221 Burwood Hghway, Burwood 3125 www.deakinlss.org
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ET CETERA Issue 1 2021 | Resilience INTRODUCTION Et Cetera is the flagship publication of the DLSS. It seeks to capture and reflect the 'now' and to resonate with the interests of Deakin Law students. The focus of this issue is resilience in the legal sector. The articles in this publication consider, within the context of legal study and practice, what resilience means and how it can be used to optimise experiences.
EDITORIAL Editor | Antonia Seriatos Editor | Patricia Clarke Editor | Sophie Lean Editor-in-Chief | James Dance CONTRIBUTORS Jordan Dittloff Laura-Jane Maher Lauren Kelindeman Lauren Solomonson Phillip Faella Stuart Taylor
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PRESIDENT'S FOREWORD Hello and welcome to Et Cetera’s first edition for 2021!
Whether you were an on-campus student that dreaded the transition to online learning or found yourself going
2020 was a year that none of us could have predicted, plummeting us into a new and daunting online learning module. I had hoped that by the time I got to write this foreword it would be in a new and improved 2021. Alas, it is not an entirely new year. The Communications team could not have picked a better theme to address the issues that we as law students have faced in 2020 and continue to face now: resilience. In a naturally fast-paced and
through unexpected hardship due to the pandemic, we have all undoubtedly shown resilience to have made it this far in an almost post-COVID landscape. I applaud the effort you have shown in still being here as a student.
high-stakes industry, legal professionals are bound to face setbacks in the course of their career and being able to overcome issues and grow in the face of adversity is a necessary skill. As we continue our learning journey it is important to recognise that the varying setbacks we have all faced due to COVID-19 may better equip us with the tools to thrive in our eventual careers. Resilience is something that we often fail to recognise in ourselves, as it’s naturally a retrospective word. It is unusual that you will find yourself being
Congratulations to the Communications portfolio for their efforts in putting together this publication and to all those who
resilient in the present but rather something you recognise that you have shown in the past. Because of this, I
contributed articles - I can’t wait to read them!
think we don’t truly register how resilient we are. So, I encourage you all to reflect on your past year and take pride in the moments where you have
Best of luck for the remainder of your studies and stay safe,
overcome difficulties, big or small.
Georgia
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CONTENTS Resilience as a Skill
1
Resilience and the Value of Friendship
3
Hearsay
5
The Importance of Wellbeing in Building Resilience
6
'Damages Incurred' Feature
9
Little Failures
10
Law Graduate with Dyslexia
11
How to Enable Resilience in the Legal Profession
13
The Power in ‘No’ – How to Recover and Move Forward Following Rejection
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RESIILIENCE AS A SKILL Jordan Dittloff On a cold winter night six years ago, I looked out of the security mesh covered window of my second storey prison cell,
putting things that happen to you or around you into perspective. As a qualified personal trainer, I relate traits
over the barbed wire topped walls of Port Phillip Prison. In the distance the lights of Melbourne beckoned, the skyline clearly visible, silhouetted in a dull glow that pulsed like a heartbeat. The city seemed simultaneously within arms reach and as if a different world, leaving me feeling as if I was an alien observer. In many respects, that was true – I was apart from the world yet still present in it. I remember feeling as though everything I had been,
such as self-discipline, integrity, and resilience to strength and conditioning. Mental traits such as these are muscles of the mind, and like muscles they can be strengthened through practise and sustained effort or allowed to atrophy through inactivity. I know from experience that if you simply assume you will be able to call on these traits for the first time only when faced with a major crisis or test you may well fall short of the standards of thought and
everything I thought I would be, was drowning in a sea of crushing despair.
behaviour you would like to aspire to.
Yet even though I could not rationally think of any possible future that did not
Resilience is a mental skill that can be learned, and improved upon through
involve addiction, offending, and more incarceration, somehow I clung to a
practise, reflection, and external factors.
sense of myself that allowed me to stay afloat long enough for hope to rekindle. Resilience is a word that is thrown
Practising resilience means going outside of your comfort zone. Trying new experiences, meeting new people, or challenging yourself to achieve a task
around by life coaches, influencers, and mental health professionals alike so often that it has almost become a cliché, losing much of its meaning and relevance. Yet for all its prevalence in
or goal will build resilience. Success begets success, and the momentum you gain from doing difficult things creates a wellspring of resilience that you can draw from when you find
modern day discourse, misconceptions and confusion abound regarding what resilience really means and how it can
yourself in adversity.
be acquired. To me, resilience is not mental toughness, or necessarily the ability to
to think about who you are, and of equal importance who you want to be in the future. When I was in prison, I wrote letters to family and friends
be unmoved by hardship. Resilience is bouncing back after a setback, seeing opportunity in failure or misfortune, and
describing how I wanted to become a person of integrity who others could depend and rely on.
Reflection and introspection allow you
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RESIILIENCE AS A SKILL Jordan Dittloff Reflection allows you to set goals and move through time proactively rather than experience it passively. Pursuing a
JORDAN is a second-year Juris Doctor student and a recipient of the Deakin Postgraduate Scholarship for
mix of short-term and long-term goals promotes resilience by letting you swap between them when circumstances prevent pursuit of one or the other.
Academic Excellence. When not working or studying, he enjoys horse riding, working out in the gym, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Finally, few attitudes are more harmful than the message that resilience means getting through periods of struggle or hardship alone. Developing robust support networks of friends, family, personal and professional mentors that you can call upon allows you to test your thoughts and feelings against a detached yet caring perspective. Resilience does not mean never feeling low, overwhelmed, or impacted by things happening around you or challenges in your life. Properly cultivated and maintained, resilience means the ability to weather a storm and emerge from hardship intact, or even a better version of yourself.
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RESIILIENCE AND THE VALUE OF FRIENDSHIP Laura-Jane Maher | Sophie Lean Laura-Jane Maher, or LJ to those who know her outside of LinkedIn, started off as most law students do - wanting to
Eventually they became a close-knit friendship group: “We look out for each other, we look out for jobs for each
specialise in human rights law and ‘make the world a better place’. Sounds familiar, no? However, throughout her law degree she began to feel that she wasn’t a strong legal scholar in traditional ‘black letter’ units. She said, “I get them but I wasn’t that interested in them.” It was only after the completion of her law degree and some work as a paralegal that she changed pathways to find her stride in literature. This pathway ultimately lead her into teaching, but it
other…we often get each other in as tutors…we look after each other basically.” This special group has grown and changed as the years went on, welcoming different people, some leaving academia for full-time jobs. LJ warmly notes that the “conversations grow with us.”
was one particular unit at Monash in her honours program called Legal Fictions that inspired her current passions. It used law and legal skills in a way different than what she had before and applied them in order to analyse literature. Now, with her unique interest at the intersection of law and literature, she
But it was 2019 that she relied on her
has worked at Monash University, Melbourne University and Deakin University in a multitude of different legal, research, culture and communication units. LJ even runs a law
friends more than anything for her resilience. In March of 2019 LJ’s father went into palliative care due to lung cancer. LJ identifies this period as a particularly rough time in her life, with
and literature book club where they read judgements against novels. The members include professors,
her grandfather passing away four weeks before her dad did and her great aunt shortly thereafter. Teaching at
practitioners and a newly sworn in Supreme Court Judge.
several universities, all casually, meant that if she didn’t teach a class, she didn’t get paid. Her community of friends had rallied behind her so when
Around the same time that she was completing her Honours at Monash, her supervisor introduced her to a group of people so that they could 'talk to each other'.
LJ received the call that her father had gone into a coma, she contacted her
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RESIILIENCE AND THE VALUE OF FRIENDSHIP Laura-Jane Maher | Sophie Lean friends to ask if someone could cover for her and take her classes. However, they had already organised it. “They stood in for me and they turned around and said ‘don’t worry about it, you claim for it'. This meant I was able to pay rent and take time off for the funeral.”
In my interview with LJ it’s clear how special her community was to her and I found myself feeling more grateful for my community that has given me similar support. When I asked her whether she thinks this group has enabled her to be so resilient, I could hear the affection and emotion behind her voice with her resounding ‘yes’.
Then in 2020, a year that tested everyone’s resilience like no other, LJ was able to return the favour to her
One particular quote from LJ that I kept
friends. It’s easy to forget now how quickly everything changed in those few
coming back to in my messy postinterview notes was “You just pull
weeks of February and March.
together, you look after each other.” Community can be such a special thing,
As LJ has been teaching remotely at Deakin for years she had skills and formal training that many of her friends did not. She was able to help them during this time. LJ taught her friends how to expertly navigate Zoom and other online systems. “The turnaround was less than 24 hours, it was so fast,” LJ affirmed. “I told them I was going to help transition their classes online. It was really good to be able to do that for my friends.”
a group of people who come together and learn to lean on each other when they need it most. A shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen and a voice of support can provide the resilience you need to make it through those hard days. LJ is an academic currently working in Deakin's Law School. She has completed a PhD at Monash University called '99 Problems: An Interrogation of Writerly Ontologies' and is currently completing a Graduate Diploma in Higher Education (Teaching and Learning) at Deakin University.
Given how quickly the world was flipped upside down, I found it remarkable how resilient LJ was; she recognised that her friends needed help and stood in immediately to give them her support despite her world also changing so quickly. But that’s how friendships work.
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HEARSAY Law students do not always have it together and they too have been known to make mistakes, much like the average person. The following quotes were overheard during the trimester and have been tendered as evidence to prove this fact.
“As a student, you should be studying and available 24 hours, 7 days a week”
On Zoom: “Mum, can you please proofread this important email”
“Hash out some sort of joint policy”
At a coffee catch up: “I’m taking minutes”
“What is Et Cetera?”
“We should get an extra 5% every day they are
“I’m not a loud person, I just talk a lot”
late in returning our assignment grades”
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On a call: “Sorry if it’s loud, I’m at a club”
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THE IMPORTANCE OF WELLBEING IN BUILDING RESILIENCE Lauren Kelindeman | Antonia Seriatos What was your favourite part about law school?
Feelings of anxiety and stress are all too familiar for most law students and legal professionals given the intensive nature of working in the legal field. Dealing with these feelings are usually considered to be part of the norm, and often people don’t realise the impact
“Being on the DLSS for sure. That is what I think about when I think about uni - as well as the amazing friendships. Some of my closest friends today are still people who I met during my time on the DLSS. I met so many inspiring people through the society who are such high achievers and good quality friends. Because I was on the DLSS I was going into uni most days and the social element was really fulfilling.”
that these feelings are having on their overall mental health. Wellbeing and resilience are therefore vital in the overall prevention and limitation of mental health problems for individuals in the field of law. Earlier this month, I spoke to Deakin law
What was the most challenging part
alumnus Lauren Kelindeman (née Greer) for her personal account into these issues. Lauren is currently an Associate at Legalite with years of experience in the leasing, commercial and franchising fields. She is also a Wellbeing Champion at the firm and is the winner of Lawyers Weekly’s 30 Under 30 Award in the
about law school/life as a junior lawyer? “One of the biggest challenges I remember in law school was worrying I was going to fail my final semester. I definitely had too much on my plate - I worked four days a week at a law firm while juggling a full-time study load. Trying to balance this was not feasible
Wellness Advocate category for 2021. Last year, she was awarded Wellness Advocate at the Women in Law Awards. Beyond her achievements in the legal
whatsoever but I convinced myself that it was. I ended up failing my tax assignment in my final unit and I only received the result a week or two
sphere, Lauren has recently run two half marathons, has a passion for painting and is a published children’s book illustrator.
before the exam. I genuinely thought I understood the material, so assumed I would fail the exam as well. This led to me having frequent panic attacks. I later learnt I had Generalised Anxiety Disorder. The stress of thinking about repeating the unit the following year left me with shame and 6
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THE IMPORTANCE OF WELLBEING IN BUILDING RESILIENCE Lauren Kelindeman | Antonia Seriatos
You mentioned that you have struggled with Generalised Anxiety Disorder. What did this experience teach you about resilience?
good place for most of last year. As I had been seeing a psychologist for over a year, I had the self-awareness to identify when I didn’t feel well and the tools to do something about it. I completely cut off social media, as I think it was the cause of many people’s
“Once I graduated, I found that my
anxiety. This really taught me to proactively reach out to people when I
mental health issues didn’t go away as I expected they would. I travelled for a
wasn’t feeling well or missed my friends, as I couldn’t passively watch
few months and was feeling mentally great. Once I came back to work full
them on my feed.
time, I was experiencing all the same anxiety symptoms (panic attacks,
I had a lot of rituals, for example every morning I listened to my dedicated
trouble breathing, poor sleep).
'happy playlist' and I went for runs with my dog. I also found a passion for creativity, especially painting and drawing. I could paint for hours (or a whole weekend) and the time would fly by. This made the time in lockdown much more bearable. I also found things that gave me purpose such as
embarrassment. My whole life 'plan' was crumbling before my eyes.”
I originally believed that my anxiety was an isolated incident as a result of exams, but it was clear this wasn’t the case. The symptoms persisted on and off for four years until I sought professional help. My doctor and psychologist told me I did permanent damage to my brain by being under that much stress for a
the wellbeing sessions that I ran last year for the public (more below). These were all things that I learnt in the pandemic that helped me build
prolonged length of time. As you can imagine, I was shocked. If I had known that I would have gone to the doctor years before. After two years of treatment my anxiety is now under
resilience.”
control and I feel great.”
Tell me about your role as a Wellness Champion at Legalite and how
How did the COVID-19 pandemic test
wellness can assist in building resilience?
your resilience? “My main role as Wellbeing Champion is to implement wellbeing initiatives for the team (and sometimes wider legal community). For example, last year we
“It was a huge test because uncertainty and a lack of control contribute to anxiety. However, I was surprisingly in a 7
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THE IMPORTANCE OF WELLBEING IN BUILDING RESILIENCE Lauren Kelindeman | Antonia Seriatos started online wellbeing sessions during lockdown. We already ran sessions for the team, but as we realised people were struggling with lockdown, we decided to open these to the public. It was so successful that we ended up running 91 sessions in total. It was every
want to look at cutting back. There is absolutely nothing in life that is worth risking your mental health which I now know. If you are feeling anxious or down for more than a few weeks, go and see your local GP. I wish I did this years earlier!
day at 2pm on Zoom and it provided consistency for people’s lives at such an
They can offer you a mental health plan
uncertain time. It also brought people together when we were craving
with 20 subsidised psychologist appointments. These really help in
connection. Sessions included chair yoga, drawing class, making origami,
removing the financial barrier to getting treatment.”
gratitude - anything that was light that allowed people to 'play'. These were all
LAUREN is a Deakin law alumnus and is currently an Associate and Wellbeing Champion at Legalite. She is the winner of the Wellness Advocate Award in Lawyers Weekly's 30 Under 30 Awards. She was also named a 2021 Rising Star by the Australasian Lawyer.
based on positive psychology techniques for improving wellbeing that I had learnt through various online courses. We had lawyers, students, retirees and people from various countries all over the world log into our sessions.” Do you have any advice for law students today about how to remain resilient in their personal struggles? “If I had known that my anxiety and stress from university would cause permanent damage to my health, I would’ve cut down my workload. Think about your current situation; your studies, work and extra curriculars – could you keep this up everyday until you retire? If the answer is no, you may
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I N S C E U G R A R M E A D D LOCAL LAW STUDENT BROUGHT TO TEARS
OVER LAW BUILDING'S FANCY MICROWAVES PATRICIA CLARKE
“Yeah, don’t remind me. I refuse to turn around,” she said. “Can’t they see I have bigger problems?”
A Damages Incurred correspondent found local Deakin law student, Melissa Waters, having a moment at the Level 7 microwaves this afternoon.
Our correspondent cut the interview short to run to a seminar, but was able to catch up with Melissa later – allegedly trying out the Basement 1 microwaves.
“I just don’t understand what the buttons mean,” she said tiredly. “Like, this one is green but doesn’t make it start? It just keeps turning off.” She sighed and surreptitiously wiped away a tear. “I’m just going to do it in 30 second bursts.”
There is no test of resilience quite like the LC microwaves.
Researchers with an excess of funding have discovered that law students have the lowest rates of technological literacy
Read some more of our honest takes
among the entire Deakin student body, perhaps explaining the backlog at the
here and share some of your own by following this link.
microwaves this afternoon. However, we were not able to obtain a student quote as to this matter, since every law student asked was unable to comprehend a situation wherein law students were not inherently superior to arts students. Our reporter’s concerns about the growing queue behind Melissa were summarily dismissed by the woman in question.
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LITTLE FAILURES In the famous words of, quite frankly, too many people: "nobody's perfect." As this compilation of Little Failures proves, neither are law students. Here are the funniest selection of failures made by Deakin law students in Trimester 1.
Being forced to study for
Telling a customer to
T1 exams due to the
enjoy the rest of their
circuit-breaker
shift.
lockdown.
Being told to speak up when you’ve lost your voice and your throat stings.
After cutting 500 words
Sneezing while
from your assignment,
holding your cup of
realising the document was
coffee and spilling it
including footnotes. Now,
all over your keyboard.
you’re 100 words short. Fainting in the middle of the city and people thinking you’re drunk/doing something dodgy when in fact, that is not correct. Scheduling your whole
Hastily ending a Zoom
life on an online calendar
meeting before
only to have your access
everyone can say
later blocked.
‘byeeeee’.
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LAW GRADUATE WITH DYSLEXIA Phillip Faella As a young child, I always knew that something was wrong. I wasn’t able to read and write like the other children. I
After months and months of sounding out words, my brain finally clicked and I was able to read. The writing, however,
remember being put to the side and given work that did not involve any reading or writing. I think this set the foundation of my anxiety and anger.
took a little longer.
In 2000, at the age of 15, my school’s year ten coordinator told me that my secondary school education was over and that I should seek alternative education. Hearing this put me into a deep state of depression and hopelessness.
In 2011, I decided to undertake an undergraduate degree in criminology online, and quickly found myself struggling. At the end of my second semester, I deferred my studies and travelled overseas. In 2013, I returned to my studies with a new-found commitment. I soon found myself struggling again and slipping into a state of depression and anxiety. It was
After leaving public school, I went to a
not until talking to my counsellor that she suggested I contact Deakin to see if
Catholic school and graduated in 2004 at the age of 20, However, I was still
some kind of support could be arranged. I laughed at the suggestion,
unable to read and write. At this stage, I had not yet been diagnosed with
thinking nothing could be done. However, I remember the exact
dyslexia.
moment my counsellor called Deakin to ask whether help could be arranged. Deakin forwarded the enquiry to Deakin’s Disability Resource Centre
Following my graduation, and still unable to read and write, I successfully found employment. It was not until 2007 that I decided to give it one more shot and called the Reading Writing Hotline. After a couple of days, the Hotline connected me with the Eastern
(DRC).
Literacy Centre in Boronia and I began lessons with one of the volunteers.
to determine my disability. I officially received a diagnosis of dyslexia. The psychologist recommended that
The lessons were not going well. However, after a few weeks the volunteer who was helping me went on a six-week holiday and left me some
Deakin facilitate assessment and exam adjustments to give me the best possible chance to pass. After receiving the Learning Access Plan (LAP), I started
homework. Repeatedly, I sounded out the words on billboards and in the newspaper.
receiving high distinctions in criminology, and at the end of 2015,
After speaking with the DRC, they referred me to a psychologist. Over two days, the psychologist conducted tests
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LAW GRADUATE WITH DYSLEXIA Phillip Faella I transferred to Deakin Law School.
when and where it’s available and work extremely hard. Most importantly, be gracious and humble in success and
In the beginning, law was not easy. For the first time, I failed a subject. I quickly fell back into depression and anxiety; this time, to the point of hospitalisation. These feelings stemmed from my previous failings in primary and high schools. I felt as though history was repeating itself.
always be willing to pay it forward and help others. PHILLIP completed his Bachelor of Laws & Criminology this year, and will commence PLT in July. Once he has finished PLT, he plans to work as a police lawyer.
After speaking to a counsellor at Deakin, I mustered up the courage to go back to my LAP and revisit what the psychologist said to me: “use your diagnosis of dyslexia to your advantage.” With the support of Deakin’s counselling services and the help of the senior lecturer and my seminar leader, I passed contract law. I have since had multiple successes in many units, including multiple distinctions. I have not looked back since. One of the things I find funny is that dyslexia is normally associated with having difficulty reading, reading aloud, slow and labour-intensive reading and writing, having problems with spelling, avoiding activities that involve reading and mispronouncing names and words. A law degree is one of the most reading and writing-intensive pursuits. In law, you’ve got to get the details right. How can someone who didn’t start reading and writing until they were 24, undertake a law degree? The answer is simple: accept that you have a disability, accept that you’re always going to make mistakes, ignore the critics, ask for help 12
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HOW TO ENABLE RESILIENCE WITH THE LEGAL PROFESSION Stuart Taylor 'spillover,’ where the stress theyexperience at work can overflow and impact their personal life, at first
Legal work has always been synonymous with high levels of stress, where large workloads, long hours, client demands, tight deadlines and a lack of work-life balance all combine to create a high-pressure environment that’s conducive to burnout. During the
affecting their ability to relax at home. Over time, spillover can give way to ‘crossover’, where higher exhaustion levels begin to impact on workplace performance, eventually leading to burnout.
COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Springfox conducted research which found worry and anxiety was reported as the prevailing emotion felt by 21.7 per cent
Firstly, it’s imperative for lawyers to establish boundaries between their work and home life. This not only positively benefits their personal life and mental health, but also provides
of Australian professionals. Further, as a sector, legal professionals found that workload and stress increased critically by 50-54 per cent with very significant
the much-needed performance boost that comes from rest and overall life
reductions of positivity of 41 per cent and trust in leaders of 20 per cent. This has been further amplified by the now permanent hybrid working arrangements where staff and leaders split their work week between office and home.
enjoyment. To achieve this, try exercising the following: Funnel negative stress into something productive. Too often, we reserve our worst behaviour for those we care about the most. Going for a run or cooking dinner for
Whilst these findings may well be confronting, they are nevertheless unsurprising. Unfortunately, it is all too common to miss the signs of burnout
the family can be healthy ways to channel the negative energy boiling under the surface and avoid any unpleasant outbursts.
until they’re already there, but the longterm consequences of ‘overdoing it’ can be damaging to our work life – resulting in a lack of focus and engagement, poor
Catch, check, then change. One of the most effective things we can learn is how to reframe our thinking
time management, and heightened worry and anxiety.
to avoid ‘thinking traps’ that lead to unhelpful responses and emotional spillover. Learn your personal emotional cues to identify negative
What’s more, when unaddressed, workplace stress has a tendency to impact our personal lives, too. Lawyers are prime candidates for emotional
behaviours and shift your attitude 13
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HOW TO ENABLE RESILIENCE WITH THE LEGAL PROFESSION Stuart Taylor A good sleep routine can be a welcome boost to those who continually function at a fast pace and high-performance level.
into a more constructive and beneficial response. Take time every evening to celebrate the positive things that happened in the day. The simple act of recalling and magnifying the
Divide your day into segments. Allocate time for certain work tasks, time to move your body and time for mental breaks.
positives will mean your focus is no longer on deadlines and work stress, allowing you to channel your energy towards hobbies or personal
Find a way to be active every day. You can stretch, stand up or take a walk around the block. This is also a great tool to help you refocus. Just 30 minutes a day can work wonders
relationships. To build on this, lawyers who invest in developing their own personal resilience
for your brain and increase your resilience long term.
are more likely to be able to master stress and prevent the onset of mental health problems. While it can be easy to let your personal well-being fall by the wayside in times of stress, it’s important to establish some non-negotiables to keep yourself on the right track.
When in doubt, breathe out. Controlled breathing can help you improve your cognitive performance, effectively manage stress and help you become more resilient by improving concentration, increasing creativity and improving productivity to help you power through.
Connect outside of work. Take the time to maintain healthy and emotionally stimulating relationships outside of work and explore ways to connect people in meaningful ways. For example, go for a nice walk after work or eat a meal with friends or family as often as possible. Get into a structured sleep habit. Aim for 7 to 8 hours a night and wake up at the same time every morning (even on the weekend).
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HOW TO ENABLE RESILIENCE WITH THE LEGAL PROFESSION Stuart Taylor
The demands faced by legal professionals and for those studying law are unlikely to change, but it’s both in spite of and because of this that lawyers must safeguard their mental wellbeing. By implementing resilience practices in their own lives, lawyers can pave the way for productivity and sustainability in the workplace, which in turn produces greater business outcomes. STUART is the Founder CEO of Springfox, Australia’s leading provider of evidence-based resilience programs for professionals and organisations.
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THE POWER IN 'NO' – HOW TO RECOVER AND MOVE FORWARD FOLLOWING REJECTION Lauren Solomonson respected my colleagues and loved the work I was exposed to, or moving to a firm where I would feel valued but
I’m sure if you are reading this, then you have already faced several rejection letters, unreturned emails and maybe even the odd ‘laugh in your face’ reaction to applications you have sent in for jobs in the legal profession. If it is any solace, you are certainly not alone.
surrounded by uncertainty. In the end, I chose to stay where I was because I felt I had established a solid support network, my supervising solicitor knew the training I needed in order to improve, and I genuinely wanted to stay, regardless of my title.
When I was in my penultimate year of my Bachelor of Laws at Deakin University, I applied for no less than 25 clerkships because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do, not because I was
My path to becoming a lawyer didn’t go the way I planned, but I was granted the opportunity to pursue a slightly
genuinely interested in all 25 firms. 25 – I wish I was joking. Unsurprisingly, I
different path with my current firm that
spread myself too thin and only received four replies, three interviews, and two clerkships.
still enabled me to continue my career, albeit circumventing the traditional pathway. Whilst this obviously may not be the outcome at any or all firms you
Come my final year, I focused my efforts on only applying for graduate positions with the two firms who hired me for clerkships. I knew which one I really
apply to, it’s important to remember that most lawyers you encounter didn’t follow a traditional pathway.
wanted, as it was at that firm where I had commenced in a paralegal role; where I loved the people, the culture and the overall vibe of the firm. When
There is also a power – a light at the end of the tunnel – to be found in being rejected, and overcoming that rejection.
offer day rolled around, to my surprise (and great emotional distress), I only received an offer from my second preference. What should have been a
I used my rejection as an opportunity to re-evaluate my ‘why’: Why did I want to be a lawyer? Why did I like my current firm, and the work I was doing? Why
moment of elation for at least receiving one offer was soured by the fact that I hadn’t land my dream role at the firm where I was already working.
did I want to stay, and why was I reluctant to leave? I also challenged myself to address why I was being rejected, and created a strategy to work
I was faced with the unanticipated choice of staying where I was, where I
on those factors. 16
ET CETERA ISSUE 1 2021 | RESILIENCE
THE POWER IN 'NO' – HOW TO RECOVER AND MOVE FORWARD FOLLOWING REJECTION Lauren Solomonson Addressing the feedback you get (if you’re lucky enough to get specific feedback), and building on the skills or experience required to improve, is one of the best things you can do following a ‘no’. If multiple rejections are to be expected in our journey to find
What a firm is willing to promote to the public can be a huge indication of the importance they place on these things, and you can decide whether or not you would want to be a part of any of these initiatives.
employment in the legal profession, then the least we can do is learn from
In the end, the only person who can forge your professional path for you is
these experiences and not face rejection for the same reasons on multiple
you. Take the countless ‘noes', and find a way to be motivated by them, have
occasions.
them fuel your drive and your ‘why’, and in time, you will find your perfect role.
Were you told you need more legalspecific experience? Then go find it!
LAUREN is a Deakin law alumni and is currently a Lawyer at Coulter Roache. She was a Finalist in both the Lawyer's Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards 2020 and Women in Law Awards 2020 in the Wellness Advocate category.
Whether it be through applying for smaller firms in regional areas, volunteering at CLCs or joining your Law Student Society, there is no shortage of ways to gain experience. In my final year at Deakin, I threw myself into my work as President of DLSS Geelong, began volunteering for Women in Local Democracy Geelong, and focused my energy on business development activities for my firm, in order to grow my visibility within the Geelong legal community. Perhaps your feedback was that you weren’t a good fit for that particular firm. Not every firm will be the right fit for you. What now? Spend time researching each firm’s community engagement, their corporate partnerships and stalk their social media to see if you like their style of business development and their online presence. 17
DLSS JULY 2021