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3 Goals for Second Year Law Students

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3 goals for second year law students! 

Author Samara Wendt

This week we are adding a new Blogger to our Student team, Samara Wendt- another fun loving and talented law and psychology student. 

Samara has penned a great piece on goal setting for 2nd year law students but as someone who finished second year law a very long time ago, I found her thoughts on goal setting a great reminder for me too!

Clarissa

New Year Goals are so six months ago. Having ‘Start of Financial Year Goals’ is where the magic happens. Well my fingers are crossed something close to magic happens. Over the last semester I accepted some aspects of my study just weren’t working. I’m talking blatant issues which I could easily identify but, I chose to keep trotting on through the semester and hoping I would survive. Miraculously, I did still get some decent grades at the end of it, but I now wonder, if I had made only a few small changes what could I have achieved? No more wasting time I say! They say there is no time like the present to make a goal so I’m changing my study habits. I believe with the use of three books, my study routine will see benefits galore! Here’s how…  

Goal 1: I will make all my notes in notebooks

I have always been a hand writer of my notes for various reasons, including for the memory gains *insert muscle emoji* and the mutual distain technology and I have for each other. For a semester I dipped my toes into typed notes, but a corrupted computer resulted in ten weeks of notes being lost and a lot of tears. A lot. Side note, I was using a USB and OneDrive to back up my work but they also failed me. So back to paper I went. Despite always being a hand writer, I haven’t found a way to format and store notes that I find easy to access and beneficial to read over. Lined, loose paper was always my go to for notes, with a stapler and folder being my method of organisation, or madness. The idea of loose paper was to organise all the relevant lecture, tutorial and reading notes. But, what do you think my chances of finding the lecture, tutorial and reading notes on the same topic would be? Very unlikely with a side of tears. 

So, this semester I am using notebooks for all of my notes. I hope this will bring more organisation between the various notes and ultimately make end of semester exam prep more productive. At least, I will minimise the tears resulting from notes of any kind. However, the organisation of my notes relies on the success of the next goal. 

Goal 2: Make MORE of an effort to do MORE readings

I have developed a few nifty hacks to avoid purchasing expensive textbooks (which I look forward to sharing), but it’s my lack of commitment to completing readings that ruins the excitement of those hacks. While all the good intentions to do readings and make effective notes are present at the start of the semester, as soon as a couple of assignments are dropped into the mix my weekly readings become more of a dream than a reality. Tell me that’s a universal law student dream… 

I recently saw a cartoon that explained the importance of readings. It showed a book shining light directly into the pictured character’s face. The next frame was of the character with the same light shining from its eyes. To me, the knowledge I could be gaining from those readings, that I simply don’t make time to do, is unbelievable. I could be shining so much more knowledge into my assignments, exams and future career but am missing out because of my lazy habit!

My goal is now to continue completing prescribed weekly readings even when stress hits. It is just a matter of making time available and being more conscious of how I spend my time elsewhere! This coincidently leads to my third goal.

Goal 3: Use my diary to become more organised with my time.

If you do not have a physical diary I could not recommend it enough. It makes organising and keeping track of life so much easier. I am a visual learner and having all important dates marked for me to visually reference is the most beneficial thing for my success. Even using your diary to forward plan on assessments and projects is made so much easier with a physical diary. However, it is the way in which I use my ‘extra’ time that is bringing me down. My ‘extra’ time is usually when I don’t have something scheduled to do in my diary. Really, this is when I should be doing those readings or completing my notes. But I don’t. Instead, I make myself give up hope of readings being completed to spend double the time binge watching The Crown or Millionaire Hot Seat. Don’t get me wrong, when you are stressed you need to stop and relax for a little time. Emphasis on the little time. Unfortunately, being as witty as Eddy McGuire is optional in the courtroom and should be classified as a extra-curricular (i.e. not important!). 

This semester I aim to use my time more wisely. Instead of simply writing ‘study’ across a period of time, I am writing specific tasks and time frames to complete them in. These tasks are as specific as writing ‘Research Methods Tutorial Prep’ or ‘Counselling Readings’. Fingers crossed this method becomes rewarding at end of semester for assignments and exams.

Lesson Learnt!

But would goal setting be complete without acknowledging the harm my current habits were causing? It seems I was subjecting myself to a domino effect of low productivity which directly affected my success in all areas of study. Like I said, I knew my ignorance to change habits earlier could have prevented me to be questioning my potential. But what is a bad habit if not a lesson learnt. 

There we have three semester goals using three different books! Let’s all say goodbye to time wasting regret and hello to productivity! Now the only question remaining is – what are your goals for the second semester?

Join me in making semester goals! Even if it is a single goal let’s work together. Connect with me on Instagram and Linkedin and lets manifest goal success together! 

Samara Wendt

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

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Hi! My name is Samara and I am an over opinionated, awkward and Imposter Syndrome suffering Law and Psychology student at the Queensland University of Technology. I never had that light-bulb moment when choosing to study law. I am not sure if many people so. But after witnessing injustice and suffering of those vulnerable in our world, I became determined to help. This is where going into law made sense for me. 

Despite believing in my purpose, I openly feel the dreaded law school Imposter Syndrome. You know, when you feel like everyone else has got ‘it’ together and you don’t even know what day it is. This year I became determined to embrace this clueless feeling by moving out of comfort zone. This included entering an Instagram competition with The Happy Family Lawyer which led me here! 

Here I am blogging about all things law school, student life and comfort zones in hopes to find fellow Imposter Syndrome suffers. 

Join the journey here on The Happy Law Student Blog and connect with me on Instagram and Linkedin! 

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7 affirmations to get me to my happy place! By Jelena Dmitrovic

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This is a image of Jelena Dmitrovic holding her tiff laptop bag

7 affirmations to get me to my happy place! By Jelena Dmitrovic

Jelena Dmitrovic; When I was first asked to write this blog my immediate reaction was to feel worries. This being my first ever blogging experience I thought to myself, “I have no idea how to write a blog!”

Being in my final year of uni (and a tiny way through the gigantic workload that comes with Honours studies), I’ve noticed this sort of self-doubt occasionally creeping into my thoughts about my thesis as well. I’ve found myself thinking, ‘There are so many brilliant specialists and academics in family law! I’m no expert, how am I ever going to contribute something original and meaningful?’

At times like these when I feel a bit unsure about myself I remind myself of these 7 little affirmations to boost my spirits, to regain my positive perspective and return me to my happy place.

7. It is okay to feel like you're not an expert on everything that comes your way.

The reality is, we will always have something to learn from a new situation and someone will always have something to contribute that perhaps you haven’t thought about. Don’t let this make you feel negative about yourself! Instead take this opportunity, and every other opportunity that comes your way, to learn something new and remember you will always have your own unique perspective on things. After all how boring would life be if we all thought the same and already knew everything about everything!

6. Embrace 'the deep end'!

This is easier said than done sometimes, I know this from personal experience. The day before my first day doing reception duties at BFLC I was writing pages and pages of notes on processes, coming up with a detailed plan of how the day would unfold, and I was worrying the whole time that I would mess it all up. In my mind, ultimate preparation was a MUST for that first day. When the day came, I did better than I initially gave myself credit for and it turns out I went a bit overboard with the ultimate preparation. Looking back I think, it’s great that I took the initiative to be as prepared as I possibly could be but, you just don’t have to put this pressure on yourself to have an indestructible step-by-step process for every single situation in life. Sometimes you just have to wing it. The deep end will always be unknown but, with faith in your abilities, it can mean soft rolling waves instead of rough seas.

5. Be kind to yourself on the days when you are struggling to give uni your 100%.

Some days you may find yourself lacking motivation or just feeling like you can’t give uni your 100% and be super productive. I’ve found myself feeling like this plenty of times and in my earlier uni years I remember searching for an explanation and then coming up disappointed when I couldn’t pinpoint the exact roadblock in my productivity. This year I have tried to remind myself that it’s okay to have days that are slower than others. It’s also okay to not have an explanation for these days. I try not to think of these days as unproductive days. Just because you may not have ticked off all of the things on your to-do list that day, doesn’t mean you weren’t productive. Maybe you took the chance to have some down time and to rest, or to catch up with a friend or family member, or to get out into the fresh air and sunshine. If you use days like these to care for your wellness and to remind yourself of your passion for your studies or work, you can count that as a very productive day indeed! 

4. Accept the things you can't change.

I’m sure I speak on behalf of many law students when I say, there will always be something along the way that feels unfair: early classes on a Monday morning, unforgiving deadlines, or back to back exams. Getting frustrated and complaining about this may feel great in the moment and give you temporary relief, but ultimately it sets you into a negative mind frame for the next time such a situation arises. Acknowledging that that’s just the way things are, that there’s probably not much you can do to change things, and doing your best to just get on with the task at hand will set you into a determined frame of mind to overcome that challenge and will greatly contribute to your wellness in the long run. 

3. Celebrate your own little victories inside and outside law land.

My most recent little victory was going fishing for the very first time. Now this may seem silly to some, but for me this was a brand new learning experience entirely unrelated to uni. It gave me the opportunity to be technology-free for a few hours and to really be in the moment, to witness a beautiful sunrise on the beach, and now I have a memory to think back on and keep me happy and motivated when uni gets even more challenging. Make sure you take some time out to create and celebrate your own little victories. 

2. Don't take things so seriously.

The most confronting thing someone has said to me in law land so far is, ‘Jelena you take things too seriously’. Initially I was a little bit taken aback but when I stopped to think about this it really helped me in realising how much pressure I was putting on myself over some pretty simple, and for lack of better expression, easy-going tasks. Since that comment I have tried to take things a little less seriously, not to say that I don’t put due significance and effort into things that require it, but I am definitely trying not to overthink things. It is equally as important to set yourself realistic expectations that you can achieve and be proud of yourself for. 

1. Life is all about doing life well.

These wise words came from someone very close to me at a time when law school was really challenging and I was feeling particularly helpless. I feel like this is the best advice I’ve received along my journey through law land so far and this is now my number 1 mantra when life throws a curveball my way. Take from it what you will and whatever it means to you, but for me it means that  

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This is a photo of gorgeous Jelena Dmitrovic

Jelena Dmitrovic 

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

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Hello! I’m Jelena, a final year law student at Griffith University and Law Clerk at Brisbane Family Law Centre! 

My path to law school took some twists and turns and I am grateful for the learnings I have gained along the way: embrace every opportunity that comes your way, even when is seems more like a setback than an opportunity, as nothing is ever wasted. 

Along my journey in law land I have enjoyed pursuing my interest in family law both at university and through volunteering at the FLPA Family Law Residential 2017, attending networking and professional development events, and partaking in work experience programs. 

In November 2017 I had the pleasure of joining the BFLC team and within this unique little firm I have made some great work friends and gained an incredible amount of practical experience in just a short time. 

I anticipate admission in 2019 and until then I look forward to graduating in November 2018, travelling, and of course spending as much time in the outdoors as possible. 

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Shall we dance? By Zinta Harris

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Shall we dance?

I have recently started Latin dancing classes with my hubby Craig. 

We have been talking about doing this for about 15 years, and finally after a friend challenged my thinking, we signed up and started in the new year!

We love it!

As parents of two kids, each running our own businesses, we don’t get a lot of time for – just us. So, this is something we have really enjoyed (even if we don’t swap partners as the rest of our class do – they know us now and understand!) 

We have just started our second term and things are getting a little more complex! We have learned the basics in salsa, merengue, zouk lambada, bachata and samba – now we are getting stuck into learning how to add in turns, waves and the occasional body roll! 

For someone like me – a self-confessed control freak and a dancer used to choreography – I am having issues with being a follower and letting Craig take the lead!

In the beginning I couldn’t help myself, I would take over and tell Craig what to do! But as time has gone on (and Craig has been taught how to lead) I am actually letting go and going with his flow.  I can even now get to the point where I can close my eyes and relax, knowing that I don’t have to think – all I need to do is go with his lead. Actually, pretty life-changing for me! That said, poor Craig does have steam coming out his ears most of the time having to think about what comes next!

So how has this transformation occurred I hear you ask? Well, I will happily admit that in the most part it took quite a bit of “unlearning” and letting go from little ol’ me!

Our instructors talk about connection and frame (yes, yes, just like in the movie Dirty Dancing!). But I can tell you – it is everything! 

We must both keep our frame (our arm position and body angle) strong and aligned with each other. This is because it is key to how the leader communicates the next move to the follower. If Craig steps forward, the resistance in my arms means that I can only step back. 

The frame is key to connection, but connection is more than frame. Connection is literally the physical communication between the leader and the follower to signal what is coming next. If Craig takes a step sideways and guides me with his arm around my back, then we change direction from a front-to-back movement to a side-to-side movement. If Craig lets one arm of our frame go and raises the other, it means he is about to spin me around. 

The connection is possible in both “closed frame” or “open frame” dancing – whether we are closer together or further apart. The key for me as a follower (in my total 16 weeks of experience – ha!) is to keep watching the angle of Craig’s chest. Thankfully even at the age of 50, his is a pretty nice chest to be looking at….but I digress! The angle of his chest is telling me how he intends to travel next. If he plans to move sideways it will turn as he gets ready to change direction. 

So why, oh why am I rabbiting on about frame and connection and steamy Latin dancing on the Happy Lawyer Happy Life blog? 

Well – apart from dancing being part of my own way of injecting a bit of “happy” into my law life – it struck me recently, when being asked by Clarissa Rayward to speak about Creativity in the Law, that we as lawyers might benefit from a bit of “unlearning” so that we too might better follow our client’s lead. 

This year I have learnt a few new skills. 

I have become trained as a collaborative lawyer (thanks to the training provided by none other than the happy lawyer herself) and I am now a nationally accredited mediator (having completed the intensive (and quite intense) course and assessment with the College of Law)!

Before undertaking these courses, I have, in my 20 plus years of practice, taken many a client through mediation and I have practiced in what I considered to be a “collaborative” way (i.e. I always try first – and over and over again – to reach a practical, commercial resolution as soon as is humanly possible so that legal costs are not wasted fighting over things needlessly).

Before undertaking these courses, I thought they would be “easy” to complete. They were anything but! Why? Because my thinking was challenged. I was forced to unlearn all that “lawyering” had taught me – how to analyse “facts” through the relevant legal “filters” and to then suggest the best “solution” to the clients. Now there is, of course, nothing wrong with that approach. But what this approach seems to miss is that these “facts” are actually lived out in a real way by actual people – most of whom are adults capable of making their own decisions about their life and how to live it. To these people, while there might be a legally “correct” position at law – a more creative, flexible, practical solution might actually work better for them. 

My area of specialisation is in complex estate administration and contested estates. In this context I have seen items of “sentimental” value far more hotly contested than items with pure “monetary” value. Why? Because these items are the things that are important to the client. 

After completing these courses, I am more convinced now than ever, that the key to resolving disputes quickly (with the least cost to the client) is to let go of our temptation to jump in with the legal solution and to instead ask clients what they want. To do that will mean (particularly for those of us who have been around the traps for a while) that we will need to “unlearn” our problem-solving skills and to learn new skills so that we can empower our clients to author their own settlements. We will need to learn the skills of active listening, of re-framing negative statements into statements with a positive future focus, of finding commonality between feuding clients, and of keeping communications calm and respectful. Some might say these are “soft skills”, but if you have witnessed how they can transform the mood in a room and how they can cut through to the real life issues driving the conflict – you will know their power.

As lawyers in this “dance” with our clients – we must learn to follow the client’s lead, but we must also remain strong in our frame so that we are sure to partner well in the best interests of our client. 

So, as we look for “new and creative” ways to lawyer and stay relevant and useful to our clients – let’s not just focus on the ways in which technology can improve the way we deliver our service, let’s also look for ways in which we can adapt and learn new skills so that we can allow our clients to take control of their own settlements. It might just be life-changing!

Zinta Harris

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Zinta Harris

Specialist Succession & Business Lawyer  

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Zinta Harris is a specialist wills and estates and business succession lawyer and the owner of Resolve Estate Law. Over the past 24 years, Zinta has worked with grieving families to help them manage the fallout after the loss of a loved one. Her specialist focus is now exclusively in resolving wills and estates disputes and complex estate administrations. As a Nationally Accredited Mediator and trained collaborative lawyer, Zinta always seeks to guide matters to settlement as quickly and as peacefully as possible. 

Zinta’s goal is to change the face of how contested estates are dealt with. She is developing a training program on a collaborative practice framework (already successfully applied in the divorce context) for disputed estates matters – so that families are empowered to manage their inheritance without inheriting heartache.

In response to seeing the impacts of grief on her clients last year Zinta began to write her personal blog “Catching the Curveball” where she talks about how we respond when curveballs come our way. 

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In Case You Missed It: Creativity in the Law Panel Discussion presented by Clarissa Rayward

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In Case You Missed It: Creativity in the Law Panel Discussion Presented by Clarissa Rayward!

Kiarah Grace Kelly; When a Barrister, a CEO, a Judge, a Dual Accredited Specialist and a Founder of a Non-for-Profit sit down to chat you can be sure that plenty of seriously inspiring words will be shared. However, when those same people gather to discuss creativity (and in the Law of all places!) and the discussion is being facilitated by The Happy Family Lawyer – Clarissa Rayward, you can also be sure that we never really did know what to expect. Of course this was most obvious when a panellist pulled out a sandy blonde mullet wig and demanded to be called ‘Jayse.’ All of this and more really did occur when we gathered to raise funds for Dancing CEOs and the Women’s Legal Service at the offices of Grant Thornton on Wednesday 9 May 2018. 

On the panel we had Matthew Hickey – Barrister, singer extraordinaire and member of the hugely successful group the 10 Tenors, stories of which he can no doubt dine out on for ever more. To his right sat the 2018 Agnes McWhinney award winner – Ann-Maree David. The panel also included His Honour Justice Colin Forrest of the Family Court, Zinta Harris – founder of Harris Law and Dual Accredited Specialist as well as Milan Gandhi – founder of The Legal Forecast and Graduate at McCullough Robertson. 

What Does Creativity Mean to You?

The evening started with each of the panellists reflecting on what creativity really meant to them. Although a simple enough question, the responses which followed were incredibly insightful, practical and allowed us a chance to get to know each of the panellists. Matthew believes that creativity occurs when we have to “work out what isn’t, and then work out how it can be”. This concept of problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking is extremely commonplace in the work that lawyers do and yet we so very rarely put these skills in the same box as our creative ones. Zinta said that creativity evokes a sense of flow, slowness and reflection. The concept of flow is by no means a new one, now a widely accepted term in positive psychology; flow is the full immersion in a feeling of energised focus (thanks, Wikipedia)! Justice Forrest described creativity as the flexibility we must have with the pathways we take in life. For me, His Honour’s advice applies to the big and small journeys we have to complete. Whether it be your wider career path, a plan for what you want out of your life or even how you plan to approach a single matter, we must prepare for surprises and be creative in our efforts to overcome them. Milan insists that creativity can, and does, occur in our everyday lives and Ann-Maree reminds us that it’s not something that happens according to plan. Ann-Maree’s reflections reminded me that creativity and flow can occur in even the most unexpected ways, which means we must also look for creativity in unexpected places.

My journey toward creativity has been fraught (well, not really). However, I do feel like I’ve always lived with the impression that creativity is for those who paint, recite poetry or have complicated coffee orders. While these are clearly very worthy creative outlets, they are not an exhaustive list. I discovered creativity when I decided to make an effort to live as ‘authentically Kiarah’ as I could. This inspired a love for unique fashion and using greater expression with how I dress, it also meant that I would decorate the spaces where I spent the most time with colour, fun and special things which felt more me. You probably won’t find anything of mine which isn’t obscenely colourful and that’s exactly the way I love it. 

Making Mistakes!

I can’t tell a story of creativity without producing a cautionary note – beware the spare room in my house. To put it simply it is a graveyard of all my abandoned hobbies and projects, if anyone is in the market for half completed paintings or unknitted scarves, I’m your girl. This brings me to a personal highlight of the panel event. Clarissa asked the panel to reflect on what it means to make a mistake and the following quote was splashed across the projector screens; “Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainty.” When asked to respond Milan explained that he has seen firsthand the unique brand of self-doubt experienced by lawyers. He said that even when we are called on to attack a completely blank canvas, where there is seemingly no right or wrong answer, our rigidity as lawyers will surface and may cause us to be too afraid to make a mistake or to even try. Milan told us stories of the early days of The Legal Forecast, when doubt had come across his team and the fear of making a mistake had put a hold on the project which they were working on. Milan encouraged us to remember to give our all to everything that we do. If we do, a task which might make us feel like we could have done better, which we may have only mustered 60% of our capability for – that 60% will still blow people away, and that we will always be left with a sense of pride. It was after this part of the night where I realised the very important place failure has in the discussion of creativity. There is no right way to be creative, to incorporate it into legal practice or to embrace it across our own lives. Rather, if we try and try again we can find new passions, find flow in our existing passions and be better people and lawyers because of it. 

Is creativity the answer to the future of law? Or perhaps more importantly, is creativity your answer to a future in law that you love?

Kiarah Grace Kelly 

Some wonderful moments from the night!

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Kiarah Grace Kelly

Kiarah Kelly

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

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Hi! I am Kiarah Kelly a conscientious and hard-working soon to be lawyer living on the Gold Coast with an eye on social justice and effecting much needed change in the community, even if that means starting small. I am studying a dual Bachelors degrees in Law and Government and International Relations as Griffith University on the Gold Coast. I have been testing my legal toes in the water at boutique Gold Coast Law firms and I am currently merrily serving as a Legal Secretary to Merv Morris and Blayne Ledger of Barron and Allen Lawyers- GC in the Property, Commercial and Family Law sectors. 

I have also been championing a personal cause of Youth Road Safety Issues over the last 12 months, unrelentingly working alongside the minister for Road Safety Mr Mark Bailey, on numerous projects within his office.

What’s on my horizon? My passion for family violence prevention, family law issues and women’s legal issues will be a guiding light for my future career.  I aim to graduate with dual degrees in November of 2018 and until then, I will travel the world, focusing heavily on volunteer pursuits here at home and continue making waves in the discussion of Youth Road Safety issues in this country.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

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Living in the Upside-Down Land: my last year of Law School so far! By Kiarah Grace Kelly

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Happy Law Student Happy Life

Living in the upside-down land: my last year of Law School so far! 
By Kiarah Grace Kelly 

Kiarah Grace Kelly; I was inspired by a recent conversation with a friend over microwaved leftovers between classes, I’ve decided this year is quickly coming to resemble an upside-down-topsy-turvy place of curiosities. We are now around 7 months away from throwing our caps in the air and I worry that the main feature of our new Upside-Down Land is a whole lot of doubt.

The very first creature to show its face in the Upside-Down was the March round of offers for Graduate positions. Queue: mass hysteria. Some of my friends who had been committed to the process of clerkship information evenings, interviews, cocktail nights and completion of clerkship programs had heard the relief of their phone ringing on the morning of offer day. However, some of them didn’t, with no ‘plan b’ they reached 5 o’clock with a sense that they certainly weren’t in Kansas anymore. Although the feeling that everything that wasn’t as it should be was not unique to those committed to the path of top-tier employment.

One of the great aspects of being offered a Grad position is that you have job security around 6 – 12 months before your peers. Even the most strident among us in our choice not to go down this path will experience a ping of doubt when such a thing is at stake. To those students who felt or feel this way (and to myself)  I have only this: it is not a common position to be in knowing of a job offer a whole year in advance, you should try not panic that you are not in the same boat. Your time to strike will come later as it’s pretty rare for employers to be looking this early in the year. When the majority of positions open closer to graduation time, you will be able rely on all the skills you’ve built and the people you’ve met to land yourself a really great gig.

Perhaps the most upside-down part of Upside-Down Land  is that each and every one of your peers is taking a different approach to gaining that all important first law-land job. When those March offers came out I saw so many of my amazing friends engaged their panic stations and begun applying for countless jobs of which their only motivation for applying was that same panic. Don’t lose sight of your plan and trust your gut because when you made your decisions around getting ready for employment you made them for a reason. Make sure you’re still running in your own lane, that’s the one that’s best for you.

Let’s find comfort in the knowledge that Upside Down Land has a population of many. Plus, who said upside down wasn’t actually the right way up all along?

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

Linkedin Instagram

Hi! I am Kiarah Grace Kelly a conscientious and hard-working soon to be lawyer living on the Gold Coast with an eye on social justice and effecting much needed change in the community, even if that means starting small. I am studying a dual Bachelors degrees in Law and Government and International Relations as Griffith University on the Gold Coast. I have been testing my legal toes in the water at boutique Gold Coast Law firms and I am currently merrily serving as a Legal Secretary to Merv Morris and Blayne Ledger of Barron and Allen Lawyers- GC in the Property, Commercial and Family Law sectors. 

I have also been championing a personal cause of Youth Road Safety Issues over the last 12 months, unrelentingly working alongside the minister for Road Safety Mr Mark Bailey, on numerous projects within his office.

What’s on my horizon? My passion for family violence prevention, family law issues and women’s legal issues will be a guiding light for my future career.  I aim to graduate with dual degrees in November of 2018 and until then, I will travel the world, focusing heavily on volunteer pursuits here at home and continue making waves in the discussion of Youth Road Safety issues in this country.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

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9 things I wish I knew before I started Law School! By Kiarah Grace Kelly

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Kiarah Grace Kelly

9 things I wish I knew before I started Law School! By Kiarah Grace Kelly

This week marks the beginning of the University year for many Law Students nationwide. Given the recent comments from out Prime Minister himself encouraging students NOT to embark upon the study of law unless they want to be ‘real lawyer’, I would expect there is an extra level of trepidation for those of you lining up for your first ever law lecture this week. The news is full of stories of the limited roles for law graduates, the overflow of students now studying the degree and of course the high level of stress and pressure during your studies (let alone in the profession itself!) And in amongst all that ‘good news’ for many students the move from High School to University brings with it significant life change- from moving home, moving stated or just moving into the next stage of life. 

But despite the doom and gloom that seems to fill legal publications and nationwide newspapers there are many happy law students and many happy lawyers. If you want to study a law degree, then I say go for it because who on earth could really know at 17 years of age what the future has in store for them. Las is a wonderful profession and whether you choose to join it in the traditional sense or not, your learnings at Law School will never be wasted. 

So this week, one of my favourite law student (come fellow Gorman addict) Kiarah Grace Kelly is back as a guest blogger, sharing her tips for surviving law school after a few years navigating the fun, adventures and exams herself!  

So it’s O-Week. Look at you go, you’ve gained entry to a great new uni and you’re studying law, no less! Buckle yourself in because you’ve got a big few years ahead of you. I’m Kiarah, a final year Law student here to tell you all the things I wish I knew (but certainly didn’t) before I started law school.

1. Make Friends.
I still remember so clearly me telling myself on my first day of law classes that I had to make friends. I was coaching myself through my nerves walking into my first ever Contracts 1 lecture and I was sure I was in the wrong place (literally and figuratively, more on that later). My friend Jodie can attest to the strangeness of the moment I’m about to describe; I was standing by the door way looking lost when I saw a girl with blonde hair laughing away with a few others, I decided we’d be friends. So, as you do, I waltzed on over to my new friend (who wasn’t aware of any of this at the time). I sat down and with the friendliest voice I could muster through my nerves I said; “Hi, I’m Kiarah!” Well aren’t I glad I did, Jodie (the friendly blonde) is one of my closest friends today and as we’ve progressed through law school we’ve picked up some other pretty amazing people to be in our gang too. Our group has spent countless nights late in the library, endured exam after exam and have weathered some personal storms together too. My point being, don’t underestimate the power of a shoulder to cry on or a friend to panic with. Trust me. 

2. Get Involved. 
There’s plenty going on at uni. Whether it be the Law Student’s Association, the Student Guild or the Zombie Apocalypse Preparedness Society (this is a real thing) you’re never short on options for a ‘pack to run with’. In your first year of law school you may feel intimidated by the professional development events or ‘networking nights’ on offer and that’s ok. Don’t feel time spent in a sports club or student group is time wasted. An organisation like this may be the first time you experience conflict resolution, or have to run a meeting and it will definitely be the first time you need to prepare affiliation documents for your university (*shudder*). Become exposed to this stuff now, ‘cause there’s plenty more coming your way. 

3. Don’t Buy Food On Campus Everyday. 
Is is a personal attack on first year Kiarah? Yes. Do I ever want to know the sum total I’ve spent on take-away and coffee? No. This is a pretty self-explanatory one. This is the only time in your life it’s acceptable to eat ramen and baked beans every day, save your money for fun stuff.   

4. It Doesn’t Matter How You Got Here.  
So here’s a bombshell… I didn’t get straight into law school. I had to complete some politics and psychology subjects (*shudders again) to get my grades up to jump across to law. I know that this led to some serious feelings of imposter syndrome for the next couple of years. I’m here to tell you to spare yourself from worrying about whatever led you here. Maybe your hight school grades weren’t what they could have been or maybe you deferred uni 10 years ago and are just coming back now. It’s okay. You are here now. Welcome. We’re stoked to have you.  

5. Plan Your Week.
In your first week of classes I want you to listen really carefully when your lecturer runs through what’s required weekly for each subject. Maybe you’ve got to do some reading, attend a lecture and prepare some homework to take to tutorials. Next, pull up a table in a word document (don’t tell me to use Excel, I refuse) and create a column for each day of the week. Block out your class times and your part-time work. Now I need you to allocate a time each to do your Contracts readings, then your other readings, your tute prep and your summaries. Stick your new fancy weekly plan somewhere obvious and try to follow it each day. Be sure to leave Sundays and ‘the Bachelor’ free. (7:30 weeknights, September through to December). 

6. Plan Your Semester.
Buy a diary and put in every piece of assessment you’ve got due for this semester, now. Give yourself a 3 week, 2 week and 1 week reminder for each piece of assessment. Try (read: fail) to get things started early. 

7. Apply For Every Opportunity.
I follow my law school and my university on Facebook, look out for emails too. Law firms and government entities will often contact local universities first when they’re looking for work experience students. Sometimes a volunteering position will come up or a scholarship will be up for grabs. I can’t recommend enough that you apply for everything that interests you. If you gain nothing else, you’ll get really great at self-promotion and develop essential resume and interview skills. You’ll thank yourself after you graduate if you’ve facing all those scary firsts already. 

8. You Never Know The People You’ll Meet. 
For many of us, this is out first big gig outside of Hight School. One of the biggest differences you’ll experience is that you’ll find yourself in a big melting pot of all different kinds of people. There will ba a wide variety of ages and cultures around you. I can’t stress enough how much you have to gain by making friends with people that aren’t exactly like you. You’ll meet people who have had a whole career or even two before coming to law school, people with families of their own or who have circled the globe, seriously interesting stuff! 

9. Enjoy!
A year ago I would’ve rolled my eyes at this advice because you will hear it a lot. I guess it’s just in my nature to look forward for the next big exciting thing without appreciating the moment I’m in. I’ve slowly come around to realise this phase of our lives is seriously cool. It’s a time for travel and getting to pursue the learning of something we really love, full time! Don’t wish away your uni years, you may never be back again. 

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Kiarah Kelly

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

Linkedin Instagram

Hi! I am Kiarah Kelly a conscientious and hard-working soon to be lawyer living on the Gold Coast with an eye on social justice and effecting much needed change in the community, even if that means starting small. I am studying a dual Bachelors degrees in Law and Government and International Relations as Griffith University on the Gold Coast. I have been testing my legal toes in the water at boutique Gold Coast Law firms and I am currently merrily serving as a Legal Secretary to Merv Morris and Blayne Ledger of Barron and Allen Lawyers- GC in the Property, Commercial and Family Law sectors. 

I have also been championing a personal cause of Youth Road Safety Issues over the last 12 months, unrelentingly working alongside the minister for Road Safety Mr Mark Bailey, on numerous projects within his office.

What’s on my horizon? My passion for family violence prevention, family law issues and women’s legal issues will be a guiding light for my future career.  I aim to graduate with dual degrees in November of 2018 and until then, I will travel the world, focusing heavily on volunteer pursuits here at home and continue making waves in the discussion of Youth Road Safety issues in this country.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN…

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How to be happy in law and in life! The Law Student Edition

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Happy Law Student Happy Life

How to be happy in law and in life! The Law Student edition by Kiarah Grace Kelly

Today, as I was working my way through a long complicated property settlement analysis an email appeared in my inbox with the title ‘Blog Time’. Now usually I advocate for doing only one thing at a time and not allowing those email notifications to distract you from the task at hand, but today I broke my own rules and I am so glad I did! 

Almost a year ago now I spoke at an event facilitated by the College of Law here in Brisbane on happiness in law and in the front row was a law student waring one of my favourite Gorman prints who I have since come to know as Kiarah Grace Kelly. Over the past year Kiarah and I have connected on Instagram, met at many events and I would even say have become friends thanks to our shared love of life, law and Gorman. So today, when into my inbox pops an email from Kiarah, I couldn’t help but pause on that property settlement and read her thoughts. 

Kiarah has taken the plunge over the past few months and has been writing on her own experiences as a law student. She is a talented writer- funny and fun but importantly she has a beautiful way with words and knows how to share an important message to her peers. Since falling into the world of ‘legal wellness advocate’ I have come to hear from hundreds of law students who are struggling to find just where they fit into ‘Law Land’ as I fondly call it. It has been almost 2 decades since I enjoyed my own few years at law school and so I am not sure I am always well placed to comment on what life in 2017 is like as a law student. The pace is so different (I managed most of my degree without access to that thing we called ‘the internet’) and the expectations of students seem much higher than in ‘my day’ (yes I am sounding old but as someone about to hit the big 40 in less than 3 weeks can I say I feel old too!)

So this is where Kiarah steps in- she is living it right now and is choosing to share her own experience, in both life and law, to help those around her. Any why wouldn’t we all support that! 

So today Kiarah took the brave step of sending me an article she has written, taking my 5 step ‘Happy’ acronym and translating my tips to the life of a law student and I loved it! So in the style of true collaboration I am posting Kiarah’s article and giving her the offical title of Happy Lawyer Happy Life’s first guest writer, having agreed to share her wisdom with us all over the months ahead!

SO HERE YOU HAVE IT- HAPPY LAW STUDENT HAPPY LIFE BY KIARAH GRACE KELLY!

Just five steps to happy- H is for Health, A is for Attitude, P is for Passion, P is for Purpose, Y is for You. Clarissa Rawyard- The Happy Family Lawyer has (literally) written the textbook when it comes to being a happier lawyer and while I’m not quite a lawyer yet I am eagerly studying her methods to be the best almost-lawyer that I can be. 

Like anyone, I am prone to moments of unhappiness. I have experienced depression and while I am now a whole lot better at recognising when a bout of blue is coming my way, I am certainly not immune to it. I read Happy Lawyer Happy Life cover to cover in a heartbeat and from it I know that lawyers are predisposed to pessimism and by virtue of our make up the way we tend to create out markers of success can leave us feeling less than 100%. Well, truth is this applies to law students as well, so here’s my attempt at translating some of the ‘stuff’ I’ve learnt from Clarissa into law school speak. 

H is for Health.
I am not about to preach to you all on how to live the perfectly healthy life as I have no idea. But here’s what I do know; there’s no rule of what exercise should look like, it needn’t take place solely within the four walls of a gym which your student budget may not allow for. I get my exercise by taking selfishly long walks on beautiful Gold Coast beaches at least three times a week. I walk until I’ve run out of podcasts in my feed and spend most of the time paranoid the sun is slipping through my over sized sun shirt and Bunnings branded wide brim hat, it’s totally fabulous. Most importantly, and you’ll find I say this a bit, do what feels right for you. Here’s some non-negotiables; binge drinking is bad and people at our stage of life tend to frequent this behaviour a little more then they should, make sure it;s not becoming a problem. Every time you’re about to head out ask yourself this; am I drinking because I want to or because I feel I have to? Next, watch your diet come exam time- for me; stress = carbs, I’m working on it. More on this point, energy drinks are bad, go get a coffee. Also, set your alarm for 8 hours after you go to sleep and go to sleep 8 hours before you need to set your alarm- this was you can Netflix to your heart’s content (within reason, probably). 

A is for Attitude.
Our Mindset is everything, the way our brain is feeling cast’s it’s own light on everything we do, I know that when I’m having one of those unhappy days I spoke of earlier- everything feels terrible. Here is where I go on my big social media rant. Instagram and Facebook will be credited as a major source of our unhappiness in the years to come- it’s just true. People of my age are among the first people of the planet who endured our entire developmental phase under the cloud of social media. We are the generation that knows all too well the phenomenon (that probable sounds completely insane to anyone older than us); the Instagram model. The Instagram model is someone who is paid a full time wage to pose and post. They carefully curate their feeds and every image is designed to sell us a product within it- I told you it was insane! A consequence of all this is that we spend our days looking at image after image which is completely manufactured and after time we end up feeling terrible about ourselves because of it. This issue extends through body image issues (for man and women) all the way to spending money of silly things to make us feel like we’re keeping up. Please, please, go onto your socials right now; turn off notifications and unfollow as many people you don’t know if ‘real’ life as you can bare. You will be forever better off for it- I promise you; Instagram is making you sad. 

P is for Passion and Purpose.
For these points I don’t have a whole lot of learnings to share my main message is this; find your passion, follow it and don;t get caught in the tide of being a ‘good law student’. You will have a couple of ‘aha!’ moments throughout your law degree. When you feel great doing something- follow it passionately. Don’t look sideways worrying about what everyone else is doing, if you’re doing something you love, it will seldom end badly. After losing my beautiful sister-in-law to in a car crash in 2015 I went full steam towards becoming a youth road safety advocate. Did I miss some ‘traditionally important’ law milestones in the meantime? Absolutely, but what I did gain was a fire in my belly which I believe is much more exciting. 

Y is for You. 
Now, this step is here for a reason. I’ve come to the conclusion that Clarissa, the very cleaver cookie that she is, has put this step at the end as it beautifully encompasses all the steps before it. If you listen to your health, focus on a positive attitude, find your passion and follow your purpose; you will be a better you. Once you find your ‘better you’ learn to love yourself and go wherever your ‘better you’ takes you. Spend days doing what YOU love, wear what YOU want (see Instagram model photograph), follow the path that YOU feel yourself taking. It’s cool to be different and in a world full of people, why would you want to be anyone other than you! 

 Ok ok, I’ve waffled on for quite a while now. Finally, my happiness challenge. This weekend go and do something that you used to love doing as a child; truth is when we were little we were a more authentic version of ourselves, this is because throughout high school we were so desperate to be like everyone else. We tend to spend our late teens trying to distance ourselves as much as possible from our inner child so whatever you loved doing as a child- go find that love again. If nothing else, it’ll be stacks of fun. 

Choose Happy, my fellow law students- this is a wonderful time in our lives!

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Kiarah Kelly

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

Linkedin Instagram

Hi! I am Kiarah Kelly a conscientious and hard-working soon to be lawyer living on the Gold Coast with an eye on social justice and effecting much needed change in the community, even if that means starting small. I am studying a dual Bachelors degrees in Law and Government and International Relations as Griffith University on the Gold Coast. I have been testing my legal toes in the water at boutique Gold Coast Law firms and I am currently merrily serving as a Legal Secretary to Merv Morris and Blayne Ledger of Barron and Allen Lawyers- GC in the Property, Commercial and Family Law sectors. 

I have also been championing a personal cause of Youth Road Safety Issues over the last 12 months, unrelentingly working alongside the minister for Road Safety Mr Mark Bailey, on numerous projects within his office.

What’s on my horizon? My passion for family violence prevention, family law issues and women’s legal issues will be a guiding light for my future career.  I aim to graduate with dual degrees in November of 2018 and until then, I will travel the world, focusing heavily on volunteer pursuits here at home and continue making waves in the discussion of Youth Road Safety issues in this country.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN…

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