Why did you become a lawyer?

Growing up in New Zealand, I had vague plans of being a lawyer from the beginning of high school.  I was very good at maths at school, and also thought I would like to be an accountant. I ended up completing two university degrees (one in law and one in accounting), and I honestly thought when I graduated that I would be an accountant.

I decided to do the NZ equivalent of articles straight after university as I thought it would be a good idea to be a fully qualified lawyer (so I would have something to fall back on after my accounting career!), and during this Professional Legal Studies course was offered a job as a commercial lawyer with a good firm, which I accepted for the experience.

I then travelled to London for the traditional big “OE” as it is known in NZ (ie an extended “overseas experience”). The London legal market was a lot more specialised than the NZ market,  and I ended up in property law - and as they say, the rest is history! Luckily, although you could say I “fell” into property law as a career, it has been a great fit for me.  Property law has so many different elements to it, from the straightforward chain of title documents, conveyancing and leasing matters, to the more complex agreements for lease, design and construct contracts, subdivisions, easements, industrial developments, joint venture agreements and financing matters, and all the associated taxation and ownership complexities!

I like the broad range of work, and the variety of clients, that cross my desk each day. 

Why Moray & Agnew?  

Working in the Melbourne office, I love the balance of the property team’s autonomy, and also being part of a broader firm dynamic under Bill’s leadership.  I also really like the people I work with (colleagues and clients) and the interesting work that we do for our clients - and this is important to me.

What do you enjoy outside work? 

I have two young children – so I enjoy being part of whatever they are doing (eg karate, netball, swimming, basketball).  There’s not much time left in the week after that!  I do enjoy running (as this gets me away from said children for an hour).  But I also enjoy taking holidays – mini breaks or longer family holidays – just getting away and doing something different.  I am originally from NZ and my husband grew up in Northern Ireland, so there’s a lot of Australia that we are yet to see.

Three words that sum you up 

Loyal – Motivated – Empathetic.