Kayla Nielsen, Associate in Criminal Law, had the wonderful opportunity to speak to the Year 12 Legal Studies class at the Central Coast Adventist school.
During the class Kayla shared her personal journey throughout schooling, university, and work experience, all of which influenced her decision to pursue criminal law as her practice area.
She explained that one of the biggest initial hurdles she overcame when finishing school was realising that the amount of self-doubt she had placed on herself was unnecessary, and she encouraged students to try not to place too much pressure on themselves. There are many avenues to a career pathway that they can take and if they have the drive to make it work, it will.
A key insight that Kayla highlighted when it came to choosing a university was to consider one that offers a clinical program. “Practical Legal Training (PLT)” must be completed before a lawyer can be admitted and commence practice. A university that can offer a clinical program incorporates the “PLT” into the degree, so by the time the student has completed the degree they are ready to be admitted. This is what Kayla did through the University of Newcastle.
Kayla explained that it would be worth considering gaining employment with a firm as either a Law Clerk, Receptionist or Office Administrator while studying. These roles provide exposure to the operations of a firm, interactions with clients and files, while also giving the student invaluable knowledge of the many practice areas of law. A good firm will provide flexibility and support to the student and could result in a full-time solicitor position being made available once the student has been admitted.
Whilst this knowledge was beneficial to the students, what really piqued their interest was when Kayla began to talk about her current role as a criminal lawyer and discussed some details of the bigger cases that she has worked on.
This sparked many questions and engagement with the class who were very curious about representing clients, jury selections, appeals, working on multiple cases at once, the relationships between the defence and prosecution, Magistrates and Judges and “weird” “out there” cases that she has been exposed too.
Most importantly, Kayla and the class discussed the difficulties of separating emotions and having the right balance of empathy when dealing with clients who are experiencing one of the most stressful times of their life. Supporting your client whilst also setting boundaries and maintaining a work/life balance is necessary and takes time to learn. Kayla’s approach is to reassure clients that she will handle their legal issues, whilst emphasisng that the client should also have a support network to lean on.
We are grateful to have had this opportunity to share Kayla’s knowledge and experience and extend a special thank you to Central Coast Adventist school and the Year 12 Legal Studies class.
