Family Lawyer
I was 16 years old when I decided I’d become the Australian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Three years later, I accepted an internship with the Australia Government which saw me relocate to Dubai.
At this time, I was pursuing a Bachelor of International Relations and a Bachelor of Laws at Bond University. I had added law to my university application because I thought that’s what all good diplomats did – they studied law.
I returned to Australia convinced that I had “found my calling” in an environment where my love for negotiation, analysis and problem-solving seemed to collide. It did occur to me, however, that I should at least give “the law thing” a try. And so, I took up a student volunteer position at the Robina Community Legal Centre (today known as “My Community Legal”).
It wasn’t long after my first family law experience there that I was persuaded to amend the structure of my law degree (and career goals) to focus on family law and related subjects. Family law felt real to me in a way that was different to the diplomacy-related spheres of law I had studied – it wasn’t sterile, nor was it black and white. As Director, Kate Graham, put it, family law entails helping “real” people with “real” problems, and that’s the foundation I decided to build my career and life on.
I joined the BGM team in 2017, and years later, BGM is still exactly where I want to be. The culture of BGM, the camaraderie between the lawyers who work here, and the focus on outcomes for clients going through separation and divorce, feels like a good fit for me.
Video Transcript
My name’s Jamie. I have been a family lawyer since July last year. And I’ve been with BGM for just about a year and a half.
I think to have the ability to be empathetic is important in this job. But with that being said, I think it’s important that, as I continue to grow and learn as a lawyer, I can balance that empathy with being a lawyer who’s pragmatic and a lawyer who gets on with it.
I think family law is a little bit different to other areas of law because it’s 24/7. So your clients can’t detach themself from the situation. It’s not a business. It’s not financial, necessarily. This is their life, it’s their family. So to be a part of that journey, I think, is a huge honor.
