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‘Everyone has got a pearl of wisdom to give’ in the legal profession
This associate, who said she’s passionate about legal work, discusses how she followed her interest in her area of specialty and what she admires about the legal profession.
Jess Feyder
Jemma Barnard, associate at Travis Schultz & Partners, spoke to Jerome Doriasamy on Lawyers Weekly’s Protégé Podcast about her journey into law and the collegiality to be found in the profession.
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Before finishing her law degree, Ms Barnard found herself in a secretarial role in a firm specialising in property law, where she came across cases dealing with accident and injury claims — she found these cases incredibly engaging.
“I found myself dealing with insurance lawyers and I just had that spark ignited,” she said.
“When I was navigating disputes that often arise in buildings, like, can you hang your towels over the balcony? Or who’s emptying the rubbish? Those disputes — I found it really interesting in terms of applying the legislation to a particular set of facts and assisting in resolving that dispute.
“I love studying the logic and the reasoning involved. And I thought, this is it. I have to go back to uni, and I have to finish this law degree now.”
After finishing her degree and beginning work at Travis Schultz & Partners, Ms Barnard found her area of specialty.
“There were three personal injury files opened in the firm at that point. There was a worker’s compensation matter, there was a motor vehicle accident and a medical negligence matter.
“And so across all of the work that I was doing, my favourite part of the day or the week was when I had the opportunity to work on one of those three personal injury files,” she said.
“Working on those three personal injury files, I just loved them. I just really enjoyed the work and just couldn’t wait to work on them, to speak to those clients.
“I think the nature of that work, it’s so personal. Someone is coming to you in one of the most difficult and darkest points of their life, and they’re really leaning on you and seeking your assistance in helping them to navigate what is an incredibly complex process,” she said.
“My love of the law was sparked again, just by having the opportunity to advise and to help people.”
Ms Barnard also spoke about one of the things she most appreciates in the legal profession, the sense of connection and collegiality.
“Everyone has got a pearl of wisdom to give. The collegiality of the profession is just so wonderful and particularly where you might be struggling, you might be lacking a bit of motivation, not sure which way to turn, the legal profession is there to support you,” she said.
“There are so many opportunities for you to meet other members and grab those opportunities.
“The profession is just one of the most collegiate ones we have. We’re so fortunate.”
