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Social justice should not just be about résumé building, grad says
The résumé building of a young lawyer is often filled with some time spent with social justice organisations and while these areas are always a wealth of experience for the new and soon-to-be legal professionals, one new graduate cautions them against picking up this responsibility for anything less than a real, genuine interest.
Naomi Neilson
For award winner, valedictorian and now High Court associate Anna Kretowicz, the wide world of legal practice is wide open, but she hopes to fill some of it with social justice work, particularly if it involves improving the law for women. She said she has always loved to use her position and expertise “to help bring somebody else up”.
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It is part of the reason why she believes it is not valuable for lawyers from varying experience levels to write it off as just a conversation piece. For lawyers who do pursue community and social justice work, it should be from a place of passion.
“If social justice does interest you, I think that’s the reason it is important to have in your career. Not just to be able to say, ‘Oh, I’m doing this because the environment is cool, or caring about women’s rights is cool’. If you’re not particularly interested in it, that’s okay. It’s not so great to want to be involved just because it sounds sexy,” she said.
For Ms Kretowicz, she wants to continue working in the social justice space because it is personally very important to her. She said she has seen the impact of law on women and has seen first-hand how the system can be traumatising or difficult and the other issues women are confronted with. She said she can resonate with it.
Ms Kretowicz has taken inspiration from many experts in the profession but has particularly been interested in the work of Briana Collins, a University of Queensland alumni who is keen to “change the world” with the Environmental Defenders Office.
She said that Ms Collins has launched off into an “incredible, really new challenge” into a coal mine based in Queensland which has been “something that she really cares about, and I’m sure she’s done pro bono, she’s done volunteering”. Having a real passion for the space is what has set Ms Collins apart from other volunteers.
“It’s really important to me,” Ms Kretowicz said.
“That’s why I continue on with it. I think that all just comes back to finding your own niche in your career, whether within law and doing what you find to be interesting because that is you will get the best results when you really care about something.”
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