For Dr Howell, honorary professor at the University of NSW Sydney, the award was not just a celebration of her hard work and dedication over the previous year; it was a commemoration of every professional in the legal industry.

“We all work so hard and it’s wonderful to stop and have a celebration, not just of the winners, but all the people who have been shortlisted, all the people who’ve supported them,” she said.

“It’s really important. These awards are really important events. They stand for, seeking to be my best professional self and celebrating success.”

The first sessional academic to win the award, she views her victory at the 2021 Australian Law Awards as a symbolic one for showcasing the shift towards a “gig economy” that has been the cornerstone of the way the university sector operates over the past few years. Her victory, as she stated in her acceptance speech on the night, was not just for herself but for sessional teachers everywhere.

“The award was really significant in recognising the first time that we sessional teachers do all the heavy lifting,” she said.

It’s an accolade that Dr Howell, who was nominated by a colleague down in Melbourne, vehemently believes to be her most significant career recognition to date.

“I think it was probably the highlight of my professional career – it felt very unreal I have to say. Being recognised by peers and colleagues, especially when you haven’t asked for it, it’s just wonderful! It was the proudest moment. A professional pinnacle that I don’t think I’ll ever have again,” she said.

Winning the Academic of the Year award at the 2021 Australian Law Awards meant the world to Dr Howell. Receiving acknowledgement from colleagues and peers in the industry for not just her own innovative and engaging approach to tertiary education but also the hard work she and other sessional academics like her put in behind the scenes.

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“I run two subjects where I write the syllabus, I do all the course coordination, I do all the stuff in the background, and I deliver, and I mark the work. And that’s a big responsibility and it’s wonderful to be trusted,” she said.

Not only did the award recognise and celebrate Dr Howell’s past work, but it laid the foundation upon which her future work could be conducted.

“It’s been very important for my career. It’s been very important. The faculty has demonstrated that they’re proud of me,” she said.

“As someone who doesn’t have tenure, I’ve been given a higher profile [than] I would’ve had otherwise. And it means that projects I’m keen to advance in the faculty are now getting more traction than they’d had before.”

She continued: “I have an audience now. I have gravitas now as a serious academic. Sometimes people think about academics as people with a big research practice, who bring in money for the university because they bring in lots of brands.

“It’s been so valuable to me that through these awards there is now another model of what it could be to be a successful academic. It’s made the academic model more three-dimensional.”

As for what advice she’d give to any parties interested in nominating someone else or compiling a submission of their own for the 2022 Australian Law Awards, Dr Howell joked and noted that as she didn’t nominate herself for the awards, she may not be the best adviser for prospective candidates.

But she did conclude by saying: “I just think living a professional life where you are your best self and seeking constructive feedback from everybody with whom you interact with professionally is a good way to learn about what you do that serves you well and what you might need to do differently and better.”

The 2022 Australian Law Awards, to be held at the Australian Turf Club, Royal Randwick Racecourse Sydney on Friday, 12 August 2022, celebrates those who work tirelessly to make the legal industry thrive and succeed.

Click here to submit an entry or nominate a colleague to be in the running for this year’s awards!

For more information about the award program, including categories, click here.