She is keenly aware that being a barrister in family law carries considerable amounts of emotion and grief, and impacts people’s lives.

Moreover, the outcomes of her cases have significant impacts on her clients and their families, particularly if the client is a young person entering adulthood or parenthood.

Ms Ingenito was called to the bar in 2021, having been a solicitor since 2016. Prior to coming to the bar, she largely practised in the fields of family law, criminal law, and dispute resolution.

She now appears in family law in complex parenting and property matters on behalf of parents, grandparents, and other family members. She also appears in criminal law and domestic violence matters, and estate litigation.

She spoke to Lawyers Weekly about why she finds “human law” rewarding, how decisions in family courts could affect a child’s future, the impacts of COVID-19 on law practices, and why she is encouraged by the number of women from the NSW bar being appointed to the bench.

She also shared that she has faced judicial prejudices because of her youth and, as such, urged the law profession to be more receptive to young lawyers and their ideas and ways of practice.

What excites you about being a barrister in family law?

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The most exciting part of being a barrister is the ability to go into court and change people’s lives. Sometimes, it’s helping somebody through the most difficult point in their lives. Family law is extraordinarily emotional and complex. Sometimes, people don’t think that it could happen to them, so it comes with a lot of grief and shock. But being on the forefront of that and presenting a case is extremely rewarding to me because I can walk away knowing that I at least made a difference in somebody’s life.

You’re involved in some pretty complex and diverse aspects of the law, including property matters on behalf of family members, domestic violence cases, criminal matters, as well as commercial and estate litigation. Why are these important areas of the law right now?

I deal in what I like to call human law. It’s not simply contracts or disputes over money with limited human elements. I deal in a lot of emotional law and law that involves people’s lives. Criminal law is extremely important, particularly for young people who have just stepped into adulthood and are learning about having responsibility. Having legal counsel who understands and appreciates the diversities and dynamics of being a young person is extraordinarily important. This is about raising the future generations. If we don’t raise them right and provide support from the start, we’re going to have adults who are not well-adjusted at all. Similarly, complex family and domestic violence matters that affect both criminal and family courts are important to get right at this stage because we’re setting the precedent for the future, particularly for children and young people, so that they know how to navigate their own lives and their future relationships. The way that children’s upbringings are affected by decisions today will change who they are as parents themselves.

What sparked your interest in these aspects of the law?

I’ve always been a people person. I was a musical theatre performer in my past life, so I’ve always been a big presenter and performer. I used to perform in front of thousands of people. I also taught children in the performing arts and saw hundreds of different types of families and family dynamics. I think seeing children in that light led me to want to work with children and families when I got into the law. As a solicitor, I was very much an all-rounder, where I did a lot of commercial and contract matters. But that didn’t give me the same joy and glee, and I didn’t feel fulfilled. So, I turned my focus to those human matters. Dealing with people and their families and emotions gave me a lot more joy and a sense of fulfilment at the end of a working day.

What constitutes success for you?

Success involves both personal progress and achieving outcomes for my clients. I may achieve a little win in court that an average advocate might consider very routine, but to me, that’s success. Alongside this, success is seeing a client’s reaction and making a difference in their lives. For example, I had a matter recently where somebody was looking at the prospect of jail time. Their family and friends attended court to support them, and they were extremely concerned that this person would go to jail. But we managed to avoid a full-time custodial sentence. Seeing the joy and relief in the family counted as a success to me because this person’s outcome didn’t just affect them, it affected their family.

How do you prioritise your own mental health when dealing with the emotions and complexities of family law?

Human law can take a toll on the advocate because you see some extraordinarily difficult and awful things. I deal with sexual assault and complex child abuse and domestic violence matters in the family court. I receive extraordinary support from my colleagues in chambers. It is second to none. Being able to debrief and discuss matters with them is incredibly valuable. I’m also very focused on mental health and making sure that I get regular mental health tune-ups to deal with the emotions. You do vicariously inherit some of the very significant and complex trauma that you see in your clients. I also make sure that, where necessary, I have access to relevant support through psychologists and therapists, or through the professional bodies. I luckily haven’t had to employ my support networks significantly, but I know that I can lean on colleagues during the really tough times.

What other challenges have you faced and overcome in your profession?

One of the biggest challenges has been dealing with judicial attitude, particularly from much older judges. As a young practitioner, I’m often looked down upon because I do appear to be very young, and it’s often met with a certain gaze from the bench. I recall an occasion where I was mistaken for a member of the public by the bench, who had assumed I was there to represent myself. Like my fellow award winners in the 30 Under 30 Awards, we’re all under the age of 30. With the timeline of university admission, it’s not possible to have practised for 10 years before you’re 30 years of age. Having said that, I have had the benefit of some judges who have appreciated my youthful view on things. I’m very technologically savvy. I generally understand what children are doing, or using, or what the trends of the current youth are. I understand social media, I understand young music, and I understand young person applications for phones. This does give me an advantage when doing matters relating to children’s issues. I like to use tools like electronic court books or Microsoft Teams for appearances. I think there needs to be a change in judicial attitude to accept what might be “young ideals” or ways of doing things. The practice of law is changing, and it needs to be adopted from the top down.

How should technology be better used in the law profession to increase efficiency?

I would ideally like to see more open justice in the future through the use of platforms such as Microsoft Teams. I think there was a humongous advantage in using online services during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for short matters, like interim and directions hearings, and short-sentence matters. It meant I could be in regional NSW in the morning, Melbourne at lunchtime, and Sydney central business district by the afternoon. It showed that you could have practitioners from all over Australia appearing in courts anywhere in the country and making access to justice and the law easier. It also meant that clients weren’t limited to counsel in their area/state for urgent appearances, and made it easier for matters to be dealt with on an urgent basis.

These platforms also allow city-based counsel to perform regional work without it being cost-prohibitive to clients (because of the cost of transport and accommodation). Now that everything is back in person, the requirement to travel intrastate/interstate means that clients have to pay the fees and costs of transport and accommodation to get city-based practitioners to do their work. Particularly with family law counsel, there aren’t many who are regionally based, so a lot of counsel travel from Sydney/Newcastle regions. It’s becoming harder to find barristers to fill legal aid hearings, which are low fee and don’t always have allowances for travel and accommodation costs. So, I really do believe that the developments in family law that have taken place in the last two years should continue where possible, and be encouraged.

What other new developments are you seeing in family law?

It is encouraging to see the significant numbers of new judges on the bench across Australia, particularly relatively youthful women. It’s extraordinarily exciting for me to see that because my aspiration is to get to the bench as soon as practicable. I know a lot of women are scared to go to the bar due to the perception that it is time-prohibitive because you need to work long hours and weekends. I personally choose my hours at the bar. I choose the matters I take on to ensure I’m not overloaded with work because I value the time I spend with my husband and son. I think it’s important for young practitioners to be aware of remote-working arrangements, flexible hours and the changing perceptions of the office in this post-pandemic era.

The work/life balance of being able to appear remotely cannot be discounted either. It resulted in much less “mum guilt” to be able to wake up, have breakfast with my family, drop my son to preschool, and still be ready for court at 10am. Where possible, remote working should be encouraged and should continue, particularly when supporting practitioner mental health.

What tips would you have for new, young lawyers entering the profession?

Being brave in the face of tough situations, criticisms from the bench, and disappointment from your clients is critical. Also, get involved in your legal community as much as you can. Get your name out there and carve a reputation as an honest, reliable practitioner that people want to work with. The other thing is to keep your eye out for educational opportunities. Go to all the conferences and workshops and get that extra legal education through videos and seminars. I take up every CPD opportunity available to me because it helps me get across new developments in the law.

If you missed out on submitting an entry or nominating a worthy colleague for the 30 Under 30 Awards 2022, don’t worry! Keep an eye out for next year’s awards program, and make sure you throw your name in the hat for a chance to be recognised for your hard work and achievements!