Ms Boorman — whose clients operate businesses in the travel, tourism, retail, professional services and publishing space — said she believes that it was her drive to build a practice area outside of conventional legal fields that saw her clinch the Thought Leader of the Year award last year.

Lawyers Weekly is excited to once again host the 2022 Women in Law Awards black-tie gala ceremony on Thursday, 24 November 2022, at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne to celebrate the tireless efforts, dedication, successes, and achievements of women in the legal profession.

We are urging women in the legal profession to submit an entry or nominate a worthy colleague across 31 individual and group categories by Friday, 9 September 2022, including the Thought Leader of the Year award.

Speaking to Lawyers Weekly about what sparked her interest in this market, Ms Boorman said that after practising in corporate, commercial, intellectual property, consumer, and privacy law for almost 15 years, she noticed a pattern in the sorts of issues her clients were facing (particularly in relation to digital marketing, which has been experiencing rapid growth).

“Having said that, there was a lot of uncertainty about how the law applied to this field,” she said.

“Not many people were following what was required to comply with the laws. So, I have found it very interesting to try and help people better understand what they are doing and where it all fits within the current legal framework.

“There weren’t a lot of resources in it when I started practising in this area of the law. People didn’t have a lot of places to go. More notably, they didn’t even know what they didn’t know.”

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She had expressed interest in this area of the law when working in other law firms but there was a lack of appetite for it, Ms Boorman said.

“Moreover, I didn’t really have time to build out a practice area in it while simultaneously working in other areas. So, I decided that I needed to either practise in this area in a firm that provided a lot of support or go out and do this on my own. I found it easier to do it myself,” she said.

Alongside this, Ms Boorman desired flexibility in her work so she could balance it with her family and young children.

Demonstrating need for niche area of law

However, the most significant hurdle Ms Boorman faced with establishing her practice in an uncharted terrain was to persuade clients who had never heard of this field of law that they required her services.

“I had to convince people that there was a need for my services because my client base had not previously worked with a lawyer in the aforementioned areas,” Ms Boorman explained.

“Then I had to convince them that I was the right person to provide those services. So, I had to educate my clients around this area of the law.

“Moreover, because we service many clients remotely all over Australia, we had to ensure that we had the right infrastructure in place to support that.”

What makes an award-winning thought leader?

Through persistence and perseverance, Ms Boorman eventually succeeded in demonstrating her value proposition to her client base in her chosen niche market.

She specialises in documenting commercial agreements (influencer agreements, sponsorship agreements, social media services agreements, advertising agreements, joint venture agreements, trading terms and conditions, distribution agreements, service agreements, and confidentiality agreements) to enable her clients to collaborate with other parties, promote their brand, and grow their business.

Addressing other women in the law profession interested in entering the 2022 Women in Law Awards in the Thought Leader of the Year category, Ms Boorman urged them to demonstrate initiative and self-motivation in their submissions.

The award recognises a female lawyer who demonstrates long-term passion and aptitude for improving the industry and articulates their vision for the future of the profession and drawing on best practice from other relevant industries.

“If you’re going to be stepping out of the usual legal fields to create a practice in a new, niche field, or further develop an existing practice area, you need to be able to be very self-motivated to keep yourself going and continue what you start,” Ms Boorman emphasised.

“You are going to hit hurdles along the way and you’ll need to overcome them. To do that, you need to be really passionate and interested in your chosen field. You need to live and breathe it.”

In their submissions, Ms Boorman urged entrants to focus on storytelling and narrate their journey while explaining the reasoning behind their decisions.

“When you are listing out your achievements, you have to remember that whoever is reading it is aware of where you’ve come from and what you’ve done,” Ms Boorman said.

“So, you really need to explain why and how you began your venture or initiative, what that means in the context of what you’ve done, how you built it, and how far it’s gone. Otherwise, they may not be able to understand why you’ve done what you’ve done, how it fits in within what you’ve built so far, and where you’re trying to go with it.”

The 2022 Women in Law Awards national awards program is the pinnacle event for recognising female talent in the Australian legal industry.

It will be held on Thursday, 24 November, at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne to reward women who have tirelessly worked to influence and propel the legal profession forward.

It shines a spotlight on the outstanding achievements of executives, barristers, academics, pro bono, students and other legal professionals in large and boutique firms.

Click here to submit an entry or nominate a worthy colleague by 9 September 2022 to be in the running for these prestigious awards.

For more information, including categories and judging process, click here.