Recently on The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy was joined by Cassandra Heilbronn, a Queensland lawyer currently based in Saudi Arabia as the chief executive officer of a private family office.

“Success for one person isn’t the same as another,” said Ms Heilbronn. “There is no straight set criteria as to what a successful lawyer is.”

Success can come in different shapes for different people, and one’s definition of success is usually in constant flux, she maintained. 

“It could be working remotely one day a week,” she noted, or even just asking that question of your boss. 

“Success, for me, when I was in private practice in Australia, was leaving at 4:45pm on a Wednesday so I could coach under-eight boys’ soccer,” Ms Heilbronn explained.

“That was a measure of success because I knew I was able to ask the partner for that. I reached a position of seniority that I could do that and was respected.” 

When understanding one’s own version of what success looks like, both in mapping one’s career trajectory and life trajectory, there are key questions to consider.

“What do you see as success? Who do you see as success? Who is that person that you aspire to be?” said Ms Heilbronn.

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In the process of pinpointing what one sees as success, some lawyers can get caught in the trap of comparing themselves, host Jerome Doraisamy highlighted. Ms Heilbronn gave some tips for lawyers struggling with this unhelpful pattern of mind. 

“I would just love for those comparing themselves, but then experiencing any sort of mental anguish or depression or sense of failure as a result; think about the finer aspects.

“I would say Justice Margaret McMurdo was successful, but taking it a step further, what does she do or what has she accomplished that I think is successful? Is it some of her personality traits? The way she holds herself in difficult situations? Is it the way she delivers complex judgments? Is it her legal mind?

“Drilling down as to what it is about her that I see as success and not realising it’s not totality, there are different aspects,” Ms Heilbronn stated. “This will allow one to take inspiration from the individual qualities they admire.” 

It is also important to recognise that someone else’s success is not in lieu of one’s own work or contributions — everyone fulfils a different role, she explained. 

It is also important to consider all aspects of one’s life in planning, “things like health, finances, religion and spirituality, not just career”, said Ms Heilbronn. 

“It’s what works for you. It needs to be organic, and it’s a moving slide,” she added.