From a young age, creative writing has always been a passion of Little’s, serving as a “way to process the world” around her. As she grew older and progressed in her legal career, this passion continued to prove advantageous, allowing her to “explore the emotional complexities that can’t always be voiced in a courtroom or legal document”.

In a profession defined by rules, deadlines, and outcomes, Little revealed that her drive to write a novel stems from a fundamental need for a personal outlet solely her own.

“Law can be all-consuming, and while I love my work, writing gives me something that isn’t tied to outcomes, crises or other people’s real-life struggles – instead, it is something creative, unstructured, and entirely self-driven,” she said.

Managing the intense demands of a legal career while simultaneously nurturing a creative side venture can feel like an immense juggling act. However, Little emphasised that it’s not about finding balance, but establishing clear boundaries between these two distinct worlds.

“It’s not about balance for me – it’s about boundaries. I don’t write during work hours, but I do protect my creative time the same way I’d protect a meeting or a deadline. Sometimes that means writing at night when everyone else has switched off, or early in the morning before the emails start flooding in. Sometimes it is 10 minutes before I go to bed,” she shared.

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“I’ve learnt that you won’t ‘find’ time; you have to ‘make’ it. And if something matters to you, you’ll make room.”

Although her latest novel, The Cure, doesn’t depict her legal career in the traditional “courtroom drama” style, she mentioned that it embodies an “emotional undercurrent” shaped by themes of “grief, trauma, control, and moral complexity – all of which I see daily in family law”.

“My clients trust me with the rawest parts of their lives, and that insight into human behaviour has undoubtedly shaped the depth of my character. In a way, writing this novel was like filtering years of real-life emotional observation into fiction,” she said.

Although the worlds of novel writing and law may seem completely different, Little emphasised the significance of her creative outlet in allowing her to step outside the confines of legal work.

“Law demands precision, logic, and emotional restraint – writing allows the opposite. It gives me freedom to be messy, intuitive, and imaginative. That contrast keeps me sane,” she noted.

“It’s made me a better communicator, a better listener, and honestly, a more empathetic lawyer. Writing fiction has deepened my understanding of people’s motivations – which feeds right back into my work.”

Little said she can really feel the physical effects of not writing.

“My mind becomes more cluttered. I hold on to the stress from my legal work longer. Things that wouldn’t usually rattle me start to take up too much space,” she said.

She expressed that this desire among lawyers to transition into a more creative path is a common sentiment, sharing that, “I have received a surprising number of beautiful messages from strangers who are either studying law or have just been admitted to law, telling me how they have always wanted to write a book”.

For lawyers considering a creative pivot, Little stressed to “push through the mess, the silence, the self-questioning – because it’s worth it, both the journey and the moment you hold the book in your hand for the first time”.

“So, start now. Don’t wait for things to slow down or for the perfect moment – it doesn’t exist. You don’t need permission to create. You don’t even need consistency, just a bit of passion, and the willingness to be bad at something before you get good,” she stated.

“And remember, you don’t have to quit your job to honour your creative self. You’re allowed to be more than one thing – after all, that’s what makes people interesting.”

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