For solicitor advocate Belinda Baker, if you want job satisfaction, the public sector is where it's at. She speaks to Claire Chaffey.

If you thought constitutional law was boring, think again.

Ask Belinda Baker, solicitor advocate with the Crown Solic­itors Office (CSO), and she'll tell you that constitutional law is one of the most varied, interesting - and often amus­ing - areas of law in which a lawyer could be lucky enough to practice.

And with the chance to combine a public sector constitu­tional practice with some quirky criminal cases - including brazen illegitimate beekeepers, unlicensed squirrel collectors and Chinese immigrants posing as health professionals - who could argue?

"We do quite a few cases where people pretend to be doc­tors or nurses or psychiatrists," says Baker.

"I once had to prosecute someone who was holding herself out to be a doctor and removing people's haemorrhoids. The magistrate was cringing through the entire evidence. The defence said it wasn't actually a medical procedure, but the magistrate said ... that was wishful thinking."

To such cases, add complex coronial enquiries and prose­cutions on behalf of the Department of Community Services and the Office of State Revenue and you have what Baker refers to as a "fascinating" combination.

Baker loves her job, so much so that she considers herself to be in her "ultimate dream job".

From the moment she commenced her studies, Baker was equally passionate about two areas of law: criminal and con­stitutional, but towards the end of her degree she found herself having to decide which path to follow.

"I remember saying to my friends, 'I'm really torn. My two loves are constitutional and criminal law. Where am I ever going to be able to do both of those?' she says.

"The very next day, a friend brought me a clipping from the Sydney Morning Herald advertising a research position for criminal and constitutional law. He said, 'Here's your job!' I don't think I've ever wanted anything so much."

Baker had no trouble landing the posi­tion and found herself as a research assis­tant to the New South Wales Solicitor General and Crown Advocate.

In her first year out of law school, Baker was appearing as junior counsel in the High Court and arguing constitutional points in the Court of Criminal Appeal - something most new graduates would never dream of.

After two years, Baker took up the post of senior solicitor in constitutional law at the CSO.

It was here that Baker had the oppor­tunity to polish her advocacy skills, appear­ing in forums from the High Court to local and district courts, and she soon estab­lished herself as a constitutional stalwart.

"I would appear in the local or district court and sometimes the magistrate was so happy to see me," says Baker.

"The magistrate would know [a par­ticular constitutional point] was wrong, but they needed somebody to help them explain why ... It was a lot of fun taking things back to the real basics, to where everything comes from."

And sometimes her knowledge of the Constitution proved disconcerting for her opponents, including one who insisted Baker be called as a witness in the matter in which she was appearing as counsel.

"The judge asked [my opponent] what evidence I could possibly give that would be relevant to the case and she replied, 'This so-called constitutional expert (Baker) has been here for two days and hasn't opened a copy of the Constitution once! I want the jury to know how little she knows about constitutional law!'" laughs Baker.

Baker was later offered a year-long scholarship to attend Harvard University, taking courses in public law, the Ameri­can Constitution, federalism and advo­cacy - American style.

"[Advocacy in the USA] is a little bit different, but not as much as you would think if you just watch TV. The main dif­ference is that they are encouraged to walk around the courtroom," says Baker.

"I explained that ... I would be going back to Australia where I wouldn't be able to do [that] and they said, 'That's fine. You can stand behind the lectern like a good English lawyer should.'"

The CSO held Baker's job and six months after returning from Harvard she was appointed to the role she currently occupies.

But it doesn't stop there for Baker, who has also managed to start a family and co-author the latest edition of Waller's Coronial Law and Practice in New South Wales.

"It was the perfect project to do on maternity leave. I could work on it when it suited me," she says.

"It was nice to have something intellectual to remind me of the world beyond the house."

For the past year or so, Baker has been working on a part-time basis, and she is confident the CSO has afforded her the best opportunity possible for staying in the game in much more than a token capacity.

"[Support] is really critical for women. A lot of the time discrimination isn't direct. [Employers] aren't failing to give you good work because you're a woman, they're not giving you good work because you're part-time," she says.

"That can mean women get work that is not as interesting or high profile. [Employers] need to go out of their way to give you ... interesting and challenging work."

And for Baker, so far, so good.

"This," she says, "out of all the dream jobs, is my most dream job."

>> Click here to read about issues affecting your practice area in our in depth Practice Profile series