The power of yes: How saying yes can shape your legal career

Looking back on her start as a graduate lawyer, Thurtell revealed that her answer to any opportunity that came her way was always yes, driven by the simple goal of wanting to soak up “every experience that I could get”.

Adopting this mindset, Thurtell explained, gave her the confidence to push herself beyond her limits, tackling challenges that initially felt far beyond her abilities, including standing alone at an examination hearing against a seasoned barrister as a graduate.

“For example, as a grad, I think I appeared at a motion on my own, like a motion against another barrister,” she said.

“I was just this law graduate, and I just went, ‘Oh, yeah, OK, I’ll do it.’ I was so nervous. But I just did it, and I just said yes to things of pro bono work.”

Her habit of saying yes never went unnoticed, sharing how senior members of the firm not only recognised her eagerness but even joked about how she would always say yes to any opportunity that came her way.

“I said yes to every kind of different opportunity. I said yes to the point that I remember one time [one of the partners] at the time sent an email out saying, do you want to do this, and I kind of replied and said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it,’” she said.

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“A special counsel just kind of commented to the partner, she was like, ‘Of course, Jess said yes.’”

Thurtell emphasised that this approach paid off in real terms, giving her constant opportunities to learn, take full ownership of smaller matters, lead client interactions, and quickly build both lasting professional relationships and invaluable practical skills.

“I was just happy to do whatever was available for me to do, and I could learn things and more things, including building client relations. I wanted to meet people, and I wanted to be front on with the clients,” she said.

“Lucky enough, we worked for New South Wales Health at the time, and there were a lot smaller matters involved. You might be litigating over 100 grand, which is comparatively small to some other massive matters.

“So you could effectively run the matter by yourself and be kind of the front-facing person to the client. It was really good for developing good client relationships, good case management, and really good professional development.”

These tangible benefits and skills that she gained early on in her career quickly translated into real results, with Thurtell explaining how they fast-tracked her rise to more senior positions.

“As I kept saying yes to things, they gave me these opportunities. I then became a senior associate pretty early. I was only three and a half years admitted, and I became a senior associate,” she said.

“I just kind of kept taking on new experiences, and that led to a real diverse practice, a whole heap of great relationships with both clients and colleagues.”

While saying yes can feel daunting for a graduate still learning on the job, Thurtell emphasised that it doesn’t mean executing every task perfectly the first time – it’s about putting yourself out there to access guidance, growth, and exciting new opportunities.

“You’re not expected as a law grad to know all of these things and know what to do. So even if you say yes to something, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to be able to do a perfect job [the] first time around,” she said.

“Everyone acknowledges that a grad is learning, so like they’re going to need guidance, and everyone appreciates that. But you’re not going to get that guidance if you don’t try to do the work first and if you don’t put yourself out there. So it just opens up those opportunities.”