What's your job about?
I work in the Townsville office of wilson/ryan/grose Lawyers as a Solicitor in the Wills & Estates workgroup.
Wills & Estates is a varied and interesting area, so each day looks different for me! We act for clients in three main areas of Wills & Estates, these are Estate Planning, Estate Administration and Estate Litigation. My daily work involves working on files in all of these areas.
When I work on an Estate Planning file I am meeting with clients to take their instructions regarding all elements of their succession plan, including their Will and Enduring Power of Attorney. When I work on an Estate Administration file, I am assisting those who have recently lost a family member and need to call in their assets, pay their liabilities and distribute the estate in accordance with their Will (or deal with circumstances where there is no Will!). When I work on an Estate Litigation file, I am preparing Court documents and advice for my clients where someone is suing the estate for various reasons.
Each day in our area you are interacting with individuals, businesses, accountants, other solicitors, and banks, just to name a few. You are really dealing with every aspect of a person’s life!
What's your background?
I was born and raised in Townsville. After high school I attended James Cook University where I completed a Bachelor of Business majoring in Human Resources and a Bachelor of Laws. Throughout high school and university I worked in retail. During university I took on a second job in a compliance role which allowed me to start using my legal skills.
During my final year of university, I completed the vacation clerkship program with wilson/ryan/grose Lawyers. This gave me an extremely valuable opportunity to experience life in a law firm. I enjoyed my time at the firm so much that I applied for a job in the Wills & Estates team. I was successful and have now worked for the firm for 2 years.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Someone with a different background could definitely do my job! If I had to choose one skill which helps me the most in my job it would be excellent people skills. Your goal as a lawyer should be to do the best job you can possibly do for your clients. This is made much easier if you are good at communicating and understanding your clients needs.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The highlight of my job is helping people. It can often be extremely overwhelming for a client to consider their death or experience the death of someone close to them. Being able to assist them in some way and provide the support they need is a real highlight for me.
What are the limitations of your job?
The limitation of working in this area of law is it can be emotionally draining. Wills & Estates is not an area where clients come to you because they are happy or doing something exciting like purchasing a home. Our clients can be highly emotional which sometimes makes your job challenging and requires resilience.
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