Living in the upside-down land: my last year of Law School so far!
By Kiarah Grace Kelly
Kiarah Grace Kelly; I was inspired by a recent conversation with a friend over microwaved leftovers between classes, I’ve decided this year is quickly coming to resemble an upside-down-topsy-turvy place of curiosities. We are now around 7 months away from throwing our caps in the air and I worry that the main feature of our new Upside-Down Land is a whole lot of doubt.
The very first creature to show its face in the Upside-Down was the March round of offers for Graduate positions. Queue: mass hysteria. Some of my friends who had been committed to the process of clerkship information evenings, interviews, cocktail nights and completion of clerkship programs had heard the relief of their phone ringing on the morning of offer day. However, some of them didn’t, with no ‘plan b’ they reached 5 o’clock with a sense that they certainly weren’t in Kansas anymore. Although the feeling that everything that wasn’t as it should be was not unique to those committed to the path of top-tier employment.
One of the great aspects of being offered a Grad position is that you have job security around 6 – 12 months before your peers. Even the most strident among us in our choice not to go down this path will experience a ping of doubt when such a thing is at stake. To those students who felt or feel this way (and to myself) I have only this: it is not a common position to be in knowing of a job offer a whole year in advance, you should try not panic that you are not in the same boat. Your time to strike will come later as it’s pretty rare for employers to be looking this early in the year. When the majority of positions open closer to graduation time, you will be able rely on all the skills you’ve built and the people you’ve met to land yourself a really great gig.
Perhaps the most upside-down part of Upside-Down Land is that each and every one of your peers is taking a different approach to gaining that all important first law-land job. When those March offers came out I saw so many of my amazing friends engaged their panic stations and begun applying for countless jobs of which their only motivation for applying was that same panic. Don’t lose sight of your plan and trust your gut because when you made your decisions around getting ready for employment you made them for a reason. Make sure you’re still running in your own lane, that’s the one that’s best for you.
Let’s find comfort in the knowledge that Upside Down Land has a population of many. Plus, who said upside down wasn’t actually the right way up all along?
Kiarah Grace Kelly
Hi! I am Kiarah Grace Kelly a conscientious and hard-working soon to be lawyer living on the Gold Coast with an eye on social justice and effecting much needed change in the community, even if that means starting small. I am studying a dual Bachelors degrees in Law and Government and International Relations as Griffith University on the Gold Coast. I have been testing my legal toes in the water at boutique Gold Coast Law firms and I am currently merrily serving as a Legal Secretary to Merv Morris and Blayne Ledger of Barron and Allen Lawyers- GC in the Property, Commercial and Family Law sectors.
I have also been championing a personal cause of Youth Road Safety Issues over the last 12 months, unrelentingly working alongside the minister for Road Safety Mr Mark Bailey, on numerous projects within his office.
What’s on my horizon? My passion for family violence prevention, family law issues and women’s legal issues will be a guiding light for my future career. I aim to graduate with dual degrees in November of 2018 and until then, I will travel the world, focusing heavily on volunteer pursuits here at home and continue making waves in the discussion of Youth Road Safety issues in this country.
I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!