In case you missed it: Happy Lawyer Happy Life had a Podcast Party!
Author Kiarah Kelly
The 14th of September 2018 marked a very special occasion in my business life- the ‘2 years/ 100+ episodes/ Podcast party because you can Party’ went off with a bang of rainbow streamers and confetti here in Brisbane. This week our blogging regular Kiarah Kelly shares her takeaways from the afternoon with her usual fun style!
Clarissa
For attendees of the Happy Lawyer Happy Life ‘100 Episode/ 2 Year Anniversary/ Party Just Because Party,’ we were promised dancing, good food and wisdoms from Australia’s favourite judicial rockstar, the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, all in return for a donation to the Minds Count Foundation, how could we refuse! After a few hours spent eating, drinking and meeting fabulous new people on a perfect Brisbane day on the College of Law’s stunning city rooftop, I’m sold that this passion project started by the Happy Family Lawyer is an addition to the legal landscape that I don’t know how we lived without!
The Rockstar of Law on Happiness
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The secret to happiness, according to self-confessed biscuit addict and personal hero of lawyers everywhere, is Vegemite. His Honour told us that earlier that day, after a particularly frustrating flight, he wasn’t feeling his usual chipper self. Recognising that he needed to turn his attitude around to enjoy the rest of his day, His Honour made a bee-line for the airport lounge and fixed himself a lunch roll with a very healthy serving of Vegemite, and he quickly saw blue skies again. Now it was at this point in His Honour’s address that I admittedly tuned out for a quick second because I challenge anyone after hearing that story not to break out in to a one-woman song and dance production in their head to the tune “we’re happy little Vegemites as bright as bright can be!” Anyway, I digress, after deciding I should reach out to Kraft for sponsorship His Honour caught my attention again by setting out on a rapid fire of his wisdoms on happiness. His Honour cites a life filled with love and taking time to catch the early train everyday as things which make him smile. We then learnt that each of the seven Judge’s chambers of the High Court are appointed with the timber from a different tree from a different state of Australia. His Honour told us that when he was invited to the bench of our nation’s highest court he was assigned to the chambers decorated with the bright yellow timber of Tasmania’s most prominent tree. His Honour recognised that a nice view and bright, colourful surroundings made his days in our nation’s top judicial role all the more happy.
A New Look at the Happy Lawyer
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The next speaker for the afternoon was our very own podcast-host-extraordinaire Clarissa Rayward. Clarissa’s book ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life’ follows her learnings on unhappiness in the legal profession and takes the form of how to achieve the five traits of a H.A.P.P.Y. Lawyer, being; Health, Attitude, Passion, Purpose, and staying true to You. But two years on from the start of her podcast Clarissa told us that she’s learnt so much from her 100+ guests that it’s time for a whole new acronym and it’s only right that it spell out L.A.W.Y.E.R…
L is for Learner – a happy lawyer should be a lifelong learner, the happiest lawyers Clarissa has met love the work they do and are always challenging themselves to be their best and learn as much as they can in their chosen craft.
A is for Artist – a happy lawyer should be an artist, but maybe not in the traditional sense. Lately, Clarissa has been exploring the idea of the benefits that integrating creativity into your law life can bring, you can read all about the panel event hosted in May on this very topic here. At the end of the day it’s all about embracing the bad-mood-busting, mindful, left-side-brain-loving benefits that creativity can give you.
W is for Worker – a happy lawyer works hard. There’s no doubt that the job of a lawyer in 2018 is never done and whilst we’re so fortunate that talk of work-life-integration and not taking your work home with you is in the forefront of our minds at the moment, you can’t beat the fact that there’s always work to get through. Changing your mindset from “I’ll never get through it all” to “look at all the things I get to do” and giving your work your best self while you are at work will go a long way to you feeling satisfied and proud of the amazing job you do each day.
Y is for Yoga – a happy lawyer has ‘yoga like flexibility’. Clarissa admits that this one may need some work but there is a Y is Lawyer and the HAPPY LAWYER acronym is just too good to give up! Having flexibility in your law school studies and career will enable you to overcome the curveballs that will undoubtedly come your way. Having flexibility is all about acceptance, acceptance that not everything is going to be perfect all the time.
E is for Ego – a happy lawyer has to have an ego. Clarissa makes the important distinction that the ego of a happy lawyer is one that allows you to back yourself without feeling the need to compete.
R is for Relationships – a happy lawyer has people who love them for who they are and loves others back in the same way. Clarissa says that relationships are the core and key to happiness and when it’s all said and done, long after our lives in law, it will be the people we loved that we will remember best.
Time for Q's & A's
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The formal part of the evening was capped off with attendees having the chance to pick the brains of the magnificent legal mind that is the Hon Michael Kirby. The Q&A took many varied turns from whether Queensland should adopt a Bill of Rights to whether we can be optimistic about future law reform and what the future of law will actually look like. The key learnings from His Honour’s answers were these; the best piece of advice that His Honour has ever received is “don’t be boring”, love is most important at the end of the day and it’s His Honour’s 49 year partnership that has taught him that and finally; that when the bench grapples with empathy vs. reason, it must remember that there is a difference between the mechanical, formalistic rule of law and the rule of law which dignifies us.
Leaving the event on Friday night I couldn’t help but reflect that the most important and meaningful effect that the Happy Lawyer Happy Life podcast has made on it’s listeners is the community it has created. Before, a mission to be happier, healthier and more authentic to your individual personality in law-land might have been a lonely pursuit. Today, all the friends we’ve met and connections we’ve made thanks to Clarissa’s hard work means that we’ve found our tribe and have so many others to share our adventures in law land with, what a great thing to have found!
EPISODE 120- HAPPINESS THANKS TO VEGEMITE WITH THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL KIRBY AC CMG- A HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR THAT HAS BEEN (AND A FEW SURPRISES FOR THE FUTURE!)
Hi! I am Kiarah 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!