Legal essays are a strange quirk of study. While they are the bane of your existence throughout your law school life, stealing time and driving you to sleep-deprived delirium at least twice every semester, they cease to bear much significance as a practicing lawyer – unless you choose an academic career or publish legal research.

Kathryn Millist is a self described ‘country girl’ and high school overachiever who grew up wanting to do everything. “I did a lot of school debating,” says Kathryn with a grin. “I was leading my subjects – it was good fun.”

Her legal aspirations began early. “I used to go camping with my dad. One day we were in the car for hours, arguing, and he said I should be a lawyer. I was 12. But later I looked it up and said ‘ohhh, that sounds interesting’…I’m sorry, it’s not a very good story!”

“Studying law is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” says Kate Gibbons, a solicitor with top-tier law firm, Minter Ellison. “At first, I thought I was doing it because my parents wanted me to – and I dropped out.

When I was 23, I enrolled in graduate school at UNSW. The motivation was there. I wouldn’t have felt complete if I didn’t do it. I worked three jobs – at boarding school, as a maths tutor and at Minter Ellison – and there was blood, sweat and tears (especially tears) around exam time. You want to know what you are capable of.”

“Law gives protection against uncontrolled power, by money, guns, violence and brute force. We are lucky to live in a country with the rule of law. But we must safeguard our type of law from erosion and uphold judicial independence when it is under attack as a protection for everyone.”

-Retired High Court Justice Michael Kirby

“I think the best thing about starting out as naive as we were, is that if we knew how much work we were getting into, we would have been scared off. I think naivete is one of our greatest gifts. You’ll actually have the courage to take on something big.” – Clary Castrission, President, 40K Home Foundation