The Careers Connect series concluded this week. To say it was a terrific success is a serious understatement. #UNELaw alumni, industry experts and legal academics joined together to provide invaluable advice to the large numbers of law students who joined the sessions.

Here is a quick recap on the last two sessions:

Law in Other Industries and First Nations Lawyers in Australia

The session started with a presentation from the Law Students’ Society relating to their future plans and the importance of the entity.

Next students had the opportunity to hear from #UNELaw alumni who are working in areas outside legal practice. First, we heard from Claire Chaffey who is the Director of Content and Communication at the Law Society of Australia. She spoke about how she has used her law degree to build an impressive career in communications and journalism.

Phil Hess then spoke about his time at UNE and how he met his wife whilst living on campus at Earle Page College. Phil started his law degree during UNE Law’s first intake of students more than 25 years ago. Phil practised in some of the larger law firms but decided this type of work was not really for him. He is now the Head of Governance for the Macquarie Group.

Jane Campbell then took centre stage. Jane is an owner of the Barambah Organics company and we will tell you all about her story in an upcoming blog post.

UNE Law students then received a glimpse into some of the issues which are relevant to First Nations Lawyers. The fabulous Trent Wallace gave a heart -warming talk about how he has never quite fitted the stereotype of a typical lawyer: ‘I am covered in tattoos and I idealise Ozzy Osborne and Tina Turner!!’ Overall, Trent encouraged students to ‘embrace their individuality!!’

#UNELaw alumni Sam Fowler and Andrew Smith then presented on their experiences since completing their degree/s. Andrew is now one of the handful of Indigenous barristers practising in New South Wales. Sam is working at UNE’s Oorala Centre where she helps support Indigenous students in their tertiary studies.

Annette Messell from the Law Library capped off the entertaining session by talking about pursuing a career as a librarian.

Building a Digital Profile

In the final Careers Connect event the presenters spoke about how to build up an individual digital profile, predominantly by using social media. Julia Day began the session by discussing some of the legal issues relating to social media use. She also spoke about the Law School’s social media platforms and how she has recently created the Academically Blonde brand.

Professor Michael Adams presented about the distinction between the personal and professional use of social media. Michael also explained how he built up a very large following on Linked In. Aaron Driver from #UNEBusiness then provided some insights into storytelling. He also spoke about how to create a personal brand on social media.

Associate Professor Skye Saunders provided a very personal summation of how she built up her academic career and discovered her research passions. In terms of developing her professional digital profile, Skye focused on picking up and commenting on topical things in the media which were within her areas of expertise. She would then write about these issues considering her research expertise.

Overall, the series was a great success. Thank you again to all the presenters who contributed to the series and Elise Dale and Leisa Rayner from #UNESydney who worked tirelessly to organise the event.