Sarah McKellar-White | Special Counsel | Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office
- Focusing on Yesterday:
- Can you share a pivotal moment or experience from your early days in the legal field that shaped your career path?
- My 'sliding doors' moment came when I was a very junior lawyer, just after I had made the jump to public service from private practice. I had changed roles without a particularly clear idea of what VPS lawyers actually did. Early in my new role, I received a request for advice which involved considering a proposal and analysing the relevant law, with a possibility that this might eventually lead to legislative change - run of the mill questions for in-house VPS lawyers, but totally new to me. It was a fairly radical departure from all of the transactional work I'd done before and it felt like solving a puzzle - what did this section of the Act mean, what did Parliament have in mind in enacting it, what was the effect on what the Department wanted to do and would anything need to change? I remember being amazed that I had a role in advising on questions that might end up having a significant effect somewhere down the line. I still am!
- Looking back at your journey, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced as a woman lawyer entering the profession?
- There have been a few along the way - I think the biggest challenges I have had all come back to being pigeon-holed in some way and being handed expectations for my career that weren’t mine and didn't fit me very well. This was both - 'be more ambitious, you should be aiming to eventually be a partner' - when I was in private practice and 'be less ambitious, you're lucky to have a part-time role that fits around childcare and you won’t be considered for career progression' in one of my in-house roles.It took a long time to work out what I wanted and how I could go about creating a career that works for me, is professionally challenging and incredibly rewarding. This took trial and error, thinking about what I wanted and the professional skills that I'd need and sometimes taking a step into the unknown to see if it might pay off. But also not settling for a career that doesn’t fit!
- Can you share a pivotal moment or experience from your early days in the legal field that shaped your career path?
- Focusing on Today:
- Based on what you know now, if you could give your younger self some advice, what would this be?
- So many things! The most important:
- Don’t panic if things don’t seem to be working out in your legal career. There are other roles and there are always possibilities - but try and get something (knowledge, experience or even an idea of what doesn’t work for you) out of any role you’re in, good or bad.
- Feedback isn't (or shouldn’t be) personal - take it as an opportunity to improve, not as a personal failing.
- Perspective is everything - if you make a mistake, figure out what happened, take responsibility for it, learn from it and keep moving.
- Keep a spare pen handy!
- Focusing on Tomorrow, , two polarising quotes which resonate when it comes to changing the world are: "One person can make a difference, and everyone should try." - John F Kennedy, and "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead.
- How do you envision the future landscape for women in the legal profession?
- The legal profession in future is one that better reflects the wider world, with its complexities, flexibility and diversity. I think the future landscape is one where women in particular can change their career goals over time and not be locked in to a defined pathway because that's open to you at a particular age and stage of life. This means women being able to find opportunities to learn and to engage with clients and other legal practitioners in a way that benefits the profession overall and in doing this, raising the standards of the profession. In short - this future landscape means being valued for what you can bring to the profession as a practitioner, not being discounted for various immutable attributes.
- The legal profession has always been seen as providing 'trusted advisors' (notwithstanding the inevitable lawyer jokes). The future landscape is one where the profession can maintain this standard by remaining relevant to the world at large. The future landscape for women in law is a place that can accommodate a range of career options, various perspectives and different working arrangements. Being a profession that includes and values its female practitioners as much as its male practitioners is critical. It's a work in progress and there are still challenges - but I also think a legal profession that sees diversity as a strength is now imaginable in a way that it wasn't before. Bring on the future!
- How do you envision the future landscape for women in the legal profession?
