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Kicking goals and climbing the ladder from law to soccer
When she isn’t building her career in public sector litigation, BigLaw lawyer Lauren Hargrave spent her weekends refereeing the top division of the women’s soccer league where her legal skills in communication and confidence come into play.
Naomi Neilson
In early April, Lauren Hargrave split her time between her two main passions: her job as a lawyer with Clayton Utz and as a referee of the Westfield W-League 2021 Grand Final. Despite both roles being worlds apart, she told Lawyers Weekly that many of her skills fit into both – including communication, flexibility and integrity.
Likewise, approaching the law has been made better with the skills she has picked up from refereeing, including understanding the different perspectives of those she is communicating with. Additionally, some of her professional development skills started with soccer, including maintaining mentorship relationships.
“I did that earlier in my refereeing life than in my legal life, and they are those things that I have come to value and understand. The general workplace skills really do complement each other and [I have found] that if you learn one facet of life, I can see how that can then pop into another facet of my life and be really useful,” she said.
A major part of Ms Hargrave’s refereeing career has been learning from her mentors. During the local season, she said she loves going out to help the junior referees and will always try to help one or two each year, adding that it is really “invaluable” to show them new life skills, even if they do not stick with refereeing forever.
In a short Q&A with the firm, Ms Hargrave said that when she first started refereeing, she had little understanding about the pathways that were available because there was a lack of mentors, particularly female mentors. She told Lawyers Weekly that she now hopes to fill this gap for these younger trainees.
“I grew up in Tasmania and it was very limited female support,” Ms Hargrave said. “I am very passionate about being out there to be able to support people and build an understanding and a pathway to break down those barriers. I am very passionate about making sure that people understand that anything is possible, particularly female referees and juniors who might not see themselves represented out there.”
Ms Hargrave has been with Clayton Utz since a 2016 clerkship and graduate program and has quickly fit into its public sector team. She said one of the main reasons she joined was to get immediately into this practice, having joined the law after finding an interest in the public sector legal space. In future, she hopes to continue building in this area and get more involved with exciting projects.
“I really enjoy the culture and people at Clayton Utz so that continues to build me up and encourage me to strive for further things in my work life or in my football life, personal life, whatever it may be,” she said. “They have been very supportive.”
As for how her soccer life balances out the demands of her legal life, Ms Hargrave said it is a “fun juggle”. Her schedule is both very well organised to fit in the demands of both but also flexible enough when necessary, particularly during peak season.
“Fundamentally, I really enjoy both of the things that I do, and I think by having football to go to at the end of the day, that juggles some of the demands of being a lawyer. It forces me to get outside, exercise, do something I’m passionate about and likewise, it works the opposite way of being a lawyer with football,” she said.
“If I have a not so good game on the weekend, it gives me something to remember that there are other parts of my life. My life is better with both football and refereeing and I have supportive friends and family. I really enjoy doing both things, so it doesn’t feel like I’m juggling demands of both, it feels like I’m doing what I love.”
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Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
