Michelle Neil is a lawyer at Vitality Law and a freelance veterinary nurse working with koalas.

Speaking on a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, Neil discussed the evolving legal profession and how and why law should be for everyone if you have the right motivation and support.

Neil entered law school as a mature-age student after growing up in a “high-control” environment and has been at Vitality for a year and a half, focusing on property, commercial and employment law as well as the more niche area of pharmacy.

She also does freelance work as a koala vet on the Sunshine Coast, which involves locating and attending to sick koalas and conducting research to help the koala population.

Both her upbringing and her work as a wildlife vet stemmed into being interested in the law, according to Neil.

“A big part of my upbringing has made me very conscious of justice and also just advocacy, knowing there are so many people who just – they need someone to believe in them; they need someone who’s willing to help them. Also, my experiences as a vet nurse and with wildlife, looking at laws from that perspective and feeling that they were inadequate,” she said.

“So, there’s a few little pieces that, as a bundle, made me think, well, I want to do this. I want to be a person who can hopefully give back to the community. And even if it’s just one person that is able to feel like, OK, it is doable, we can make a difference. I understand it can be a long process, and I have my moments where I feel like I just want to be doing this right now. But it’s been a combination of things that’s led me to go down this direction.”

Neil started her law degree after having children and said that the profession is increasingly welcoming of those from all walks and stages of life.

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“I am really excited to see that there are more and more mature-age students that are graduating and going into the legal industry, bringing their experiences both work and life. I think there are a lot of clients that would be able to also appreciate what different backgrounds people can bring. I feel that my background allows me to have a certain level of empathy and willingness to really want to hear what a client’s issue is and how we can help.

“I’m at a law firm where the focus is mental health and work/life balance, working remotely, all of our teamwork part-time. My supervisor, the director of Vitality law, was interested to talk to me as someone who had life and work experiences. I felt heard, and I felt valuable. And I think there are a lot of people that, especially the older ones who are changing careers, just feel like it’s going to be too hard. No one’s going to give me a look in. They want the younger ones who are fresh and have so many years ahead of them,” she said.

“But I plan to do this for many years. And there’s definitely that change in how the legal industry is looking at all the graduates and what they can bring, what their benefits are, but also changing how they do law in that there’s more acceptance, that work/life balance needs to be a focus because so many leave within the first five years in the industry, and that’s a lot of work to go into for a very short career. So, it’s really nice to see that there are a lot of firms out there that are focusing on changing up the status quo and coming more into the new era that we’re in.”

Having significant life experience has also made Neil a better lawyer – and she makes an effort to be transparent and authentic with her clients.

“I feel I’m just able to look at a matter, a client, their circumstances, what worries them from a different angle, again, with that level of empathy, that desire to really want to help them. It’s not just a job for me. Different areas of law, especially if you’re in an area where there is a lot more emotion involved, too, I believe it allows you to have a bit more insight to perhaps what others are feeling and how it is that you can best help them. I also have ADHD, which can be seen as a bit of a stigma, and I was worried about that when I first started working in the legal industry,” she said.

“But mental health issues don’t have to stop you from doing what you love. It’s just a matter of working with it, identifying self-awareness and having that support team around you. I’m very fortunate, again, to have an amazing work team, but also my husband and family and friends who know what I can achieve and work with me with that. But I like to think of myself as being authentic. And I do think that’s such an important way to be in any job, whether it’s a lawyer or otherwise.”

Support for those experiencing mental illness can be found through organisations such as Lifeline, Beyond Blue and Head to Health. Each law society and bar association also has resources available on their respective websites.

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Michelle Neil, click below:

Lauren Croft

Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.