Caitlin McConnel is a senior associate at Clayton Utz and practises in agribusiness, food, natural capital markets and ESG, as well as being a sixth-generation farmer in regional Queensland.

Speaking on a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, McConnel discussed her dual roles as a farmer and BigLaw associate and how they intersect in her day-to-day life.

McConnel’s family is recognised as the oldest identified family business in Queensland and one of the oldest in Australia, after her great-great-great-grandfather settled their property in 1841.

“We only have 1,000 acres, we’re on the upper branch of the Brisbane River, and we have beef cattle and agrivoltaics. And agrivoltaics is a relatively new term that is starting to make its way into a lot of ESG and renewables conversations, where it’s actually the utilisation of agricultural land for the dual purpose of agricultural production and renewable energies, predominantly solar,” she said.

“And as a result of actually the deregulation of the dairy industry back in 2000 and our disbursement of our dairy herd, my dad made the decision in 2010 to install large solar installations to take advantage of the 44 cent kilowatt hour rebate that was available then. And given his knowledge of not only our property, but how livestock tend to interact with machinery and all things electrical, he worked with the engineers at the time to ensure that the solar panels and the design were taking up the smallest amount of land possible, but also designed so that our cattle could graze underneath them without damaging the system.

“So, we are now given the emerging technologies and awareness of the importance of renewables in agriculture and making sure that land use is dual-purpose. We’re recognised now as one of the only producers in the country that have the set up that we do, particularly in respect of utilising large livestock, such as cattle, to graze underneath our panels.”

McConnel’s parents are retired, leaving the full day-to-day management of the property to her and two stockmen. She also works in a “firm-first” role at Clayton Utz, where she engages with national practice groups and advises on various agricultural issues, including food security, climate change, and emissions reductions.

“My hands-on experience, not only here on the farm but also on the tools as a lawyer, is a pretty unique position to be in. And I’m very grateful too to work alongside my colleague Claire Smith, who’s based in Sydney. She’s our national practice group leader of environment sustainable development and she was an ecologist before she became a lawyer,” she said.

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“So, her firsthand knowledge in respect of biodiversity and ecology and then my firsthand experience, looking out over some of our pastures as a primary producer, really are enabling us to provide quite a unique offering to clients.”

While McConnel said that the worlds of law and agriculture are generally seen as “polar opposites”, there are a number of skills she has gained in both industries that cross over into her day-to-day life.

“Some of the examples that I often give [are] my patience and my ability to read people, particularly as a litigator. But as a result of my experiences on the farm, working with livestock, you’ve got to be able to read the beast that’s in front of you. You’ve also got to have an extraordinary amount of patience in terms of not only the climate, but economic issues or challenges that you can face on a farm. And certainly, growing up on a 183-year-old cattle property, there is a lot to be learnt in terms of patience in the cattle yards,” she said.

“Those are certainly skills that cross over in terms of the synergies between subject matter. And we are in a really unique position in respect of the issues that we are facing globally pertaining to climate, achieving net zero and food security [and] our need to inherently understand and recognise the importance of the agriculture sector. And the issues that I’m facing on farm as a small-business owner, it’s often said that primary producers are at the coalface of climate change and they’re absolutely right. Same goes in terms of food and fibre production and our ability to actually produce food and fibre, not only to meet the domestic market but also global markets.

“There is a lot to be learned really, in terms of not only what we’re seeing on the ground as a primary producer and in the agri sector in respect of climate, but also what information needs to be shared between the supply and demand side to ensure that any commodity markets or any emissions reduction targets or disclosure related obligations or opportunities that are being afforded to both parties are going to be in the best interests of human rights. And that’s where the climate litigation arm comes to play and what we’re already starting to see in the courts in respect of some of those administrative actions and private tort actions that are starting to play out.”

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

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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.