Hutchison is from Kilcoy, a rural town in Queensland, and first started her legal career at 17 at Herbert Smith Freehills – travelling an hour into the city on the train each day pre-pandemic.

“When I originally started, I was already not doing the general pathway to becoming a graduate solicitor. Most people go to university, they study, they might do a few clerkships here and there, get offered a graduate role. I entered the workforce as an admin assistant, so I was very much on the bottom of the barrel. However, I think doing that gave me a perspective to be able to work up the ranks and see how all areas of a business in a law firm should work.

“So, I think that was really beneficial. So, I don’t think people should be scared to apply for those lower-level jobs because experience is something that will help you in the long run and employers, I think, can really see the value in it,” she said.

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“After that, I went to an in-house role for local government in Brisbane, where I was there for nearly three years, and I worked in their planning and development litigation team. So, I think working there [and] working in-house is a very different way to working compared to a top-tier law firm. That gave me a bit of a different perspective as well. Where I am now in my career, just because the clients are in-house, it’s a different level of compliance in a different way. So, I think that was another beneficial moment.”

As such, Hutchison has been able to be fairly adaptable within her roles since and has been able to think about how things can be bigger and better in each role.

“As lawyers, we do have many transferable skills into lots of disciplines, I think, and innovation is one that’s very similar. We have the ability to be able to think strategically and problem solve and things like that. So, I think it’s a really big part of any lawyer’s journey to a certain degree, to be able to think innovatively, even, and be able to solve problems,” she said.

“It’s just having that mindset of, if you’re completing a task, if you’re doing something, oh, this could be better, and then progressing it from there, which is something that I think is important in all aspects. And I know it does come with having confidence to be able to voice those thoughts you have. But something that I have found is that if you’re having a thought, it’s probably 80 per cent of the staff have already had that thought, and everyone is thinking the same thing, so why shouldn’t we just start implementing it that way?”

“Thinking big” can, therefore, be construed in a few different ways, added Hutchison

“Whilst it isn’t always the big ideas that are changing in changing a whole workplace, it’s just always having that innovative thinking behind you. To be thinking outside the box, to be embracing change and looking for ways we can continue to improve,” she said.

“And I think as young people, we do have a little bit of an edge where we are raised in a digital age where speed and value is something that we inherently look for. So, I think thinking big is just looking for either those little or those larger projects where we can just improve and see a difference.

“And I think the way that we are working as an industry is ever-evolving at the moment. So, keeping up to date on the technological changes, especially with AI coming in and different things like that, is really important for, I think, all firms and all members of firms at the moment; it’s not really just about getting your law degree anymore, it’s about what else, on top of that, you can continue to do to provide value for the firm you’re working for and your clients.”

For junior lawyers, this kind of thinking can not only make them better legal professionals but also drive better outcomes for clients.

“I think thinking big makes you a better lawyer because you can think outside the box a little bit in the way that you service your clients, but also the way that you can help your other team members. I think it’s important to put client satisfaction, but also the value we’re adding,” Hutchison said.

“So, I think a big part of thinking big is about the value that you can add. The value increases, and the time decreases as well. So, if we are able to do something more efficiently, we’re most likely able to service more clients and assist more people.”

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