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An unconventional journey to becoming a special counsel
In a world where many law students follow the conventional path from high school to university and then to a legal career, Vicky Martin discusses her unconventional experience of becoming a lawyer.
Grace Robbie
In a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, Vicky Martin, a special counsel for Queensland-based law firm Thynne + Macartney, shared the unique journey that led to her becoming a lawyer and revealed the insights and experiences she gained as a mature-aged student.
“When I left school, I just wanted to earn money. I didn’t want to go to uni. I didn’t want to waste years doing that. I just wanted to earn money because I wanted to travel overseas,” she said.
This decision led her to obtain a position at a law firm as an office junior, in which she was responsible for a wide range of duties, such as emptying ashtrays and handling the task of picking up and dropping off the boss’s dry cleaning.
“I scoured the Courier Mail classifieds, as you did in those days, and I found this tiny little ad looking for an office junior for a law firm in Fortitude Valley. So I applied, and I got that role,” she said.
After spending several years in this role, Martin saved enough money to travel overseas. Upon her return, she was uncertain about what career path to pursue. Having only experience in the legal field, she ultimately re-immersed herself in the legal profession.
“When I came back, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, and all I knew was legal, obviously, at that point. So I did some temp work for an agency for legal eagles, as they were in those days. And I worked in lots of different firms over about a six- to nine-month period doing office support sort of work,” she said.
Upon securing a position at the Public Defenders Office, she was offered assistance in pursuing a law degree. However, after three years of completing the degree, she reconsidered whether a lawyer career aligned with her aspirations.
“I only did three years of the degree, and then I decided that I think I was scared of the responsibility that might come with becoming a lawyer, especially in criminal matters where I saw other lawyers advocating in courts for their clients.
“It really terrified me, and I just thought, what if I muck something up and somebody went to jail because of my stuff-up,” she said.
She added: “I talked myself out of wanting to continue the degree. I left the degree at that stage, and I went to work for a firm that specialised in criminal law, and I was their office manager. I wanted to stay around the law, but I just didn’t want the responsibility of being a lawyer.”
Upon reflection and discussions within the legal community, Martin realised that her apprehension about making mistakes can be valuable for succeeding in the legal profession.
“I think it just came with maturity and also good mentoring. People saying to me that, OK, the fact that you are so terrified of mucking up would mean that you would be a good lawyer because you would be diligent and give the matter the attention it required,” she said.
After this, Martin decided to resume her pursuit of a law degree as a mature student, which presented its own unique set of challenges and obstacles to navigate.
“Being a mature-age student was strange. I did the degree online, but going in for exams, I just felt like the dinosaur. All these much younger children, people obviously young enough to be my children, a lot of them,” she said.
“I’d rock up to exams, and I was determined not to be that mature-age student, too. There was always one mature-age student in the group that asked lots of questions if we went in for tutorials, and I was determined that I didn’t want to do that.”
Martin underscored this experience’s value, highlighting its contribution to her learning and personal growth.
“I learned a bit of humility like I’m no better than anybody else. I’m just a little bit older and a bit more life experience,” she said.
