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What dancing taught me about lawyering
The performing arts may seem like a world away from the practice of law, but for one practitioner, professional dancing has offered transferable skills for her career as a lawyer – particularly given the persistent environmental hurdles placed in front of women in the profession.
Jerome Doraisamy
Speaking recently on The Boutique Lawyer Show, Bowes Legal principal and director Jane Bowes (pictured) reflected on how her journey as a dancer-turned-lawyer has provided a unique perspective on discipline, daily operations, and conducting one’s self in practice.
Her passion for dance led her to a prestigious performing arts school in Sydney, where she honed her craft and performed globally as a classical ballerina. However, by her late 20s, Bowes found herself at a crossroads, pondering her next move after returning to Australia.
Despite her disciplined background and international experience, Bowes faced a harsh reality upon her return.
“I could not even get a job as a receptionist at a law firm, let alone become a lawyer or own my own law firm,” she said.
Her decision to pursue law was met with scepticism, often being told, “women like you don’t become lawyers, you marry lawyers”, she recounted.
Undeterred, Bowes embarked on a three-year accelerated law course, driven both by curiosity and a desire to defy expectations.
The transition from dance to law might seem uncommon, but Bowes found surprising parallels between the two fields.
“Law is performing,” she said.
“If you have to make submissions or you’re in front of the judge, you are on your feet.”
Her training as a classical ballerina instilled in her, she outlined, a level of discipline, punctuality, and presentation that has proved invaluable in her legal career.
“Being a trained classical ballerina or doing dance to that level, you’re super disciplined, you know, you’re never late, you present, you know, you know how to dress,” she said.
Such insights, together with having entered the legal profession at a slightly later age relative to most lawyers, have aided her development. Her clients in the personal injury space, she said, are individuals facing challenging personal circumstances, and her maturity allows her to connect with them on a deeper level.
“I’m dealing with people. My clients are individuals; they’re not big corporations,” she said.
“They’re coming to me at the worst point in their life, so I need to find a way to connect with them. And having that life experience, and disciplined background as a dancer, was the perfect mix.”
Moreover, Bowes said that her insights have come in handy as a woman in law.
When she entered the profession, female representation in senior positions was sparse. “There [weren’t] that many females. There [weren’t] that many at the top in partnership,” she said.
Bowes’ journey demonstrates that success is attainable regardless of one’s background, and she takes pride in the role models she and others have become for the next generation of lawyers.
“I like to think that women like me have had a say in that, and other women can look up to us and say, well, she’s done it, so I can have a go,” she said.
The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Jane Bowes, click below:
