Abbey— Current Law Student
I'm Abbey and currently I'm halfway through my third year of law school at Monash. I'm doing a double degree of law and PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics), and I started university in 2023. Alongside my studies, I also work part-time.
Q: What first sparked your interest in law? Was it something that you always had considered since high school?
It was something that I had thought of, but not really properly considered as an option until doing legal studies in Year 11. We hadn't encountered anything law related until then, which I think is quite common for high school students. It's not something introduced until the final years. I originally thought that I was going to do something like midwifery or nursing. But, I changed my mind around the end of Year 11, and decided on doing law instead. And I'm glad I did.
Q: Tell me about the pathway you took into studying law at Monash. Did you come fresh out of high school, or did you take a different route?
Yeah, I came straight from high school. I went straight into the law degree, as well as the PPE degree, at Monash. I was able to start both at the same time, given that I had earned an ATAR which let me do so.
Q: What has your experience been studying law at Monash like so far? Did you struggle to adapt to the university work-life balance?
I think my first year was definitely my most difficult. The content is the easiest, but the format that it's taught in is so different to school, which is what I struggled with at first. Something that I also struggled with is knowing the workload and what's expected of me. I think a lot of the time you hear about university, that you have a lot of free time and it's quite easy, but in hindsight I had to be more realistic with how much study I would have to do to do my personal best in law. It took a bit of time to realise that, and I think that's only happened halfway through my second year.
Q: Are there any extracurriculars, internships, clerkships or anything of the sort that have been formative, or you imagine will be formative to your time at uni thus far?
I was mentored in the Monash LSS peer mentor program during my first year, which I think was really good. I didn't take advantage of it as much as I really should have. The peer mentor program is really amazing for those who feel a bit out of depth in their legal studies. And feel free to pick their brains. I, in my third year, went back and was a mentor for first year mentees, and we were barely bothered at all with any questions. Everyone was more than willing to help! So, I would say leaning on them more and asking them all the questions that you feel like are silly, or you don't want to ask your peers or tutors is a really great thing to do.
I haven't reached the point in my course where I've had to apply for clerkships yet, but that will come soon.
Q: What do you imagine your career will look like after you graduate from Monash law?
I'm not entirely sure what area of law I want to go into. I think doing the PPE degree, as well as law, leaves me quite open to possibly government work or policy work. I think right now the ideal path for me is working on policy but still in a law firm, so I can still remain in that law firm context but not necessarily working in some sort of commercial law.
Q: What advice do you have to any aspiring law students who may be reading this, whether that be high schoolers or current university students enrolled in other courses?
Your tutors throughout law school are really collaborative and willing to help. So, I would say talking to them after class or being really willing to participate in classes helps you get a lot more out of it than if you were to just sit back and observe. I would say participating in classes and yeah, willing to approach those tutors if you need any help.