FAMILY LAW

Esther is a Solicitor for Pentana Stanton Lawyers. She was admitted in August 2023 and practices in Family law, with experience in Parenting and Property Division. 

“Don’t give up. You might not get the Clerkship or graduate program that you want. You just have to keep going and someone will see it in you eventually.”

With Esther Sophia

What was your motivation towards becoming a lawyer?

I was not originally motivated to become a family lawyer specifically. I initially wanted to be a criminal lawyer because I saw that many unfair things happened in our world. I saw many people getting criminal convictions for things they shouldn't have. In the workplace, I’ve seen employees getting treated illegally at work and even unfairly by the criminal justice system, so I thought I could make a difference. 

It sounds like you had an interest in Criminal and Employment Law. What motivated you to choose Family Law?

When I worked as a paralegal, the law firm did criminal intervention orders and family law,  something that clicked in my brain one day!

I studied a Family Law elective at university alongside a child protection elective because I thought it would be a good background for criminal law. But one day, I was in a conference with a barrister, my principal solicitor, and a client. We were running through potential arguments for the hearing the next day, and I found it really interesting since it was related to family law. That’s when I realised, I just wanted to do family law. It just happened!

Did you end up losing interest in Criminal Law? 

While I was working as a paralegal, I realised that criminal law didn't seem to be actually making a difference in anyone’s life as I initially hoped it would. I found that we would be travelling to all these different Magistrates’ Courts, Ringwood, Frankston, Heidelberg, Melbourne CBD, and I was just seeing guilty pleas about minor matters, such as possession of drugs, speeding, drink driving, or assault. I felt like nothing was actually changing; nobody was receiving help from the court system, and there was no exercise of therapeutic jurisprudence. 

Therapeutic jurisprudence: Understanding the underlying causes of criminal behaviour and implementing holistic, rehabilitative measures to address those causes, rather than relying on punitive approaches.

In my experience, I didn't feel like people cared about the defendants. Nobody seemed to acknowledge how they ended up there or why they ended up there. It was a slap on the wrist; defendants would simply get their punishment and go home. This is why I become disenfranchised with practising criminal law, because I didn’t see anybody implementing rehabilitative measures or helping them.

Looking at the current situation now, there are people struggling to get by daily - people are shoplifting from Coles or Woolworths because they can't afford to buy food to feed their children. It’s a choice between paying rent or buying food, and when they are caught by the criminal justice system, they are getting punished with fines, which makes it worse because now they have even less money. Instead of fixing the problem that causes shoplifting, the problem is further compounded. That's when I realised that I don’t want to practise criminal law, and I didnt want to be involved in that. I think it would make me feel miserable if I practised that. 

What is your daily life like as a family lawyer?

Most of my job as a family lawyer involves reading reports and drafting documents for my clients. Some of it involves going to court, but family law mostly involves extra reading and writing compared to other practice areas.

How would you describe family law to somebody unfamiliar with this area?

There are multiple different subareas of Family law. The work I do is Parenting so it revolves around managing appropriate arrangements for the ongoing care of children, but I also do matters about property - so assets. Some other areas include Divorce, Family Dispute Resolution, and Child Support. 


What does parenting and property family law involve? 

Parenting law focuses on protecting the best interests of the child such as financial support. It is not about what either parent wants, but what the best interests of the child is. With property, it is about appropriately dividing property for the financial future of both parties. It is about creating a fair and equitable outcome. 


What are some relevant background knowledge and skills that are relevant behind parenting and property family law?

For property, being good with numbers is important because it involves calculating percentages, dividing items. I’m not great with numbers, but it helps to have someone else check up on mine!

However, I believe any type of law boils down to being able to manage people. Sometimes clients have unrealistic expectations and you have to learn how to manage them, as well as manage the court process as a solicitor. As solicitors, we are officers of the court. Sometimes clients will ask you to do things that are contrary to those obligations, so it's essential to understand how to manage your client and be firm, but still be gentle with them because they are going through a tough time with divorce. The nature of family law involves being able to have good people skills. 

Time management is an important skill for any lawyer. You have to be able to be on top of everything and manage everything for around 30 clients at the same time. You can't turn up to court and say you aren't prepared because you've had a busy week. Remaining professional is essential but also remaining honest and admitting if you don't know something is crucial. At the end of the day, you cannot want to make up information. You have to be mature enough to admit if you don't know something to your client or even the court.

Going back to your experience as a law student, what was your experience applying for a Clerkship or graduate position?

I had a very unique pathway because my principal solicitor from where I worked when I was a paralegal was a friend of mine. I had known her for eight years ago when I was a bartender and she was my customer, so when she opened her own law firm and I started studying law, it made sense and she asked me to work for her. I didn’t need to go through the rigmarole like most people, it was handed to me because we knew each other. I know it's not easy to land those roles. I hear it's quite hard for people to get clerkships and graduate positions or even paid positions. Even once they are admitted, I hear there are a lot of junior lawyers, but not enough junior lawyer jobs. I’m lucky because I didn't have to go through that. 

But the biggest takeaway is networking. I think this whole profession works on networking. You can be a junior lawyer like me or a senior lawyer who has been doing it for 10-40 years. You need to make sure that people know who you are when you walk into a courtroom. If you want to be a barrister, you want all those law firms to know you so you can get briefed by those law firms, because that's what you essentially work on. So I think it all in this profession it all boils down to who you know and networking and who knows you.

Even though I had excellent grades at university as I graduated with a distinction, I don’t think it was my grades, but it was who I knew in my experience. Even at my current position, I had a friend who had another friend that worked here, and that person put my resume forward so again, it was through connections. 

Even now I still feel strange walking up to a lawyer or barrister in Court and introducing myself and chatting with them. It is weird and awkward sometimes, but it's what this industry is about. 

Reflecting on your journey so far, what piece of advice that you give to younger self and like when you were just starting your career in family law or just in law generally?

I'm still a young person in the profession as I have only been doing this for a year. But one thing I would tell someone who is just starting out or studying is that it is not just about getting good grades. Even though I worked as hard as I possibly could and got excellent grades, it is not necessarily everything. A lot of it is who you know, who knows you, and honestly a bit of luck. But don’t give up. You might not get the Clerkship or graduate program that you want. You just have to keep going and someone will see it in you eventually. Even for internships or volunteer opportunities, you are still meeting people in law firms who might some day offer you a job.