The homeless woman who became a barrister

When Emma Fitzgerald’s marriage imploded she and her 1yo son found themselves homeless – five years later, she was working a barrister.

When Emma Fitzgerald’s marriage imploded and she was subsequently terminated from her job as a high flying lawyer, she and her one-year-old son Henry found themselves without a roof over their heads and left with nothing.

They were technically homeless.

But climb Emma did, all the way to the bar table.

Turning a new page

Throughout her marriage, Emma experienced financial control.

In or about June 2017, Emma called her marriage quits. But – even though she had her own assets and her former husband owned another property – she was not allowed to live in either.

“I technically had assets but no access to any finances. I was ‘upper middle class on paper but homeless in real life”, Emma says matter-of-factly.

An overwhelming reality

When she left her marriage behind, Emma thought that she had everything necessary to create a new life with her son.

“I had just returned from maternity leave to my job as lawyer in a mid-tier Brisbane law firm”, recalls Emma. “My new reality made my career impossible to do. I found myself sitting at my desk, not being able to concentrate or get anything done. Then my boss decided to terminate my role.”

Emma lost her job soon after her marriage ended. Picture: Supplied.

After Emma lost her job, she spent six months unemployed. Suddenly, just existing in the word became like an overwhelming reality. Getting up in the morning, having a shower and taking her son to kindergarten became nearly impossible to do.

“My mental health absolutely spiralled. I had just left my marriage and had lost my career”, Emma explains. “An extraordinary amount of grief comes from being placed in a position like that. The grief for the life you thought you and your child would have, not necessarily the one you left.”

Fortunately for Emma, she was privileged to have somewhere to go in this period.

“My mother and father assisted Henry and I by feeding us and giving us somewhere to live”, Emma tells. “Many women leaving relationships of that nature are not so fortunate.”

Debunking homelessness

Data from the 2016 Census shows that older women – aged 55 and over – were the fastest growing group of homeless Australians between 2011 and 2016, a jump of 31 per cent.

However – according to Emma – there is a huge number of women who are not always “counted” in these statistics.

“They are what I like to call “invisible statistics”. Sometimes, they have assets but due to domestic violence, they cannot access those”, Emma says. “Or – in many cases – they have spent their lives looking after children and have little by way of support network or financial resources (like superannuation).”

Emma explains that being “homeless” is not only about not having a dry roof over your head. “It is about not having a space of your own, any control over your environment or any community and connectedness in your life”, she says. “It is about not being able to secure stable rent, or income, even by way of Centrelink. It also includes those invisible to statistics – like I was.”

According to Emma, there is a huge number of women who are “invisible” from statistics on homelessness. Picture: Supplied.

Rising from the ashes of unemployment

When Emma started making applications for jobs, she discovered that her former employer was preventing her from obtaining a new role.

Emma was being judged for not being able to work to the best of her ability when life got in the way. A moment of courage was now being seen by legal eagles as a weakness that could not be overcome. But Emma did not give up.

She kept applying and applying until someone gave her a go but she admits that she did omit the “blip” from her resume.

“Instead, I shared my successful trials and focused on my career wins”, Emma says. “I spoke about who I really was rather than dwelling on a moment in time that I would not let define me.”

Emma now practises as a barrister and has also established the Financial Abuse Prevention team at the Women’s Legal Service Queensland, aiming to assist women who are victims of financial abuse to obtain control and freedom from financial debt coming from financial abuse and coercive control.

Emma has went on to establish the Financial Abuse Prevention team at the Women’s Legal Service Queensland which aims to help women who are victims of financial abuse. Picture: Supplied.

She was also able to secure her own property settlement – something which a lot of victims of domestic violence do not have the courage to do – and owned her own property before selling it on her own terms in 2021 so that she could go to the bar.

Emma has well and truly risen from the ashes and built a brand-new life for herself and her son. She hopes that her story will help others get through a difficult time.

“You are so much more than your career or the title you carry. You have a full, rich life, even outside of your career”, Emma says. “Don’t forget to treasure those moments and the slow times as before you know it life will be overwhelming and busy again. Do everything you can to find that balance.”

Originally published as The homeless woman who became a barrister