100 years of women in law celebrated at high-powered breakfast hosted by Coutts Solicitors and Conveyancers
IT MAY be the 21st century but it is only 100 years since women have been allowed to become lawyers, and it took an Act of parliament to make it happen.
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IT may be the 21st century but it is only 100 years since women have been allowed to become lawyers, and it took an Act of parliament to make it happen.
This was the surprising reminder at a high-powered breakfast and networking event which celebrated 100 years of women in the law and was hosted by Coutts Solicitors and Conveyancers at their Narellan office on Friday.
Coutts managing director Adriana Care said many advances had been made in the past 100 years but a lot of work still had to be done to achieve true equality.
“When I started out as a solicitor in 1999, women made up 27 per cent of lawyers but now over half are women and over 70 per cent of law students are women,’’ she said.
Career progression, retention, equal pay and equality were the areas which still needed attention, the breakfast event heard.
Mrs Care said she was lucky to have good mentors, both men and women, in her career.
“The best advocate for women is also men and they can help advocate for true equality for all, for equal opportunity for both sexes and to avoid unconscious bias,’’ Mrs Care said.
The event was attended by community leaders, including Camden state Liberal MP Chris Patterson, Camden Mayor Lara Symkowiak, and Wollondilly Mayor Judy Hannan, business leaders, an inspirational panel of females working in the law, and high school and university students.
It honoured the centenary of the Women’s Legal Status Act 1918 (NSW) which paved the way for women to become lawyers for the first time in NSW, as well as allowing women to stand for the NSW Parliament.
The panel of speakers included criminal barrister Kellie Stares who was admitted to the bar at age 23, and Coutts partner Alexandra Johnstone.
Ms Stares said her advice to young female lawyers and students was to look inside yourself and decide on the area of law that most interested them.
She said criminal law was a rewarding career.
“I see people who come from the worst possible place in life and they are often the product of where they come from,’’ she said.
“In my job I get the opportunity to set them on the right path and help them, to assist them with mental health or send them to rehab.’’
Also on the panel were Transport for NSW group general counsel Clair Hodge, Commonwealth Bank head of life product governance Kate Webber, University of Wollongong in-house general counsel Cherry Siu-Ho and ACT MLA Elizabeth Lee.
Ms Lee said the legal profession was becoming increasingly automated but one thing that could not be automated was care.
The celebration also aimed to inspire young local women to enter the law, to show them they have the ability to craft their own careers and to also give them access to positive role models.
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