Angelo Bistolaridis

What led you to choose UTS for your studies in Law? It was the only university I visited on Open Day where the lecturers and volunteers seemed genuine and sincere. It is a university where the academics want to help you in any way they can; they actually care about their students and care about what they teach.

What influenced your decision? From the age of two I was such an arrogant little kid who always wanted to win arguments, so much so that my dad always told me “you’re a lawyer” (perhaps with some pride but also with disdain). I grew up debating and I loved English and humanities subjects at school.

I was also fortunate enough to spend the last years of my high school life watching “Boston Legal”! I watched that show and thought "yes! That's what I'm going to do". Although I think the legal tradition is one of the noblest traditions in the world and I do feel like the heir of some of the most brilliant defenders of humanity in history, I have to unfortunately resign myself to the fact that Alan Shaw and Denny Crane don’t exist.

How have your studies at UTS helped you in finding a career path? I want to practice in Family Law, Criminal Law and one day, if I’m really lucky, International Law. Our University offers us the ability to study a vast array of legal subjects and all of these fields are taught here. It is because we are exposed to these subjects that I have been able to find the type of law career I want to pursue. It’s also because of the emphasis and support placed in the importance of competitions (mooting for me above all) that I was able to learn the skills I will need for these fields.

Are you working while studying? How do you manage the competing demands of university and work? It’s not at all easy. I work at a family law firm right now and I’m there four days a week. Even before working there I had jobs in retail and I have been a full-time uni student up until this year – not to mention having a social life. How do you balance it? I think the best way is to use whatever spare time you have to read, take notes and study throughout semester – DO NOT CRAM!  There’s so much spare time.... I just have to work hard to not spend all of it watching YouTube.  

How has your learning experience at UTS prepared you for your career? I got the job I have now because of mooting, which UTS emphasises. Competitions like mooting give you the research, speaking and problem solving skills which lt an employer know that firstly, you’re willing to give up time to learn; secondly, you’re hard-working and thirdly, you have exercised legal skills in a hypothetical setting. The UTS academics also encourage discussion in classes and this helps you lose the fears of speaking that many people develop at high school. The fact that you’re marked on your participation means that importance is attached to how clearly and concisely you can express your knowledge – its good practice for court and discussing matters with solicitors or barristers.

What sets UTS students apart in your field? It is often said that our degree gives us practical skills. We study theory and jurisprudence, legal precedents and doctrines but most of our degree, from tests to essays, gives us the chance to problem solve – to apply the law. Our degree rewards lateral and creative thinkers with the chance to give opinions on complex and unusual questions in the law. Students at UTS are also not pretentious. Our students haven’t got delusions of grandeur or arrogance. We’re humble and real people, and this is a major plus when it comes to employment.  

What is the most rewarding aspect of your degree? I grew up in an area where I rarely met people who had complex thoughts. That changes at uni.  Everyone has complex thoughts, everyone thinks they will save the world, everyone thinks they are going to leave their mark. The fact that I got to meet these people is one of the most rewarding parts of my degree (and life in general).

What is the most useful thing you have learned from your degree so far? To hypothesise; to be able to look at a law and then see how far you can stretch that law, through creative interpretation and thorough analysis of words, so that it will support a certain view.

Has anyone in particular at the University had a significant influence on your studies? If you’re really lucky as a student you will get to meet a man called Ian Dobinson. Ian is a criminal law academic who has appeared on television from time to time. His warmth, humour, intelligence, openness and concern for his students are unparalleled. Ian has managed to make me interested in questioning the purpose behind laws and the application of laws in criminal justice.

If you get involved with competitions at the university you will get to meet Geoff Holland. Geoff is one of the funniest and most sincere of people I have ever met. It was Geoff that provoked my interests in mooting and this has given me the skills I will need for when I become a solicitor or am one day admitted to the bar.

What would your advice be for someone who is looking at studying Law at UTS? Do it. Enrol now. Law firms are hiring students with inquisitive and lateral thinking minds and that means students who have studied at UTS.