Part-time Juris Doctor to full-time

“I loved legal studies when I was in high school,” he says.

“I did some research and UTS was offering a part-time course for the JD.”

Emmanuel enrolled in the UTS JD a few weeks later, throwing himself into part-time study while he continued his business career. But as the degree progressed, he soon realised that he wanted to dedicate all his time and energy to his postgraduate studies. So, he resigned from his job, upped his enrolment to full-time, and started planning his next steps.

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Too old for a clerkship?

What am I going to do if I have to go back to the bottom?

In his penultimate year at UTS, he successfully applied for a summer clerkship with Corrs Chambers Westgarth, something many of his peers were wary of doing.

“Some would say to me, ‘I’m not doing a clerkship! I’m going to be the oldest person there!’” he says.

It was something Emmanuel had initially been concerned about himself – “I had a previous career, I worked my way up a little bit – I thought, what am I going to do if I have to go back to the bottom?”

But working in a real-world legal environment gave him some clarity around the sort of law career he wanted to pursue, which in turn helped him to figure out which JD electives to choose to maximise his chances of success in a new industry.

Choosing the right subjects

“I did finance law, which is very applicable to my everyday job now. Then I did corporate governance, because I think you should always have an understanding of this area when working in commercial law, regardless of what your core function is, and finally I did insolvency law,” he says.

His mentor, a barrister, also encouraged him to stay the path.

“He said, ‘It will come; your future career will come. Once you’re in the door, once you’ve found a job and a firm you like, you work hard and keep progressing,’” Emmanuel says.

I’ve seen what else is out there and I know this is for me. I’m very satisfied.

From clerkship to job offer

His mentor was right: after his clerkship, Corrs Chambers Westgarth offered Emmanuel a role as a paralegal during his final year; a year later, he was working as a fully-fledged banking and finance lawyer. And, far from facing discrimination for his age, Emmanuel says being a mature age student has been highly beneficial in the competitive world of law.

“I was lucky enough to have a certain amount of commercial acumen before I came into law. I felt like I had a lot of insights into the business world that someone who probably just finished an undergraduate degree wouldn’t have,” he says.

“From my perspective, as someone who’s 29 and had a previous career, I’ve seen what else is out there and I know this is for me. I’m very satisfied.”