Ali Blanch

What led you to choose UTS:Law for your studies? I had been considering studying law for some time, but could not make it work with my local university, as their law degree was quite structured and inflexible. After reading a bit about the JD course on the UTS website, the flexible study options stood out to me as I work in the construction industry with long working hours. When the opportunity to transfer to Sydney for work arose, I took it and enrolled at UTS, with the campus being 1.5km from my office. The option to attend weekend and night classes was very attractive and the range of elective courses was appealing.

If you are working while you are studying, what does your job involve? I work as a HR Advisor for a top tier construction company. I work closely with our Civil and Tunnelling divisions on all functions of People and Industrial Relations. Our Tunnelling division is National, so there is some travel involved in my job, including to the Pilbarra in WA and Central QLD. I work with the Tunnelling Senior Management team on aligning business objectives with employees and management in the business and on projects. I also work with our projects to resolve employee relations issues.

How do you balance study and work commitments? I often walk a very fine line! Working 50 hours, attending 4 nights of classes and outside study and assignments requires a lot of discipline and a strict schedule! I am also a keen triathlete, so keeping a schedule ensures I can fit everything in. I like to wake up early to fit in an hour of training before work, and I find that attending every class and engaging 100% reduces the amount of time you have to spend outside of class catching up. Life is a real balance, and sometimes study gives out over training, or racing comes before additional readings. I am also lucky to have a partner who will cook dinner when I get home after class at 9.30pm!

How have/will your studies at UTS contributed to your career? How have they informed the way you work? A substantial part of my role working in HR is identifying and resolving problems on various construction projects and within the business. This requires an ability to identify issues, and using research and resources, critically analyse the risk to the business to determine a suitable outcome. The graduate attributes of the Juris Doctor closely align with these skills required in my current role and no doubt my future career. UTS encourages students to concisely and articulately communicate their ideas, which is a very useful skill in the workplace. What I enjoy most about UTS is their practical outlook on the practice of law in the real world.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your degree? Why? The law is such a complicated field, reading your first full judgment can feel like reading riddles, so as studies progress come the rewards of finally feeling like you are ‘cracking the code’! The law permeates every aspect of society – even if you don’t want to become a lawyer, the transferability of skills learned within a law degree makes the study of law very rewarding.

What would your advice be for someone who is looking at studying Law at UTS? As I mentioned above, attending every class reduces the amount of time you have to spend catching up outside of class. The added bonus is you get the hints from lecturers about how to achieve the highest marks for assessment and many anecdotes you cannot get from a textbook. Almost everyone I have encountered within the UTS Law Faculty are more than willing to go the extra mile for you if you have a particular interest in an area of the law, or are having trouble with a certain aspect of the course. Use the resources that they are willing to offer, because it is invaluable.

Is there anything else you’d like to add about your experience at UTS:Law, or the University as a whole? The UTS Law Faculty is like a big family and we are lucky to have a wonderful Director of Students in Maxine Evers. Maxine really understands the challenges that working students have and the Faculty as a whole makes part time students feel very welcome and engaged.

I am excited to see the changes to the UTS campus evolve, its location in the city is ideal and to have first class facilities coupled with that location is very attractive for part time students who work in the city.

The UTS Law Awards evening also showcased for me the emphasis the Faculty puts on recognising the achievements of its students and its partnership with industry. The number of awards offered was very impressive and it certainly made me feel more connected with the university and the legal profession.

Find out more about our JD program at our information evening.