Portfolio Feature: Industry Careers
- Priyanka Sharma
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Sophia Qureshi, Communications Officer, in conversation with Ava Conway, Industry Careers Director.
I caught up with Ava Conway, Director of the Industry Careers Portfolio, to hear all about how she and her team are helping Deakin law students break out of the Commercial Law bubble and explore other practice areas in the industry. In the lead-up to their flagship event, An Evening with Industry Professionals, Ava shared how the Portfolio strives to support students as they approach graduate life and the opportunities they offer to shed light on the multitude of practice areas graduates can specialise in. Whether you’re planning on being the next Elle Woods or are merely interested in what’s on offer outside of the Commercial sphere, keep reading to see how the Industry Careers Portfolio are here to support you.
Ava, you’re the brilliant director of the Deakin Law Students’ Society Industry Careers portfolio. Tell me about yourself!
I’m currently in my third year of a Bachelor of Laws/Criminology which I am really loving. It gives me a bit of a balance as I have my little criminology fix when there are some dry law subjects that are a bit difficult to get through.
Outside of Uni, I love going to reformer Pilates classes as they're an outlet for me when I get busy. I’m always down for a coffee catch-up, soy latte specifically, and I love a prosecco and a gossip. They’re all my things!
What drew you to the Deakin Law Students’ Society, and the Industry Careers portfolio in particular?
I had a little bit of experience with the Deakin Law Students’ Society (‘DLSS’) particularly in my first year where I attended an Evening with Industry Professionals, the Family and Criminal Law Panel as well as Law Ball. I found the DLSS committee to be an amazing team of students who all had similar interests and were able to put on these events and initiatives to help the student cohort which I really liked the idea of.
When applications opened at the end of my first year for officer positions, I was hesitant and nervous to apply, so I didn’t. However, I ended up applying to a casual vacancy position halfway through my second year because I had friends on committee who pushed me to do it. I thought ‘why not?’, gave it a crack, and ended up getting the position. Honestly, I think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve made some really great friends on committee, and I’ve been able to put my passions for Criminal Law into practice to help the student cohort.
That’s probably why Industry Careers was the portfolio I was drawn to. A career in commercial law isn’t really within my interests, however there are other areas of law which really draw my attention, so being able to explore that whilst simultaneously helping other people explore other legal career paths is where my passion lies.
What do you hope to achieve as the director of Industry Careers?
I’m in a great position as the Industry Careers portfolio was set up incredibly well for me last year and we had some great success with our events. Going into 2025, it was my goal to continue the success of these events and try and build them up and we’ve definitely done that this year, as seen by the growth in our portfolio and event sponsorship.
I think my main goal with Industry Careers is to serve the student cohort. As I touched on earlier, it is the overarching principle of the Industry Careers portfolio to educate the student body on various career paths and opportunities that fall outside of the commercial-corporate space. I think being able to provide students with panels and networking events that allow them to explore other interests is crucial. Receiving feedback from students, particularly with the Solicitor Shadowing Program that we ran earlier in the year, that students were able to have the opportunity to determine whether a certain area is something that excites them or not is what is really rewarding about Industry Careers.
The next big event for you on the calendar is An Evening with Industry Professionals. Can you tell me a little more about it and why it’s significant for law students?
An Evening with the Industry Professionals is Industry Career’s flagship event of the year. It is a large networking event we host every year. It’s similar to Meet the Professionals, but we focus on everything outside of the commercial law space.
This year it will be held on May 15th at ValueLab Spaces in the CBD, which is really exciting as it’s in a new venue. We’ll have various firms from all different practice areas, such as family law and immigration law, as well as PLT providers. The aim is to give students an idea of what’s beyond their law degree as they enter practice. This event is an opportunity to have everything in one space, so students can go around and chat with firm representatives from all of these different practice areas and learn about what working in that field is like. It is a crucial opportunity to be in a room with so many different industry professionals, learn about the pros and cons of their careers paths, and narrow down to see whether that path is for you.
A piece of advice I would give students attending An Evening with Industry Professionals is that they should go in with a purpose, knowing what you want to get out of the event. It is also important to remember when speaking with firm representatives, apart from being respectful and being professional in your interactions, that you’re also not going to leave every conversation and think ‘that’s exactly what I want to do’. That’s not something to be disheartened by as it’s just as valuable to chat someone about a practice area and decide that it’s not for you. There are so many different areas of law that we can practice in and being able decide that a certain area is not for you is just as effective as finding the one that is for you.
What does success look like for the Industry Careers Portfolio, both for law students and for your personal growth as a director?
I think, for law students in general, I really want our Industry Career’s portfolio to be seen as approachable and always open to guide students who ask questions. I know I’ve had students who, in the past, have come up to me at different events to ask about different career paths and about other initiatives that we run. I really want to maintain that ability, to be friendly, because I understand how incredible daunting it is talking to committee members when you aren’t involved with the DLSS.
Regarding personal growth, as a director, I want my team to get along with one another and work in a supportive space which I’m grateful that we have been able to achieve this year. I aim to do that by being transparent and doing everything in my power to make sure my team is all on the same page by ensuring that we have an open line of communication. There are times we have portfolio work to complete and at the same time we’re busy with all our external commitments of work and study so by ensuring we all communicate effectively we can support each other as we strive to achieve success.
If there was one thing you could change about how law students see their futures and career trajectories, what would that be and why?
One of the biggest things I wanted to change is, students are always hearing about clerkships roles which only really exists in the commercial law firms, and often, students feel immense amounts of pressure to apply for these roles because that seems like the next logical step in your legal career. I think the fact that there aren’t that many Industry-based programs like clerkships makes things quite daunting and pushes you to think ‘I really need to apply for clerkships because I won’t get any other experience’. I’d really like to change that perspective because there are so many other opportunities that students have access to.
There are many other avenues for success, for example, working as a paralegal or legal assistant at a boutique firm, which can provide you with just a much practical experience and room for professional growth as a clerkship. Particularly for students who just aren’t interested in commercial law, if you are not passionate about it, there isn’t any point in forcing yourself to do it.
Being open to knowing what other opportunities you have, by listening to our DLSS podcasts and connecting with Industry professionals on Linkedin, is essential. There are so many professionals who are passionate about they do and would love to share it with students and other legal practitioners. I think starting is what’s difficult, but once you get your foot in the door and put in effort to figure out what opportunities are available to you, you set yourself up well.
Other than An Evening with Industry Professionals, how else does the Industry Careers portfolio support law students through their studies and movement into graduate life?
So far this year, we have had our Solicitor Shadowing Program. This allowed students to apply and be matched with a solicitor in an industry field. Student spent the day in an office or at court with a Solicitor to see what their career is like and what they do on a day-to-day basis. This program is key to letting students determine whether a particular career path is the one for them. All the feedback I have received from students has been incredible, saying that they’ve gained so much from that experience, not just in relation to the practice area, but also in practicing law in general.
We have also had our Career Ready Workshop which was aimed at first- and second-year students and was a collaboration with the Commercial Careers and Engagement Portfolios. Its aim was to set students up with baseline professional skills as they enter their careers. We spoke about skills such as resume writing, networking, corporate dressing, and everything in between.
Later this year we will be releasing our podcast series which will expose students to key conversations with different professionals from a range of different practice areas. It will allow students to learn from the professionals’ insights and hear about their career journey. In a lot of those episodes, we will also ask our guests to provide tips and tricks for law students to use as they move into graduate life.
We will also have two panels later in the year – the Family and Criminal Law Panel and the People’s Choice Panel. These will provide students with an insightful opportunity to listen to professionals speak and allow students to ask questions in a comfortable and supportive setting so they can learn about what career opportunities spark their interests.
And obviously, we have An Evening with Industry Professionals which is an event open to all year levels and will be held next week so I would urge students to get tickets to help further develop their networking skills and who knows, maybe even be able to come back with a legal job!
Want to Learn More?
If you have any questions or would like further information, please feel free to reach out to Ava, Director of Industry Careers, at director-careers-industry@deakinlss.org.
