Gilbert + Tobin

Why did you choose Gilbert + Tobin for your clerkship?

It had been a dream of mine to work at G+T since 2017 when I first visited the firm as part of the UNSW Indigenous pre-law programs. I knew G+T had incredible lawyers and exciting clients but what stood out to me the most was its dedication to corporate social responsibility, particularly its efforts in supporting first nations communities. 

What piece of advice do you wish you’d been given before you started your clerkship application process?

It’s cliché but I think the best piece of advice is: take it easy and be yourself. Going through the application process I realised that the people at G+T want to see and learn about the real you, so it’s important to be ready to share some things that you’re passionate and interested about in the interviews. 

Describe your clerkship experience.

As a clerk I was given invaluable training, I worked on interesting matters, I was challenged, I was supported, I was inspired, and I made friends that I truly believe I will have for life. I started the clerkship in Corporate Advisory and loved it immediately. Everyone in the team was so nice and welcoming and my supervisors and buddies made sure I was working on interesting tasks. One of the highlights was getting to go the team Christmas party where I got to meet and get to know most of the people in the team. 

My second rotation was in the Competition + Regulation team which was an area I had no prior experience in. It took me a little longer to find my feet in this team but the people I worked with were very supportive and made sure to bring me onto interesting maters and took the time to explain the basic concepts of competition law to me. During my time in Competition, the partner who had previously interviewed me for my Indigenous Cadet position, personally reached out to me to congratulate me on getting a clerk position and to let me know I could reach out to him if I needed anything. This meant a lot to me and instances like this truly show the type of place that G+T is and the type of partners that work for the firm. 

Any final advice or insights for potential applicants?

I’m a country girl and am the first person in my family to go to university; most of my family members don’t really understand what a corporate lawyer even does. I don’t come from a family with great wealth or intellect and I’ve had experiences in the past where this has led me to feel out of place in the corporate world, but not once have I felt this way whilst working at G+T. This is what I believe makes G+T truly special; the firm has a culture of acceptance that I haven’t experience anywhere else. 

Describe your Gilbert + Tobin clerkship experience in 1-3 words.

Caring, enriching, and innovative. 

What is something which surprised you about your clerkship?

I was surprised to discover G+T’s egalitarian structure with little hierarchy. The absence of rigid bureaucracy allowed me to form a meaningful connection with everyone in my team and with people outside my immediate team. I was able to work on various complex matters and approach lawyers as well as partners directly on a variety of projects. Instead of wrestling with the terrifying thought of whether it was appropriate for a clerk to approach a partner directly or doubting my capabilities as a clerk, I was encouraged to be bold, creative, and focused on my personal and professional growth. 

Describe a moment in your clerkship where you felt like you’d made an impact, or achieved/learned something you didn’t expect?

Before my clerkship with G+T, I believed that university grades were the most important thing to secure a clerkship and, ultimately, a graduate position. However, during my clerkship at G+T, I learned I needed to be corrected. Although your grades may play an essential role in the clerkship process, there is something more important that a clerk should possess.

I learnt that a clerk must have a “strong character”. In other words, a clerk must show resilience, work under pressure, be a team player, be open to feedback, develop critical thinking, and demonstrate a moderate motivation to grow and flourish professionally and personally. The G+T family comprises lawyers and professionals with strong characters, one of the most critical parts of our culture that our clients love and rely upon.

How would you describe the connections you made during your clerkship?

I formed a genuine, caring, and meaningful connection during my clerkship in the banking team with Alexander Danne and Peter Bowden.

My clerkship journey with G+T and other top-tier firms taught me that the ability of a clerk to develop enriching connections is directly linked to their performance, happiness, mental health, and personal and professional growth. Significantly, establishing genuine connections can increase collaboration, create healthy working relationships, promote knowledge sharing, build trust and inclusiveness, and ultimately benefit clients through robust and innovative client service.

However, the ability of a clerk to form a deep bond with others is substantially dependent on the environment and culture of a firm which must actively encourage and promote such values. G+T appreciate this complexity and has successfully established a culture that fosters relationship-building and connecting with others on a human level, including with our clients. For instance, during my clerkship Peter Bowden invited me to a client dinner, and Alex Danne invited everyone to his house for a Christmas party, where I met his family and newborn son. As a clerk, I didn’t expect opportunities like this which allowed me to develop a deeper connection and sense of belonging with the firm, the clients, my colleagues and other clerks. I felt like I was part of the G+T family; everyone cared for me and was interested in my personal and professional growth. It enhanced my confidence and allowed me to experience the G+T culture in real time.

Why would you recommend a clerkship with G+T to other students?

I believe that a clerkship with G+T can be the most important milestone of your legal career. 

Firstly, the G+T family provides fantastic opportunities such as working on Australia’s leading transactions, enjoying a flat hierarchy, and working with curious, innovative, resilient and passionate people to provide exceptional client service.   

Secondly, I believe that G+T’s proactive approach and investment in AI, legal technology, and transformation tools sets G+T apart from other firms in the market. G+T award-winning Legal Service Innovation (LSI) team have developed many bespoke tools, including apps to assist with due diligence and verification with identity checks and use top-of-the-market legal technology such as Atticus. These tools allow a clerk to focus on the more complex aspects of legal work and deliver efficient outcomes for the clients. Importantly, you will be involved and directly drive these innovations across the firm. This bottom-up approach helps solve and automate complex legal processes, ultimately serving our clients.

Last but not least.... What’s the most important thing a new clerk should do in their first week – and why?

Go for coffee catchups. Coffee catchups provide a unique opportunity for a clerk to connect with their colleagues, learn about their immediate team and projects, share their stories, and express their interest in getting involved in a particular project. Coffee catchups can also unveil and enable a clerk to experience the authentic culture of a firm and may help with the most critical questions, such as which firm to choose. However, this magic is only possible if you are curious and meet people with an open mindset and believe they are unique and you don’t know anything about them or their work.

Thinking back to your clerkship and/or grad role interviews, what was the most important thing you did to prepare?

There is no perfect formula. For me, there was probably two things. First, it was getting to know the interviewers, the firm and the practice groups. Have a strong foundation of knowledge into those things and it will show in the interview. Second, understand your own application. Review your cover letter and CV and think “what would I ask myself about my qualifications/experience/answers”. Do not be tripped up by questions relating to your own application, as they should be the easiest to answer. There is usually no curve balls, rather, interviewers are genuinely interested in hearing who you are as a person and how your experience has shaped you.

What would you tell future clerks to expect from the interview process?

Think outside the law. Expect that the questions you will be asked are not just about the law, legal principles, subjects you have studied, but also current affairs, business, geopolitical circumstances, trends (pop culture / consumer), personal interests / hobbies etc. Sometimes people stumble on “easier” questions ie. “what do you do in your spare time”, “what are your thoughts about XX (something very topical)”, “your CV shows you did this, tell us what that involves”. A great question I have had was “what gets you up in the morning?” Do not restrict your preparation to just academic related content.

What was the trickiest question to answer?

A question we were asked in the written part of the application was “what is one of the greatest challenges you have faced, and how did you overcome it”. This was a tricky one to navigate purely because it was so open. The challenge could have been personal, professional, academic, ethical etc. I also think applicants have a pretty good understanding of what the “right” answer is or what a good answer is, but with this question it was not as clear.

What’s one question you’d suggest interviewees ask in a clerkship interview?

100% I would recommend to anyone applying for any role to have questions ready for interviewers. An easy question to ask and one I’ve used a lot is “what does your day normally consist of”, or “what do you find most challenging about your work”. One that will often lead to interesting answers is “what is the most complex deal/case/matter you have worked on and why?” I think it is then also important to ask questions which are ‘current’. For me, I was applying at the beginning of the pandemic, so questions along the lines of “how have you been impacted so far”, “what is your outlook on the market” were very relevant. Now it might be to do with Web3 and crypto, Energy Crisis, Constitutional Voice, Russian Ukraine Conflict etc.

Was there anything that surprised you about the interview process?

I definitely felt when I met the other applicants that I was not ‘book-smart’ enough to be there. A bit of imposter syndrome kicked in. But something I realised once I was on the other-side of the process is, typically everyone who gets an interview is switched on enough to be there. The interview is a platform (for both yourself and the interviewers) to gain a better understanding if you are a person who would fit in with the team culture/dynamic, whether you a friendly, engaging, someone who can be put in front a client (don’t worry – not instantly!). So to that extent, I was surprised at how conversational the interview with G+T was. The interviewers took genuine interest in my hobbies, experience, views etc.

What is your top tip to current law students for nailing a clerkship interviews?

A combination of preparation and authenticity. Get to know your interviewers. Have a look on LinkedIn/ the firms websites and see their experience, what practice group they are in and any matter they have worked on. Then also take the time to understand the firm you are interviewing with, their practice groups (ie. don’t start speaking about Intellectual Property when that team is in another state), the clients they service, the expertise within the team, deals the are working / have worked on. Often that sort of preparation can give you a much clearer indication as to whether it is somewhere you’d like to work. Combine that with authenticity. Do not try and pretend to be someone you think the interviewees would like / hire. Answer questions open and honestly. But also don’t rush into answering the question without thinking about your response.