Could you quickly summarise what you do for work?

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I’m a barrister in Sydney, Australia. My job involves representing people in court. I represent people accused of crimes, and I also prosecute crimes. I also represent refugees, and people who have been victims of discrimination. Every day is different, which is one of the things I love about my job. 

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Do you think being able to communicate in writing matters in your field? Why or why not?

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It’s hugely important. In fact, I think it’s the most important part of my job. There are two reasons for this. First, a large part of my work is providing written advice to my clients. Many of my clients are experiencing a really challenging set of circumstances. They might have been accused of a serious crime, which means their liberty is at risk. They might have been the victim of serious discrimination, or perhaps they are at risk of being deported. So when I give my clients written legal advice about what they should do, the stakes are very high for them. It’s really important that I give them that advice in plain English and in a way that they can understand, so that they can make an informed decision. This is particularly the case if English is not their first language, or if they have a disability or mental illness. 

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The second reason writing is important is that part of my job is to convince the court to agree with my client’s position. This is called ‘advocacy’. These days, so much court advocacy is done in advance, with written submissions. This means that by the time you stand up in front of the judge, you have already written down your arguments, and read your opponent’s arguments. Again, it’s so important to be able to clearly articulate your arguments in writing, so the judge can clearly understand what you’re trying to say. 

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What, if any, parts of your work require you to write?

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All of my work requires me to write! Advising clients, writing submissions for the court, drafting documents – all of this requires writing skills. 

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How is writing as part of your job changing with time, especially regarding recent technology?

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Some developments in technology have made legal writing much easier. For example, it is now much easier to find cases to support the arguments I am trying to make, as everything is now online and much more easy to access. However, on the other hand, technology, and particularly AI, has made things very challenging. As a lawyer, our overriding duty is to the court. Many lawyers have been disciplined for using AI to write documents which hallucinate cases that do not actually exist. They have faced very severe consequences, because in presenting those documents, they have misled the court (even if accidentally). 

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AI has also helped people who are not lawyers access information, but more often than not it leads people astray. When I am reading a document that has been written by AI, it can be hard to tell what the actual arguments are. We encounter a lot of ‘AI slop’, which just leads to delays and confusion. Clear and succinct writing is so important. 

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Does writing help you to think?

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Writing definitely helps me to think. When I’m going through a large brief with hundreds of pages of documents, I will start to write out an outline of the main points and what I want to say. This helps me to organise my thoughts and develop strong and clear arguments. 

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If not, what other methods do you use to think?

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Going for a long walk or having a cup of tea always helps!

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Thank you!

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