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Grad­u­ates Pro­gram 2021 — An inter­view with John Trinh

At Swaab we are a young part­ner­ship, proud of our entre­pre­neur­ial his­to­ry, our inno­v­a­tive edge, the diver­si­ty that makes us who we are, and the gen­eros­i­ty of spir­it that we radiate.

A key fac­tor in main­tain­ing our dif­fer­en­ti­a­tion is embrac­ing inno­va­tion, diver­si­ty and the fresh per­spec­tives that come to our firm from employ­ing graduates.

In the lead up to the Grad­u­ates Pro­gram for 2021 we will be inter­view­ing our past grad­u­ates and ask them to reflect on what their most inter­est­ing and chal­leng­ing moments have been, what advice they would give and how the pro­gram has helped them shape their careers.

John Trinh — Associate

What was it like being a part of the pro­gram, how did it affect your career?

The grad­u­ate pro­gram was a great way to explore areas of law that I did not nec­es­sar­i­ly con­sid­er whilst I was study­ing. For exam­ple, I had not con­sid­ered wills and estates as a prac­tice area, but this has become part of my every­day work. The pro­gram also helped me devel­op a range of skills ear­ly in my career that I will utilise through­out my career such as client man­age­ment, legal draft­ing and writ­ing concisely. 


What did you enjoy most about the program?

As a grad­u­ate, I was giv­en the chance to work on my own mat­ters includ­ing direct­ly with part­ners and to take respon­si­bil­i­ty for dri­ving these mat­ters. Although not specif­i­cal­ly lim­it­ed to the grad­u­ate pro­gram, the fir­m’s social events have also been enjoy­able such as com­pet­ing in a firm wide, Amaz­ing Race across the Syd­ney CBD and week­ly Fri­day Night Social. 


What was the most inter­est­ing part of the program?

See­ing how lawyers are not just relied on by clients to give legal advice but to also be their trust­ed advis­ers by liv­ing the Swaab Brand of Service.


What were some of the more chal­leng­ing moments?

Learn­ing how to give prac­ti­cal legal advice to clients. Whilst it is impor­tant to get the legal prin­ci­ples right, it is also impor­tant to under­stand a clien­t’s objec­tives so you can give them advice tai­lored to their indi­vid­ual needs. 

What advice would you give to some­one start­ing the program?

Do not be afraid to ask questions.

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