General News
31 July, 2022
Jessica Mulcahy sworn in as a solicitor
STREATHAM’s Jessica Mulcahy can trace her passion for law back to a school camp trip at Sovereign Hill.
STREATHAM’s Jessica Mulcahy can trace her passion for law back to a school camp trip at Sovereign Hill.
“We had a little mock court there about the James Scobie Case and the Eureka rebellion and I just loved it.”
From the dusty Sovereign Hill courthouse to the glistening steps of the Supreme Court, Ms Mulcahy’s dream was released at a ceremony last Tuesday when she was officially sworn in as a solicitor.
A moment, not only years in the making, but one reflective of an ambition to pursue her passion.
After initially beginning an accounting degree after finishing school, Ms Mulcahy made the switch to law and never looked back.
She finished university with first-class honours before beginning work as a paralegal and continuing her journey towards being sworn in, which included completing work experience as well as a host of other requirements to a high standard.
“I’m very excited because it’s the moment you’ve been working towards for so long and once you get there it’s a great feeling,” she said.
“It still doesn’t feel real, but it was very exciting to get to that big ceremony that you work towards from when you start your degree.
“You do your law degree and then after that you do an additional course - Graduate Diploma of Legal Practise.
“Then there are requirements around doing a certain amount of days of work experience and getting a lot of things signed off by practitioners and then you qualify to put in application with Victorian Legal Admission board and then that board itself has further requirements to show that you’re fit for practise.
“They’ll give you the compliance certificate when you do the ceremony and after that you have to apply for a practicing certificate.”
The next few months will be a period of transition into more of a solicitor’s role at her firm, which she says has been “very supportive” and looks forward to learning under the tutelage of her mentors.
“My principal lectured at Deakin and is a really good mentor and I look forward to that transition into a solicitor’s role,” she said.
“I’ll mostly be working on magistrates court matters for now but we do have a couple of matters potentially coming up into the supreme court, so I’ll be able to work on them as well.”
Ms Mulcahy has strong family ties to Beaufort, as well as the Ararat region; completing high school at Lake Bolac.