Winning the 2022 Francis Burt Chambers Law Medal – awarded annually to the top Mudoch University law student – was a welcome surprise for Joshua Lucas who is already carving out a successful career in the law.
He now has two degrees under his belt (the first a Bachelor of Commerce) and appreciates he had some distinct advantages – returning to university as a mature age student; previous work experience; the support of his employers (the Australian Taxation Office and the Australian Federal Police); and an established passion for the law.
“I was in my late 20s when I went back to university,” he explains, “and it was because I really wanted to be there.
“When you graduate high school, university is a rite of passage and the choices you make at 16 or 17 can be very different to those you make later in life. I was really clear that the law was where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do.
“Being older, and perhaps a little wiser, also meant I was able to manage my time better than when I was younger.
“I chose to effectively work four and a half days a week while juggling a full-time course load, and had invaluable support from both the ATO and the AFP during my time at Murdoch,” he added.
Since graduating with his Bachelor of Laws with High Distinction, Joshua has joined Herbert Smith Freehills as a graduate and is currently completing a six-month rotation in the Banking and Finance team. It’s work that makes good use of his background in commerce.
“I was expecting to pursue a career as a Chartered Accountant when I took up what was supposed to be a short-term opportunity with the ATO’s internal prosecution team but I fell in love with the legal aspects of the work and ended up spending over four years in the role,” said Joshua.
“I loved appearing in court and putting the best case forward for the Commissioner of Taxation.”
While Joshua hasn’t ruled out a return to advocacy work at some time in the future, he’s thoroughly enjoying the challenge of charting a career path in commercial law at Herbert Smith Freehills.
And he’s making up for lost R & R time too – indulging in his love of wining and dining (Joshua shares an Instagram wine blog with his partner, who’s also in the law), watching plenty of sport on TV, catching up on lost time with friends and family and finding time to travel.
As the Francis Burt Chambers Law Medal winner, Joshua receives $1500 in prize money, an impressive addition to his CV – and our warmest congratulations. He is pictured here receiving his award from Francis Burt Chambers’ Martin Cureden SC.
