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Meet newly appointed senior associate Michelle Ainsworth

Corporate and M&A
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Newly appointed senior associate, Michelle Ainsworth, provides an insight into her background as a journalist, her career progression and some of her transaction highlights so far.

You've progressed at ABL from starting out as a grad to now being appointed Senior Associate. What do you see as the advantages of advancing your career in this way within the one firm and, specifically, at ABL?

From the moment I interviewed for a clerkship at ABL, I knew this firm was a good fit for me. Working at ABL has allowed me to grow into my new career, while still using the skills and lessons I learnt as a journalist.

This has been important to me as I feel that experience has not been forgotten or wasted. That said, it doesn’t matter what previous life experience you bring to a new career, there is always a steep learning curve when you finish your studies and enter the real world.

Developing skills and confidence as a lawyer is not something that happens in law school - it happens on the job. For me, starting at ABL and progressing from a graduate to a senior associate has allowed me to build, not only my technical skills, but also relationships with colleagues and partners across the firm.

Having started your professional life as a journalist, what persuaded you to change course?

I loved being a journalist and really enjoyed the challenges and opportunities I had in that career. However, after several years, I felt like I was ready for a new challenge, one that would present long term goals I could work towards, while still using many of the skills I had developed as a reporter.

The law was recommended to me by one of my supervisors, who recognised I might be looking for something more from my professional life. I quickly realised that being a lawyer would allow me to continue to meet and work with new and interesting people, while using my ability to analyse information and craft carefully worded pieces of writing.

It wasn’t an easy decision, as I returned to full time study to undertake my JD while working as a night chief of staff, but I am very thankful I took the risk.

Training and working as a journalist helped teach me when to ask the question and when to stay quiet and let someone tell their story. I feel this is a skill that every lawyer should have as they try to understand and address the needs of their clients.

How does your journalistic experience add to your professional kit bag as a lawyer?

My experience as a journalist was formative to my approach to life and work, so it feels as though the skills I gained are intricately woven into my role as a lawyer.

I am still an avid consumer of news and media, and this helps me understand and appreciate some of the commercial and non-legal issues that may be impacting my clients.

Training and working as a journalist helped teach me when to ask the question and when to stay quiet and let someone tell their story. I feel this is a skill that every lawyer should have as they try to understand and address the needs of their clients.

Beyond asking the right questions and being able to build a rapport with people from all walks of life, my interrogative approach to work, ability to understand complex issues and explain them in a simple way, and to find solutions to problems on a deadline are all skills I have carried across from journalism to the law.

What are some of the highlight transactions you've worked on that have contributed to your promotion to Senior Associate?

The transactions and matters I have found most interesting are not necessarily the highest profile. They’re the matters that have allowed me to learn about interesting legal issues or to find answers to difficult questions for clients.

Of the matters I can talk about publicly, some of the highlights have been:

All of these matters have the common theme of allowing me to work closely with a founder, or someone who has developed their business into a highly successful operation and is now selling it, which is a milestone achievement for them.

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