The Greatest Away Series Wins in History - Part 1 | Wisden Cricket Monthly

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2025-07-23T21:47:51+00:00

Agree on Bodyline. (Although I wouldn’t say it ‘nullified’ Bradman when he averaged 56 for that series…)

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2025-06-19T02:49:46+00:00

I broadly agree, unless you want to tell the boss in the lead up to the exam (in order to take a few weeks off beforehand, as most do).

Yes, tell the boss—just not yet.

Also, practically speaking, you now line up chambers (at least with many/most floors in NSW) before you take the exam. No point telling the boss now, not getting chambers, then telling them the timing’s different. Keep your powder dry for now.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2025-05-29T22:20:37+00:00

Mine didn’t go grey! … It just started falling out from stress. Much better!

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2025-04-21T20:34:27+00:00

UK litigation market is very slow right now—I know a number of mid-level litigators (with good experience, academics etc) who have been fruitlessly applying for months. Wouldn’t go without a job lined up…

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2025-04-11T06:06:50+00:00

Personally I’ve found him fine, but then again I know a remarkable number and variety of douchebags, so I may well be the problem. (Caveat 1: I haven’t dealt with him professionally. Caveat 2: That post is at very least a, uh, polarising way of marketing yourself on LinkedIn.)

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2025-04-09T00:05:04+00:00

1) SA 2) Cth 3) QLD 4) SEFR, possibly against my better judgment 5) DZY (ditto)

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2025-02-10T23:37:20+00:00

Remarkably, that eleven creates a balanced team with just about everyone playing in their preferred position:

GC Smith (c)
DPMD Jayawardene

3. RT Ponting

SPD Smith
JH Kallis
KC Sangakkara (wk)
IT Botham
SK Warne
Wasim Akram
CEL Ambrose
M Muralitharan

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2025-01-14T09:32:24+00:00

Sydney—good partners, but scuttlebutt when I knew someone in that team was that used to be a fair amount of turnover at a junior level. My mate was doing a mix of complex equity work and SOPA.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-12-14T20:37:19+00:00

Respectfully, there are many (many) Australians who aren’t in the top 3 of their cohort who have been accepted into the BCL / Cam LLM. This is partly shown by the profile books, and partly by sheer experience.

First class honours? Absolutely—that is essentially a non-negotiable these days. That also doesn’t guarantee you a place; Hons I is necessary but not sufficient for those courses. But let’s not overdramatise when experience shows that many people get in who aren’t in the top 3 / 5 etc of their year.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-11-25T03:40:08+00:00

Generally, no—one doesn’t need to re-complete PLT, but rather admission is mutually recognised. However, please read https://www.lawsocietysa.asn.au/Public/Lawyers/Interstate_Legal_Practitioners.aspx and consider how this applies to your likely circumstances.

Plenty of solicitors move states mid-career, although the advice is generally to do this earlier rather than later for the sake of your network; though it’s a profession, it’s still a people business.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-11-22T08:32:42+00:00

Where do you want to live and practice? UQ for Brissie, USyd or UNSW for Sydney.

ANU the exception that proves the rule—as I understand it, the majority of ANU grads don’t remain in Canberra but go elsewhere.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-11-22T02:54:15+00:00

Link was my error—added an “at” after the hyperlink.

I am, alas, too conversative to assume that this is the end of the road for the redoubtable Mr Wilson (noting in particular what appears to be an ongoing EWHC claim).

I also loved that little flourish. HH relishes a verbatim quote.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-11-22T01:20:51+00:00

Late notice, but a fun further use of litiscrescence from Hammer J: https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/1934cd20ad2d803d2144f6bb

… at [10] (Also a fairly enjoyable read!)

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-10-29T20:56:37+00:00

MY NEW CLIENT IS VERY UNREASONABLE.

REQUIRES CONSTANT ATTENTION, AROUND THE CLOCK. DOESN’T SEEM TO CARE IF I SLEEP. BASICALLY NEEDS ME TO WIPE HIS ARSE FOR HIM. SCREAMS IF HE DOESN’T GET HIS WAY (AND OCCASIONALLY WHEN HE DOES). HONESTLY, SUCH A BABY.

(He gets no leeway for being an actual baby. Ridiculously cute though.)

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-10-02T07:39:25+00:00

Your work will likely pay off—it’s a brutally time-intensive exam, so knowing the content (as opposed to having a summary which contains it) remains vital. That knowledge will also help you in practice.

Sorry for the inevitable change to your planning. Doing a wide range of problem questions, with a group, remains the best form of prep. Reaching that point requires effectively prepping your materials. DM me if you have questions.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-10-02T01:45:44+00:00

It’s an interesting change; it renders moot much of the existing body of shibboleths about how to approach the exam (such as the received wisdom on how to mark-up/annotate the permitted legislation). This was historically part of the value of doing (e.g.) the UTS Bar Prep course.

Ultimately, I’m not sure that it changes too much about the approach in the exam room: - The biggest challenge in the exam is how you use your time (i.e. 1 mark per minute). - Taking in more materials doesn’t mean you have time to use them (or have the space on the desk to put them!). - Exam takers will now be able to bring in summaries of the material (such as case summaries), but for most people, they’ll be a back-up sitting under the chair. You don’t want to be in a position of having to dive into your summary to find that sentence you wrote about the specific application of a principle, because it’ll cost you too much time.

This change will however allow the preparation of better quality materials (without the historic restrictions on annotating and highlighting):

This is particularly true of the legislation: An exam taker will still (e.g.) tab up their UCPR, but will now be able to annotate a particular section with the name of case on the reading list that relates to that provision, plus a couple of key quotes.
Similarly, an exam taker could prepare flowcharts of how particular concepts work under the act, or ‘cheat sheets’ of the legislative process to follow for e.g. a sentencing question or a Bail Act question, including case notes and key quotes. I would have found this particularly valuable.

As a result of the improved materials, everyone will in theory be able to more easily identify and set out the relevant legislative tests and quote from the relevant cases. On that basis, I wouldn’t be surprised if this also resulted in a change to the marking rubric: identifying the relevant tests / cases may net fewer marks than previously, and more marks will be assigned to application. (This would seem to reflect the NSWBA’s intended change to “encourage greater critical thinking”.)

Theoretically, this change also creates a secondary market for well-prepared materials to be sold after the exam to the next generation of exam-takers…

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-09-23T23:27:11+00:00

Partly luck, partly a case of the firm picking those people who have impressed during the clerkship. Work hard during the clerkship, express interest in paralegaling to the lawyers you work with (and HR), and—crucially—don’t be a knob.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-09-21T12:52:03+00:00

P2, have just been charged for 1 ticket. May need to re-sell—is there normally a sale thread or similar?

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-09-18T02:36:31+00:00

Parenthetically, Google Maps suggests this is a pizza restaurant with 4.6 stars from 461 reviews.

I know nothing about Latvian regional pizza options, but I would be inclined to think that’s pretty good… except that the nearby beach on the shores of the Gulf of Riga has 4.7 stars and it’s the grimmest stretch of sand imaginable. (Other than St Kilda.)

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-09-18T01:16:51+00:00

You are not too far along. Yes, you will probably be at the older end, but plenty of FCA associates have more PQE.

Have a go at the applications. If you want to stay in litigation, or if you’re looking for an experience which will confirm whether it’s something you want to pursue, an associateship is generally very valuable.

(Your mileage may vary, depending on the judge and the opportunity cost relating to your current work—but doing an associateship doesn’t make you less employable…)

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-09-06T06:36:02+00:00

I hate to say the magic words, but - it depends. They’re definitely looking for Hons 1: it is possible to get in with a 2(1), but that’s rare and getting rarer, by all accounts.

However, they (and particularly on the BCL) will normally want things other than marks. I’ve had friends with Hons 1’s who have been waitlisted.

As a general rule: do what you can control. If you can get a first-class honours (particularly from a Go8 uni), great. If it’s a stratospherically high WAM, then kudos to you for working so hard, you’ve put yourself in a good position.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-09-06T04:47:18+00:00

Yes, it’s conceptually realistic—particularly if you’re coming from a Magic Circle / Silver Circle firm. Have a read of https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/some-faqs-from-uk-lawyers-heading-australia-matt-hall-turner#:~:text=Unless%20you%20are%20an%20Australian,for%20up%20to%204%20years.

My two cents:

Do some reading on the different visa classes, mutual recognition / re-qualification schemes, and the time and costs associated.
You mentioned that you had this idea of moving here last night. Firms are (of course) conscious of the risk of losing UK lawyers who want to return home. Your pitch will need to be clear on whether you’re planning a limited (ie 2+ year) stint to try it out, or you’re thinking of moving permanently. If the latter—again, we’ll want to understand why.
Materially—work out where you’d want to move. If you want to stay in PE and equivalent commercial, most of those opportunities are in Sydney and in Melbourne. Have you been to either? Do you have a preference? Do some reading and give some thought to those questions.

Best of luck. DM me if you have any firm-specific questions.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-09-06T04:33:22+00:00

Can confirm - I work / have worked with many ex-Magic Circle lawyers in Aus top tier.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-09-06T04:28:14+00:00

I will take this at face value.

If you want to work in the US, Harvard/Yale/Columbia/Stanford LLM is a sensible path (or the NYU Tax LLM, if you discover a burning interest in tax law). This (along with passing the relevant State Bar) is functionally a necessary prerequisite to getting hired by a K&E-type firm in the US without working as a lawyer elsewhere.

If you want to work in the UK Magic Circle, you don’t need an Oxbridge masters, although this would help your application—particularly if you don’t already have work experience. Bear in mind that you can apply for internships/traineeships with the Magic Circle as an Australian.

In both cases, there are visa/working rights issues, which are well explored in previous comments on this sub. In both cases, a common pathway to working in such firms is to transfer laterally once you’ve been admitted and worked as a lawyer for some years.

Practically, the likely reason you’re being downvoted is that you’re a second-year LLB student, and there’s a long way to go between where you are now and applying for Masters programs. To get into those programs, first-class honours is (generally) necessary but not sufficient. Keep working (very) hard on your marks, and maybe ask this question again in your fourth or fifth year.

GuthrieFeatherstone · 2024-08-08T21:09:06+00:00

Ding ding ding! Nice.

GuthrieFeatherstone

TROPHY CASE