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Career Journeys

Personal stories and perspectives on the paths people take through the legal profession.

Career Journeys · Career

Long way to the top: how I ended up with the harbour view I didn’t want

Brad Watts read Hell Has Harbour Views early in his career and decided the corner office wasn’t for him. He spent more than 20 years at the coalface of small-firm practice, moved into legal publishing at By Lawyers, and now works where legal content meets AI. He has also ended up with exactly the Sydney Harbour view he once swore off. His reflection on a career with no master plan argues that the twists and turns can be the most valuable part.

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Portrait of Brad Watts
Guest contributorBrad WattsManaging Editor at By Lawyers Australia and New Zealand

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Career Journeys · Career

The art of unconventional ambition & the accidental career

The Bar has a well-worn career path: junior, silk, perhaps the bench. Nearly seven years in, Ashleigh Morris still isn’t sure she wants to follow it. She traces an unplanned route from studying law as a single mother to a family law trial practice and founding The Profession. Along the way she argues that the profession has room for more kinds of ambition, and more kinds of success, than its map suggests.

Ashleigh MorrisBarrister at Victorian Bar
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Career Journeys · Career

Between roles and bridging careers

Lauren Kreitner trained as a social worker in family violence, where most of the work happens between agencies such as police, courts, housing providers and schools. Now Co-Founder and Head of Partnerships at The Profession, she explains why the move felt like the same job in a different building, and why the skills of the caring professions travel further than people think.

Lauren KreitnerFamily Violence Social Worker; Head of Partnerships & Operations, The Profession
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Career Journeys · Career

Why I came back to law

Louise Miller was admitted nearly thirty years ago, left family law for senior HR roles, and then came back. In that time she has watched the law change under her feet, but the fears of the person across the desk have stayed the same. She reflects on what HR taught her about how people respond to bad news, why law firms struggle as employers, and what a long career shows about which fights are worth having.

Louise MillerManaging Partner, Veritas Family Law
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Meet our contributors

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  • Portrait of Brad Watts

    Brad Watts

    Managing Editor at By Lawyers Australia and New Zealand

    Admitted as a NSW solicitor in 1994, Brad completed a corporate management traineeship before working for more than 20 years’ in private and government legal practice, including as a partner, director and consultant. Having been a contributing author for 10 years, Brad joined By Lawyers full time in January 2018, bringing a wealth of knowledge and an empathetic, hands-on approach to the business of helping law firms access the best possible legal content via the By Lawyers legal guides and precedents. Brad manages the Australian and New Zealand operations of By Lawyers, liaising with subscribers and authors to ensure the guides and precedents always remain practical and up to date. Particular areas of professional interest are litigation, criminal law, wills and estates, and practice management. Specialty: Keeping it real!

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  • Portrait of Ashleigh Morris

    Ashleigh Morris

    Barrister at Victorian Bar

    Ashleigh Morris is a Melbourne barrister at Patterson's List, specialising in family law. Her practice is trial-focused, centred on complex property and parenting disputes in the Federal Circuit and Family Court. She also appears in the Children's Court in child protection matters and as an Independent Children's Lawyer. Before coming to the Bar, Ashleigh practised as a family law solicitor, was a Judge's Associate in the Criminal Division of the County Court of Victoria, and lectured in criminal law at Swinburne University of Technology. She is a committee member of the Family Law Association of Victoria and represents the Victorian Bar on the Law Council of Australia's Rural, Regional and Remote Committee.

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  • Portrait of Lauren Kreitner, Head of Partnerships & Operations, The Profession

    Lauren Kreitner

    Family Violence Social Worker; Head of Partnerships & Operations, The Profession

    Lauren Kreitner is a family violence social worker. She works directly with victim-survivors, providing safety planning, housing support and case management through some of the hardest periods of their lives. Her work sits at the point where a support need becomes a legal one, and she brings that perspective to The Profession, including as co-presenter of its CPD session Beyond the Referral: Bridging Family Law and Family Violence Services. Lauren is also Head of Partnerships & Operations at The Profession, where she has built much of the platform's infrastructure since 2025, focusing on systems that let it grow while keeping the member experience curated and intuitive. She studied at Monash University.

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  • Portrait of Louise Miller, Managing Partner at Veritas Family Law

    Louise Miller

    Managing Partner, Veritas Family Law

    Louise Miller is the founder and Managing Partner of Veritas Family Law, a Melbourne firm focused on complex separations, including high-value property pools, business and trust interests, and difficult parenting matters. Admitted to practice nearly thirty years ago, she began her career in family law before spending a significant period leading human resources for major Australian organisations across higher education, retail, entertainment and healthcare. That experience of negotiating high-stakes outcomes under pressure shapes how she practises. She established Veritas in 2021 around a whole-of-separation approach, working alongside financial planners, mortgage brokers, conveyancers, mediators and counsellors so that clients leave with a plan for what comes next. Veritas has offices in the Melbourne CBD, Box Hill and Mentone.

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