This is Allens

There are no lawyers in my family but, from a young age, I harboured an aspiration to become one. It struck me as a noble and lofty profession, and that appealed to me (perhaps helped along by an obsession with the 1980s TV show Carson's Law).

I was attracted to employment law because it's so personal. You're helping businesses with their people issues and having a direct impact on individuals, which can sometimes be more difficult to find in a commercial law context.

Over the course of my career, attitudes towards safety have changed dramatically. What used to be 'HR issues' with a focus on compliance and rectification are now matters occupying the attention of boards and senior management with a focus on prevention and proactive, human-centred management.

Workplace hazards now extend beyond the physical work environment to organisational culture and values and the role these play in creating physically, psychologically and socially safe environments for workers. I think that's an incredibly positive shift and it's professionally gratifying to apply the tried and tested risk assessment and mitigation methodologies to a different set of hazards.

Safety is the number one priority of my clients, and they invest a lot of time and energy in managing it. Coming alongside my clients to help them create safer and healthier work environments – either when faced with a crisis or proactively managing the work environment – is really fulfilling. For me, there is nothing more satisfying than solving a client's problem ‘in the trenches’ with them.