She shares some major memorable events in her life that involved stepping out on her own
Nicolina Lademann was shaped – personally and professionally – by decisions to leave behind the comforts of home. A choice to finish her articles in a Northeast Victoria country town informed her career, and taking her first solo trip overseas made her fall in love with travelling.
In the first part of this interview, Lademann explains to Australasian Lawyer why joining Keypoint Law was a big shift for her and what motivates her as a lawyer today.
What made you choose a career in law, and what's your favourite part of the job?
My path to law was not the most conventional one because prior to undertaking my law degree, I completed a Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at Monash University and, during my Honours year, began to explore opportunities beyond the science/medical career I had envisaged for myself. I found myself drawn to law by the intellectual rigour it demands and the challenge of solving complex problems for clients to achieve the best possible outcome for them. That is what continues to motivate me in my practice today.
What I enjoy most about the work is the variety — every matter presents a unique set of facts and circumstances, and I find genuine satisfaction in applying the law to those particulars to arrive at a resolution that best serves my client's interests. No two days are quite the same, and that is precisely what makes the profession so rewarding.
What in your opinion has been the most memorable event of your career to date?
The most memorable event of my career to date was undertaking my articles and subsequently being admitted to practice. I made the decision to leave the comfort of my home in Melbourne and relocate to Benalla, a country town in Northeast Victoria, to complete my articles. Working in a country practice for my first few years in practice meant being extraordinarily hands-on from the outset, and it afforded me the opportunity to learn a wide range of different aspects of practice that I might not otherwise have been exposed to so early in my career.
By the time I finished my articles year, I felt a mixture of excitement and nerves — but above all, I felt ready to be admitted as a legal practitioner. Those milestone steps of completing articles and being admitted helped to shape both me as a practitioner and the approach to practice that I carry with me to this day.
What in your opinion was the most important thing you got involved in over the past year?
Over the past year, the most significant change for me over the past year has been leaving a practice which I had been part of for many years and moving to Keypoint Law, where I commenced in January this year. After more than a decade in the one firm, this was undeniably a big change, but it has proven to be an enormously meaningful one.
The change has given me a renewed sense of energy and purpose, and it is something I am wholeheartedly embracing. Sometimes one of the most important things to do for ourselves in our careers is to make a decision to take us outside our comfort zone, and this has certainly been a career changing moment for me.
If you could relive one day in your life, which day would it be and why?
If I could relive one day, it would be the day I left home at the age of 21 to travel overseas on my own for the very first time. I remember the sheer excitement I felt when I landed in Singapore — my first stop on the way to Europe, where I would go on to study at university in both Poland and Germany — and I recall that first day completely on my own…the sights, the smells, the food, and the culture were all so thrillingly new and different for me. The experience of being overseas for the first time, entirely on my own and without the safety net of family, sparked a lifelong love of travel which has certainly not dimmed over the years.
