The Juno Legal lawyer sought to build ongoing, trusted relationships with people
For Philie Deo, law was initially just something to complement the French degree she wanted to pursue. Curiosity led her to take legal studies on, and she would find it “both challenging and engaging”, as she told NZ Lawyer.
She had a strong start to her career as a private practitioner, logging stints with Duncan Cotterill and Buddle Findlay. However, she began to realise this area was not the best fit for her.
“I found private practice challenging at times. I found it harder to build the kind of ongoing, trusted relationships with people that I was looking for and I didn’t always feel I could see the full impact of the work I was doing”, she told NZ Lawyer.
With the support of her then-manager, Deo took on an in-house secondment that would become a turning point for her career-wise.
“Working in-house, I can collaborate closely with people across the organisation and see how my advice fits into the bigger picture. That visibility and connection really resonates with me – in-house legal work suits both how I like to work and the kind of contribution I want to make”, she told NZ Lawyer.
Over the past 15 years, Deo has handled commercial, regulatory, governance, privacy and medico-legal matters. She has worked with SPCA New Zealand and Westland Milk Products, and became the senior legal counsel at Hato Hone St John.
“My favourite part of the job is how I get to learn about such a range of areas, and the people I meet through that. I’ve had the opportunity to learn about animal welfare, the dairy sector, banking and finance (not my personal favourite), emergency services, local government, not-for-profit and health. Across all of these, I’ve worked with incredibly passionate, talented people, which is what keeps the work interesting”, she told NZ Lawyer.
Deo made the move to Juno Legal’s Ōtautahi Christchurch office in May, a decision she said was spurred by her desire to enjoy “flexibility, quality and opportunities to grow my capabilities” at the this point in her career.
“Juno offered a model that aligned strongly with all three – not to mention the lovely people I’d had the chance to meet in recent years”, she told NZ Lawyer. “I also appreciated Juno’s approach to in-house legal services: pragmatic, client-focused and adaptable. It provides a chance to work with a diverse range of organisations and challenges, while still being part of a supportive and collaborative network of legal professionals”.
The combination, Deo said, “felt like a natural next step in my career”.
Currently, Deo is providing support to Wellington Water.
