Travis Monczko

Minter Ellison graduate in 2012

My clerkship experience at Minter Ellison turned out to be a little bit unconventional…

I started as a vacation clerk at the firm in January 2011, in the Finance practice group. My first day went smoothly enough – I enjoyed getting to know the nine other clerks, met some of the people I would be working with and started training on the Minter Ellison systems. Half way through day two, however, the Waterfront Place offices were evacuated as Brisbane started to flood! As it turned out, we were locked out of the offices for close to two weeks and I did not return to work until the start of the third week of the clerkship program.

When we returned to the office, we made the most of our limited time by jumping straight into our practice groups. I remember being nervous and a bit unsure about whether the things I was learning at university would translate to working in an actual firm. It didn’t take long before I realised that I had nothing to worry about.

First of all, the people in my practice group were amazing and made me feel at ease right away. Everyone was really helpful and approachable and one of the partners would regularly stop by my office for a chat to see how I was going. Although the clerkship program was cut short by the floods, each of the lawyers in the group went out of their way to expose me to as many different types of tasks as possible. I drafted research memos (such as on the then new PPSA), letters to clients, and a memorandum of advice, and prepared transfer documents for real property transactions.

What was particularly helpful was that the lawyers took the time to brief me fully on each task and involve me in their own matters wherever they could. I really enjoyed being able to attend teleconferences and client meetings to be able to see lawyers in action. While I spent my time in the Finance group, comparing experiences with the other Minter Ellison vacation clerks was a useful way to learn about the other practice areas in the firm. By the end of my vacation clerkship at Minter Ellison I felt much more capable and confident with working in a law firm environment. It also gave me assurance that I could see myself working as a lawyer once I graduated from university.

But the most important outcome from my vacation clerkship was that it opened the door to a graduate position at the firm. After finishing my clerkship, I applied for a graduate position at Minter Ellison and was fortunate enough to be successful.

Here’s one last thing I got out of the clerkship program – with the security of knowing that I had a graduate position to come back to, I was able to take off for five months after graduating from Bond and travel around Europe, USA and Canada (which would not have happened if I had not been a vacation clerk and had to stick around to apply for jobs in the open market).

Finally, here are my top tips for Bond students about clerkship and graduate programs:

1. You are 100% capable of doing a clerkship. You have picked up more skills at Bond than you realise, so be confident and give it your best.
2. Get out there now and get any legal work experience you can because it will help you to secure a clerkship. Your time at Bond will pass quickly –, start looking for work experience as early as you can.
3. Take advantage of the Bond clerkship dates. I did not have this option – I completed my clerkship during an exam period.
4. Minter Ellison wants to get to know their prospective vacation clerks. In your application for a clerkship, including good grades and work experience is important, but so are all the other skills and experiences you have to offer.
5. Familiarise yourself with the QLS clerkship guideline and attend the career information sessions, career expos and any firm vacation clerk functions. The clerkship program dates can sneak up on you or pass you by if you’re not careful.
6. Commuting to Brisbane isn’t fun. Be nice to your mum, your friends or your partner and they’ll help you during the four weeks. 

After graduating from Bond University in May 2011 with degrees in Law and Commerce, I joined the Brisbane office of Minter Ellison as a graduate lawyer. In two weeks I'll be admitted as a solicitor. In getting to where I am now, my clerkship at Minter Ellison was vital – I simply would not have become a graduate of the firm or had access to the wonderful opportunities that go with that role had I not first been a vacation clerk.

I know that the vacation clerkship process can be daunting, but it is an amazing experience and I strongly recommend that you get involved and give it your best. If you're thinking about which firm to join, then I can say from experience that Minter Ellison is a great law firm in which to be a vacation clerk and a graduate lawyer.