Deakin alumni Jessie Nygh originally followed her passion for performing arts after finishing high school, but it was when she switched to study law that she truly became a star – literally.

Nygh was named Rising Star of the Year (Big Law) at the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards late last year, and admits it came at quite a fortuitous time. ‘It really felt like it [capped off] a chapter of my life that had been challenging and had been extremely busy. It was really beautiful in that respect,’ she says, looking back.

The Deakin difference

Reflecting on her time as a law student, the 31-year-old can’t speak highly enough of the various opportunities available to undergraduates at Deakin. ‘I was pleasantly surprised by how much practical and broader experience you can get,’ she says. ‘It’s one of the things I always say about Deakin, the opportunities to get involved in competitions, volunteer opportunities or practical on-the-job training is second to none. That really broke up the intensity of the academic side for me.’

There were several experiences which she reveals had a big impact. One was heading abroad to learn. ‘I had the opportunity to study at the London School of Economics on a short-term program,’ she says. ‘It was a really unique experience that I benefited immensely from.’

Another was taking part in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (aka Vis Moot), where students participate in mock court situations, which also involved travel around the globe. ‘Some of my best friends came from that experience, and I now have quite a broad international network,’ she adds. ‘It opened a lot of doors and gave me practice in preparing submissions and oral advocacy that I thought was really beneficial.’

On home soil, there was time spent volunteering at the Deakin Law Clinic. ‘It’s a really great way to start practicing some of the more practical sides of law as well as the administrative responsibilities that we each take on,’ she says. ‘That gave me really great skills when I got my first paralegal job at a law firm.’

Hitting the ground running

That initial paralegal role, at the Melbourne branch of a top-tier firm, came just a week after completing a clerkship there. ‘So, the transition for me was relatively seamless because I had already been working at the firm for a bit of time before commencing as a graduate.’

That’s not to say there weren’t any challenges. Very soon after starting the role in early 2020, the pandemic forced everyone to begin working remotely. ‘It meant that I was forced to become very adaptable very quickly because we physically weren’t there and we weren’t visible,’ she explains. ‘An important skill to learn very quickly was how to properly communicate up the chain, without becoming someone who was overly communicating.’

She then moved on to a large national firm to specialise in media law. ‘This firm has one of the best teams for that, and I was presented with an opportunity to go over to their media law team which doesn’t typically hire externally,’ she says, proudly. ‘It offered exposure to the type of work that I wanted to be doing which was quite a niche area of law.’

Fast forward three years, and she has just commenced as senior associate at an international firm. ‘I’m doing intellectual property and consumer markets litigation, so it covers off a little bit of the skills I gained in media while also dealing with large quite complex consumer litigation which is really nice,’ she says.

It’s the combination of being exposed to various areas that is one of the big advantages of working in corporate law, she explains. ‘The opportunities to grow are enormous.’

Full circle moment

The Lawyers Weekly award, then, gave Jessie the chance to reflect on how far she’d already come, and celebrate with those who had played a role along the way.

‘It was also such a nice moment because I was surrounded by a lot of women that have impacted my career,’ she explains. ‘There were close friends of mine, former colleagues, including from Deakin, that I had had the opportunity to work with over the course of my career who got to see the win. It was really special.’

She’s now ready to sink her teeth into her new senior role. ‘I want to continue progressing in my career and working with some great clients.’ For this legal star, the future is bright.