The Duffy & Simon two-week Seasonal Clerkship 2025 program has successfully concluded for another year. This invaluable opportunity is designed for law students in the final stages of their studies, providing a platform to immerse themselves in real-world legal scenarios and apply their academic knowledge. Throughout the program, clerks are involved in a variety of tasks, including shadowing seasoned lawyers and the firm’s principals. They participate in the drafting of legal documents, engage in discussions on various legal issues, and observe mediations, hearings, and judgments.
This clerkship offers participants exposure to diverse areas of legal practice, aiding them in identifying potential career paths and areas of interest for their future after graduation. The dedication and enthusiasm shown by this year’s clerks were truly remarkable. To emphasise the program’s value for aspiring lawyers, we interviewed our 2024 clerks to share their insights and experiences.
Jaydene Hargrave
Working at Duffy & Simon through this Clerkship has been an absolute honor and a privilege. I am so grateful that I have been able to experience what it is like to work outside of a city firm. There are many things that I have come to love about a smaller firm such as the sense of community and belonging at the firm, which Duffy & Simon does very well. Everyone’s doors were always open to answer any of my questions, no matter the ‘hierarchy status’. There is an integration across departments where everyone is happy to look over someone else’s matter to provide a different insight. But most of all everyone was able to have a good laugh and a bit of banter, which made my day so much better.
Tia Church
I am incredibly grateful to have experienced the Clerkship at Duffy & Simon. The overall experience has been invaluable, and I truly have learnt so much. It is very clear that the firm takes pride in the clerkship program as a whole and this was reflected throughout the entirety of my time here. Everyone ensured that we were getting the best out of our experience. I really appreciated the genuine care everyone had to ensure that we were engaging with hands on tasks and getting the best out of our short time here.
I found the work to be extremely enjoyable and enjoyed all the practice areas. I love that the firm prides themselves on assisting clients through some of their most difficult times and explaining everything thoroughly to them. The overall culture of the firm is something I have never experienced before. Everyone at the firm made me feel so incredibly welcome and they were always up for a chat. I believe that it is extremely important to know that you have people to go to for support, especially in a field of work that can be so stressful.
The only downfall of this clerkship is the fact that the bar has been set so high for my future employment endeavors.
Natalie Shaana
The Duffy & Simon clerkship was a productive two weeks that enabled me to develop and refine my legal and interpersonal skills. We were presented with useful and meaningful tasks that allowed us to genuinely contribute to the firm whilst also learning skills in practise. Despite only being 2 weeks, we were presented with a diverse range of tasks such as memorandums, drafting documents such as wills, POA, divorce applications etc., attending client and professional meetings, observing phone calls, drafting letters to clients and attending and observing cases at the Magistrates Court.
At Duffy & Simon I really loved their appreciation for work-life balance and being yourself. All personalities are celebrated and everyone is genuinely themselves. They demonstrate that you can produce high-quality legal work while also balancing life, hobbies and interests. I found everyone to be extremely positive, collaborative and friendly and felt so comfortable and welcomed.
I am very grateful for the whole team at Duffy & Simon for being welcoming and helpful throughout my entire time here. It was such a nice experience to work amongst skilled professionals and I have an immense appreciation for the culture and environment.
Elizabeth White
From the first day we were welcomed and treated like part of the team. Whilst we weren’t spoon-fed throughout the experience, we were always given guidance and provided with helpful feedback. With a lot of experience held within Duffy & Simon, I found both partners and lawyers were willing to assist us in developing our skills.
The work was varied and interesting and I gained a lot of experience in each practice area. It was great to undertake the clerkship with the other clerks as well, they were all very supportive of each other and assisted and encouraged each other when we could.
Duffy & Simon has a great working environment and culture. I found staff to also be more personable with clients than in other firms I have worked and, in the meetings, I attended clients seemed to feel at ease.
Overall I had a great experience, thank you to everyone!