Member in the Spotlight allows us to get up-close and personal with some of our ACC Australia members.This week we are shining the spotlight on Mary Adam, General Counsel at the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries in Western Australia and a committee member of ACC Australia.
Tell us about your current role.
I am currently General Counsel at the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries in Western Australia. I have been here for 9 years – although, both the role and the Department have changed a lot in that time – I guess you would say as the result of mergers and acquisitions – or machinery of government changes as they are known in the public sector. The Department regulates local government and the liquor and gambling sectors in Western Australia.
On top of that it is responsible for supporting culture and the arts and sports and recreation.
What all this means is a huge variety in our legal work. We can be advising on large cultural or sports infrastructure projects in the morning and a misconduct issue in local government in the afternoon.
I have long experience in local government, public health and policy and strategy development, both before and since I was admitted as a lawyer in the Northern Territory in 1997, which means that I have been called upon to lead and input to significant government strategies and responses over my time here. In fact it is one of the things I really love about my job – that I am more than a lawyer!
What do you believe is the most important skill an in-house lawyer needs?
The ability to communicate to your clients that you understand that your role is to assist them deliver on the organisation’s business – whatever that is.
While saying this in words is handy, actually doing it in practice is the biggest skill. Sometimes I hear in-house counsel referred to as the hand-brake of the business, and sometimes it can be hard to hide your WTF face when asked for advice, but by keeping your mind focussed on the outcome that your client is after, you can turn a WTF to a solution that gets the organisation where it needs to be.
What led you to pursue an in-house legal role?
I fell into in-house.
I started my legal career in my mid-thirties.
Prior to that I had somewhat peripatetic career in local government and public health, starting with an environmental health job at Melbourne City Council. I later lived and worked in Kununurra as environmental health manager for the Shires of Wyndham East Kimberly and Halls Creek as well as Alice Springs Town Council and Darwin City council.
It was while I was working with the Northern Territory Heath Department in women's health, adult guardianship and aged and disability that I started studying law part time..
Having come to legal practice from what then seemed like a lifetime in public health and local government, I remember thinking that five years in the future I might be able to combine my legal training with my public health and local government experience. 5 years was abbreviated to 1 year after a brief period as a domestic violence lawyer. That was one of the most rewarding jobs I have yet to have, unfortunately the full tiem occupant of the position returned after 6 months.
Since then I have been working in-house in the public sector – first in Canberra and then back home to Perth where I have been for more than 15 years. During that time I have spent a substantial amount of time working in public health and local government legal areas.
I have remained in-house because of the variety of interesting people and work, not only within a specific job but between my different positions. During the last pandemic (swine flu if anyone remembers) I sat on the WA Pandemic Emergency Response Committee. It was fascinating to watch all the systems and thinking that goes into responding to a major public health threat and obviously helps me a little in understanding what is going on now!
What advice would you offer to in-house counsel in building relationships with their organisations
I recommend lawyering by walking around borrowed from managing by walking around. Not only do you build relationships, you also get to know the organisation, the people, the issues. It works on so many levels, you will hear about things that you might not, people will ask questions that they might not, legal is invited into things before problems have developed. this gives you the unique ability to work across the organisation– unique because have fingers in every part of the pie. so can be a good intel source on not just legal matters
I still spend plenty of time sitting at my desk working on legal advices, but it is a lot more fulfilling when I know the people I am assisting and the backstory.
Not everyone is a networking extrovert and not all organisations are readily open to this approach, but there are always ways to start. Do things like catching up with people for coffee, having meetings to discuss future needs. Do NOT miss a morning tea, workplace gathering etc.
What is the one thing a law degree doesn’t teach you about being an in-house lawyer?
The importance of soft skills. To quote from Wikipedia “common sense, the ability to deal with people, and a positive flexible attitude”. Essential in any in-house job description.
What are the biggest changes you’ve witnessed across the legal sector since you joined the profession?
Wow! so many changes. Like every aspect of 20th Century life, the legal sector has changed so much and been subject to disruption, requiring lawyers to be flexible and responsive, sometimes needing to reinvent ourselves – the perfect job description of an in-house lawyer 😊
Finish this sentence…. If I wasn’t a lawyer I’d be….
A stand-up comedian – probably a very broke and niche one
I like being a part of the ACC Australia community because …….
Because the members of ACC are a community. That cannot be said of every peak professional body. When we come together there is such good will and generosity. I joined ACC for the CPD in Canberra at the end of last century – and I stay for the people that make up our community.