Claire Bourke
Lawyer
Sydney
Claire.Bourke@aar.com.au
Lawyer Claire Bourke came to Allens Arthur Robinson along a different route to many of her colleagues.
Claire completed an arts/communications degree at the University of Technology Sydney in 2000, during which she also completed a part-time playwrighting course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
It was during this time that she developed an interest in the law as she learnt about aspects of artists' legal rights.
After completing her degree, Claire moved to London for two years, during which time she worked as a legal assistant for a large New York firm. She moved back to Sydney in 2003 after being accepted into the graduate law degree course at the University of New South Wales.
Claire did a summer clerkship at Allens in 2004-05. She then secured a law graduate position with the firm which she commenced in August 2006. Claire said her experience at the firm in 2004-05 gave her an insight into how Allens differed from other large firms.
'It has a different feel to other firms. The partners seem to have more personality and come at things from different perspectives,' she said.
'When I was interviewed for a graduate law position here the interview seemed to be more of a conversation, while interviews at other firms were more pro forma.'
As a lawyer in the Sydney office, Claire is expected to combine her studies at the College of Law with a full-time position at Allens. She admits that this means things can get 'pretty busy'.
Claire expects to finish the College of Law course in late March 2007 and be admitted soon after as a first-year lawyer.
She has been working in the Corporate and Commercial practice group since she began at Allen last August and has done work mainly in the communications, media and technology group and the mergers and acquisitions group.
Claire said that this has given her a variety of work to do, including working on a large cross-practice team as part of a takeover, which included working with US lawyers and investment bankers.
She will stay in the Corporate and Commercial group until July when she will be rotated to a new practice area.
Claire said she enjoyed working at AAR 'because the experiences of the people you are working with are vast and different, so the knowledge you are gaining from other people is very wide.'
She said her experience at Allens had taught her that she had the ability to pick things up very quickly, which was an excellent skill to have as a lawyer and was a transferable skill.
Despite her busy schedule at Allens, Claire maintains an interest in the arts, with regular attendance at the theatre, live music, cinema and dance performances. She also continues to write creatively in her spare time.
