“The third thing was around coming with an open mind about where you might end up; what areas you might enjoy, taking the opportunities around learning and development that are given to you, being brave to put your hand up.
“If you see somebody working on something that you think sounds exciting, don’t wait be asked, be proactive. All of that was about taking a little bit of responsibility for your own career.
“I always say to them: ‘These places, all of the big law firms, are rich in opportunity; you’ve just got to be a bit proactive and keep an eye out for those opportunities – and be brave’.
“It doesn’t matter if they stay at the firm – they might end up somewhere else – but it’s a good lesson.”
The two days offsite at the Manly Pacific hotel in Sydney included sessions on managing stress and emotions at work; wellbeing, responsible business at KWM; and meeting mentors as part of peer-support program.
It ended with a group photo with the boss before the grads – both lawyers and those working in support services – headed back to the five offices KWM has across Australia.
The 51 women and 38 men will go through three six-month rotations before settling into a practice area, such as litigation or capital markets.
“It’s the first time in a while that they won’t have had to do their induction online,” said Ms Lattey. “They’ve actually got to meet each other in person and see each other as real people.”
