Written by Nelson Thomason
Why I Chose To Study Law After Realising
the Power of Law
It is no surprise that many law students are inspired to study law by popular media, with shows like Suits who glamorise the profession. I will admit, I too was inspired by the suaveness of Harvey Spector, and he definitely further sparked my interest in studying law.
However, while popular media certainly influenced me, there was a distinct event in my life that I would consider the driving force behind my decision to study law.
My father is a retired engineer who had quite a successful career. Because of this, people often suggested that I follow in his footsteps and perhaps continue a family legacy in engineering. But my dad was adamantly against that idea. He would dismiss engineering as ‘stressful’ and ‘soul-draining’. Ironically, the law profession sounds the same.
Instead, he would often tell me that I should study law. But when I was young I never shared his vision. To me at the time, being a lawyer was just another job that had prestige and a high salary. That was until one particular event changed how I viewed the law…
Even after retiring as an engineer, my father continued with his own engineering projects. One of his biggest hobbies is creating things, such as an extension garage from the house, or a fancy gate. He always liked designing his visions and then executing them.
One of his most ambitious projects happened when I was fairly young. He wanted to put up a massive statue, which must be at least twenty metres tall, in an open space next to the house. To better visualise its size, the statue had to be airlifted into place by a helicopter.
Because of the imposing size of the statue and impact on the surrounding environment, the project required my dad to have countless meetings with lawyers to determine whether it was even permitted in a residential area, and if so, under what restrictions.
Watching how extensively lawyers and the law were involved in his engineering passion project opened my eyes. It made me realise that law was not just about punishing criminals; it is the framework that underpins society. Law governs everything, from how the government can be run, to major business deals, to whether my dad could erect a statue in his backyard.
That moment made me fascinated by a new language, ‘the language of law’, which is why I chose to study law, to better understand how the world works.
Though now that I think about it, maybe my dad just wants me to become a lawyer so he can save on legal fees for his next big project!