Catey Boyce, 25, has been a solicitor at Anderson Lloyd for a year.
Originally from Christchurch, the Cantabrian ventured south to do a Health Sciences degree, but later switched to a law degree after her first year.
In 2012 Ms Boyce graduated with an LLB and Biomedical Science degree majoring in genetics.
She then landed a job at Anderson Lloyd after summer clerking in its graduate recruitment programme at the end of 2013. It was a big jump going from being a student to being a fully-fledged lawyer, Ms Boyce says.
“It’s always hard because as a student your time and commitments are generally much more flexible. Obviously the responsibility of working as a lawyer is very different and it takes a lot of adjustment.”
Her legal focus
Ms Boyce is predominantly working in commercial and corporate law, but she says the nature of the Dunedin legal environment means she has already had experience in trust, relationship property and conveyancing matters as well.
“It’s really good starting off so you get a taste of what areas interest you … I do really enjoy commercial work. I think it’s very transferrable. You can practise in a lot of areas of the law from the skills you learn.”
Outside of the law, Ms Boyce is also completing her Masters in Health Law and Bioethics part-time.
“I’m trying to tie in my genetics training. It’s not a walk in the park, that’s for sure. But it keeps it interesting.”
She is also a member of the Otago Women Lawyers’ Society (OWLS) and the Dunedin Young Professionals (DYP) group.
“In the smaller regions it’s quite important to have those networks … OWLS runs many dinners and they get speakers coming in a lot which is good. Dunedin Young Professionals also run a lot of social and career-orientated events throughout the year.”
What’s next?
Ms Boyce says she will “hopefully start specialising in a particular area”, but that she will keep her options open.
“It’s very easy living in Dunedin, and I think the culture is quite supportive, which is nice to be in starting out. It’s the nature of having a small pool of lawyers, you’re always going to be dealing with someone you’ve probably worked with already, so that familiarity can be comforting.”
But does the intimacy of the profession mean that you’re somewhat under the microscope? There’s a bit of that, she admits. “But it’s not necessarily a bad thing being under a bit of scrutiny,” Ms Boyce says.