Inside AGS (NSW)
Matthew Varley:
Why I chose AGS:
I chose AGS because I wanted to learn from the leading government lawyers in Australia. I knew it would be important to develop my skills and knowledge straight out of university. I also wanted to work for the public benefit and to work in public law. AGS offered all these things, which would be very hard to find anywhere else.
The best thing about AGS:
The best thing about AGS is the challenging and interesting nature of the work. Almost every matter seems to raise a constitutional issue, or a complex problem of statutory interpretation, or be on the front page of all the newspapers. Even the matters without a high public profile are interesting because they relate to the government's role in people's lives. I've had an opportunity to work on matters at all of those levels. Apart from learning the law and developing my skills, I've had the chance to watch leading government lawyers deal with difficult ethical, professional and legal issues.
The best thing about AGS's graduate program:
The AGS graduate program gave me an opportunity to develop my skills in an environment where learning is valued over billable targets. I was placed with supervisors who taught and challenged me. The work has been varied and interesting and I was given tasks that stretched my skill set. I've been able to focus on the work rather than keeping up with a billable target.
Learning and development:
Learning and development is central to the AGS graduate program. Apart from informal learning through experience, I was encouraged to attend seminars, courses and conferences. The graduate program started with an opportunity to meet the other graduates and some of AGS's most senior lawyers and that was followed throughout the year by regular seminars on a range of topics in Commonwealth public law.
The highlight of my graduate year:
The highlight of my graduate year was helping the Dispute Resolution team to prepare for a complex challenge to an administrative decision. I was given an opportunity to work with the evidence to plan the Commonwealth's response to the application. By the end of the process, my supervisor was relying on me to identify the key documents and suggest particular rebuttals. Instead of being a small cog in a complex machine, I was given a leading role in planning the litigation.
