Ryan Murphy
Employment lawyer at Bartier Perry, Sydney
After high school Ryan set his sights on a career in politics and knew a double degree in commerce and law would set him up well for the future.
鈥淚 happen to love the law now, but at the time of choosing my degree, I wasn鈥檛 sure if I would, having not studied legal studies at school,鈥� Ryan says. 鈥淐ombining it with a commerce degree left my options open.鈥�
Ryan says one of the most important skills he took away from his law degree was the ability to find the answers to complex legal questions.
鈥�Law is a massive and an ever-changing field, which is partly what makes it so interesting,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t takes years to develop expertise in a field, so you can鈥檛 expect to have all the answers just because you鈥檝e graduated. What you will have is the ability to find the answers, which is a great skill.鈥�
After graduating, Ryan was admitted as a solicitor, and started working in Sydney. He quickly realised it was the litigation that interested him the most.
鈥淭o me, it鈥檚 the closest the law comes to sport 鈥� I love that rush,鈥� he says.
After a few years of general litigation, Ryan developed an interest in employment law and joined Bartier Perry in a specialist employment law role, working mainly in disputed matters.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have guessed how interesting employment law is 鈥� you wouldn鈥檛 believe what people get up to at work,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 have also recently completed a postgraduate degree in the area to hone my expertise.鈥�
Looking back on the past ten years, Ryan is happy with how everything has panned out.
鈥淭en years ago, I was considering a career in politics,鈥� he says. 鈥淣ever say never, but at this stage I鈥檓 pretty happy to leave that to someone else.鈥�
