Graduating this May with a conjoint Bachelor of Law with Honours, and Bachelor of Arts majoring in Film and minoring in Media Studies from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, Caitlin is now working for Chapman Tripp in Auckland in the litigation team.
Some of the other things Caitlin became involved in during her studies included being a peer assisted study support leader, and tutoring.
“Time management during study is always such a tricky thing, because I struggled to say no to opportunities that would pop up,” she says. “I just wanted to do everything. And sometimes you can't. So I was learning to say no when things become overwhelming. Learning to prioritise. And especially learning to prioritise sleep because everything falls apart when you don't sleep. I really learnt that I'm not an ‘all-nighters’ kind of person and it's OK not to be an ‘all-nighter’ kind of person.”
Caitlin’s desire to follow her longstanding interest in film and media and do a BA, played a large part in her choice to study at Victoria, here in Wellington. “It felt like such a hub for the film industry,” she says. Initially, she felt less compelled to do the law degree, but wanted something “a bit more stable” to complement her film degree, figuring it fit with her strengths.
“From studying law, I realised more and more that actually that was where I saw myself in the future, more than film, ultimately.” She says she didn’t know exactly what being a lawyer would entail until she was studying it, coming to realise it was “definitely” for her.
“Studying at Victoria helped as well, because the professors and lecturers were so passionate and also intimately involved with the stuff that was currently happening—we have the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal right there. I can remember from first year our lecturers telling us about cases that they had just been watching, or they've just been down at the court right before our lectures and giving us updates. It felt really tangible.”
Caitlin says she wanted to go to a university that “felt like it had a culture”. Both the Kelburn campus, where she spent a lot of time in Te Wāhanga Aronui—Wellington Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences for her film degree, and the Pipitea campus, with Parliament and the Supreme Court “right there” offered her rich opportunities to connect with others in both the arts and law communities.
When Caitlin became involved with the Rainbow Law Students Society, she said it was a “really nice way to get to know each other in what is quite a small community at law school. I think it really helped me a lot. It’s such a nice group of people that has the ability to touch students and advocate in so many different ways.”
Caitlin was awarded a Summer Research Scholarship in 2023. It was initially pitched as broadly about remote justice participation and the use of audio-visual link technology in the courts. It was a topic she didn’t know a lot about, but she says she learned a lot about this very niche part of justice procedure.
The scholarship project became one of the early projects for the Centre for Justice Innovation New Zealand, providing a pathway for her to become a research assistant, which led to Caitlin doing research into other kind of niche issues relating to our justice system, like bail and remand.
“It allowed me to diversify the things that I was learning about, which was really cool,” she says.
Her advice for other new students? “Don't be afraid to try things and then fail. I hate feeling like I've missed out on things, so I feel like I tried everything, even things that did not end up being for me necessarily. I know that I didn't know anything when I started uni, and I was not always good at things, but I encourage you all to stick it out.”