Get to know our Special Counsel

From balancing family life and volunteering to managing the demanding responsibilities of being a senior lawyer, Lisa Qiu does it all.

Lisa is a Special Counsel at Citation Legal which is part of Citation Group. She regularly represents Citation Legal’s clients before the Fair Work Commission, Fair Work Ombudsman, Australian Human Rights Commission and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia as well as other courts and tribunals. She is passionate about employment law and helping clients to navigate complex situations.

Lisa isn’t just a lawyer; she’s also a self-proclaimed shoe lover, a mother, and a wife. She’s an inspiration to women everywhere, breaking down barriers and paving the way for more diversity and women in law.

Let’s meet this trailblazer and explore her role and life at Citation Group!

What does your role entail?

For me, the role of Special Counsel is to focus on being technically brilliant and honing and developing skills, knowledge and experience as an employment lawyer. The role also brings with it an expectation of supervising and mentoring younger lawyers and being a sounding board for them for all things related to their role, from the matters they’re working on to their career progression goals.

What attracted you to working at Citation Legal and how has your background aided you in your position now?

I was excited by the prospects of being able to further develop a niche area of expertise, being the overlap between migration and employment law. For six years I was also a registered migration agent whilst also practicing employment law. My migration experience was a great value-add for employer clients, who often had questions about sponsoring a worker on a skilled visa, or who wanted to know how to deal with an employment issue involving someone on a visa. I am still qualified to provide migration advice and have completed my Masters in Migration Law and Practice.

And, another reason; I was also attracted to this role as my husband works across the road, so he can give me a lift in to work!

Do the law team have any traditions or regular events?

We recently had our end-of-financial year party which was a great opportunity to meet others within the wider Citation Group. When staff members from out of state come to Sydney, we try to arrange a team lunch, and also have team lunches to celebrate new starters, those going on parental leave and to celebrate accolades such as being nominated for an industry award. We also have smaller celebrations like International Women’s Day morning tea, fundraisers and Pride Month celebrations.

What do you like about working at Citation Legal?

The people, the culture, and the independence and autonomy provided to me to take responsibility for my own matters and clients. The partners are very supportive about the individual needs of those in the team. For example, I’ve been parttime for a few years now since I’ve had my kids, so I was very upfront about which day I wanted off, and I’m very protective of that non workday for my own well-being and my family’s. The partners understand that importance to me and take steps to ensure that I don’t need to work on my non workdays, as much as possible.

It’s important for longevity in the profession for lawyers to take steps to develop the type of life they want, and to me that means having a dedicated day off to organise my household for the week, get to the gym, work on volunteer commitments and be able to pick up my kids from school at least once a week.

The partners here understand the importance of trusting employees and giving them the autonomy they need to manage their work and personal lives in a way that works best for them and the firm.

As a part-time lawyer, what are some challenges you face?

As a part-time lawyer you do need to take some extra time to plan your week accordingly to make sure client service remains consistent. Luckily, we have a great team at Citation Legal of both lawyers and support staff, so keeping my matters ticking along on my non workdays is never an issue.

Of course, flexibility goes both ways so if there’s an urgent client deadline or court date that falls on my non workday, I’m able to manage my diary to make sure those deadlines and dates are met. However, the partners are always mindful to check in to make sure that if I do work on a non-workday, that I take another day off instead.

Has working at Citation Legal helped in tackling some of those challenges?

Yes. I think the partners are very good at leading by example when it comes to them having to deal with their own family responsibilities or otherwise taking steps to demonstrate the importance of well-being, for example, by ensuring that they get to their gym session.

I think that it’s important for seniors in the profession to send a message that not only is it okay to have other commitments outside of work, such as family responsibilities, or getting to the gym or catching up with friends, but that these things are part of life and part of what we need to work hard at prioritising in order to avoid burn-out in the profession. It also sends a signal to those in the team that you can meet the high demands of a role in the legal profession, whilst also managing other aspects of your life.

How would you say Citation Legal has helped you in your career development?

In the firms that I’ve previously worked at, we’d usually have a partner who specialised in industrial relations and enterprise bargaining, which meant there wasn’t always a lot of exposure to industrial relations work in the rest of the team.

One of the reasons I chose to work at Citation Legal was because of the strong history dealing with industrial relations matters that Citation Legal has, and the extensive experience in industrial relations across five partners who are accredited specialists in employment law. Working with such a talented team enables me to gain exposure in areas that I traditionally haven’t had exposure to, diversifying my skillset.

What’s your proudest moment so far, working at Citation Legal?

It was being asked by a partner to appear for a client in a dispute with a union before the Fair Work Commission, on less than a day’s notice. I was required to get across the issues quickly and appear before the Fair Work Commission the next day. The client then reached out to thank me for the support that I provided, and the union representative also reached out separately with thanks. So I’d say that’s my biggest accomplishment to date in the short time I’ve been here.

Do you find it hard to juggle work-life balance and what do you do in your spare time?

Sometimes it can be challenging, but I’ve put measures in place to make sure that I can manage things the best I can. In my ’spare’ time this year I have been volunteering as a Senior Manager with Diverse Women in Law (DWL), which involves participating in and helping to co-ordinate industry events focused on helping diverse women in law to develop the skills and confidence to advocate for themselves in their careers. It also involves mentoring and providing guidance to the other volunteers in my DWL team, many of whom are law students or just starting out in their legal careers.

I also try to dedicate most of my down time to spending quality time with my two young girls and husband. Other than that, I like reading good books and watching reruns of shows where I can switch off my mind, usually shows like Friends or Grey’s Anatomy.

Can you tell me a little bit more about volunteering with Diverse Women in Law and why you’re drawn to it?

I’ve always done volunteering or pro bono work ever since I was at university and even throughout high school. Lawyers are privileged through our training to understand the complexities of the legal system. However, having access to the legal system shouldn’t be a privilege reserved for only those who can afford it. I believe lawyers have an obligation to do what we can, where we can, to try and make sure that everyone has access to the law, so I’ve always tried to do a bit of pro bono work or volunteering.

Being a mum myself and knowing how difficult it is and being a young female Asian lawyer with kids, there are certain challenges that I’ve faced that perhaps others may not have. It’s great to be able to volunteer with an organisation like DWL where you have an opportunity to make a change in the profession for people who come from diverse backgrounds or for those with career responsibilities. It’s something that I’m passionate about, supporting the development of the profession for future generations.

About our author

Georgia Theocharous is the Communications Coordinator for Citation Group. She is responsible for crafting content across multiple channels such as blogs, social media, landing pages and email campaigns. In her spare time, you can find her jamming to her favourite music or in the dojo practising her martial arts skills.