Young lawyers new to Dubbo are getting suggestions about where to have their suits cleaned and buy cheap drinks on a Friday night.
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They’re also learning about the entertainment scene, tourist attractions, legal firms, opportunities for professional development and the NSW Young Lawyers mental health website.
A new 23-page electronic guide offers a range of information and advice aimed at helping them settle into the city and feel part of its legal fraternity.
Dubbo lawyer Melissa Mastronardi has written the Guide to Living and Working in the Orana Region for the NSW Young Lawyers of which she is a member. The first of its kind in NSW, the guide was launched a week ago with immediate success.
Ms Mastronardi, who is the NSW Young Lawyers representative with the Orana Law Society (OLS) , has reason to think that fellow representatives in the state will “do something for their region”.
Up to 25 young lawyers are thought to come and go from Dubbo each year.
“The idea to write the guide came after I returned to Dubbo after being away for 10 years,” Ms Mastronardi said. “The city had changed so much. I wasn’t really sure where to go for certain things and services and there was nothing like this (the guide) out there. Dubbo has a lot of young lawyers coming through with the large ALS (Aboriginal Legal Service) and Legal Aid offices. I thought if I was finding it difficult, being a local myself, other lawyers who had never lived here must be finding it really difficult.”
Ms Mastronardi said a “really good response” to the guide included new faces at monthly drinks for young lawyers in Dubbo. “They said the guide was a great resource for them,” she said. “It’s a good feeling knowing that the guide is making the transition easier.”
An official launch of the guide will take place at the OLS annual general meeting and dinner in Dubbo on September 22.
The release of the guide has Ms Mastronardi turning to her responsibilities as newly-elected chairwoman of Bush Web, one of 16 NSW Young Lawyers committees that focuses on “regional Issues”. As chairwoman, she has happily inherited the job of “engaging” regional members, a “good chunk” of the 15,000 young lawyers in the state.
