After almost 10 years in the legal profession, Holly Turner-Woodall’s admission to the Supreme Court of Queensland was “over in a moment”.
The Wheldon & Associates paralegal was one of more than 100 newly admitted lawyers at the Banco Court on a blustery Monday morning, 28 July.
“The whole day was surreal for me. I was incredibly lucky to be surrounded by former and current colleagues, friends, and family,” Holly said.
“The court staff were incredibly helpful, and I felt deeply honoured to be a part of this profession.
“The Honourable Justice delivered a moving speech and spoke notably about the role of artificial intelligence in the legal profession.” 
Holly with colleagues at Wheldon & Associates.
Holly’s journey to admission day began when she applied for legal secretary jobs after her desire to join the police force straight out of high school was put on hold.
“At that stage, I wanted to join the police, but I was only 18 years old and too young. I decided to apply for legal secretary jobs so I would be doing something law related, and that is when I got the job as junior legal secretary at Robinson Locke Litigation Lawyers,” she explained.
“I was fortunate to work under Malcolm Robinson (my boss for almost six years) who was very passionate about the law, eager to educate his staff and created a positive working environment for me learn and thrive in.
“After a few years of working as a legal secretary, I realised the law was something I was passionate about, and that I was capable of being a solicitor. I applied to QUT to start my law degree and never looked back.
“I enjoyed studying because I found that the tasks I was doing at work made more sense as I was learning the theory behind them at uni. My time working in legal support roles has been invaluable to my career, and I wouldn’t change a thing about my pathway to becoming a lawyer.”
Holly asked former solicitor now barrister Alistair Tindall to move her admission after meeting him when she started working at Robinson Locke Litigation Lawyers.
Holly with her admission certificate.
“I worked with Alistair up until he became a barrister in 2021. Alistair has been someone I have turned to for advice for work, university, practical legal training, and the admission process. I am grateful for all of Alistair’s time, and it has been comforting knowing I have someone in the industry I can turn to.”
Alistair, now of Alfred Lutwyche Chambers, speaks highly of his former colleague, saying: “Holly is hard working and I have always been impressed with the initiative Holly takes in her work.
“Holly never settles for doing the minimum required to complete a task but applies her own skills and common sense to ensure the work produced is best adapted to the purpose for which it is to be used.
“It was privilege to move her admission. Holly will make a great solicitor, and I look forward to seeing her career as a practitioner.”
Holly hopes to continue working alongside Senior Associate (Property and Commercial Law) Dominic Ierna.
“I hope to contribute to expanding the firm’s property and commercial practice, we have so much work in this area. I find this field intellectually rewarding, as it sits at the intersection of law and business,” she said.
“It allows me to work on matters that are not only legally complex but also commercially strategic. What other area of law lets you be an architect, a strategist, and a problem-solver all at once? I genuinely believe a well-drafted lease is a thing of beauty.”
When not crafting leases, Holly is fundraising and this year running in the Bridge to Brisbane for childhood cancer support.
Holly had plenty of family support on the day.
“Giving back to the community is important to me, and events like this allow me to combine that with my commitment to staying active and healthy. My sister Lucie, who is a dedicated nurse, and her partner Ange often join me in these efforts,” she said.
“Lucie’s work reminds me daily of the value of health, compassion, and community support and these principles that deeply resonate with me both personally and professionally. I think more people in law need to take a holistic approach to ensure that they are the best that they can be.
“I believe that in the legal profession, maintaining a healthy body and mind is essential, especially with the long hours. A holistic approach to wellbeing not only helps us show up as our best selves for our clients, but also ensures we have the resilience, clarity, and emotional balance to navigate the demands of this field.
“After a 25-kilometre bike ride, there’s nothing quite like rewarding yourself with a fresh, hot jam doughnut and a good coffee, it’s the perfect balance of discipline and indulgence.”
Her sister also was on hand during a minor hair malfunction at the admission ceremony.
“I was incredibly grateful that my beautiful sister Lucie had a comb stashed in her handbag as I had my hair blow-dried for the admission ceremony. It was a very windy day on Monday.”
Admitted before the Chief Justice, President Mullins, Justice Brown and Justice Doyle on 28 July were: Huynh; Dixon; Backhouse; Kennedy; Cheng; Perry; S Wilson; Navegantes Coimbra; Kitchin; Salter; Horsley; Keogh; Shariff; Kennett; Lavell; Tindiglia; Connor; Saliba; Petracci; Bischa; Lofgren; Hertog; Roche; Street; Jones; M Wilson; Bali.
Rudge; Gamlin; Jewry; Turner-Woodall; Tang; Hamasaki-Jones; O’Regan; Kyeong; Simpson; Baker; Kubler Shaw; McGrath; Harding; Molloy; Fisher; Rowe; Colls; Tanna; Gibb; Donovan; Guy; Puttock; Toovey; Job; Howard; Cunningham; Albertyn.
Murhi; Nieass; Wang; Bruce; Green; Nicholas; Shoshani; Hoffmann; Nejari; Hennessey; Coghlan; Luck; Andrews; Rangiira; Edwards; Balmer; Brennan; Dinh; Giggle; Robinson; Smith; Walker; Bellas; Foster.
Pipe; Narayya; Parker; Loneragan; Williams; Robertson; David; Makazanyo; Sheahan; McInnes; Nimmo; Tyrrell; Wei; McNamara; Visedo; Kaur; Bott; Toledo; Wong; Holland; Kumar; Rehman; Boyce; Baartz.
Proctor looks to celebrate all newly admitted lawyers and congratulate them on this significant achievement. Please email details to proctor@qls.com.au. Ensure you include some details of your current role, your admission mover, along with a quality head-and-shoulders image or images from your admission sitting.
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