It is a long way from Istanbul to Brisbane but for newly admitted lawyer Evren Kurt the journey was much more than a geographical one.
The Turkish lawyer had to restart his professional career in Queensland from scratch, adjusting to a new language and legal system.
Mr Kurt was one of more than 100 people admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland on Monday, 24 August.
The sitting was the end of a long road on his way to admission with the reading of his name a moment the Page Provan law graduate will cherish and remember forever.
“I had spent years working towards that sentence, and it lasted a few seconds,” he recalled.
“I remember the Banco Court full of families and colleagues, all there for someone they believed in, and Stephen (Page) rising to move my admission. What I did not expect was how strongly I would think of Istanbul in that moment, of the young lawyer I was there, and of how far the road had been between the two courtrooms.
“Her Honour’s remarks about keeping work and home in their place have stayed with me since. Afterwards, seeing my former QLS colleagues waiting to congratulate me made the day complete.”
Mr Kurt was always committed to practising law and has kept that dream alive despite the challenges of migrating to Australia.
“Law was never an abstract choice for me. Growing up in Turkiye, I saw how much difference it makes whether a person has someone in their corner who understands the system, and I wanted to be that person,” he said.
“I studied law in Istanbul, was admitted to the Istanbul Bar in 2018 after my internship, and practised there as solicitor – where the profession is fused – in maritime, property, planning, environmental and mining matters, including appearing in court, until I left for Australia at the end of 2019.
“My qualifications were assessed under the overseas graduate pathway, and I completed the supplementary units required of me at QUT, studying at night in Brisbane while working full-time on the Gold Coast, entirely self-funded as an international student, then finished my practical legal training through the College of Law.
“There were plenty of moments when starting over in a second language and a second legal system felt impossible.
“What kept me going was the profession itself.”
And the profession welcomed him. About six years ago, Dennis Standfield and John Smith at Gall Standfield and Smith on the Gold Coast gave Mr Kurt his first opportunity in Australian law. He later went on to work at the Queensland Law Society, and complete PLT at Ashworth Lawyers before landing his current role at Page Provan.
“I learned estates and commercial practice from lawyers who took the time to teach me,” he said.
“My years at the Queensland Law Society, including in the External Interventions team, showed me the profession from the regulator’s side, what happens when things go wrong, and why the standards we are admitted under matter so much.
“My practical legal training placement at Ashworth Lawyers taught me how a busy criminal practice really runs. By the time I found my way to family and fertility law at Page Provan, I knew I was where I was meant to be.”
The Principal of Page Provan Family and Fertility Lawyers, was Mr Kurt’s obvious choice when it came time to asking a practitioner to move his admission.
“Stephen is my supervisor and has been a genuine mentor since I joined the firm. Having the person who gave me my opportunity in this area of practice, and who guides my development every day, stand up and move my admission felt exactly right,” he said.
Mr Page said it was a great honour to move Mr Kurt’s admission, with the sitting representing the diversity of experience in the profession.
“Most of the movers during that ceremony were solicitors, a diverse bunch, who were moving the admission of a diverse bunch of those joining the profession,” he said.
“For many years, I was on the equity and diversity committee of the Society. The ceremony was proof that the profession is long past the days when those practising law were predominantly WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) men.
“It was a particular honour to move Evren’s admission, given his preparedness to upend his legal career overseas, move halfway around the world, then go through the process to be qualified here.”
Mr Page said they first connected on LinkedIn.
“When we advertised a position, his keenness for the job, life experience, and skills from having worked with the Society and previously in the law (albeit overseas and in a completely different area), made him the obvious candidate,” he said.
“Evren needs little encouragement. As I have practised for so long, four of the lessons I have learnt from so many years (and have sought to pass on) are: always protect your reputation in everything that you do, achieved by acting ethically; the lesson that former president Greg Vickery put so well, which is the choice is that of the quick or the dead, and be determined to be the quick, not the dead; keep a sense of humour, and remember that while there are many responsibilities in our work, being a solicitor is not our life. It is important to remember the difference between work and home, as Justice Mullins referred to in her speech at the ceremony.
“Working in fertility law is a unique experience, which Evren is enjoying immensely.”
Mr Kurt plans to continue to work in this area of law and is applying for his practising certificate.
“I will continue at Page Provan with Stephen Page and Bruce Provan in family, surrogacy and fertility law. It is a fascinating and deeply human area of practice, and my hope is to build my career there and become an experienced family and fertility lawyer. I also plan to complete a Master of Laws,” he said.
“Beyond my own practice, I want to give something back. Having been helped by so many people on the way here, I hope to take on volunteer and community legal work, and to contribute to the Queensland Law Society through its committees and volunteer programs. The profession opened a door for me, and I would like to help hold it open for others.”
He also had a message for other law students and early career lawyers.
“To any international student or overseas qualified lawyer reading this, I will not pretend it is easy.” he said.
“Studying in a second language while working full time, and watching the process take years when you have already practised law in your home country, tests your resolve. But the effort is worth it.
“The training and experience you bring with you are not lost when you start again; they become part of the lawyer you will be here.
“Keep going, find the people who believe in you, and when an opportunity opens, take it and give it everything. One day it will be your name read out in court, and every difficult year will have been worth it.”
Admitted before President Mullins, Justice Boddice and Justice Burns were: Papic; Lucas; Benham; Kniepp; Weber; Cavanagh; Walker; McLeod; Curtis; Athanasiou; Jardine; Robinson; Jeffery; Grespos; Palanivel Murugan; O’Brien; Hackett; Cooley; Young; Graham; Robbins; Woodrow; O’Brien; Shearer; McKenna.
Spinks; Crouch; Minasi; Snow; Dunphy; Hoffman; Smith; Lumsden; Alcorn; Scott; Gracias; Barui; Natus; Clark; Jeuda; Mumford; Ryan-Kerr; Etebari; Teitzel; Mount; Sorour; Adgo; Catalano; Vreetika; Gregory.
Han; Walker; Whittle; Ogilvie; Gasmin; Werchon; McKay; Harisson; Kwak; Edwards; Watson; Gallegos; Lambert; Milne; Gregor; Gamboa; Calos; Alleluia; Lusis; Rolls; Long; Bell; Palmer; Swapp; Zietsch; Nguyen.
Welch; Skene; Kowalenko; Murray; Walters; Dickson; Mallett-Griffiths; Sullivan; Pol Bodetto; Jackson; McBain; Mattschoss; Price; Advani; Robinson; MacDonell; Wilimowicz; Cassimatis; Ziebell; Manalansan; Ikin; Matthews; Cook; Lynch; Plumb; L Kaur.
Lai; Scherf; Jonatan; Weir; Bond; Babu; Lynagh; Irish; Bray; Kurt; Tangeria; Wang; Scott; Sayson; Troll; Shearman; Singh; Chan; Trippick; Ravishankar; De Lutis; Burdon; West; Zambelli; Gordon.
Proctor celebrates all newly admitted lawyers and congratulates 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 images from your admission sitting.
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