Profile: Lenin Volney

I started at Macrossan & Amiet as a Trainee Solicitor in January 2013. I grew up just outside of Toronto after moving there when I was a child from St. Lucia.

I’ve been in Australia for almost six years after I chased the woman to become my wife after first meeting her in Japan in 2001. It was a two year trip that changed my life as I’d just finished with an Economics degree and wasn’t feeling like the finance world was doing it for me.

We met and bonded over the shared love of the English language. Eventually we both returned home, me to Canada and her to Brisbane.While in Canada I knew that I wanted to get into law school and was looking at options. I felt my previous degree was unsuited as a jumping off point, so I went to school in New York State to get a Master’s Degree in Science to become a teacher. It was my way of getting the skills a prospective lawyer would need while earning a living. I was eventually credentialed to teach high school Maths and English.

It was a few years later that my (now) wife and I reconnected. I hesitated coming to Australia because I wanted to do my law degree in Canada but took a punt and took a flight over. Finding work in Brisbane as a teacher was too difficult, I didn’t know enough about Australia. How was I supposed to know that you actually get a day off to go to the Ekka? And if the students tell you that it’s “Pub Day” can you really be sure they’re not telling the truth? I knew that I’d have to start at the ground floor in law regardless of the money – and being an international student was expensive.

Soon enough I found employment with a small Family Law firm in the suburbs as a personal assistant / office manager. I later found work with a Commercial mid-tier then later a top-tier firm, as an Outside Clerk. The job required me to roam around the city, lodge some documents, chat with government agencies, attend the Brisbane Court Registries and be a problem solver. I loved it. The opportunity to meet so many people who all have their role in the legal industry was invaluable. I was the firm’s resource – a concierge of sorts. If a solicitor was unsure about how or where to find something, it was my job to know.

In July last year my wife told me she’d been offered a promotion and asked what I thought of moving to Mackay? Needless to say I jumped at the chance‚ the timing was perfect. I was in my last semester of a Bachelor of Laws at QUT. It was my contacts in those firms that recommended to me Macrossan & Amiet as the best bet. I think the pace of life, the variety of work and that this region reminds me of the Caribbean are all reasons why I love being here.

I’m slowly finding my feet in Mackay with things to do and cannot wait for the new sports season to begin. I referee soccer, cycle and play squash. I really enjoy the mild weather, I haven’t shovelled snow in six years! I’m excited to be a sponge here and to learn all I can as I make Mackay my home.