Elderslie High School

Excellence honour service

Telephone02 4658 1110

Emailelderslie-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Slade Howell

Slade Howell, Class of 2001

Achievements at Elderslie High School

•I finished Year 12 in 2001, with a HSC result of 95.

•My interests were English, Geography and Legal Studies all of which I did for the HSC.

•I was the School Captain and was a member of the debating team (which was a pretty good team from memory).

•I was also really interested in sport, and represented the school in a number of sports.  I played tennis competitively outside of school (and continued to do so for a few years afterwards).

Achievements post Elderslie High School

•I went to university and studied arts and law.  In arts I studied history, politics and philosophy and I graduated with Honours and the University Medal in 2005.  I graduated in Law with Honours a couple of years later in 2007.  For the first three years I represented the university in tennis and our team came close to winning a National University Games Championship.    

•I went on and completed Practical Legal Training and in 2008 I was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW. 

•My first job was working for a Supreme Court Judge.  In 2009, I worked as a corporate lawyer at a large commercial law firm in Sydney, but I resigned later that year to become a criminal lawyer.  I managed to land a job with the Aboriginal Legal Service and I worked for them for a couple of years. 

•In 2014, I undertook the bar exams, and am now a barrister.  I practise in criminal law and am based at Forbes Chambers, which is a dedicated criminal barristers set on Elizabeth Street.

•If I had to single out one thing about my career that I consider to be an achievement - it’s that I decided to change direction in 2009, leaving what was a potentially lucrative corporate law job, for the relative obscurity of a position with the Aboriginal Legal Service.  Between 2009 – 2014, I did really satisfying work as an advocate for disadvantaged people in the criminal justice system.  That decision has proved to be a life-changing one for me.  I’m doing what I’m doing today because of that decision. 

 

Slade Howell Today