Storytelling for social justice: Lauren Stefanou’s Juris Doctor journey

When Lauren Stefanou graduated from high school, a career in law couldn’t have been further from her mind.

“I was adamant I didn’t want to be a lawyer. I couldn’t think of anything more boring!” laughs Lauren, who is now a Principal Solicitor at the Aboriginal Legal Service, a role she’s honoured to hold and finds deeply rewarding.

But as a school leaver, Lauren thought law was “all about paperwork, contracts and other people’s commercial interests”, whereas she was more drawn to advocacy work and storytelling. She studied communications and went on to lead a successful 10-year media career spanning ABC Television, Seven Network and Network Ten. 

“One of the things that really drew me to the media is I really believe in the capacity of the media to speak truth to power and to serve as an important accountability measure for powerful actors,” says Lauren.

However, as Lauren’s career progressed – during a time when the media landscape was changing profoundly – she felt her calling drifting away from observation and more towards action. She wanted to work more closely with people, and that led her to the Juris Doctor at UNSW. 

Lauren realised that law could be about much more than commercial contracts – and was actually an opportunity for her to flex her storytelling skills in new and interesting ways. 

“I saw becoming a lawyer as a potential avenue to be able to speak truth more directly to power in a different way,” says Lauren, who reflects fondly on her younger self and is pleased she waited to study law as a mature-aged student. 

“I think I got a lot more out of doing a law degree at that stage of my life than I would have if I’d done it straight out of school. I found I was bringing a lot of life experience and a more defined sense of what’s important to me.” 

Media strategist by day, law student by night 

Lauren completed her Juris Doctor over six years of part-time study while in full-time employment. She studied mostly at night, completing one subject at a time until she realised she was halfway through a law degree – a pretty special milestone.

“I had to reckon with the fact that it looked like I was going to get a law degree at some point,” smiles Lauren.

One of the highlights of the degree for Lauren was the opportunity to connect classroom learning with real-world legal practice.

“I really enjoyed getting to bridge doctrine and practice and have an understanding of how things in textbooks play out in the real world,” she says.

Lauren completed multiple internships during her degree, including at the NSW Public Defenders and at the Indigenous Law Centre. One of the most formative internships was at the Police Powers Clinic at Redfern Legal Centre, which cemented Lauren’s desire to work in the community legal sector. It was here that she completed her PLT work experience, and later returned to volunteer as a solicitor in the police accountability practice after being admitted to legal practice.

“That was so valuable to me, to be able to try out different workplaces while I was still studying,” says Lauren.

“As someone with no prior exposure to the legal profession, I was able to start building a professional network, but more importantly, I got a sense of what I liked and what I didn’t like, to help inform my decision-making about what I would do after graduation. I’m so grateful to have had those opportunities because they certainly shaped my ideas about where I could go and what I wanted to do.”

Lauren believes UNSW Law & Justice’s commitment to experiential learning sets it apart from other law schools. 

“I think the opportunities for experiential learning seem to be much greater at UNSW,” says Lauren.

“Opportunities are so readily available and an accepted part of the offering.” 

Each of these experiences led her to the role she’s in now: Principal Solicitor at the Aboriginal Legal Service, a proud Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisation providing free, culturally safe legal support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, children and families in NSW and the ACT. 

Using storytelling as a tool to drive systemic change 

Lauren’s current role is varied and fast-paced, where no two days are the same. As a member of the senior leadership team, she oversees a range of internal and external functions, and has been called on to act in executive roles in the organisation and its peak body, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services.

But the part that lights a fire in her soul? Her work at the intersection of storytelling and social justice.

“I oversee the functions of the Aboriginal Legal Service that are about translating the experiences of the clients and communities we serve, and the expertise of the organisation as the primary legal services provider to Aboriginal communities in NSW and ACT, into impactful advocacy for evidence-based systems change,” explains Lauren.

She also oversees teams that lead policy and law reform and work in partnership with the NSW Government, delivering policy and justice initiatives aimed at making progress towards implementing the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

“Advocacy is all about story, whether it’s courtroom advocacy or written submissions in litigation, going head to head with powerful decision makers, or public campaigning and media – the common thread is story,” she notes. 

Lauren often draws on her media background when it comes to government relations and campaigning. One contribution she is really proud of is the involvement of the Aboriginal Legal Service at the centre of collaborative advocacy by the legal assistance sector against the disproportionate policing of marginalised communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, which ultimately resulted in 33,000 COVID fines being withdrawn by the NSW Government because they weren’t issued lawfully. 

She’s now applying some of these learnings as the Aboriginal Legal Service advocates for an alternative, therapeutic paradigm for youth justice in NSW. It can be difficult, time-consuming work, where the stakes are high and the system is often unfair by design, but Lauren says it’s immensely rewarding to play a supporting role in continuing the legacy of the founders of the Aboriginal Legal Service.

“The work of every one of our team members matters so much. This organisation was started more than 50 years ago by Aboriginal community leaders and activists in a critical act of self-determination to fight back against police brutality and racism. They opened the doors to the first free legal service on the continent, which ultimately led to the establishment of the diverse legal assistance sector we have today. It’s a privilege to be able to walk side by side with the communities the ALS serves and my staunch colleagues who continue to uphold that legacy,” says Lauren.

Lauren notes that UNSW Law & Justice helped prepare her for advocacy work thanks to its focus on social justice, which she says is “embedded throughout the whole experience of study”.

“Social justice is in the DNA of the UNSW law school. Hal Wootten, the founder of the law faculty, was one of the allies enlisted by the Redfern activists to support the founding of the Aboriginal Legal Service,” she explains.

“You don’t have to be an aspiring public interest lawyer to get a really incredible education out of the UNSW Juris Doctor, but I think the fact that these opportunities are laid out on the table along with more traditional legal career pathways expands the range of possibilities that students and graduates can imagine for themselves,” she adds.

One degree, hundreds of possibilities 

Lauren doesn’t hesitate to recommend the Juris Doctor to others, even if they are unsure if they want to become practising lawyers.

“A law degree gives you insight into how a lot of the systems that dictate the distribution of power in our society work – it’s a really valuable education that you can take into almost any vocation, even if you don’t want to become a legal practitioner,” she says.

Her main piece of advice?

“Be open-minded, because I’m living proof that it’s never too late to change direction. Try the things you’re interested in, and don’t worry about pigeonholing yourself early in your career.”

And if law at UNSW is calling your name, you might even get to learn from Lauren herself – she’s a teaching fellow at UNSW Law & Justice, teaching core courses and electives to undergraduates and Juris Doctor students. 

“I really enjoy getting to go back and teach law students and sharing my perspective as someone who’s been in practice for several years,” says Lauren.

“You can’t keep me away!”