Madeleine Castles, a Bachelor of Arts/Laws (Hons) student at The Australian National University (ANU), will head to London next year to pursue a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” as a legal intern at the International Bar Association (IBA).
Madeleine, who will work on a range of projects in the IBA’s Research and Legal Policy Unit from January 2020, said the internship provides a great stepping stone for launching her global career.
“Being able to gain diverse legal experience in an international setting is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Seeing that it is possible to have a career outside of Australia and how our degrees can be global is really appealing to me,” said Madeleine, who is from Melbourne.
“I never had the opportunity to go on exchange for a variety of reasons, so for me it is a really big deal to experience living overseas.”
Valued at £8,000, the scholarship involves a 12-week internship at the IBA providing realistic, high-level and varied legal work experience across domestic and transnational legal policy.
Madeleine will be working alongside ANU alumnus Kieran Pender (BA (Hons) ’16, LLB (Hons) ‘18), a legal adviser at the IBA Research and Legal Policy Unit.
“We are delighted to be welcoming Madeleine to the International Bar Association in early 2020. We were fortunate to have fantastic 2019 IBA Scholar, Sophia Collins, who made a significant contribution to one of our major projects, and I am confident Madeleine will make a similar impact,” said Kieran.
Madeleine said her strong interest in policy politics and law reform inspired her to apply for the scholarship.
“Throughout my study, I have really fallen in love with my law degree. I am really passionate about it and have done a lot of work in community and public interest law,” she said.
This semester Madeleine is taking Public Interest Law Clinic (LAWS4284) and is currently placed at Directions Health ACT, which provides programs and services to those impacted by alcohol and drugs. She is also a paralegal at the Youth Law Centre under the auspices of Legal Aid ACT.
Asked about her aspirations after graduation, Madeleine said she would like to contribute to breaking the status quo in how people interact with current legal systems.
She also expressed her appreciation at being chosen for the scholarship, which is made possible by the ANU College of Law alumni community in London.
“ANU is a community of global scholars. Even after your degree ends, there are these connections all over the world. I am so grateful to the ANU and the alumni community for making this opportunity available,” Madeleine said.
