LAWYER, ADVOCATE AND CEO: Kara Cook
Kara Cook. Kara is the Chief Executive Officer of Basic Rights Qld and Working Women Qld. She has been an advocate and voice for those who need it most throughout her career which has spanned across law, politics and community services.
Her skillset is unique with expertise in community campaigning and advocacy, domestic violence, women’s issues, law reform, policy, fundraising, communication and media. She is a a former (or reformed!) politician, founded Australia’s first expert Domestic Violence law firm, has worked as the Principal Lawyer at Women’s Legal Service Queensland, is a former Vice President of Queensland Law Society and more recently has taken on a range of board and advisory positions.
Kara has been recognised locally and nationally as the Australian Young Lawyer of the Year, one of the 50 Best and Brightest in Queensland, one of the 125 Leading Women in Queensland and as the Emergent Woman Lawyer of the Year by the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland.
Your career has spanned law, politics and community services but always with a focus on helping others, have you always wanted a career that made meaningful change?
Absolutely, doing work that matters is what drives me every day. I want to be able to apply my skills and abilities to help those who might not have been afforded the same opportunities and make a difference to the lives of others.
What is one thing you wish you knew before you became a lawyer?
To be honest, I was never a big fan of studying, I found the mountains of reading quite dry. I was worried during my degree that in the real world I wouldn’t enjoy being a lawyer if it was like studying! Thankfully, being a lawyer in my area of practice – family law and domestic violence was much more hands on and I found that interpersonal skills, the ability to communicate clearly and in plain language were the most important parts of my job – there was still lots of reading but it was much more interesting when there were real clients involved!
Early in your career, you established the first private expert Domestic Violence Law Firm in Australia. What prompted this and why was this important to you?
Law is not accessible to everyone. I worked in private practice charging hundreds of dollars an hour and also in a community legal centre providing free advice at different times of my career. I realised that there was a gap between the top end of town and the free advice and wanted to provide accessible services to all – my firm provided fixed fee services and also had significantly lower rates than other private firms. I also wanted to specialise in domestic violence law as it was something that I was passionate about and felt that particularly women needed an advocate who cared deeply about their matters and could go the extra mile for them in their cases.
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about becoming a lawyer?
You should do what you are interested in and feel connected with – I was always drawn to issues impacting women and felt that the law was a way that I could help some of the most vulnerable in our community. There are many different pathways that you can take with a law degree and my advice would be that as you are studying keep following subjects and pathways that give you a sense of purpose and excitement – that will give you longevity in the legal profession once you graduate.
What is your favourite part of being a lawyer?
The ability to use my skills and abilities to help others. Its an empowering career that means you can really make a difference to others.
What is the most challenging part of being a lawyer?
You can’t win them all. It is important to remember the “wins” because cases do not always turn out as you had hoped and there can be some big lows particularly when the stakes are high for your clients.
Can you share your journey into politics and what motivated you to get involved in this field?
I was always interested in politics and when the opportunity arose to run I saw it as a way to help the broader community. Through politics you can have a bigger, collective impact and help more people because you are harnessing the power of a whole community to make change.
Australia has made progress in achieving gender parity in politics, but there is still underrepresentation. What initiatives or strategies do you think can help increase women's participation in this field?
I am a firm believer in quotas and targets, to make real change you need to ensure that there is not just equality but equity. Recognising difference and ensuring we do more to lift those people up is critical. I would like to see more diversity in politics – not just gender, also, cultural and linguistic diversity as well as more first nations representation. Politicians should reflect our society and we still have a long way to go before it is truly representative of the richness of the Australian population.
You have recently moved back into the field of law in your new role as CEO of Basic Rights Queensland. What prompted this change?
I felt that I had achieved a lot in my five and a half years in local government and was ready for the next challenge. I feel that my role with Basic Rights Queensland is a culmination of my career to date spanning across law and politics. I’m really enjoying the challenge of being back in the legal profession and also combining my business skills to this new position.
Can you tell us a little more about Basic Rights Queensland and Working Women Queensland?
Basic Rights Queensland is a statewide community legal centre providing free advice and advocacy to over 3500 clients each year in centrelink, disability discrimination and women’s employment issues. We also incorporate Working Women Queensland, a specialist service for women who might have issues in their workplace around discrimination, sexual harassment and unfair dismissal. We employ lawyers, social workers and industrial officers who work in a holistic way to assist clients across the state.
Can you share a notable achievement or milestone from your career that you are particularly proud of?
I will always feel a strong connection to issues around women and domestic violence. During my time as the local councillor for Morningside I initiated the first Domestic Violence Strategy for the City of Brisbane which I was very proud of. I was also proud to stand with our LGBTQIA+ community when they were faced with discrimination and abuse at various times during my time as an elected representative.
Franc’s Fast Five
What is your favourite thing to do for fun? I love spending time with my family at the beach.
What daily habit do you live by? I love pilates – I wish I could make it a daily habit!
I definitely sing in the car daily (not particularly well)!
What is your favourite holiday destination? Anywhere near the beach.
Who would you invite to dinner (living or dead)? Barrack Obama
Chips or Chocolate? Chocolate every day.