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8 Indigenous L. Bull. 19 (2012-2017)
Quadrivum: So You Want to Be a Laywer

handle is hein.journals/indibull8 and id is 347 raw text is: DUAGRIVUM: SO YOU WANT TO BE A LAWYER? by Dennis Foley INTRODUCTION Quadrivium; we are at a crossroads, a place where many journeys meet. For there are many choices for Aboriginal' students to pursue successful careers in law, however the study of law is not uniform it has as many differing forms and specialisations as there are colours in confectionary. As a vocation some are simple and sweet and others difficult and sour. Within the next few pages I will discuss based on my own academic research an area where Aboriginal Australia desperately needs Indigenous lawyers to help our people achieve self-determination and financial independence. Foralmosttwo decades I have given academic advice to Australian Indigenous students as to which vocation to pursue. Many want to study law and ever since the successful High Court challenge by the late Eddie Mabo2, there has been a growing stream ofstudents with a compelling desire to correct past injustices and work for their communities in the area of native title. You see them in the interview all bright eyed and bushy tailed, first semester they are still effervescent and keen, and by about mid semester year one, they realise that law is hard work with some law professors almost destroying their desire to help their people. By the end of second year many have swapped over to other degrees, by first semester of the last year of those that remain, few know where they want to specialise, while the rest just want to finish. Statistically and sadly of those Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students who finish, only a small percentage will follow their passion and become practitioners. The difference between those that start and those that finish is a human quality that we all have, but only few of us master. It's about being able to maintain your driving ambition, your passion to achieve or keeping thatfire in the bellyalive? THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMERCIAL LAW Lawyers can specialise in many different areas of law which can include: equal opportunity law; tort law; industrial law; family law; consumer law; taxation law; environmental law; nativetitle lawand constitution law. However from my academic experience one of the most important areas of practice for Aboriginal Australians is the area of commercial law. The numbers of Aboriginal owned small business enterprises have exploded within the last 20 years. When I commenced my research in the early 1990s it was difficult to locate Aboriginal businesses due to their physical lack of numbers.This was further hampered as many hid their identity due to overt and covert racism from the dominant culture. Now Aboriginal enterprises are becoming an important group within the Australian commercial sector and are more easily identified because society is more acceptable of Aboriginal people being active in the commercial world.4 THE GRDWTH OF INDIGENOUS BUSINESSES With increasing education levels being attained by Aboriginal people in general, and improved knowledge of recognising potential business possibilities, Aboriginal commerce in Australia has bloomed resulting in more Aboriginal enterprises producing goods and services for sale in the modern market economy.' Aboriginal enterprises by and large contribute to fostering social cohesion and recognition of Aboriginal people.6 The establishment of more Aboriginal businesses is crucial for fostering independence for Aboriginal people from government welfare and largely non-Aboriginal workplaces.' Self-employed Aboriginal people who are entrepreneurial are becoming an increasingly important component of Indigenous economic activity. The numbers of self-employed people have increased from 4600 to 12 500 in the two decades to 2011. Research by the author8 and Foley and Hunter9 has shown a link between self employment and entrepreneurial activity. Due to the poor statistical data sets available to academics, such as the pre 2012 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Surveys ('NATSISS') (which had a limited sample base and true representation) the author, after extensive consultation with peers at the Australian National University ('ANU'); networking with Victorian, Queensland and New South Wales Indigenous Chambers of Commerce; as well as other Aboriginal representative bodies, more accurately estimates the number of self-employed Aboriginal businesses to be at 25 000. INDIGENOUS LAW BULLETIN March / April, Volume B, Issue 11 1 19

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