Grad Gallery: Philippa King

LinkedIn: bit.ly/3negkgY

Current position:

Environmental Law Consultant

Past positions:

Lecturer in Environmental Law at University of KwaZulu-Natal

Lecturer in Environmental Law at University of Cape Town

Senior Associate at Smith Ndlovu Summers Attorneys

Candidate Attorney at Bowman Gilfillan

Academic history:

2008 Master of Laws (LLM) in Marine and Environmental Law at UCT

2006 Bachelor of Laws (LLB) at Rhodes University (RU)

2004 Bachelor of Commerce at RU

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How did you transition into being an environmental law consultant?

When we moved to KZN (after I was in practice for more than 6 years in Cape Town and spent a year lecturing at UCT), I continued with some lecturing at UKZN but started working with other attorneys and consultants as an environmental law consultant. The rest is history...

What do your day-to-day responsibilities look like?

I prefer advisory-type work, so quite a lot of what I do involves legal research and opinion writing. But every matter is different.

What value do your qualifications add to your work?

My law qualifications have been invaluable to the work that I do. While my LLB provided my legal foundation, my LLM in Marine and Environmental Law was what really got me onto this career path.

The key skills which I have gained through my legal studies are critical analysis and problem solving

What are the key skills that have contributed to your success so far?

I think that some of the key skills which I have gained through my legal studies are critical analysis and problem solving.

Any advice for law graduates entering the world of work?

Find something you really care about. It will make all the difference.

What impact has COVID-19 had on your career and industry?

To start with, the lockdown meant that things were very slow as most businesses just tried to survive. More recently, it has proved to have some positive spin-offs with clients and colleagues adapting to working remotely – saving time and costs in many cases!

How do you see law evolving in the next few years?

There seems to be a trend towards making law more “user-friendly” and using tech tools to make it more accessible for clients.

Find something you really care about. It will make all the difference.