A conversation with...Amanda Millar

I’m nervous about this interview. When I think of Amanda I think of a confident, outspoken, independent, strong-minded lawyer, the type you would not want to get on the wrong side of. The sort of lawyer I want to be.

As we chat, I realise we have so much in common. You certainly wouldn’t think it by looking at us. We couldn’t be more different. Her pale complexion against that vibrant red hair. My brown skin against dark, glossy hair. But more importantly, it’s our readiness to fight against conformity that binds us together. For Amanda, it seems to come so easy. Admittedly, for me it’s come much later in my career.

But like many of us, Amanda’s journey into law was not plain-sailing and its stories such as these that she encourages to be told.

Amanda’s mother to all intents and purposes left school at 14. She was ambitious for her only child and through her strong work ethic built an expectation that Amanda would work hard, go to university and embark on a career. However, university life took an unexpected turn. Amanda was involved in a hit and run after her first year of studying the law degree. Her academic future was uncertain. She returned to university for her second year not knowing what she could or could not do. She modestly states that she made it through university, passed the exams, got her qualifications and that it was all simply a ‘means to an end.’ But there is so much more to Amanda than that.