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The Law Society of NSW hosted its annual International Women’s Day Breakfast on Wednesday 5 March, with a conversation led by the 2025 President Jennifer Ball and featuring three high-performing lawyers from across the profession.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, which officially takes place on 8 March, is ‘March Forward’: an idea built on turning promises into progress and ensuring a gender-equal future for all women and girls.

Natalie Marsic, the General Counsel of NSW Police and a recipient of the Australian Public Service Medal, Nikki Robinson, Partner in Charge at Clayton Utz, and Michelle Smyth, Oceania General Counsel at EY, all spoke at length of their career progression from their early days as lawyers, to the moments and strategies that have helped them succeed.

In a revealing discussion, the panel considered issues ranging from quotas in recruitment, menopause and gender-blind parental leave policies, to the importance of both finding mentors and exercising self-advocacy and breaking self-imposed boundaries. They also shared examples of frustrating moments in meetings where, despite being among the most senior voices in the room, they were mistaken for assistants or minute-takers.

In her opening remarks, Ball told the crowd “as we discuss how to march forward, I think it’s important to consider just how far we have come, and just how quickly.”

“If we go back to 1924, Marie Byles became the first practising female solicitor in NSW. 101 years later, how has the profession evolved?” she said.

“We all know that in the last two decades alone we’ve seen momentous, positive changes. 55 per cent of solicitors in NSW are female. In the last ten years, we’ve seen an 11 per cent increase of women in private practice in partner and principal roles. And women have outnumbered men as law school graduates for 30 years now.”

This is countered by stalled progress in other areas: although there has been an increase in female solicitors in leaderships roles, only 35 per cent of partners and principals in private practice are female.

In sharing their stories, it was clear resilience has been central to the careers of all three women. It was a concept they were keen to impart on the audience at the sold-out event; whether that is in saying yes to opportunities even if you do not feel entirely ready or working through a tough role or period of work in order to get to the next level.

More than 300 law firms have signed up to the Law Society’s Charter for the Advancement of Women, which focuses on the recruitment, retention and development of women in the legal profession.

Main image (L-R): Michelle Smyth, Nikki Robinson, Jennifer Ball and Natalie Marsic.