Deb Schmidt Email and Phone Number

Towards the end of my Law degree, Articles (practical year pre-admission to practice) was a hot topic of conversation in the law school. Everyone was preoccupied with Articles; which Firms, application processes, interviews, offers - it was everywhere. Without planning to ever have a career in Law, I got swept up in the process and out of no where found myself with job offers from some of Australia's top Law Firms. Always one for seeing where the path leads, I accepted an offer from Freehills (now Herbert Smith Freehills). Throughout my Articles year I worked in the Trade Marks/IP, Competition and Industrial Relations practice groups. I found myself most comfortable in Trade Marks/IP, probably because I found myself dealing with Marketers on a daily basis. Post admission, I settled into a life as a Trade Marks lawyer and worked my bum off on a range of matters for clients like Pacific Brands, Country Road, Swisse and Ugg Australia. So, why did I decide to leave the Law? Quite simply, it wasn't where my passion lied. The same way my supervising partners were itching to read the latest High Court judgment, I was itching to read the words of thought leaders in marketing and business, analyse best in class advertising campaigns and explore how innovation can solve consumer problems.

Towards the end of my Commerce degree, my two most influential Marketing lecturers recommended I consider an Honours degree. With a gap year on the horizon and a Law degree half done, if I was going to add another year to my studies, I wanted to be damn sure an Honours degree was going to substantially advance my career prospects. After speaking to a range of Marketing professionals across diverse disciplines and industries; on the job experience and interesting life stories trumped an Honours degree. So, I applied for a 6 month internship at Fosters Group and travelled South America, the middle East and South East Asia until the 2005 Uni year commenced and I could finish my Law degree.Working at Fosters was a first insight into the world of commercial marketing. My work involved analysing market data, managing a premiums databases, assisting on major consumer promotions and collaborating on label design. The role was exceptionally entry level but I loved every minute of it. Working at Fosters lit a fire in my belly that would result in me eventually finding my way back to the Marketing profession years later.