Georgia's UTS Journey: From PLT to the high life in London

When Georgia Barlow was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in early 2026, it was the end of one journey and the start of another. A graduate of the UTS Bachelor of Laws, she’d been dreaming of a legal career since she was a kid.

“Growing up, I was told I’d either be a good politician or a good lawyer,” she says.

“I was always quite forthcoming with my opinions and I never shied away or backed down.”

But it was when she enrolled in Practical Legal Training (PLT) in late 2025 that the career she’d always dreamed of really started taking shape. This six-month program, which is a compulsory requirement for admission as a lawyer in New South Wales, translates the theoretical knowledge of a law degree into the practical skills for a successful legal career.

UTS is one of a handful of PLT programs in the Sydney area, but for Georgia, there was never a question about where she’d finish her legal qualification.

UTS had been so fantastic the whole way through my Bachelor of Laws, that I thought surely their PLT program is good as well. It was innovative and modern in the sense that it was focused on real-world application.

Georgia Barlow

Georgia celebrates her graduation with her parents

Georgia at her Admission to the Legal Profession ceremony

Learning the tools of the (legal) trade

All PLT courses are practical by nature, but UTS’s reputation for learning sits at the foundation of its PLT program. Students complete three compulsory subjects (Property and Commercial Practice, Litigation Practice, Skills and Wills Practice), as well as 15 days of practical experience at a law firm.

They also choose from elective subjects in areas like family, criminal, employment, consumer, banking and finance, and environmental and planning law, giving them valuable exposure to a diversity of legal careers. All course content is taught by current and former practising lawyers who provide real-world insights into the learning experience.

“Being taught by someone that’s in the practice and has the experience and the exposure and the on-the-floor understanding of the way it works was so important,” Georgia says.

Georgia presents an argument in the UTS Moot Court, where students develop courtroom skills — Georgia in the UTS Moot Court, where students develop courtroom skills

PLT curriculum is focused on learning the nuts and bolts of contemporary legal practice, including the development of courtroom skills, such as working through the key stages of the courtroom process and practising advocacy in the University’s trial courts.

For Georgia, gaining practical experience with fundamental legal documents and processes, including drafting motions and wills, completing affidavits, drawing up cost agreements, and writing submissions and bail applications, was one of the most valuable aspects of the course.

“It gives you a point of reference for key documents and key tasks in any litigation or legal matter and an understanding of how to use them. I think that was critical,” she says.

“You were walking away with template documents that you could take with you as you embarked on your legal journey.”

Georgia with academic Isabella Cosenza, who taught her dispute resolution advocacy and a PLT subject on negotiation.

In Isabella’s words, “I was privileged to witness Georgia’s tremendous growth over the two subjects I taught her. I was impressed by her maturity, professionalism, curiosity, commitment to learning, and her practical skills. I wish her all the very best."

With a bit of grit, anything is possible

Georgia’s PLT experience was further enhanced by her work in the legal sector. Throughout her time at UTS, she was employed as a business development manager for specialist personal injury firm Wyatts Lawyers.

Being surrounded by legal practitioners in her day-to-day life provided useful context for her learning; the interconnection between her work and studies was so valuable that she chose to continue working full-time while she studied. As it turned out, the challenge of juggling both was fertile training ground for the realities of a legal career.

“It’s the most organised I’d ever been in my life,” she says.

“As a lawyer, you have to be able to thrive under pressure, you have to be able to work with competing deadlines because you’re going to have a practice of 60–120-plus matters, so you need to learn how to manage that and keep your composure.

“It’s 100% doable. It just requires grit and determination to get through.”

Georgia's degree certificate for the Graduate Certificate in Professional Legal Practice

Today, Georgia is two months into her role as a solicitor at Wyatts, which supported her to pivot into a legal position after her admission as a lawyer. She’s currently building specialist skills in personal injury law; so far, she says, it’s even more satisfying than she’d hoped.

But even as her long dreamt-of law career kicks off, she’s made the bold decision to squeeze even more out of the opportunities available to her: in August 2026, she’ll start an MBA at the prestigious London Business School. The way she sees it, combining her legal expertise with a business degree will open even more professional doors.

She’s currently trying to figure out how she might continue working as a lawyer during her London-based studies. She’s not about to give up everything she worked so hard for, and after PLT, the idea of combining work and study doesn’t faze her.

As for walking the line between business and law, if her time at UTS taught her anything, it’s that a legal career can be anything you make it.

They say that a lawyer doesn’t always make a good businessperson and a good businessperson doesn’t always make a good lawyer, but I’m going to be both.

Georgia Barlow