Theresa Jennings

Theresa Jennings is a deaf lawyer working for the  Cancer Council Queensland 

She is a founding member of the QLS Diverse Abilities Network, a network which connects and advocates for solicitors and law students in Queensland that have a disability or diverse ability. 

Genevieve Nuttal a generalist lawyer with a special interest in the National Disability Insurance Scheme helped me interview Theresa 

Theresa talks about:

·  Choosing the university she went to based on the support to students with a disability and then failing to take advantage of the support;

·  The difficulties she had in her first few years at university because she didn’t want fellow students to know that she was deaf and couldn’t hear the lecturer speaking;

·  How she relied on lecture notes and asking questions to get through;

·  How getting older has helped her to be more comfortable with disclosing her deafness and asking people to make adjustments;

·  Securing a disability internship with Sparke Helmore and the tax office;

·  The benefits and challenges of having a hearing impairment when practicing law;

·  How a question she asked at a Queensland Law Society stand at a succession conference ultimately led to the formation of the  QLS diverse Abilities Network;

·  How the network has improved her confidence in her practice of the law as a practitioner with a hearing impairment;

·  Why being deaf was such an advantage of working for Bunnings (whilst at school and during university) in customer service with a focus on loss prevention;

·  How a volunteer role helping with staging events led to a paid job as a lawyer at the Queensland Cancer Council;

·  The role of legal counsel for the Queensland Cancer Council including managing bequests, negotiating contracts and protecting intellectual property;

·  How Genevieve and Theresa first met and what Gen  thought when Theresa kept asking questions as to what members of the group were saying; and 

·  How having a disability made it easier to get connections as a younger practitioner because she had the benefit of membership of the QLS Diverse Abilities Network.

If you want to find out more about Theresa you can contact her through Linkedin:(3) Theresa Jennings | LinkedIn or drop me a line through the website.