Girish Rao Lawyer
Many qualities contribute to success in the broad field of commercial and workplace law. Strategic awareness, high-level organisational skills and the ability to analyse risk are, of course, essential. But there’s another characteristic that comes in handy: the ability to identify, in a very practical sense, what course of action will work best for a client’s specific objectives.
Fortunately for DW Fox Tucker Lawyer Girish Rao, that comes as naturally as building a charcoal barbecue in a beer keg.
A member of our Workers Compensation, Self Insurance and Employment Law teams, Girish was admitted as a lawyer in the ACT on 12 December, 2014 and in South Australia on 27 January, 2015.
“My father grew up in South India and my mother grew up in Fiji. They met in New Delhi and decided to relocate to Adelaide.”
As Girish describes it, he was brought up in a food loving, sporting family.
“Only two things matter in an Indian household… Sachin Tendulkar and food.”
So it is little wonder Girish turned into a keen cricketer and a passionate cook.
With parents who worked long hours and with no siblings for distraction, Girish spent a lot of his down time teaching himself how to cook.
“A lot of people assume I’m good at making curries. But ask anyone whose mum and grandma are great cooks, there’s no point in trying to replicate their dishes because it will never be as good.
Through this passion, Girish learnt a lot about himself.
“I recognised in myself that I don’t like to just accept the way things are but need to test the rules through trial and error. Food is a great outlet for this kind of personality, as long as your family and friends are willing to endure the many failures along the way.”
This need to test the rules has taken Girish out of the kitchen and into the backyard, where he has developed a passion for all things barbeque.
“My parents once bought a $6,000 gas barbecue. I couldn’t understand how a method of heat application could be so expensive. So I found an empty beer keg and made a charcoal barbecue from it.”
To this day his parents have never used that gas barbecue.
And how is it that Girish came to the law?
“I was working in the finance industry through the GFC. It wasn’t exactly the most enjoyable industry at that time. My partner was in the final year of her law degree and so I thought I’d give it a go.”
“The highlight of my studies was getting the opportunity to spend a semester in Italy at one of the oldest law schools in the world. The town was beautiful and I still remember the smell of the wood ovens being lit each evening.”
Girish has relished the opportunity to join the DW Fox Tucker Workers Compensation / Employment Law Team.
“I enjoy the workers compensation/employment area because it demands practical outcomes. Why buy a $6,000 barbeque when a home-made one will work even better?”
Rest assured, when Girish sees the opportunity to find a creative solution, his team’s inclined to listen.