Aptum comprises a team of values-driven legal and business professionals who share a passion for making litigation a better experience both for clients and the people who work in it.
In this series, we highlight some of our graduates to explore what drove them to the law, their experience of working at Aptum, and the kind of lawyer they want to be.
Here, we spoke with Torsten Williamson, Law Graduate (2025 Litigation Graduate Program).
Torsten joined Aptum in February as part of our 2025 Litigation Graduate Program. Before joining Aptum, Torsten started his career as a graduate and analyst at a Big 4 accounting firm, working in the front-end tax space advising private and listed companies, and high-net worth individuals.
At what age did you decide you wanted to be a lawyer?
I would have been about 22. It was just as I was nearing the end of my commerce degree at Unimelb when I decided I wanted to study law next. I’d always been told the law would be a good career for me, probably based on my tendency for arguing. So I went on to do my JD at Monash. In hindsight I think I was better off not having done a law degree straight out of high school. It’s an intense field of study.
What interested you during your law degree? How did you decide to focus on litigation?
I don’t know if this is a believable answer, but just about everything in law interested me.
But it wasn’t until I’d worked in front end law for a little while that I was drawn to litigation, which I saw as a more diverse area of law where you’re ‘lawyering’ every day and doing more of that substantive legal work.
What attracted you to Aptum?
Getting practical experience straight away was an attraction, not having to do a structured graduate program with rotations. I wanted to be involved in litigious legal work from the start, and I knew Aptum would offer that.
I was also interested in Nigel’s previous experience as a barrister. I liked that perspective from a learning and mentorship standpoint.
What is a good day at work for you?
A good recent example is when I had the chance to watch a trial we were acting in at the Administrative Review Tribunal. It was a matter we had been working on over the past six months, so it was great to see some of my work coming to fruition at trial. I got to see how barristers engage with tribunal members, how witnesses are handled, these sorts of things. I felt like I was at the pointy end of the law, which was exciting. That’s not every day, of course, but I think that was a rare experience to have had at this level.
A morning coffee with the team also never goes astray.
Is there anything you didn’t expect to learn at Aptum?
This might be a bit of a cliché… but that you can actually have a life outside of law.
It sounds bad, but when I decided to work in the law, I was expecting not to have a life. The way litigation is done here though, we know when our deadlines are, we can manage our workloads, there are guidelines in place, and there’s a focus on technology that makes life easier.
The work we do is hard, but I’ve felt the expectations here are very reasonable. ‘Work-life balance’ is a phrase that’s thrown around by a lot of firms, but I don’t expect it happens a lot. I’ve definitely felt it’s possible here.
Have you had moments where you doubted yourself? How were you able to work through them?
I think it’s normal to have doubt. I doubt myself fairly often, but I tend to see it as an expression of how much I care about what I’m doing. Sometimes doubt helps me get to the right answer, too, because I’m consciously challenging my beliefs. In an open-ended research task, for example, if I ask myself why my findings could be wrong, I might uncover a better way to approach it.
Generally, though, there’s always support around. Nigel and Michael, our practice leads, are great at steering us in the right direction. It’s also a pretty open and social office, so you can always ask questions.
What is an achievement that you’re proud of?
I’m pretty proud of having completed my PLT last year and self-funding that with the idea of moving to a law firm. Being at a law firm now obviously, I was able to see that through. I was also admitted earlier this month which was a big milestone.
Do you have a favourite courtroom or legal film?
I want to say ‘The Wire’, which I know is a TV series, but it covers the intersection of politics, law and society which I found really interesting.
What kind of lawyer do you not want to be? What kind of lawyer do you want to be?
I don’t want to be the lawyer who doesn’t understand the client’s wants and needs, who goes straight to the rules before really understanding someone’s issues. I don’t want to be someone who isn’t thinking about the person and how to solve that problem for them.
I want to be a lawyer who has an open presence for clients. I want to be personable and have clients know that I understand what they’re going through. Particularly in litigation, clients are often facing really difficult circumstances, they’re stressed, they’re uncertain, and I want to be someone who can take a step back and recognise that before offering advice.
Favourite place to eat in Melbourne?
I’d have to say Grossi Florentino. I went there for my grandmas 80th birthday and it was the best pasta I’ve had in Melbourne, unbelievable egg ravioli. It’s also just a beautiful venue.
But I keep walking past this place called ‘Rock the Wok’ on Collins St that I’ve been meaning to try… maybe that will take the throne.
Do you have any long-term ambitions for your legal career?
I’d like to be part of running a practice, or run my own practice, whether that be as a partner or going out on my own.
For more information about Aptum’s graduate program, learn more here.
