31/08/2026
Onataze chose law because it seemed like the reasonable thing to do, not because she loved it. Falling in love with commercial law came later.
For a long time, she thought being a lawyer meant going to Court. So when people questioned how someone as soft-spoken as she was could become a good lawyer, she understood where they were coming from. She had once viewed the profession through the same narrow lens.
Then, in her third year at university, she encountered commercial law. For the first time, she wasn’t simply studying to pass. She was reading because she genuinely found the subject interesting. From that point, she knew she wanted to practise corporate commercial law.
Her time at Detail only strengthened that conviction. She came expecting a good working experience from a Firm she knew mainly through its reputation. What she found, she says, exceeded her expectations.
The experience broadened her understanding of commercial practice, introducing her to concepts she hadn’t encountered before, including term sheets. But what stood out even more was the way the lawyers worked.
She had always imagined lawyers as competitive. At Detail, she found something different: collaboration, kindness and a team that made her feel comfortable enough to ask questions.
As she put it, “A place is only as good as its people.”
For Onataze, the people were her favourite part of the experience. She hopes much of what she learnt stays with her for years to come. But one thing is certain: she’ll always remember how to move a document onto letterhead.
We’re glad her journey to finding her place in the law brought her to Detail.
Stay tuned for more stories from The DETAIL Experience.
