Opportunities aplenty
In the Wimmera, it can be difficult for employers to attract high-quality employees that are willing to stay in the area long term.
Accordingly, our team at O’brien and Smith Lawyers were excited when Helen Thomson joined our team in January last year.
Helen was born in Zimbabwe and immigrated to Nhill in 2003 where she completed her primary and secondary education. In 2013 she moved to Adelaide to attend university.
At university, Helen completed a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of Arts, majoring in History.
In her final year of university, Helen relocated back to the Wimmera so that she could be closer to her mother, Ginty.
She took on a role in local government in the governance and human resources areas.
During her employment in local government, Helen became familiar with the challenges and opportunities within the Wimmera region.
This, along with having grown up in the area, means she has a thorough understanding of her client’s perspective.
Helen lives in Nhill with her
partner Daniel, her dog and her three cats. Helen is eager to acquire a horse, but it might take some more of her negotiation skills to get Daniel on board with that one.
Her mother is Ginty Thomson, who is nurse unit manager at West Wimmera Health Service in Nhill and a member of Nhill’s Rotary club and Uniting church.
Helen says living in the Wimmera provides her with a lifestyle she couldn’t achieve if she had taken a job in the city
as many of her friends from university have done.
In her spare time, Helen enjoys reading, walking her dog, catching up with friends and binge-watching the latest British police procedural TV series.
Helen was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of South Australia in 2013 and transferred her admission to the Supreme Court of Victoria in January 2022. She was also admitted to the High Court of Australia in 2022.
I am grateful to have her assisting our clients in such a professional, skilled and friendly manner.
Helen’s addition has also meant that we have been able to expand O’brien and Smith Lawyers practice to Nhill.
Helen works from 45 Victoria Street, Nhill on Tuesdays and in Horsham on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
• Patrick Smith is the principal of O’brien and Smith Lawyers.