No substitute village life
ASIMPLE village boy from Waidracia in Naitasiri, Roneil Prakash says with sheer delight that there is no substitute for simplicity of village life. Before being a barrister and solicitor for eight years in the country and being the head of the Fiji Roads Authority’s legal department and recently being admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Australia, Roneil had spent his formative years in a little village called Waidracia in the interior of Naitasiri where his father’s family house was and where his father had taught in a school.
“My mother was a city girl who was transferred to teach there and that’s where my parents settled for a few years to raise me and my sisters,” Roneil recalls his younger days in Naitasiri.
“We barely had any neighbours so a lot of my childhood time was spent exploring the rivers, mountains, waterfalls, climbing trees, and strolling alone on dusty roads and returning home only when the sunsets.
“We were left free to roam around and explore our environment with none of the fears today’s parents have to be mindful of.”
Now with his busy schedule, he still actively seeks nature in its unaltered state.
“I’m therefore always looking for mountains, rivers, waterfalls, isolated beaches, dense forests, sunsets, etc. One of the best ways to seek respite from the busyness of professional life and other commitments is to sit quietly by a rushing stream or a waterfall and just listen to the sounds of nature,” he said.
“I find this very refreshing for the soul. I also pursue photography - as an amateur photographer, nothing fancy but I recently got a real camera so I might pursue photography more actively than I have in the past.
“More than anything else I like picking up a good novel, which is a hobby that I picked up from my mother. I think reading is hands down one of the greatest pleasures in life.”
As far as his family is concerned, his parents were high school teachers (now both retired) and he has two sisters.
“Growing up had its challenges but from very early on we learned to be independent and to fiercely defend what was right so I think that was my training ground for wanting to become a lawyer,” he said.
“I have 22 aunts and uncles, and 54 first cousins so the family was always a central part of our upbringing.
“There was always a get-together of some sort and a lot of opportunity for shenanigans (and with that came the discipline of course). There have been many battles fought because things haven’t always been easy (and in hindsight, I am grateful that it hasn’t) because at the age of 30, I have now learned many life lessons that most people either never learn or learn much later in life.
“This has allowed me to navigate through life with more wisdom, better discretion and a greater sense of responsibility.
“All in all, I am grateful for life thus far, for salvation, for the opportunities, the challenges, the profession I am part of, the lessons learned, victories won and for the strong sense of community I have around me. That gratitude is extended to my parents, my sisters and brother in law, extended family, friends, former and current employers, the youth group that I am part of and to God and his grace.”
On studying law and its challenges, Roneil says that he was cut-out to survive law school.
“In the first lecture as a law student, there were 400 students sitting in the lecture theatre. The professor’s opening remark was that of the 400, only 40 students will end up graduating whilst semester by semester the rest of the students will fall away,” he said.
“To this day it shocks me how true those words were. He’s word of inspiration and caution to us was to decide which group we wanted to be a part of. I had to immediately discipline my mind, time and habits to ensure I was cut-out to survive law school.
“When you’re 19 with all sorts of adrenaline rushing through you to be young, reckless and free, disciplining yourself can be a hard thing but I managed.’
On being admitted to the Bar at the Supreme Court of NSW, Roneil says that it was a rewarding end to a very rigorous and challenging process.
“The day I have admitted at least 200 lawyers from Australia and all over the world gathered at the Supreme Court of NSW to be admitted. I think lawyers are flocking to Australia because NSW offers one of the most globalised, influential and robust legal markets in this age,” he said.
“The process involved enrolling into an Australian university, sitting exams, applying for assessment of my local qualifications and skills and then convincing the Legal Professions Admissions Board in NSW that I was a fit and proper person to be admitted as a lawyer. All in all, there was perhaps way too much paperwork involved for my liking and I’m just glad that it’s over.
“I was able to go through this time-consuming process whilst at the same time honouring my professional commitments in Fiji because I was in employment that allowed me worklife balance and for that, I am very grateful. He said the law is an incredibly fulfilling profession but it demands a lot of sacrifices – both as a law student and as a young lawyer.
“You realise very early on that you cannot pass through law school like a breeze because the study of law requires an intense commitment to the point that for four to five years you sacrifice your social life,” he said. “It is also a program that requires grit and mental fortitude. Practising law itself is just as demanding on your time but it is ultimately worth the sweat and the sacrifice.
“Law has always been a noble profession and there is no doubt that lawyers play a powerful role in society. With this comes a strong sense of responsibility towards the society we live in.
As you take up different cases, you begin to understand the world around you a lot better.
You meet people from all walks of life with all sorts of legal issues under the sun, which they trust you to resolve for them. In the course of doing so, you see all the vice and virtues people can possess and the different things that the human mind is capable of in the most unlikely circumstances.
“In saying this, I’m talking about things such as resilience, courage, bravery, evil, treachery, corruption, etc. Whatever the case is about, as a lawyer you will choose to prosecute or defend that case with the hope that in doing so, you will make the society a better place. Law is therefore not at all about making money and building an empire. It is not about pride and power either. It is about being conscious of the injustices around us and intervening.
“Law is an evolving creature so practising law is also about being aware of changes in the society and using the law as an instrument to deal with and affect that change. If you have a passion for this and want to be an instrument of change (no matter how big or small), then, by all means, pursue a career in law.
“There is a popular view that a good lawyer is one who never loses a case. That is a grave misconception. I personally feel a good lawyer is someone who is conscious of the consequences of the case he is dealing with, someone who defends the client’s case with grit and passion; someone who is able to cast his bias/prejudices aside when dealing with a client; someone with unwavering integrity; and come hell or high water one whose ethics and duty to the Court has not been compromised.
“When you’re a lawyer, your reputation normally precedes you. These last two traits are therefore essential because they ultimately determine whether a lawyer is reputable or not.
“A good lawyer is one who whilst meeting his professional and social responsibilities strikes a balance between his professional and personal life. Law can be a very stressful profession.
Globally, the rate of depression and change in career is quite high amongst lawyers because of the demand the profession places on them.
“The statistics are quite sobering and taking time to unwind cannot be stressed enough.
There is no point in being professionally successful if it comes at the cost of sacrificing everything else that really matters (especially mental health).”