BREAKING  a leg became the catalyst for Nathan Holt immersing himself in a legal career.
The three-time Wedderburn premiership footballer shared the story when 2014 flag team mates held at a reunion on Saturday.
Timing of the injury when playing with Golden Square in the Bendigo league came in Nathan’s first year out of law school.
“When I had the 12 months off footy this was the catalyst for immersing myself in work,” he said
“I have always been and remain supremely competitive and a lot of my work is litigation and disputes-based so I scratch my competitive itch through work and never really got that drive back with footy. 
“It is hard to explain but I am a bit of a nerd in that respect, and I do fundamentally love the cut and thrust of what I do so that replaced the void left by footy.”
Nathan’s experiences have come through Bendigo law firm Petersen Westbrook Cameron.
“I was only 17 when I left school and like most 17-year-olds I did not really know what I wanted to do except play footy,” he said.
“I really struggled with trying to work out what I wanted to pursue as a career and Dad (Leon) was on a footy board with Greg Westbrook and mentioned he seemed like a bloke who got to do a variety of different things. Dad always said doing something with variety was great, so you didn’t get bored. So I put down law as my first preference and got accepted.
 “As cliché as it sounds, I also got introduced to the TV series Suits in my first year of uni which helped. Of course, real world practice is very different to a reality TV drama, but I didn’t know that at the time!”
Nathan said his professional journey at Peterson Westbrook Cameron started in 2015 with a university holiday break.
“I had to work hard and cut my teeth with the bad jobs ... I had to archive the firm’s files held in our off-site storage facility. The records stretched back decades and took me all weeks to complete. That was character building, but gave me an appreciation of the firm’s history.”
Nathan also had his stint answering the phone and acting as receptionist.
Since last July, Nathan has been managing the law firm.
“I have been very lucky to also have two incredible mentors, being Greg Westbrook and also Andrew Burnett (who is a barrister at the Victorian Bar). Greg always provided an environment where I felt like I was working with him not for him, and put his trust in me which helped me grow. Andrew moved my admission to practice, and I have spent hours and hours talking on the phone about cases we are involved in together and just about the law generally,” he said.
“A lot of what we do is people management as much as law so knowing how to interact with different personalities is important to succeeding in the industry.
Nathan was admitted to the bar of the Victorian Supreme Court in 2019 and the High Court of Australia in 2020.
He acts for clients across the region and interstate. “And currently my largest case is for a Chinese client who lives in mainland China who I was connected to through a barrister who I work closely with. Being able to practice broadly has opened my world up to engaging with different people from all different backgrounds.”
“I am eager to strengthen my business relationship with Wedderburn and surrounding areas. One of the main messages that comes across in my dealings with people is perceived lack of access to legal services and the impediment is has for parties in seeking advice. By being a familiar face, I hope to cure some of the stigma that comes with approaching lawyers that I know exists.
“One of the striking things is that you don’t know what you don’t know. For example, I am engaged in any number of succession related matters ...  being a rural town, I want to encourage discussions so that people appropriately deal with their affairs.”