Episode 225 - Leaving people better than when you found them with Kass Hall

In this week’s episode of the ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast’ I had the pleasure of interviewing the wonderful Kass Hall. I’ve met Kass this year, as she’s finally moved up to Brisbane after many prior moves down south. This is a really interesting chat with a very special person, and I think there’s a lot to take from Kass’s story.

Kass is a lawyer, an artist, a teacher, a humanitarian, and an AFL enthusiast. She’s had a diverse background in both her career and her life experience, and has come into the law as a graduate a little later in life after a prior career in teaching. She is passionate about kindness and helping others, being candid in our struggles, and emphasizes the importance of owning your experiences and struggles in order to learn and grow.

Kass takes us through the difficulties in beginning a legal career after having previous vocations, the realities of health struggles and how they can put life on hold, and the ultimate importance of knowing how and when to say, ‘I am not okay’ – which applies to mental health as much as it does to physical health. She has also struggled with her mental and physical health extensively over her lifetime, and has developed a unique resilience and perspective from these challenges.

Ultimately, Kass’s life experience – both in law and outside of it – is a really powerful story for anyone looking to find their place and make their mark on the world. The bottom line of Kass’s story, and they key piece in her finding happiness?

While we can't control what happens through our lives, what we can control is our responses to these challenges.

In this interview, Kass Hall and I also chatted about -

• If Kass was not a lawyer she would have been a teacher, which she was in her earlier days.
• She is an avid AFL Football fan and grew up in inner-city Melbourne.
• Yelling at a football game always gives Kass an emotional boost and is a great outlet.
• Kass' parents are both in the police force and she shares some childhood experiences.
• At the young age of 12, Kass was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, which has had a lasting impact on her.
• The risky and long-lasting procedures Kass endured as a child, and having life-changing decisions made on your behalf.
• Kass' mental health and the impact her illness has had on her life.
• 'You cannot be physically healthy unless you are mentally healthy.'
• Control in our lives is lacking - all you can control is your reaction.
• Learning to say 'I'm not okay today', and Kass' tips for walking alongside someone dealing with mental health struggles.
• 'Don't be afraid to screw up - life goes on.'
• Losing a partner at age 21 and how she coped with this event.
• Getting to the end of her visual arts degree before going into teaching.
• Her four cancer re-occurrences and the miracle surgery.
• Kass wrote a book before her 4th cancer re-occurrence, and how this journey led her to become a legal studies teacher.
• Kass' passion is to represent young people in a more impactful way.
• The move to Brisbane just before the pandemic hit and her difficulty in finding work.
• Kass' passion for young people, justice and fariness.
• Kass encourages everyone she meets to seek legal advice of some sort before self-represening.
• Leaving people better than when you found them; 'It's not about me - I want to be the one to push others forward.'
• Kass's Happiness Tip.

Sit back and enjoy this interview with Kass Hall.

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Learn more here about upcoming events and courses and connect with Clarissa Rayward at the ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life’ knowledge centre-  A community for lawyers who want to make the best out of their life in and outside of the law.   

Listen to last week's episode here