Alumni Stories

As a relatively recent graduate, Gabriel Merga Class of 2019, has achieved a lot in his short time since leaving Duncraig Senior High School. Having graduated from Curtin University in March of this year, Gabe completed his double degree in Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Arts (International Relations) (LLB & BA) which he started after graduating from Duncraig SHS in March 2020.

Gabe was Head Boy of the Class of 2019 and graduated with an ATAR of 99.75. An outstanding result he believes was a result of his amazing teachers and his love for logical reasoning and learning. With a result like this, the world was at his feet and Gabe was faced with a tough decision of which career path he would like to take. “I was thinking about becoming a doctor but I realise I would struggle to see peoples’ internal organs on a regular basis.” Gabe ended up choosing Curtin’s LLB/BA double degree because it was the shortest path to being a lawyer in Western Australia. Gabe also wanted to follow his passion and study international relations, “I love international languages and culture.” This career pathway has enabled Gabe to become a lawyer but also have an internationally focused career which was extremely important to him.

During Gabe’s time at Duncraig SHS, he developed a passion for French (having no prior exposure to the language) and continued this learning during his first year of studies at university, by completing a French Language DELF B2 course through the Alliance Francaise Institute in Perth. Gabe also worked in numerous roles while completing his studies. These roles were all on the legal side including professional indemnity insurance and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). He was also a lead paralegal working primarily on the seller’s side of M&A deals which included assisting clients through the due diligence process and documents for the sale process.

Gabe is very close to the finish line in his study to be a lawyer. He is close to completing his Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice which is a course of a few months that every aspiring lawyer must take after doing an LLB or JD. He will be admitted as a lawyer in the Supreme Court in Western Australia in October, and shortly after to our High Court.

Gabe’s success has continued with commencing work as a Law Graduate at global law firm Clifford Chance, a leading Magic Circle international law firm, which he commenced in March this year. He has spent the past six months working in the international arbitration team, primarily on billion-dollar investor-state disputes which are disputes between a country and an investor who believes they have been wrongfully treated by the country under international law.

“This has been an amazing opportunity, combining my main passions– law/legal reasoning, international relations, and languages (most of the documents/evidence in a few of my cases were in French!).”

So, what else keeps Gabe busy other than his love of law? Walking his beautiful dog, reading, and listening to music. When he can, he also loves to play the piano. Gabe enjoys learning languages but thankfully he gets to do this as part of his job with his company running inhouse French classes over the past six months. His colleagues are now keen to learn Arabic!

As part of the Graduate Program at Clifford Chance, Gabe will also have the opportunity to go for a six-month secondment to one of their international offices. An amazing opportunity that has Gabe deciding between his narrowed down choices of Singapore, Hong Kong or Tokyo. Some of his colleagues have chosen Paris, London and Frankfurt!

This isn’t the only time Gabe has spent abroad. Having lived in India as a child while his mother taught English at an international school, Gabe also completed a semester exchange at Universitas Airlangga in Indonesia, which was supported by a full fee New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant Scholarship, as part of his LLB/BA double degree. This allowed Gabe to explore Indonesia over the summer break, something he is truly thankful for. His love for learning French at high school also encouraged him to visit France not once but four times! Gabe has also been fortunate enough to travel to Slovakia to visit family, and he has also briefly visited Europe more broadly including Italy, the Czech Republic and Austria.

Aside from Gabe’s commitment to his work and his outside interests, he has done some charity work. Last year, through the John Curtin Law Clinic, Gabe provided pro bono advice to small businesses which included contract disputes. He also volunteered and taught English at various schools and colleges, including a week at the Basic English Course in Pare, whilst he studied abroad in Indonesia.

To date, Gabe has achieved a lot in his near 5 years since leaving Duncraig SHS. He has had numerous academic achievements during university, including getting the top score in majority of his law units, despite overloading his double degree to complete it in four years and working at the same time. His consistent dedication and commitment led to Gabe

receiving the Dean’s Award for Excellence last year which is the top award that any law student can receive at Curtin University. This, however, is not what Gabe considers his greatest achievement so far.

“I think my greatest achievement so far is being able to work on global projects which can create thousands of jobs (and potentially prop up an economy), and huge disputes, across borders and in different languages—I use my French daily.”

Looking back at everything he has accomplished to date, Gabe reflects fondly of his time at Duncraig. “I loved the dedication and care that each of the teachers gave to me as a student.” He found his confidence during his time at school to articulate his ideas and make him grow into an active participant in our vast, ever-changing world.

We wish you all the best as a lawyer Gabe. We are sure you will have a thriving career and can’t wait to hear of your successes.