Lessons in the Law From Music Lover Heather Breeze

For many a lawyer, perhaps the most beautiful sound in the world is a decision in favour of their client. Whether it be a not guilty verdict for a criminal defence advocate or a successful decision for a family court lawyer, the sound may equal that of an ethereal aria or catchy bass line. Australian barrister Heather Breeze, a music aficionado in her own right, sees distinct similarities between—and even draws inspiration from—music and her chosen profession.

For Breeze, there are many ways playing an instrument is similar to practising law. When you are conducting a case on behalf of your client, it requires a technical preciseness and coordination tantamount to conducting an orchestra—making sure documents are filed on time, that the trial strategy hits the right tone, and using the proper instruments (statutes, evidence, argument, and the like). To extend the metaphor even further, everyone needs to be singing from the same hymn sheet. Client, witnesses, paralegals, barrister, and solicitor alike must harmonise to the same tune.

But for Heather Breeze, how the law is truly similar to music is not in these easy allegories of orchestras and hymn sheets. It is in what it takes to be the best you can be in the two pursuits: practice, preparation, and sheer hard work.

"I'm a real classical music hound. I listen to it all the time, and I've spent a lot of time with serious classical musicians. I understand the rigour that it takes to be able to produce that sort of exquisite sound," Breeze says. "It's nine to 10 hours a day of practice."

And she's witnessed this firsthand.

Heather Breeze's Commitment to Music and the Law

In the early 2000's when she was a solicitor in London, Breeze's love of music and desire to help young people spurred her to co-found an international violin competition. The Benjamin Britten International Violin Competition had its debut on 3 August 2004 at The Barbican Centre in London, to wide acclaim. The prestigious contest had prizes up to £15,000 and was planned to be held in London biennially.

"I had 32 violinists in residence for the three weeks of the competition. They came from all over the world," Breeze shares. "Most of them were young adults between 21 and 26 and they practised between eight and 10 hours a day. I will never forget the experience of standing in a late summer quadrangle of London House in Mecklenburg Square listening to the sounds of 32 elite players practising different pieces in unison floating out of their open windows."

From that experience, Breeze learned a crucial lesson that applies to both the law and music.

"For elite musicians, it's preparation, preparation, preparation, preparation. And it's the same in law," says Breeze, who, as well as being a family law barrister, is also a partner in Mediate3, an international mediation practice.

Breeze's understanding of the world, she says, is that anybody can do anything. They just genuinely have to put in the time and effort.

Heather Breeze Believes It's All About Practice Makes Perfect

Breeze's thoughts on the law and music are akin to author Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours idea. In his book Outliers, Gladwell concluded that the key to achieving true expertise in any skill is a matter of practising for at least 10,000 hours.

"You genuinely have to put in 10-hour days and 12-hour days and you have to do this for years and years and years to be able to produce the sort of standard that people deserve, and any barrister who's worth their salt does this," says Breeze, comparing a career in law to that of a musician. "It's all about hard work—thorough work and focused work—and preparation. That's probably the crossover. Then you get something exquisite. There are just no shortcuts in law at all. And there are no shortcuts in life. If you want to be premium—premium in music or premium in law—it's just hard work."

Luckily for Heather Breeze, as with most professional musicians, the hard work doesn't often feel like hard work. And if it does, it's nonetheless satisfying.

"It's enjoyable for me because you get into the thrust of things and my area is extremely fact-heavy," she shares.

Breeze is a family law barrister and as such, much of the material she's working with concerns the minutiae of her clients' life as much as it does the big picture. Her job is to know the details and present them in court precisely so that she can get the result her client wants.

"Family law is often having a judge consider a family's life down to the most minute routine—when do these children have to be available to speak to the non-resident parent for the next 12 years, what time of day is the best time for their time to be spent, who decides what co curricular activities the children do and on which days. Where will they go to school? When will they go to school? As to property what specific tasks and activities has a party engaged in over the last 10 years and did those tasks and activities affect a material growth in their asset pool.  And if a party fails to adhere to a court-ordered routine, they can be in breach and head back to court. The minutiae of these things is just so important," says Breeze, comparing the preciseness of a day in court to the exactitude and adherence to the sheet music that a violinist needs to perform at the top levels.

There is one other way that practising the type of law Heather Breeze practises and bringing beautiful music to society is similar, she believes. And that's quite simply that in their own ways, both are a method of doing good and benefiting people.

"There's an enormous amount of good that can be done in it," she says of practising the law to help families stay together and care for the rights of children and their parents. "You generally feel like you're really adding value to these people's lives."

Breeze is married to Matthew Breeze, a barrister and former police prosecutor and internationally accredited football referee. He officiated in almost 50 international fixtures as well as over 300 domestic top-tier matches.

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