Alicia Murray Decided She Wanted to be a Lawyer at Seven Years Old

AUCKLAND, August 26 2025 - At the age of seven, Alicia Murray declared her intention to be a lawyer due to her fondness for debating and giving speeches. Years later, she has fulfilled that dream, and she still considers being able to stand up in court to be her favourite part of the job.

In the first part of this interview, the new Lowndes Jordan partner talks parsing out the substitutability of popcorn for potato chips and tackling one of the most memorable cases of her career as an expectant mother.

Why did you choose a career in law, and what’s your favourite part of the job?

I was about seven when I first said that I wanted to be a lawyer. I liked debating and giving speeches, and that is what I thought lawyers did. To this day, being able to stand up in court is the best part of the job.

I also love learning about new businesses and industries. No two cases are the same and I enjoy learning about such varied things as the right way to pour concrete and whether popcorn is substitutable for potato chips. Ultimately, being able to work with businesses to find a pragmatic solution to challenging and complex issues is rewarding, and this is core to Lowndes Jordan’s values.

What’s the most memorable event of your career so far?

One of the defining moments in my career was working on the air cargo cartel case: Commerce Commission v Air New Zealand and others. There were a number of parties involved, interesting expert economic evidence and international clients. The process of drafting a statement of agreed facts was painstaking but I got to work closely with lawyers for other defendants, including senior counsel and lawyers for the Commerce Commission and there was a real sense of common purpose among the defendants.

It is also personally memorable because I was eight months pregnant during the five-week trial. My daughter was born one and a half weeks after the trial finished!

What advice can you give fellow lawyers?

The two pieces of advice I would give to younger lawyers are:

• Stay curious about the world – what is happening in the news, what is happening for people,what changes are coming. Keep an open mind and challenge assumptions. Curiositykeeps you ahead of the competition, and it puts you in a position to reactswiftly if necessary.
• Treat people how you want to be treated. Respect goes a long way with clients, colleagues, and people on the other side of a case.