Nathan’s story: a legal placement that opened unexpected doors

When Nathan Todaro found out he was doing a placement at YSAS, he wasn’t sure how it would help his legal career.

“I didn’t really know what YSAS was, and I didn’t understand how it would work for a law placement,” he says. “But then I realised they needed in-house legal support.”

Nathan discovered that the legal work at YSAS was actually quite varied, covering everything from contracts, recruitment, legal documentation, privacy matters, risk assessments, and general legal advice.

“Instead of focusing on just one specific area, I got to do something different every week. It was a really good variety of tasks,” he says.

Although the placement was short, the work was rewarding. Nathan particularly enjoyed supporting the inclusion and equity project, and reviewing contracts for some of the residential camps YSAS runs. 

He recalls feeling some imposter syndrome at the beginning, but that quickly faded. He felt well supported by Senior Compliance Manager Tienyi Long and Compliance Officer Spandana Ranga, as well as his fellow intern.

“We just worked together as a team,” he says. 

“The other intern and I could bounce things off each other, and Tienyi and Spandana were always available to clarify anything.”

Before YSAS, Nathan had never experienced office culture. “YSAS showed me that an office isn’t boring – it can be fun and dynamic,” he says. “And everyone’s so nice.” “At the start, I wondered how much I could really get out of 15 days, but I got a lot out of it.”

Following his internship, Nathan was able to pick up some IT work at YSAS while completing his studies. Working with the IT team gave him the opportunity to see more of the organisation. “I got to visit all the different sites and meet all the staff,” he says. “It was really helpful to get to know everyone across the organisation.”

Nathan enjoyed his internship and work experience at YSAS so much that he returned for a second placement as part of his Practical Legal Training. “Tienyi was more hands-off this time,” he says. “So it was about managing more on my own and figuring out how to approach things independently.”

Nathan says YSAS has really helped him develop his interpersonal skills. “I’ve learnt how to reach out to people, understand their problems, and work out what I can do to support them,” he says. 

“Plus, it’s given me a lot of real-world legal experience across areas I hadn’t been exposed to before.”

After a brief break, Nathan has again returned to YSAS as part of the IT team. “The culture here is great,” he says. “Everyone supports each other — it just makes it such an easy place to work.”