Georgia Smith, 3 April, 2025
When First Nations Bachelor of Laws (Honours) student Degenhard (Degen) Beschel enrolled in a work-integrated learning unit as part of his law degree, he was immediately drawn to a new initiative—HopgoodGanim Lawyers’ First Nations Startup Clinic.
In partnership with QUT, this program was created to support First Nations startup businesses while providing QUT law students with invaluable hands-on experience. Through the clinic, Degen worked alongside experienced legal professionals at HopgoodGanim Lawyers to assist First Nations startups, ensuring they had access to essential legal advice that might otherwise be out of reach.
For Degen, the experience reinforced his purpose—using the law to give back to his community.
A partnership making an impact
The First Nations Startup Pro Bono Clinic benefits QUT students, HopgoodGanim Lawyers, and First Nations businesses alike.
With the help of QUT students, HopgoodGanim Lawyers were able to expand their pro bono legal support for First Nations startups—a priority area for them. Leanne Collingburn, Partner and Head of Pro Bono at HopgoodGanim, said the initiative aligns with the firm’s commitment to supporting First Nations businesses.
“One of HopgoodGanim’s three pro bono priority areas is to work with First Nations communities so that they can achieve the outcomes they want to achieve,” she told us, “we’ve been looking at the best way we can support First Nations startups and businesses in the lead up to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games.”
The clinic provides free legal assistance to First Nations startup businesses, helping them navigate legal challenges that might otherwise become costly issues down the track.
“Many First Nations businesses face unique and compounding challenges as a result of colonisation, which can impact their financial capacity to obtain legal assistance,” Leanne said, “this clinic helps to prevent legal issues from arising and empowers First Nations businesses to be strong economic actors on their own terms.”
For students like Degen, the clinic offers the opportunity to gain real-world experience.
A meaningful learning experience
For Degen, participating in the clinic reinforced his passion for using the law to support his community.
“My goal as a Torres Strait Islander and Papua New Guinean man is to give back to the community, and this opportunity allowed me to do just that,” he said, “helping First Nations startups is meaningful because by supporting them, you’re also helping the communities they serve.”
The clinic also gave him firsthand insight into life at a commercial law firm.
“I was fully immersed in the program—not only assisting First Nations businesses but also gaining hands-on legal experience,” Degen said. “I worked with the pro bono team and other departments, took part in client interviews, conducted research, drafted service agreements, and facilitated communication between clients and teams.”
He also developed key professional skills, including email structuring, cross-team communication, and workflow management. “Work-integrated learning gives you exposure and clarity—it helps you figure out if this is what you really want to do in the future.”
One of the biggest highlights for Degen was interacting with clients, “getting to know them and understanding their aspirations was really inspiring as a First Nations student,” he said. “Another highlight was working on trademarking Indigenous knowledge, which made me reflect on how far the law has come and where it still needs to go.”
While Degen initially pursued law to fight corruption, his experience in the clinic confirmed he instead wants to use the law to give back to the community, “as a Torres Strait Islander and Papua New Guinean man, I see the importance of building up our communities.”
Real-world outcomes
Through the clinic, HopgoodGanim provided bespoke legal support to six First Nations startups across a range of practice areas, including intellectual property, technology and cyber security, private enterprise, corporate law, workplace and employment, and resources and energy.
Leanne explained that QUT students were essential to this outcome, “QUT students increase our capacity to undertake pro bono work,” Leanne said. “They assist with drafting correspondence, drafting agreements, and taking file notes, all while gaining exposure to real-world legal practice.”
The benefit to QUT students is undeniable—they are exposed to a unique learning opportunity. gaining hands-on experience, exploring different areas of practice and building their professional networks.
For Degen, the experience was career-affirming, “For me, this experience reinforced my purpose. It gave me the opportunity to work in the pro bono space, an opportunity I might not have had until years into my legal career,” he shared, “it was inspiring, practical and deeply rewarding—and gave me credit towards my studies.”