New n Old 2018

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SUMER DAYAL
30 Under 30 Winner
Sumer Dayal (NC 2008-10) is an Intellectual
Property and Technology Lawyer at Clayton
Utz, one of Australia’s leading specialist
intellectual property groups. In 2014 he
represented UNSW and placed first at the Nelson
Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court
Competition in Geneva, also taking home other
awards including Best Oralist. Sumer coached the
UNSW representative team to victory this year at
the 2018 Oxford International Intellectual Property
Moot, and has recently been named a 2018 Winner of
Lawyers Weekly’s “30 Under 30” Intellectual Property
award. New ’n’ Old recently caught up with Sumer to
hear more about his successes since living at New.
As you reflect on your time since leaving
New College, what have been your greatest
achievements?
Developing my career has been the main thing.
Making the transition from being a student to being
a professional is a difficult task in any industry.
In legal practice, you really start from scratch. I’ve
been lucky to have some special moments in my
journey—winning the World Human Rights moot
in my final year of University and the 30 under 30
award for intellectual property this year. With the
help of my family and friends and some excellent
colleagues, I feel like I’m getting there!
How did living at New help prepare you for some
of those achievements as you studied at UNSW?
I met some amazing people at New, people from
different backgrounds who were unique in their own
way and trying to navigate their own path. My time
at New showed me how to engage with different
people and how bringing people together can lead to
extraordinary things. Theatre in particular was my
passion, and the process of working together for a
production taught me valuable lessons on engaging
with people. I use this knowledge and the memories
of my achievements with fellow collegians to this
day. Plus, it was incredibly fun.
What is most fulfilling about your career in Law?
Helping people. Law is a special profession in which,
the better you get at it, the more opportunities you
have to help people in times of difficulty. Clayton
Utz (the law firm where I work) has an excellent
pro bono practice, meaning that I get an excellent
balance of top tier work that keeps me challenged
plus pro bono work that allows me to use my skills
to assist those with lesser means.
What are your hopes and plans for the future?
Too many to count! There’s a few things on the list,
but right now I’d like to keep expanding my legal
skills. I like my work and the people I meet through
it, so it would be nice to keep going and improve as
much as I can. That way, I can continue to make a
positive impact on the community.
Sumer enjoys living the lawyer life in Sydney,
experiencing new food and drink, and waiting for
the next Marvel flick.
12 New’n’Old 2018