Meaningful work and mentoring – secrets of success with Helen Wei
In March this year, Sydney alum Helen Wei won the 2025 Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Award in the Government category and was a finalist in the Technology category. These accolades came soon after she was named Rising Star of the Year (In-house/Government) at the Women in Law Awards 2024.So, what’s the secret of her success? Put simply, it's her focus on helping others – and being helped by others.
For Helen, ‘It’s always been about doing meaningful things.’ Even in high school, she was using her leadership skills to create social impact initiatives supporting young people and promoting the climate change agenda. In fact, when she was just 17 years old, she won another award – a medal from the Order of Australia Association for outstanding community service .
Helen’s desire to forge a career in which she could do meaningful work led her to the law, despite a childhood ambition to be a teacher like her mother.
She started her career at the Social Impact Hub, where she worked as an intern and later as a project officer. She then spent a year as a paralegal at the Centre for Social Finance Law and Westpac and in 2021 she accepted a graduate position with Ashurst in Sydney. After completing rotations in Intellectual Property & Media and Transport and Infrastructure , Helen joined the Banking and Finance team (Global Loans) as a lawyer. ‘I really enjoyed my time at Ashurst, especially the high-quality training, the fast-paced environment, the friendships and the pro bono opportunities I had there.’
At Ashurst, she also benefited from ‘fantastic’ mentoring. ‘I was very lucky to work with senior staff and partners who took the time to explain how to do things and what best practice involves when it comes to managing client relationships. As a young lawyer, I occasionally suffered from imposter syndrome. People like Michael Ryland , Nichola Shaw and Brenton Key showed me that it’s fine not to know, to ask and to learn,’ said Helen. She further credits all her mentors (including senior staff at the NSW Department of Customer Service) with playing a key role in shaping her career to date.
After working at Ashurst for 3-plus years, Helen jumped at a career opportunity in technology law with the NSW government because ‘public service felt like the natural next step’ for her. She’s now a Senior Lawyer in the Commercial and Digital legal team at the NSW Department of Customer Service. ‘It’s a really interesting, fast-moving space involving NSW-wide ICT contracts and other high-impact projects. I’m working on significant transactions and dipping into policy work from time to time, including the government's modern slavery and AI policies. In everything we do, my team and I always think about the public interest – whether that’s delivering value for money, putting protections in place, or ensuring that people's interactions with the government are positive and address their needs,’ she said.
Given that Helen is someone who's focused on helping others and is grateful for the career support she’s received, it’s no surprise that she’s now developing a mentoring programme in her role as a committee member of the department’s Young Professionals Network.
Helen also has a busy social life. She’s planning her wedding, keeping fit, enjoying live entertainment, and has a not-so-secret passion for hosting dinner parties.
For a relatively young lawyer, Helen has enjoyed a rich career so far and has already achieved significant market recognition. We’re excited to see what comes next!
