AttitudeLive - Finding Justice

Lying in a hospital bed at six years old, unable to move and with no family around Vanassa felt completely powerless… from that moment her life became about advocating for others who can’t advocate for themselves. Due to her fierce determination and the support of some creative thinkers Vanassa is now realising her dream of becoming a lawyer.

[Narrator] The placing of the Barrister's
wig is Vanassa McGoldrick's

crowning moment. She's waited
30 years to become a lawyer.

As I completed this law degree,
it has occurred to me that justice

doesn't just occur in the courts.
It occurs all around us in everyday life.

People with disabilities are the
most affected. I've come across

numerous examples;
be it in the health industry,

be it with education,
be it with a legal matter.

Where all they need is an advocate
to act on their behalf.

[Narrator] Today Vanassa will
be admitted to the bar.

- Thank you, are we courtroom three?
- Yes, everybody else is there.

- Thank you.

It's like such a long time waiting for
just today, so it's really exciting.

[Judge] Registrar, please call the applications.

[applications being called]

Justice comes in many different ways
and I want the world that my daughters

will grow up in to be a world where
people have the ability to go and get

that help when they need it.

Vanassa McGoldrick do you swear on the
[might] of God that you'll truly

and honestly protect yourself in the
practice of the barrister and solicitor.

[oath continues]

I do.

From high school time I always wanted
to do something with law.

It came about because we had this visit
from high school up to the local courthouse.

So I got to see firsthand what was
happening up there and it just

seemed exciting. And I think back then
my perception of law was that

it was very black and white.

[Narrator] But she didn't believe it was
possible for a girl with a disability

I always wanted to do my law degree,
but when I was at school they said

there were no accessible universities
and I was on two crutches and close

to having to go into a wheelchair.
And I accepted more easily,

because I had a disability,
that this wasn't an option for me.

The career options that my career adviser
gave me were very limited.

It was learn to type, use your fingers
and learn to type. Because that

will be the extent of what
you'll be able to do.

And that's the worst career
advice I could have ever had.

I think I was much more accepting
back then that you couldn't

have your dream. Because,
I don't think we were so conscious

of what our rights were. I don't think
that people realized that you

could question, that you could say,
"No, I don't find that acceptable,

sort that out." All these years later
I sit there and fight for everything

that I can possibly fight for because
I've suddenly realized that unless

you fight, things don't change.

♪[upbeat classical music]♪

I was born with Nail-Patella Syndrome.
That means that I have no kneecaps

in my knees whatsoever.
There are different extents of

the disability but I am one of
the more severe cases of

Nail-Patella Syndrome.

So when I was born, there was no kneecap,
there was no connecting tissue.

There was nothing that made the
two parts work together. So the only

way they could see of making me walk,
was to cut the muscle that runs along the

side of my leg, so they've cut that out,
remove the muscle on the left and

move it over to the front. That meant I then
had a kind of muscle running over the side,

not where the quadricep would run,
but giving me some movement to

be able to be able to lift my leg
and have a kicking action.

But by the time we got to the right leg
it was a bit of a different story.

So on the right leg, same thing,
no kneecap, no cartilage,

no pulley system and no quadriceps.
But the cutting of the muscle to

the right hand side and pulling over
wasn't a success. So later operations

I had were things like turnbuckle
plasters, where they would plaster

my whole leg, slit the back of the plaster,
attach a buckle to the back of my thigh

and the back of my calf,
and then turn the buckle every night

and it would have the effect of
straightening my leg out gradually.

But as you can imagine,
the pressure went over the knee area

and it wasn't very well thought out,
because as it went over the knee area,

I had no kneecaps to protect my knees
and they eventually split open.

We were then running out of things
that we could transfer.

So we cut the muscle that ran down
the back of the leg, and they transferred

that over to again try and
give a kicking muscle.

There are very few machines in the gym
that I can utilize with my legs,

and this enables me to strengthen
my butt muscles and that's really important

because I don't have quadricep muscles
to walk with. So effectively the muscles

that I use to walk with come from my butt.

My parents were told, "This child will
never walk, do not give her false hope.

Amputate both her legs now
and let her get used to the fact

that she's got false legs."
Now for 1965 when I was born that was

probably very valid medical advice.

You are a person with an absence
of self-pity. You are an outgoing

and extroverted person. You have
boundless energy. And you have

a willingness to give anything a go.
These characteristics have been

demonstrated in many other ways.
You set about acquiring a range of skills:

work at law firms, work at this court,
as a stenographer. This was followed by

around four more years in England,
where you worked for Freshfields.

Freshfields is one of the largest law firms
in the United Kingdom and I know that

you've got to be good to
get into those firms.

My father was staunchly English,
there was no way someone was chopping

off his daughter's legs. It took a long
while for them to save, and I was six

before we had enough money to be
able to go back to England

and have the operations.

[Nola Sooner - Vanessa's sister]

At the end of the day we all knew
it was Vanassa's only chance outside

of New Zealand of being able to have
some sort of surgery that

would give her mobility.

And my parents and my sister lived
in abject poverty. Totally horrible really.

They lived in the corner of my
grandfather's room. And they did that

for about a year, because
they just had no money.

I can remember one time mom coming back
and she was fuming. And mom doesn't often

get to that stage. And the reason why
was because when Vanassa had caught,

I think it was hepatitis in the hospital,
and so they'd moved her from that hospital

to another hospital. And of course
Vanassa was fretting and worrying,

thinking, "My mommy won't know
where I've moved to, she won't

be able to find me." And of course
when she saw mom, when mom

walked in on the ward, she just burst
into tears, you know. And when mom

went to go give her a hug,
where she'd been moved to,

they didn't bother to... cause she was
in plaster right up to her hips

and they hadn't moved her,
so that the sheets were soaked

with urine, Vanassa had bed sores,
they just weren't looking after them.

♪[music]♪

There are moments in your life that
define you. Starting off with long

periods in the hospital was a
defining moment. Having to be away

from your family for over a year
and not really see any of them,

it makes you... it made me extrovert.
I had to be out there, I had to interact

with other people, and that's a huge part
of who I am today. I'm not scared to go

and talk to strangers, because that's
what I had to do in order to survive.

So I think there's a survival thing that
kicks in at that early age. But as I've gone

through life, and as I've faced different
barriers and different adversities,

and I've watched others face them,
you start to get this awareness that

well, actually, who is gonna stand up?
Who is gonna be standing in the space

that makes a difference? And suddenly
it occurs to you, well hang on,

it may as well be me.

[Narrator] She knew she could really
make a difference, if only she could

get that law degree. But her physical
restrictions would make getting around

the campus too hard. She'd have to
use a wheelchair. That would result

in her muscles wasting, and she could
lose her ability to walk.

I'm 46 now, when I was investigating
this option I was 16. 30 years have

gone by, and we still don't do law
by correspondence. And they said to me,

"But we do have wheelchair friendly
universities." So I'm like, "Well hooray,

good for you that you have wheelchair
friendly universities, but what do I do

now that my mobility is actually better
than what it was, I'm not in a wheelchair,

but it's not good enough to be able to
walk around the whole campus.

If I walk around the campus,
I'm gonna be tired within the first

couple of hundred meters.
I'll never make it around for a whole day."

So the reality meant that wheelchair
friendly or not, law was no longer

available for me. 30 years on,
same way it wasn't available for me

when I was 16. That rankled,
that got my dander up if you like.

And I decided I would try and
do something about it.

[Narrator] She pleaded her case
to the country's law faculties.

So I did a letter to the dean of law
at Auckland. I sent excerpts in from

different [acts] saying I believe that
you're breaching my human rights.

If I go to your wheelchair friendly
university, I will have to hop in a

wheelchair to be able to cope.
If I do that, and I do that full time

for four years, I won't walk at the
end of it. And I'm not prepared to trade

my mobility that I currently have
for my education, and nor should I

be expected to. You should offer this
by correspondence to me. And I got a

three line letter back, which effectively
said, "Not happening, go try Otago."

And I did, completely different attitude.

[Narrator] Otago University's dean of law,
Mark Henaghan, saw it as a human

rights issue, and was convinced Vanassa
would be allowed to study from home.

She does want to use law,
which I think is wonderful,

to make the world a better place.
She already wants to improve things.

[Professor Mark Henaghan]
[Otago University Dean of Law]

She wants to be an advocate,
she wants to improve things for people.

So she had all the right motivations
and the right attitude and all the

right abilities, so it all kind of,
for me, in the first meeting,

it all fell into place. I thought,
"She is born to be a lawyer."

And every year he comes up to Whangarei
and takes me out for lunch and meets

with me and he's always there
at the other end of the email or

the phone should I need him.

-Hi Vanassa.
-Hi there Mark.

-How are you keeping?
-Oh, really well.

[Narrator] A supportive friendship has
developed and no one is more delighted

to see Vanassa come to
the end of her studies.

And I found it fascinating hearing
the case for how it's evolved and

why the law is what it is. You know,
all of the case work that's coming through,

it's really important to
keep up with all of that.

No, it is. The fascinating thing about
law is that it's subtly changing all the time.

Even the judges don't think they're
changing, but they often are changing.

A little slip of the tongue here,
and a little adjustment here

and before you know it you got
quite a different approach happening.

Yeah, he's talked all of his staff.
You know, because there's been staff

who have been going, "What is this,
this person who gets these lectures taped,

where is she? We never see her,"
or whatever. And he's explained to them

what he's trying to achieve for me.

-Oh, I loved it.
-Did you? I thought you'd love it.

-It was funny--
-You think you'll do court work?

-Definitely will do court work.
-I hope you will. Cause I mean I think

you'd be gifted at it. That's the
natural advocate. That's where

you're really advocate.
-I'd enjoy the part where you get to have

another comeback.

We're able to make arrangements.
I mean she did come to the university

so that was good, and do some
of the stuff down there.

But mostly she did it from afar.
And generally that's not what is

generally allowed or what
we would generally do.

[Vanassa and Mark chat]

I think through technology she's able
to be connected in many ways.

Connected to the students,
as I said she did visit the campus

and get connected in that way,
but I think all those things made

a difference. But what made the
big difference, and the hardest

thing about law is the lonely hours.
We have to read, get on top of the

material, and doing that on
your own is really quite hard.

The turning point for the law degree was
when professor Mark Henaghan,

the dean of the law school at
Otago University, agreed to allow you

to study for a law degree from,
essentially, based in Whangarei.

The remarkable achievement here
is that you completed the law degree

in four years, at the same time you
continued part-time as a registered

legal executive with Henderson Reeves,
you continued to bring up your

two daughters, and you maintained
your extensive engagement in

voluntary community activities.

♪[upbeat classical music]♪

[sound of quick typing with music in background]

I've been a legal exec for 22 years now.
So I've been doing law, the practical

side of law for a long time.
I've learned that time management

is an exceptional skill and I have it.
So I would on an average day

when I'm studying... this is gonna
sound terrible, but I would study until

about 10 o'clock at night,
sleep until about 3 or 4 in the morning,

then get back up and study until about 7,
then I would get the girls ready,

get them all off to school,
go down to the gym for an hour,

come into work, work until about 3 or 3:30,
cause I do a reduced day,

and then I would collect the girls from
school, head home, study until dinner time,

cook dinner, study till 10, and that
is an average day for me. So I've been

studying about 50 hours a week.
On top of that, so obviously I've been

working and I've been studying,
I've been on four different boards.

♪[upbeat classical music]♪

I'm a mom, and I love my girls to bits.
And I love the fact that they

support what I do.

The biggest sacrifice has been in terms
of my girls, if there was one regret,

it would be the time away from them.
It's hard to take that time out.

♪[music]♪

[nails clacking on keyboard]

There's sometimes they'll come in while
I'm studying and they'll go,

"Mom." And I'm like, "Yes..."
Cause I'm deep in concentration,

and they'll go, "It's 7 o'clock and
you haven't fed us." And I'm like,

"Oh okay, I suppose you've got a point."

-Hi.
-You gonna come join me?

-Yeah.
-Alrighty. Let me just put this away, eh?

And you know, I'll go off and I'll
cook dinner, and we'll have our

meal together kind of thing.
And they know that I've gotta

head back to the study, but you feel
mean because they'll say,

"Oh mom, watch a DVD with us."
And I know that, you know, if I sit down

and watch a DVD there's a couple
of hours gone, and that's then gonna

be me until 4 or 5 in the morning
instead of maybe 2 or 3. And so it's like,

which would I rather do?
Oh that would be curl up with my girls

and watch the DVD, but 90% of the time
I'm gonna say, "No honey, I'm gonna

have to go do the study."
And the worst part is if I do curl up

and watch the DVD, I'm usually so tired
I'm asleep in the first 10 minutes.

There's this perception that you can
do everything nowadays, you know?

Be a super mom. And in her case
she's done a full time law degree

at the same time as holding down
a 30 hour a week job, as a qualified

legal executive at Henderson Reeves,
and then when I also look at the fact

that she's a full time mom to two
young girls, age 12 and 14 now,

as a solo mom that is, and then she's
got her disability, which causes her

a lot of pain, you know? She doesn't
always let that on to other people.

♪[soft music]♪

I wouldn't be the person I am
without the family that I had,

you know? My sister is my strongest
support for me today.

-Hello.
-Hi Auntie Nola.

-How is you guys' practice going?
-Good.

-Very nice.
-Can you do my hair?

My sister is like my rock, you know?
She steps in, becomes mom to

my children when I'm away fighting
my little disability causes all

over the place. And her message to me is,
"I'm not the person who can go

and make this happen, you are
the person who can make it happen.

But if I look after your kids or I support
you in this way, then I'm helping

as well a little bit."

♪[music]♪

The contribution to community work
is impressive in itself. You are a

staunch advocate for the disabled.
You are currently a trustee of the

Whangarei Accessible Housing Trust.
You are a member of Pro-power

Self Employment for Disabled People.
You are a committee member of the

local Northland branch of
CCS Disability Action.

♪[classical music]♪

We're at the Whangarei Aquatic Center.
It's the main place in Whangarei

where you can go to the pool and
go to the gym. And it's kind of like

my second home because I spend
at least three days a week here,

usually five. We had no car parks
immediately in front of the aquatic center,

and that meant that people with
disabilities faced a 60 meter walk

from the car park up through
to the center. So we campaigned

and we got the parking changed.
So we've now got three car parks

along the front here, and the walkway
is now covered all the way to the bottom

where there are another four car parks.

♪[music]♪

[Narrator] As she moved towards
her finals, people were approaching

Vanassa seeking legal advice.

If I could have the dream job,
it would be, being able to go into

court and fight for people who had
a disability-related issue.

[Narrator] Dave wanted her to represent
him in court. She'll have to

do so as an advocate.

Vanassa believes he was entitled
to compensation and she

would help him fight for it.

Dave had a spinal injury when he
was a child. Then as an adult he

was in a lift that plummeted six floors,
compressing every vertebrae

in his back. He lost everything.

I've been looking for... god knows how long,
for a lawyer that would understand my situation

[Dave Ward]

I mean, it's not just the case,
it's like my whole accident

background that they need
to be aware of.

And I said to him, "Look, you'll be taking
a big punt on me. I'm only partially

the way through my law degree,
you'd be taking a punt on whether

I can make this happen for you."

You know, I made it really clear I hadn't
even finished the litigation papers,

or what I would need to be able to
do this. I haven't finished my law

degree, I can do it as an advocate,
but that's all I can do.

So I finished my last law exam,
rang Dave and said, "When's the

court hearing?" And he said,
"A week away." So we had one week

to prepare for this case.

[Narrator] Dave's seeking funding for
a hand-controlled car. So can Vanassa

prove his disability led to his financial
situation and is therefore

entitled to ACC support.

[Vanassa] It's not just a car. For Dave,
it's his whole world. This made

a difference between a man sitting
at home depressed and needing

a psychologist to come in and see him
every couple of weeks just to keep

him sane. He had to live his world
just within his house, within those

four walls. They were closing in on him
every single day. And a car

to him meant freedom.

And ACC's lawyer got up and spoke first.
And I was shaking. Not as much as

Vanassa though, I don't think.

And then the judge says to me,
"I've read your written submissions,

Mrs. McGoldrick, what else do you
have for me?" And at that moment in time

my heart nearly stopped, because for
a moment I thought, "Okay, he's got the

written submissions, what else have
I got for him?" And it kind of threw me,

for just a second I was sort of like,
"I haven't got any other aces up

my sleeve, I put everything into the
submission so that it was there for him."

But really he was just indicating that
I should talk through the main points.

The essential point in this case,
your honor, is whether the applicant

unreasonably disposed of a vehicle.
Your honor, by way of background

Dave had his first injury, which was
covered by ACC at the age of 11,

when he fell out of a tree, breaking
his back. Not being the kind of person

who would let that hold him back,
he proceeded on to have a very

successful career in management.
It was during that new career at the

age of 30 that he entered a lift,
which fell six floors resulting in him

breaking his back a second time.
Your honor, today's application is in

relation to a vehicle. Dave has requested
ACC assist him with the purchase

of a modified vehicle.

She presented herself really well,
she did all the research that she

needed to do. On the day she taught
me what was gonna happen.

Even though she had never been
in a courtroom before...

as an advocate or a lawyer.

Dave went to ACC and sought assistance.
ACC were unable to assist.

There were times that I became
immediately conscious that I was

doing something that I should be
doing better. The judge said to me

at one point, "Can you slow down a
little bit for me?" So you realize that

you need to speak slower so that he's
following your arguments.

Regardless of ACC's submission that Dave
could utilize his own money to purchase

a vehicle, with respect your honor,
that is not a matter for consideration

by you. The only matter before your honor
to consider, is whether Dave unreasonably

disposed of the vehicle, and we would
submit that he did not.

[Narrator] The judge ruled that ACC
review its decision. Dave got his car

and his independence.

The justice of the situation, I suppose,
is the part that made me want to fight

so hard for him. Because I could
imagine his world, I've lived

in his world. And I couldn't imagine
not being able to get out for the sake

of a car that had the right adaptions.

[Caitlin McGoldrick]

I'm really proud of her. Not many people
can say, "My mom's a single mom,

she's managed to look after two kids,
working and did a full time law degree.

-And she's disabled.
-Yeah.

-So she's pretty special.
-It's been hard with her going away every

couple of weeks, and being moved from
this person to that person, and back

to this person. We'd call mom going,
"Since mom you've been away for such

a long time, we should have pudding,
we should have extra ice cream,

you should buy chocolate sauce."

It's been an incredible roller coaster.
And I couldn't be here today without

the support of a lot of very important
people. The journey has not come

without sacrifice. But all the sacrifice
on my part is mirrored by the sacrifice

on the part of my family and my friends.
To my girls, Tara and Caitlin, for all

the times that you've cuddled me,
believed in me, come and stood

next to me and told me, "You can do it."
Thank you. There's been a lot of times

where you can doubt yourself in
the early hours of a morning when

you're studying for an essay or test
or an exam. And one cuddle from one

of you two has made the difference.
I just hope I haven't permanently

put you off study for life. To my sister,
to my friends, who have stood

and been the surrogate mothers
for my children when I've had

to be away. For believing in me,
for standing by me. Thank you.

-Do you Vanassa McGoldrick,
serving as a barrister and solicitor

of this court wish to move?
-I do your honor.

-It is my pleasure and it is my privilege
to have been able to admit you to the bar.