From university medallist to financial regulator, UNSW graduate Emily Rumble’s passion for financial services has won her a prestigious scholarship to Oxford University.
Wendy Frew
UNSW Media Office
9385 2481
w.frew@unsw.edu.au
A well-timed stint working at the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) while still a student has set UNSW Arts/Law graduate Emily Rumble on the path to leadership in the field of financial regulation.
Rumble, who has just been awarded the 2016 Menzies Scholarship in Law from the Menzies Foundation, says witnessing the impact of the global financial crisis (GFC) inspired her career in financial services law.
She will use her Menzies Scholarship to complete a Bachelor of Civil Law at Oxford University next year, concentrating on securities and financial regulation.
Awarded since the early 1980s for post graduate study in the areas of allied health, engineering, law and medicine, the annual scholarships enable exceptional individuals to further their studies at the world's best universities.
Rumble graduated from UNSW with First Class Honours in both History and Law and was awarded the University Medal in History in 2012.
Her ultimate career goal is a senior leadership role with a regulator such as the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.
“I’m drawn to working in government because of its capacity to implement change and to have a positive impact on our regulatory system,” she says.
“When I started working at the ASX as a paralegal during my law degree, it was in the aftermath of the GFC, at a time when the performance of our regulators and those around the world were being scrutinised to try to understand how the GFC had eventuated.
“I found it fascinating and wanted to learn more. I hadn’t considered financial services before as an area I might like to practice in before my time at the ASX. But that experience, and my study in this area as an undergraduate, has really reinforced to me how important this area is for all Australians.”
The young lawyer now works in the financial services regulatory practice at international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney. She works with domestic and international financial institutions to ensure they comply with regulatory obligations.