The Henry Carus + Associates associate has fond memories of homemade dessert with an elderly client
Benjamin Pretty was drawn to personal injury law after witnessing people he was close to suffer terrible injuries from accidents, and he wanted to become a person who made a meaningful difference for people in challenging situations.
Since then, he has become a superstar at Henry Carus + Associates, where he was promoted to associate in February. In the first part of this interview, he tells NZ Lawyer about his fond memories of having tea and homemade dessert with an elderly client and being named a “torchbearer” by his colleagues.
I’ve always been drawn to the idea of helping people during some of the most challenging times in their lives. Growing up in country North-East Victoria, I had people who I considered to be close connections suffer some terrible injuries in accidents that they were in no way responsible for. I was always interested in the law and those personal experiences and interactions with people who were seriously injured in accidents meant that I always felt like personal injury law would be a rewarding practice area to work in. Ultimately, I wanted to be someone who could make a meaningful difference for people who were facing difficult situations.
My favourite part of the job is seeing the positive impact we can have on someone’s life by providing support and guidance when they need it most. I pride myself on being someone that an injured person can have full confidence in to litigate their legal claim, but also being someone that they could happily sit down and have a cup of coffee with and have an enjoyable conversation.
One of the most memorable moments of my career so far was when I was able to sit down and have a cup of tea and a homemade dessert with a 79-year-old client of mine at the conclusion of her case. It wasn’t a massive amount of money in terms of compensation but it meant the world to her and even more so it probably meant a lot for her just to have someone to talk to regularly other than her family members.
Another memorable moment was recently settling a really complex case for one of my clients and receiving her thank you letter after she received her settlement sum. It was a very kindly worded and complimentary card and it was extremely rewarding to read about the impact that the firm and myself had on her life moving forward.
Being promoted to an associate at Henry Carus + Associates has been a significant milestone for me. Over the past year, I’ve learned so much about the importance of balancing empathy with strategy, and how critical it is to support clients through difficult times. I recently had a client thank me for all my work on her case and she told me that I should have an honorary degree in psychology for the reassurance and support I offered her through her claim, and how I managed to keep her anxiety and nerves in check. As cliché as it sounds, it reinforced for me to always treat people as human beings going through their own struggles, rather than a number on your file list.
Furthermore, I was honoured that in the 2024 You Deserve More Awards, my colleagues voted me as the firm ‘Torchbearer’, an award designed to recognise a team member who leads with integrity, resilience, and dedication; someone who embodies HC+A’s mission to deliver exceptional service to clients. I was really stoked to know that my team chose me for this, and it was a nice surprise that I certainly wasn’t expecting.
