Get to Know Your Council Members – Jason Dolbel

In this edition of Get to Know Your Council Members, we speak with Jason Dolbel, sole practitioner at Jason Dolbel Solicitor and a recent addition to the Society Council. Practising on Tasmania’s north-west Coast, Jason shares insights into his career journey, the realities of running a small practice, and the importance of mental health and wellbeing within the profession. From conveyancing and commercial work to his passion for supporting colleagues and strengthening the profession, Jason offers a thoughtful and candid perspective on law, leadership, and life beyond the office.

Can you tell us a bit about your current role and the main areas of law you practise?
I am currently operating as a sole practitioner at Jason Dolbel Solicitor, specialising in conveyancing and commercial, wills and estate work. That certainly keeps me more than busy enough.

What first drew you to the law?
Honestly, I first started getting interested in the law whilst watching JAG as a kid, although it is nothing like what I do now (and indeed I have no desire to practise in criminal law) it helped to develop in interest in doing something that mattered to me, being able to put some skills into doing something that would assist people.

Could you share a little about your career journey so far and any key milestones along the way?
I started practicing in 2013 at Friend and Edwards Lawyers in Ulverstone, and I finished up there in June 2019 when I had a complete mental breakdown. It is why I stress the importance of looking after yourself and particularly with regards to your mental health. Too many in our profession are struggling and do not feel that they can talk about it, however it is something that the entire profession can and should be better at. I took over six months to recover in 2020 with Glynn Williams Legal before wrapping up a couple of years later. At that point I had decided that I was done with the law, had given it a good effort and had practised for almost 10 years. I took a job doing WH&S in childcare. However, after getting many many phone calls from people seeking advice or assistance, I decided at the end of July 2022 to start my own law firm. I opened a shopfront in Ulverstone in 2025.

Have you worked in any particularly memorable cases or projects that shaped your approach to the law?
Appearing before the National Sports Tribunal is something that I will be unlikely to ever forget, I have also had several practitioners reach out to me to discuss adverse possession claims. It is a fascinating area of law and one that I can say is both challenging but ultimately rewarding.

What do you enjoy most about practising law?
To me it is the pleasure of being able to help people, be it someone buying their first property, starting a business for the first time and wanting some help with the legal side of things, to assisting people who are taking steps to plan for the future. I enjoy the part that involves talking to real people and understanding what they consider is important. In practising on the north- west coast of Tasmania no two days are ever the same, and I have certainly come to realise that things can sometimes just be weird up here!

What motivated you to join the Society Council?
I had been approached a few times about joining the Council before finally agreeing to put my name forward for nomination. Ultimately, I decided to stand so that I would have the ability to understand why things might be done a certain way, but also to understand if there is a reason what something cannot be done a different way. I admit I am still finding my feet on Council, however I hope that I am starting to get somewhat of a grip on things now.

What do you think are the biggest challenges currently facing the legal profession?
As Sam Claessens said in the January 2026 Law Letter, the retention of early career lawyers is a major issue. However, it is not just the early career lawyers. Tasmania’s private profession is facing a large brain drain either to other states, or to retirement. In this regard, the issue has been facing the coast for several years and is quickly reaching a point of concern statewide now.

How can members best engage with or support the work of the Council?
I think that the best way that members can engage is by joining one of the Committees that the Society has, along with reaching out to any of the Council members directly if you have any matters of concern. It is only from our members letting us know of the issues facing the profession that we can assist.

What’s your top tip for early career lawyers just entering the profession?
I think that my top tip for those entering the profession would be take the time to make sure that you are enjoying what you are doing. The law offers a large array of areas to practise in and if you wish to specialise there are endless opportunities. You will make mistakes (we are all human) but when you do, please reach out and ask for help – do not ever feel that you are alone in any of it. There are countless lawyers in our profession who have likely made the same or similar mistakes before and for the most part people can be very understanding.

Looking back, what advice would you give your younger self when you were starting out?
Take the time to look after your mental health. The practise of law can be a long journey sometimes and should be treated as a journey first and foremost. Also, that you do not know half of what you think you may know so do not try to act like you do.

How do you maintain balance and wellbeing in what can be a demanding profession?
I have reached the point that I need to plan and keep much of my life very organised and diarised. Without it I would spend it all working. I also have rowing training several times a week. Exercise can be a wonderful reliever of stress as you do not have time to think of work whilst you are struggling to breath. I also started coaching a couple of years ago which keeps me more than busy enough.

Are there any professional habits or mindsets you think are key to long-term success in law?
Keeping work and home life as separate as possible and to keep work at work is something a long-retired practitioner tried to instil in me early on. It is not an easy thing, but to be able to leave work at the office can be one of the best things that we can do.

What do you like to do outside of work to unwind?
As I said I row several times a week and that, along with coaching my stepchildren, keeps me busy outside of work. Along with our HR department who has four legs who likes long wanders on the beach and cheese.

Tell us something about you that people might be surprised to learn.
That for the last 4 years I have been a state selector for the Tasmanian masters rowing team. Given that we have won medals in every year, I think that I might even have started to have some idea what I am doing.

Do you have a favourite book, podcast, or quote that inspires you professionally or personally?
Not really, I must be honest I have never listened to a podcast before.

If you weren’t a lawyer, what career do you think you would have pursued?
That is a very good question really. I gained an accounting degree at the same time I did my law degree so probably that. Although I sometimes like to think when it is a nice day that a job outside would be good.

Coffee or tea? Morning person or night owl?
I rarely drink hot drinks so neither in that area. I’m very much a morning person – it comes from leaving home before daybreak to go to Lake Barrington for regattas since I was a kid so got used to the morning and an early night.