Bernadette O'Connor's mum did not have a clue why her school age daughter wanted to become a lawyer when no one in their family had aspired to practice law.
And the young O'Connor knew back then she wanted to be a prosecutor and definitely not a defence lawyer.
Not only did she achieve that goal, last week she added another feather to her cap when she was made a partner in Marsden Woods Inskip and Smith, a Northland law firm that is also the office of the Crown solicitor.
"I have a strong sense of justice so this is the right job [and one] which I am utterly passionate about," said the Whangarei-based Crown prosecutor.
"To that end, I am grateful because there are a lot of people who even after leaving school don't know what they want to do in life."
Born and raised in Whangarei, Ms O'Connor started her legal career at Henderson Reeves Connell Rishworth where she spent three years practising family law before joining MWIS in October 2003.
Her focus now is criminal law, particularly trials involving serious charges in both the District and High Court.
Ms O'Connor's father and his brother were both police officers while her elder brother, Simon O'Connor, is the National Party MP for Tamaki.
Of all manner of cases she prosecutes, the ones involving sexual abuse are the most difficult because they involve dealing with utterly personal matters, she said.
Northland's crime rate doesn't startle her but she is concerned about the increasing number of young offenders ending up in courts.
Her motto is: "To do the best job that I can do to get justice for families."
Asked about the possibility of moving to the bench in future, she said: "If the opportunity is there and I feel I've achieved everything as a prosecutor, I would."
Fellow partner at MWIS, Andrew Golightly said Ms O'Connor was the first female partner at the firm since 1922.
"She represents our core values of commitment, respect and integrity. It is an exciting and positive chapter in the firm's long history," he said.