It was after she had two children and was moving up the ladder in the banking sector that Tristan Landers, 43, decided to start a law degree.

Over the next nine years, she went from a consulting role at KPMG to become a senior executive at Commonwealth Bank, while also completing a law degree by distance at Macquarie University.

"My degree was genuinely done in the middle of the night": Tristan Landers is starting a legal career at age 43. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

"My degree was genuinely done in the middle of the night, it was very much in those minutes you could grab and steal from your sleep," said Ms Landers, of Balmain.

Ms Landers stayed in banking for nearly a decade after finishing her law degree, but has now decided to change careers and is aiming to be admitted to practice next year.