How does someone who failed Year 12 miserably become Australia's first in-house school lawyer?

Once a defiant teenager, Vincent Shin and his teachers never expected he would become a lawyer.

But Mr Shin managed to overcome a childhood marred by family violence.

His experiences have given him the ability to connect with the most vulnerable students, who are desperate for support.

Mr Shin's first memory of family violence dates back to when he was five.

"I was playing with my sister out the front of our unit," he said.

"The door was just flung open and my dad threw my mum outside. She skidded across the concrete and landed in some bushes, and I remember running over with my sister while Mum was lying there."

Australia's first school lawyer, Vincent Shin, shares his Year 12 results which ranked at 'less than 30'. ( Supplied: Vincent Shin )

The abuse continued until 2003 when Mr Shin was in his final year of high school and finally stood up to his father.

"He hit me in the face," Mr Shin said.

"I was 17 and I was a little bit more confident with really standing up to him.

"I said to him: 'You're never going to hit me again.'

"He stood there at the door and he said: 'Don't ever call me your dad, I have no son.'"

As a result, the rest of the year was a write-off for Mr Shin.

"I just felt completely empty … just lost," he said.

In 2003 he failed Year 12 so badly that his Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) certificate noted only that he received "less than 30".

With university studies out of the question, Mr Shin enrolled in a TAFE diploma of business, majoring in legal practice.

He did so well at TAFE he scored a place in law at Victoria University.

"That's when I thought 'I want to do something in social justice — do something for the community, given my background'," Mr Shin said.

Sorry, this video has expired Mr Shin vividly remembers witnessing violence in his childhood home.

Not the typical lawyer

A breakdancer and a boxer in his spare time, Mr Shin arrives at The Grange P-12 College in Melbourne's outer west on a motorbike each day.

As he walks through the schoolyard, helmet and gloves in hand, teenagers high-five him.

"Sometimes [we] see him roaring in the streets and it's very funny," Year 11 student Eddie Shastri said.

Many of the 1,700 students at the college come from lower socio-economic backgrounds and some have legal issues.

Four years ago the school's social worker, Renee Dowling, phoned the local community legal centre asking for help.

"If we had a lawyer in the school that [students] could approach and get advice from, that could absolutely change the pathway of what may end up happening to that particular child or family," Ms Dowling said.

Mr Shin's door is always open to students. ( Australian Story: Belinda Hawkins )

West Justice head of policy and community development Shorna Moore quickly grasped the chance to help teenagers who would otherwise be reluctant to seek out legal assistance.

"You need to have somebody that can get down on the level of the young person," she said.

West Justice chief executive Denis Nelthorpe said a "traditional lawyer" was never going to be the right fit for the job as school lawyer.

"That would have been a disaster. We actually wanted someone who could be a lawyer, but could forget they were a lawyer," he said.

Dad's dark secret uncovered

Until recently, the young lawyer thought his life was finally on track.

But when Mr Shin discovered his father's violence had spiralled into attempted murder, he was shattered.

Even more painful was to learn that the children of the man whom his father attacked had witnessed what happened.

"I feel for these kids; they're going to be traumatised for the rest of their lives," he said.

"If I could reach out and help them in their healing, it could be good, but I think it's too much of a risk for me and my family."

Sentenced to nine years for grievous bodily harm and intent to kill, his father is eligible for parole in two years.

"I'm quite fearful of retribution," Mr Shin said.

"I've been quite surprised at how derailing it was."

But Mr Shin remains undeterred in his desire to empower young people.

"I feel it's almost my duty to do this," he said.

"There are not enough voices out there.

"We often hear the voice of the woman who is the victim, but not often the child."

Watch Sins of the Father on Australian Story at 8pm on ABC TV and iview.