The Laws of Australia, Thomson Reuters’ legal encyclopaedia, is edited by a team of legally trained editors here in our Pyrmont, Sydney office. Today we talk to Senior Production Editor, Wade Macquine about his studies, work background, and experiences working on The Laws of Australia.

How long have you worked on The Laws of Australia?

Wade: I have worked on The Laws of Australia for over four years now.

What do you do as a Production Editor?

Wade: I receive updated content from our Legal Editors and code this into XML - a markup language that ensures our content appears in the correct format for WestlawAU, ProView, and in print. I also check the quality of the content and work with the technology department to address any issues identified by myself, Legal Editors or customers, and work for the quickest resolution possible.

What was your background before joining the The Laws of Australia team?

Wade: Prior to working on The Laws of Australia, I worked in a multitude of jobs including Library Assistant, Web Developer, SEO consultant, snowboard/ski instructor in Canada, mobile phone technical support, cinema box office worker, usher, labourer and train graffiti removalist.

If you could study any subject at law school, which would you choose? Why?

Wade: I would probably study Sports Law due to my love of all things sport. Maybe also whatever subjects my legal hero, Lionel Hutz (The Simpsons) specialised in.

What do you enjoy most about working on The Laws of Australia?

Wade: I love the diversity of work, from the production work with XML to working on new products (like the recent addition to our traditional paper books, ProView eBooks). I also really enjoy working with the team, who are all thoughtful, creative and intelligent people with many interesting stories to tell.

Are there any interesting facts you have learnt as a Production Editor?

Wade: Working on the production side of things I don’t delve so closely into the legal content as much as the Legal Editors, however I do notice a few things here and there. Recently whilst working on our Aviation title, I noticed that Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (LAMEs) no longer use this title as I’m guessing they thought their acronym was a bit … tame?

What was your favourite Subtitle or TLA book that you have worked on?

Wade: From a production point of view, I like all the subtitles and books that have working links and tables, and are typeset perfectly for press at their first draft stage. I’m still yet to see this happen!

What other interests do you have outside of TLA?

Wade: I am an avid collector. Primarily, I collect Pez dispensers (512 at last count), Lego (particularly the Star Wars and Minifigure ranges), fridge magnets (I usually get a magnet from every place I visit as my souvenir, which also helps reduce baggage weight). I also like science fiction and fantasy movies, books and TV series (think Star Wars, Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings). Watching and playing sports, snowboarding and skiing (which I haven’t done in too long) and of course spending time with my lovely family.

How do you like to unwind after a day at work?

Wade: Once I have gotten my two kids settled and down to sleep (which can sometimes hit the 11pm mark), I try to catch up on an episode of my growing mountain of unwatched TV series (Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Weeds) whilst enjoying a pear cider with my wife.