Whittle's professional life was centred in Western Australia, where the University of Western Australia was established in 1911 as the state's first university. Her legal education and her admission to practise took place within this state setting.
Whittle studied law at the University of Western Australia, where she earned a Bachelor of Laws degree. The university was established in 1911 by an act of the Parliament of Western Australia and opened to students in 1913. Law became its fourth faculty in 1927, giving the state's first university a formal legal education tradition within its academic structure.
Whittle was admitted to the bar in Western Australia in 1975, which marked her entry into the state's legal profession.
Whittle practised law in Western Australia and was a partner of Robinson Cox, a Perth law firm. The firm's Perth practice later became part of a larger national partnership, because in 1992 Clayton Utz merged with Robinson Cox and with Queensland's Henderson Trout.
Clayton Utz traces its history to 1833 and is one of Australia's oldest law firms, which places the Robinson Cox partnership within a long tradition of commercial practice in Australia. The 1992 merger moved the firm toward a national partnership structure across several states.
