The William Ah Ket Scholarship was officially launched at the Chinese Museum in Melbourne on Wednesday night (22 May 2019). It was great to hear from Jane Lee, reporter at the ABC (as moderator), Blossom Ah Ket, descendant of William Ah Ket (in whose honour the Scholarship is named), Mark Wang, Deputy Chairman of the Chinese Museum, and Kingsley Liu, National President of the AALA. 

Thanks to all those who attended, including William Ah Ket’s family members, members of the judiciary, presidents of other associations and prominent members of educational institution. 

The Scholarship involves writing a paper on a topic relating to equality, diversity and the law, and is open for expressions of interest until Friday 31 May 2019. For those who are interested in submitting an expression of interest, please do so here.

The ‘One Million Stories’ exhibition is open for viewing at the Chinese Museum in Melbourne. To listen to Jane Lee’s podcast (on ABC) about William Ah Ket please go here.

The road for our cultural diversity may actually be unplanned but a cohesive journey with other parallel travellers. What started as a simple council development application to build a local prayer hall in Kemps Creek snowballed into a politically charged litigation fought in the media and the court room. Kingsley Liu tells Melissa Coade how his pro bono work for a small Indian Islamic community led him to represent other important human rights causes. See: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ei9obi76n8vtn5/The%20case%20that%20changed%20me.pdf?dl=0

The article appeared in Issue 55 Law Society Journal, May 2019 at p 66

We are honoured to present the next installment of Victorian AALA and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers' Court Advocacy series. This event will feature County Court Judicial Registrars My Anh Tran and Sharon Burchell sharing their knowledge on interlocutory advocacy.

The event details are as follows:
Time: 5.15pm for 5.30pm start of presentation
Date: Thursday, 30 May 2019
Venue: Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, Level 21 Boardroom, 380 La Trobe Street, Melbourne

There will be no cost to attend for AALA members and Maurice Blackburn guests.
Refreshments will be provided for networking after presentation.

Please refer to the event flyer for more information.

RSVP by Thursday 23 May 2019 via vicrsvp@mauriceblackburn.com.au or call Jessica Ogilvie at (03) 8792 7102.

The AALA and Maddocks are pleased to invite you to attend the launch event of the William Ah Ket Scholarship 2019 on 22 May 2019 to be held at The Chinese Museum, 22 Cohen Place, Melbourne. To register your attendance, please visit www.aala.org.au/event-3370351

You will have the opportunity to view the Chinese Museum exhibition ‘One Million Stories’ which will include William Ah Ket’s story.

The William Ah Ket Scholarship is an annual scholarship of $6,000 to be awarded to the applicant who produces the most outstanding research paper on a topic dealing with equality, diversity and the legal profession or law. There is also a prize of $1,000 each for the authors of two shortlisted papers.

An initiative of the AALA and sponsored by law firm Maddocks, the Scholarship is designed to recognise the historical contribution of William Ah Ket to the legal profession as the first Asian Australian barrister in Australia.

Please visit www.aala.org.au for more information about the William Ah Ket Scholarship 2019 and how to apply. 

We hope you can join us at the launch.

Finger food and drinks will be served.

As part of Law Week, His Honour Chief Judge Kidd of the County Court of Victoria will speak about the legal community’s burgeoning diversity, with increasing numbers of practitioners coming from different ethnic backgrounds. Even though this diversity is seen in practitioners it is yet to be appropriately reflected on the bench. The Chief Judge will talk about the strides made thus far to accomodate the diverse legal community; the challenges that lie ahead and the cost to our legal system if the bench does not reflect the diverse society in which we live. 

Event title: Cultural Diversity in the Law

Date and time: Monday, May 13, 2019 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm

Venue: Australian Intercultural Society, Suite 2, 441 St Kilda Rd, MELBOURNE, VIC 3004

His Honour Judge Kidd has been Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria since 28 September 2015 and previously was Senior Crown Prosecutor, Senior Counsel, Solicitor for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and an International Prosecutor at the War Crimes Chamber of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The event will be moderated by Molina Asthana, Vice President of the National Executive of the AALA and principal of Swarup Asthana Lawyers, practicing in commercial law. Molina has worked at top tier firms and at the Victorian Government Solicitor's Office. She has also received multiple awards for her work championing cultural diversity, including the Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence in 2014 and 2016.

The event is organized by Australian Intercultural Society (AIS), a not for profit organisation operating in Melbourne since 2000 with the aims of promoting multiculturalism and fostering intercultural and interfaith dialogue. The event is free but bookings are essential. A light lunch with coffee and tea will be offered. 

For more information on the event go to: https://lawweek.net.au/event/cultural-diversity-in-the-law/ or contact AIS on 03 9867 2248 or info@intercultural.org.au.

Tickets can be booked at: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/cultural-diversity-in-the-law-with-chief-judge-peter-kidd-registration-59863860418

The Asian Australian Lawyers Association is deeply saddened by the dreadful acts of violence in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday which took the lives of over 300 children, women and men, and injured many more, in two churches in Negombo and Batticaloa, and at several major hotels and other locations in and around Colombo. The tragic and senseless acts have occurred in a country that has already suffered so much tragedy over the last decades.

The Association hopes that our members' families and friends are safe; we extend our heartfelt thoughts and wishes to the victims and sincere condolences to the victim’s families, friends and community.

The Asian Australian Lawyers Association congratulates Shiva Pillai upon his appointment as a Victorian Magistrate (commencing 30 April, 2019). Shiva Pillai was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1999. He signed the Bar Roll on 22 Nov 2007 appearing in all jurisdictions and was an experienced criminal law advocate. Prior to coming to the Bar he practiced in criminal law for six years with Victoria Legal Aid and prior to that as a commercial litigator for four years. For further information, see: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/two-new-magistrates-appointed/

Australia, arguably being one of the most multicultural countries at this day and age, is populated with people from dozens of countries around the globe. Naturally, there are diverse ethnic and cultural groups present in our society, writes Sian Hur.

https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/careers/25352-experience-at-law-school-as-a-student-of-an-asian-australian-background

The AALA Qld branch is proud to support LawRight Inc’s Queensland Legal Walk as part of Law Week 2019.

• Date: Tuesday 14 May 2019
• Time: 6:30am for 7am start
• Locations: Brisbane, Cairns, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville and Mackay.

The Queensland Legal Walk unites communities to walk together and raise vital funds to ensure all Queenslanders have access to the legal system. The walk in Brisbane will be led by the Hon. Catherine Holmes, Chief Justice of Queensland, and the Hon. Yvette D’Ath MP, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Training and Skills.

The AALA Qld branch will be organising teams of walkers in Brisbane, and Cairns.

If you would like to join one of the AALA’s teams, you can do so by clicking the join team button at https://2019queenslandlegalwalk.everydayhero.com/au/aala-qld. You can also make a donation to the team or individual team members if you are unable to join the Walk.

The fundraising efforts will help LawRight continue to assist vulnerable individuals to access justice, and help remove the barriers to justice that reinforce poverty and exclusion.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing friends, colleagues and supporters at the 2019 Queensland Legal Walk!

Please contact qld@aala.org.au if you have any questions or issues about joining AALA’s teams.