The Asian Australian Lawyers Association congratulates Judge Joshua Wilson and Judge Robert Harper both formerly of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia on their appointments to the Family Court of Australia (commencing 11 March, 2019). Before his appointment to the Federal Circuit Court on 2 November, 2015 Judge Wilson was a member of the Inner Bar of the Victorian Bar.

For further information,: https://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Media/Pages/Appointments-to-the-Family-Court-of-Australia-11-Mar-2019.aspx

The Asian Australian Lawyers Association congratulates Andrew Lu OAM as he is appointed to Western Australia's State Administrative Tribunal. 

"Dr Andrew Lu OAM has substantial experience representing the insurance industry, health practitioners, and Government. Andrew began practice as a commercial insurance solicitor with Freehills, managed medical and professional indemnity and general insurance disputes at Minter Ellison, and was a partner with Jarman McKenna. He now leads HBA’s health law practice.

Dr Lu said he was deeply honoured to be the first Asian Australian lawyer appointed to the Tribunal, adding further diversity to the pool of decision-makers in Australia."

Read more on https://www.hbalegal.com/hba-partner-appointed-to-state-administrative-tribunal/

The Asian Australian Lawyers Association Qld Branch’s mentoring program launch on 21 February 2019 was a resounding success, thanks to the generous support of Herbert Smith Freehills Brisbane. 

The Honourable Justice Anthe Philippides of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Queensland shared words of wisdom and encouragement to a sell-out audience of lawyers, students, and supporters.

Her Honour's speech is available here.

From left to right: Qld committee members Dominic Nguyen, William Zhou, Tuck Chung, Stephanie Tang, Benjamin Teng (Associate to the Hon. Philippides JA), Brydon Wang (former AALA National executive committee member), Catherine Chiang (Qld branch secretary), Reimen Hii, Vernon Ting, and Anand Shah (Qld branch president).

The Honourable Justice Anthe Philippides, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Queensland.

Digital Advances do make a change in our worklife. Jing Zhu, a Victorian Barrister shares on this article featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, where she talks about how digital advances make a practical impact in her worklife. She finds using e-briefs convenient and readily accessible.

Read more here.

The Victorian Asian Australian Lawyers Association launched its annual Mentoring Program 2019 at Herbert Smith Freehills’s offices on 21 February 2019. Mentoring programs were launched simultaneously at AALA branches in NSW, WA and QLD.

This year, the Victorian AALA’s mentoring program has over 50 participants with mentors who are from the judiciary, barristers and partners and senior associates of law firms. The mentees include graduate lawyers and junior lawyers from government departments and commercial and personal injury law firms.

In Victoria, we had the great privilege of hearing from keynote speaker, the Hon. Chief Justice Anne Ferguson of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The Chief Justice spoke of the importance of cultural diversity, particularly amongst the senior ranks of the legal profession. She noted the current underrepresentation of people from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds in those ranks. Her Honour encouraged using mentoring as an invaluable mechanism for addressing this issue by providing access to knowledge and opportunities to those who don’t necessarily have it. She acknowledged AALA’s important work on this front.

AALA thanks the Chief Justice for speaking to our members and sends its best wishes to this year’s mentoring relationships so that they are fruitful and enduring. #aala #culturaldiversity #mentoring

On 12 February 2019 at Shark Finn House in Melbourne Chinatown, AALA Victoria celebrated cultural diversity during the auspicious Lunar New Year festival with the Honourable Magistrates Charles Tan as our keynote speaker, together with special guests including but not limited to Associate Justice Randall, Judge Hayato Aoiki (Okayama District Court, Japan), AALA Inaugural President Mr Reynah Tan, AALA Previous President Ms Tuanh Nguyen, the Vice President of the AALA National Executive Ms Molina Asthana, and representative of the Chinese Museum Mr Mark Wang.  

His Honour shared his journey through the Bar and Judiciary and how his experience as a legal professional of Chinese descent had evolved over the years. Importantly, his Honour emphasised the imperative for cultural diversity in the legal profession as a means to holistically tackle legal issues arising from our multicultural society and called for individual action in supporting the drive towards cultural diversity in the legal profession.

AALA also had the pleasure of supporting the upcoming exhibition at the Melbourne Chinese Museum on cultural diversity within people of Chinese descent, featuring William Ah Ket, the first barrister of Chinese descent in Australia. To support this exhibition, click here.

Next Thursday on 21 February 2019, the AALA is extremely excited to host the Honourable Anne Ferguson at our Mentoring Program launch at Herbert Smith Freehills. If you have not registered to attend this free event, you can sign up here.

Keep an eye out for our future events celebrating other Asian cultures and festivities and bringing the conversation of cultural diversity in the legal profession to the front.

To stay in the loop and show your support for cultural diversity in the legal profession, become a member of the AALA here. Membership is open to all who support our cause and we encourage all people of various cultures and backgrounds to join the conversation.

The Victorian AALA is pleased to have our annual Mentoring Program Launch on 21 February 2019, featuring our guest speaker The Honourable Chief Justice Anne Ferguson.

RSVP now as this is an event you would not want to miss out on! Register at http://aala.org.au/event-3253397

We are delighted to inform you about an exciting opportunity exclusive to AALA Victorian members.

The Commercial Division of the County Court of Victoria is offering a one week internship, hosted by Commercial Division Judicial Registrars Sharon Burchell and My Anh Tran.

They are former commercial barristers of Asian background who were appointed as Judicial Registrars of the Commercial Division of the County Court of Victoria in what is believed to be the first job share of a judicial officer position in Victoria. They are passionate about increasing cultural diversity in the legal profession and see providing opportunities and mentoring to lawyers and law students as a means to achieving this end.

This internship would involve shadowing the Judicial Registrars and Judges of the Commercial Division, and their associates, in trials, interlocutory hearings and mediations, as well as observing them in chambers and registry work.

The internship is scheduled to take place in mid-late May 2019. Arrangements for the internship are flexible and it may take place over one week, or one day per week over 5 weeks on mutually convenient dates. 

This opportunity is open to AALA student members or recent law graduates who are members of the AALA. For law students, it would be most beneficial to students who are in the third year and above of the undergraduate LLB or second year and above of the JD or Graduate Entry LLB and have completed the Civil Procedure unit. An interest in civil litigation or alternative dispute resolution would be preferred, but is not essential.

If you are interested, please send your CV and cover letter to vic@aala.org.au. Applications close at 4 pm on 19 April 2019.

Please contact vic@aala.org.au if you have any questions. Thank you.

AALA (QLD) is excited to have secured a limited number of tickets for our AALA members to Michelle Law’s sell-out comedy, Single Asian Female, at La Boite Theatre on Friday 8 March 2019. Following a blockbuster season at the Belvoir in Sydney, and stellar reviews by The Australian and The Guardian, the show returns to La Boite where it first debuted.

Join us before the show as we will also be providing refreshments at the Roundhouse Bar at La Boite Theatre.

LIMITED tickets available so secure yours now by registering at http://www.aala.org.au/event-3249414!

Former AALA President Reynah Tang and other prominent culturally diverse Australian community leaders, lawyers, politicians, academics, business people and others, including Hong Lim, Pookong Kee, Cam Nguyen, Waleed Ali, Andrew Jakubowicz, Shereen Hassan, Jen Tsen Kwok, Zed Seselja, Andrew Bushnell, and Sayed Rahmatullah Hussainizada are interviewed by the Croation National Television network for a documentary on Australian multiculturalism, Promised Land by journalist Dragan Nikolic. An engaging perspective on how modern multicultural Australia is tracking with diversity viewed from without (commentary in Croation, but all interviews in English) . See the full documentary at: https://magazin.hrt.hr/482109/zasto-su-melbourne-i-drzava-victoria-multikulturalne-meke