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.