AALA responds to COVID-19

Our hearts go out to you and your loved ones.

The harrowing events of the past week have put us and our communities into a series of increasingly stressful situations as a result of the rapid spread of COVID-19.

Our legal judicial system, legal services industry and we in the legal profession are all doing our best to cope with the upheaval caused by COVID-19.  We are following the guidance of government at national, state and local levels, our health services, employers and legal industry associations.

What is evident, as we look beyond our locked-down environment, is that as physical face-to-face meetings are curtailed:

• the landscape is changing rapidly and evolving to match the unusual and onerous limitations cast upon all of us; and

• our use of communication platforms has become vital to staying connected and maintaining our relationships despite the necessity of ‘physical distancing’.

AALA remains a unique part of the legal community.  In these trying times, AALA will continue to provide support to Asian-Australian lawyers and law students and those with an interest in Asia.  We will now rely, more than ever, on the support of our own AALA network and our friends and colleagues in the broader legal profession and beyond to continue our work.

We are set to launch our National Mentoring program entirely online. Virtual mentoring provides a way in which we can support one another in a time of crisis. Our ample list of volunteer mentors (seasoned barristers and lawyers) are ready to take mentees for this year. We will provide further updates on the launch date and online mentoring workshops soon. Applications are still open via our web site.

We will also be providing support to our Asian student community, particularly international students who face uncertainty, isolation, disruption of studies and potential discrimination. We will endeavour to provide them with a forum to connect, interact, learn and feel safe in the AALA community.

We wish to expand our capacity and ask today, that those who may be able to volunteer in some capacity or have a special skill, knowledge or experience to consider volunteering and e-mail us at membership@aala.org.au. 

AALA is gearing up to navigate these very difficult circumstances. We are reviewing our current stream of activities and making plans to introduce initiatives adapted to this new challenging environment.  It is paramount for us that you as our members continue to benefit from your involvement with AALA and we will provide you with further announcements shortly.  

Unity is strength. Believe in what you can achieve.

Yours faithfully

Kingsley Liu
National President
Asian Australian Lawyers Association