News Archive

‘Law in Colour’ is an online space which serves to share, affirm and spotlight the stories of people of colour in the Legal Profession. It is an exploration of experience, and an experiment in representation.

It aims to: 

• create an online community which values diversity and seeks out new and challenging narratives about race, culture and identity in the Victorian legal profession. 
• provide a platform for people of colour in the Victorian legal profession to share their thoughts, stories and perspectives on their own experience and the profession as a whole.
• engage in a dialogue about the nuances of cultural and linguistic diversity
• showcase of the diversity present in our legal community, and play a part in diverse representation in the legal profession. 

Be sure to follow along on LinkedIn and Instagram (@lawincolour).

If you or someone you know would be interested in being interviewed, please reach out to Law in Colour at lawincolour@gmail.com.

Dear Members,

Following the success of the mentoring program in previous years, we are excited to announce the launch of the AALA mentoring program again in 2020.

For more information and application details, please click here.

AALA members might be interested in Liberty Victoria's Rights Advocacy Project (RAP) which is recruiting volunteers for our 2020-21 Program!

RAP trains law students and early career lawyers in how to tackle human rights issues, through undertaking a law reform project under the guidance of experts in a number of areas. RAP 2020-21 Program will run for 18 months starting in April, and comprises four different teams:

• Criminal Justice
• Refugee and Asylum Seeker Rights
• Equality and Government Accountability, which will collaborate with the Young Workers Centre
• A Regional Team (open to people living or working in regional Victoria)

For more information, please refer to RAP's Recruitment Information Pack:

https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/ZHv9C2xM9QhEXnWRun9FbA?domain=libertyvic.rightsadvocacy.org.au 

and submit your application via their online form:

https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/il00C3QN9PcRlLoGfqPdtU?domain=cognitoforms.com

Applications close Sunday 1 March 2020. 

On the 6th of February 2020, members of the Victorian AALA gathered for a Lunar New Year Celebration Dinner at Shark Fin House, Melbourne. The banquet was made complete with a sharing session by special guest His Honour Magistrate Trieu Huynh.

We wish to give special thanks to His Honour Magistrate Trieu Huynh for inspiring our members and sharing his personal journey with us. We congratulate Magistrate Huynh on his appointment to the bench once again.

To those who attended, we hope you enjoyed your night, the banquet and the company. Lastly, we would like to wish everyone a prosperous 2020.

On 24 December 2019, the Attorney General John Quigley announced the appointment of Ms Wendy Hughes on a permanent basis to the Children’s Court of Western Australia, to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Magistrate Tim Schwass. Ms Hughes was admitted to practice in March 2007 and worked at the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia for a number of years. As a sole practitioner, she has been a sessional Arbitrator at WorkCover WA as well as being a Commissioner for the Liquor Commission. Ms Hughes has significant experience in a broad range of jurisdictions, particularly criminal law. She has a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Laws from The University of Western Australia.  She will take up her appointment on 3 February 2020.

Ms Hughes was a valued committee member of the AALA WA Branch from October 2018 until December 2019, and the head of the Events subcommittee. AALA congratulates Ms Hughes on her appointment.

https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2019/12/New-appointments-to-the-Childrens-Court-announced.aspx

The Victorian AALA wishes you and your family a prosperous Year of the Rat in advance. May this year bring you good luck, good health, and abundance of joy and success. We have the honour of having His Honour Magistrate Trieu Huynh as our guest speaker. 

Mr Huynh was appointed a Magistrate in December 2019 and currently sits at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court. Prior to this, he was Program Manager of Indictable Crime at Victoria Legal Aid where he was responsible for the high quality practice of serious legally aided criminal law matters. He started his career at the Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions, undertaking his articles of clerkship in 2005, and was admitted the following year. He continued to work at the OPP as a Solicitor Advocate until 2009. He is an LIV Accredited Criminal Law Specialist and was on the LIV Criminal Law Section Executive Committee prior to his appointment. 

Come join us in ushering the Year of the Rat with a scrumptious dinner on 6th February, RSVP now on http://www.aala.org.au/event-3704512/Registration to not miss out! Hope to see you then! 

On 3 December, 2019 the Andrews Labor Government announced the appointment of Mr Trieu Huynh to the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria. Mr Huynh was admitted to legal practice in 2006 and started his legal career as an articled clerk at the Office of Public Prosecutions in 2005 before moving overseas. Upon his return, he took up a Criminal Law position at Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) and has been a Program Manager at VLA since 2015. Mr Huynh has worked on a range of complex cases including homicides, sex offences and Commonwealth matters. He has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University. He will take up his appointment on 20 January 2020.

AALA congratulates Mr Huynh on his appointment. https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-appointments-to-the-magistrates-court-3/

2019 EOY CELEBRATING MULTICULTURALISM AND DIVERSITY AND FOCUSING ON MENTAL WELL BEING IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION !

Presented by: African Australian Legal Network; Asian Australian Lawyers Association; Australian Italian Lawyers Association; French Australian Lawyers Society; Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association; and North American Australian Lawyers Alliance Donations will be made to Looma Community Incorporated 

DECEMBER 10, TUESDAY DOORS OPEN AT 6:00 PM

WWW.TRYBOOKING.COM/574491 VENUE: LAW INSTITUTE OF VICTORIA

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wc8i4h4jqb9s5av/New%20Year's%20Countdown%20Party%20Holiday%20Poster%20v1.3.pdf?dl=0

On 12 November 2019, the Victorian AALA held a session on “Cultivating Self-Appreciation” in conjunction with Peace Lab, generously hosted and sponsored by Bank of Melbourne. The session focused on rewiring participants’ minds and brains to overcome the negativity bias often said to be ingrained by both the legal profession and Asian cultural background, with the aim of moving away from being our own worst enemies and towards being our own best friends. Thanks to Elva Zhang for running this session and Bank of Melbourne for providing a fantastic venue.

On 7 November 2019, the Hon. Judge Philip Misso, Judge in Charge of the Common Law Division of the County Court of Victoria, presented on the topic of “The Trial – Preparation, a Trial plan and the Language of the Trial”, in the third installment of the Court Advocacy Series run by the Victorian Asian Australian Lawyers Association and Maurice Blackburn.

His Honour emphasised:

• the importance of preparing early and comprehensively, as factual circumstances may change such that crucial evidence is not available at a later date;
• the need for a trial plan to break down a case into its fundamental elements, identify the questions to be answered, shortcomings of the case and evidence required, and facilitate prioritisation of tasks to be completed in the lead-up to trial;
• that in opening, the case to be put (including the facts, relevant legal principles and application thereof) should be summarised in a concise and pithy manner, to allow the judge to focus on pertinent material when presented in further detail thereafter;
• that in making applications, it is advisable to get to the point and explain what is being sought, why it should be granted and set out the evidentiary basis; and
• that the language of the trial varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but can be learned by careful consideration of the relevant authorities.

His Honour also acknowledged that different styles of communication and advocacy can be effective, so long as you get to the point in terms of stating what you want, why you want it and what legal principles and evidence you rely on in support.

We thank His Honour for his time, expertise and support, and Maurice Blackburn for collaborating with AALA for this series.