News Archive

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

The P​​resident of the NSW Court of Appeal, the Hon Justice Margaret Beazley AO, stated that she was "very honoured" to to be appointed the Governor of NSW following the resignation of former Governor retired General David Hurley, who was announced as Australia's next Governor-General. Read the full story https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-13/new-nsw-governor-margaret-beazley/10711986

AALA held its End of Year Meet and Greet with keynote speaker Minal Vohra S.C. on Thursday 6 December 2019. Minal spoke thoughtfully and humorously about the challenges of arriving in Australia during the White Australia Policy and the hope she now feels in witnessing greater cultural diversity in not only the legal profession but also Victoria's ski slopes. She provided great insight into how experiencing and understanding difference makes us better lawyers and using our culturally diverse qualities to benefit our clients.

AALA Victorian President Daniel Nguyen also introduced the recently elected Victorian Committee and congratulated William Lye OAM S.C. and Cam Truong S.C. for their recent appointments as senior counsel.  

There was a great turnout and a festive buzz in the air. 

Many thanks to Baker & McKenzie for hosting the event and being one of AALA’s major sponsors. 

#culturaldiversity #aala #eoy2018' #aalaeventsmelb 

Great article in the AFR inspired by William Lye QC and Cam Truong QC becoming silk! https://www.afr.com/business/legal/victorian-barristers-take-silk-road-to-smash-bamboo-ceiling-20181203-h18oag?btis

The AALA wishes to congratulate William Lye and Cam Truong on their appointment to the inner bar. Both are AALA members who have formerly served on the AALA's committee. We wish them both a successful path ahead as silks.

The Chief Justice of Victoria, Anne Ferguson in announcing the appointment of new silks, including AALA's William Lye SC and Cam Truong SC stated that: “ideally, the composition of all levels of the legal profession would reflect the gender, cultural and ethnic diversity of Australian society.” Her Honour also stated that: “although there is a long way to go in this regard, we are edging forward to greater diversity and the Senior Counsel appointed today are part of that.”

https://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/for-the-media/media-releases/announcement-of-senior-counsel-for-victoria-2018

The Hon. Tony Pagone QC presented on the topic of written advocacy in the first instalment of the Court Advocacy series run by the Victorian Asian Australian Lawyers Association and Maurice Blackburn on 28 November at the Maurice Blackburn offices.

His Honor said he was happy to see the formation of AALA. He also said that it's important to promote greater cultural diversity in the legal profession because it gives the community greater confidence in the administration of justice.

Far from it being a “boring speech by a boring chap” who practices in tax law, as His Honor self-deprecatingly suggested, it provided very interesting and practical insights on the importance of and how to go about establishing trust, writing for the reader and framing issues. Be sure to check out the relevant chapter in His Honor's splendid book “Tax Disputes” – we’ve been assured by His Honor that the presentation is much better in its written form. We look forward to the next part of the Court Advocacy series. #aala #mauriceblackburn #culturaldiversity #advocacy