Women in Law Event hosted by QUT Law Society

Last night I gave an address at the QUT Law Society Women in Law event in my capacity as Vice-President of WLAQ.  It was held at Old Government House and over 50 students attended.

The QUT Law Society did a fantastic job as hosts and the event was inspiring.  The Chief Justice gave an address and spoke of the significant milestones that women lawyers have made in Queensland's history.

Following this, I gave the address below and spent some time with my fellow MinterEllison colleagues talking to the students about transitioning from student to lawyer.

Congratulations to QUT Law Society on hosting such a wonderful event.

 

I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the QUT Law Society in hosting tonight's event, along with our Chief Justice who has provided another inspirational speech, which I am sure you will all reflect on in years to come.

I am here tonight in my capacity as one of the Vice-President's of the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland, and to provide you with background knowledge about our organisation and our plans for you and the future for women in Queensland's legal profession. 

WLAQ was founded in 1978 by Leneen Forde AC and ten female lawyers including current President of the Land Court, Carmel MacDonald, Una Prentice, The Honourable Justice Margaret McMurdo President of the Court of Appeal and Noela L'Estrange former CEO of Queensland Law Society.

Past Presidents include Deputy Chief Magistrate Leanne O'Shea, Judge Sally Purdon-Sully, Magistrate Kay Ryan and Justice Jenny Hogan.  Her Honour, Justice Mullins served as Treasurer for 7 years.

We are an organisation created by the leading women lawyers in Queensland, and  continued to be run by women who are as equally as passionate about ensuring that the interests of women in the legal profession are protected.  It is at this time that I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to the Chief Justice for her address delivered at the 100th anniversary of the admission of Agnes McWhinney. 

The address contained a comprehensive overview of the history of women in Queensland's legal profession, commencing with Agnes' admission on 7 December 1915, and progressing to what the Chief Justice described as a particularly important first which occurred in 2015, one that was a very significant milestone for women, and a position she had doubted a woman would ever hold.  This milestone was the appointment of Sue Brown QC as the first female Vice-President of the Bar Association of Queensland.  This being WLAQ's first opportunity to publically acknowledge the Chief Justice following this address, on behalf of WLAQ I would like to acknowledge another significant milestone of 2015, that being the Chief Justice's appointment as Queensland's first woman Chief Justice.  I know I speak on behalf of all present tonight when I say thank you, not only for your contribution to women in the profession, but to the profession as a whole.

I would also like to echo your comments, that we can dare to dream of a woman President of the Bar Association, with the Law Society having achieved this milestone some 30 years prior with the election of Elizabeth Nosworthy. 

Some would ask, why in 2016 do we need an organisation such as WLAQ?  I do not propose to recite statistics, but want to emphasis the significant disparity between the ratio of female to male law graduates to the ratio of female to male QCs, Special Counsel and Partners.  The profession is loosing key women lawyers post 5 to 8 years admission, and adjustments to what used to be considered general practice for a lawyer, must be made.

At our last AGM we had 434 members, of which 147 were students.  WLAQ recognises the importance of ensuring our student membership is well represented and maintains an open relationship with all of the Universities so that we can work collaboratively in addressing issues that you face as you transition from student to lawyer.

Last year we released our 2015-2018 Strategic Plan, a first for WLAQ and an initiative I am proud to be apart of.  In this, we made a firm commitment to provide networking, educational and mentoring opportunities for our members.  I am pleased to report that we have made progress with this objective and our 2015/2016 Mentoring Program saw a significant increase in the number of mentee applications, that is applications by female law students requesting mentorship.  As students, this is where you will see the most benefits of being a member of WLAQ.

It is important that as you progress in your career you remain open to discussing your ideas and issues with those more senior than you.  It is through these conversations that we can recognise any systemic issues that may be presenting as barriers to your progression and assist you in finding solutions.  I acknowledge the reports of the unbalanced proportion of available positions to the number of law graduates.  However, when we look at your career progression, it is important that impediments to you staying in the legal profession are known so that, when we look at the other end of the spectrum, that is your movement into leadership positions, WLAQ as an organisation, can continue to do what it can to facilitate disruption and work towards equality.  It is now that I call upon the male law students in the room to commit to being a champion of change and look up to role models such as Dominic McGann.

Moving forward, I would encourage you to support each other as you graduate, when you are admitted, and as you progress through the ranks in your career.  It is important that we work together and have a support network amongst our peers.  WLAQ events are frequently attended by past Presidents and the executive, who often retell stories of their recent catch ups.   It is now that you will create friendships that are the foundation of your career relationships.

With that, I would like to extend an invitation to you all to attend the Una Prentice Awards, which are being held on 19 April 2016 at the College of Law.  The Awards celebrate the top female law student of each University, made possible thanks to the generous bequest of Una Prentice, the first female law graduate.

Thank you again to Harriette and the QUT Law Society for asking WLAQ to attend tonight and I wish you all the best with your career.