Advocacy Workshops
20 & 22 October 2020
DWL was pleased to launch its inaugural online Advocacy Workshop Series in 2020 to inspire and up-skill Diverse Women interested in advocacy.
This series was led by a panel comprising judges, partners, and barristers (including senior counsel, public defenders and crown prosecutors). Speakers provided first-hand insights into advocacy in the civil law and criminal contexts, as well as guidance on how best to prepare for university advocacy competitions.
Learning from Judges & Advocates
The Honourable Justice Yehia SC
The Honourable Justice Yehia SC is a Supreme Court Justice and Chairperson of DWL. Her Honour is also Chairperson of the Walama Court Working Group and Council Member of the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration and the National Judicial College of Australia. Justice Yehia was admitted as a lawyer in 1989 and worked with the Western Aboriginal Legal Service from 1989 until 1996. Her Honour then worked as a Solicitor Advocate with the Legal Aid Commission, was called to the Bar in 1999, appointed a Public Defender, and took silk in 2009.
Justice Yehia was the first female Deputy Senior Public Defender in 2013. Her practice in the Supreme Court included murder trials and the year-long terrorism trial at Parramatta in 2009. Justice Yehia appeared as lead counsel in the High Court case of The Queen v Bugmy and in the Honeysett Special Leave application. She was appointed a Judge of the District Court in May 2014 and Justice of the Supreme Court in July 2022.
Helen Roberts
Acting Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor
Helen graduated from ANU and started her career as a Supreme Court tipstaff and then an Associate to Gleeson CJ at the High Court. She has held positions as a solicitor with the NSW ODPP; as a Solicitor-Advocate with the NSW Crown Solicitors Office; as the Deputy Coroner for the Northern Territory; and as a Crown Prosecutor with the NT ODPP, before returning to NSW. She was appointed a Crown Prosecutor in July 2010 and has appeared in trials in the District Court and Supreme Court as well as appeals in the Court of Criminal Appeal and as junior counsel in High Court appeals. Helen has trained as a teacher with the Australian Advocacy Institute and is a volunteer teacher at AAI workshops for solicitors and barristers. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at UNSW law school where she co-teaches an elective course, ‘The Essential Advocate’.
Nipa Dewan
Barrister
Nipa joined the NSW Bar in 2014. She has a broad commercial and equity practice and represents clients in different courts and tribunals, in both state and federal jurisdiction. Nipa is an active member of the NSW Bar Association and has been a member of various committees, including the Accessibility Panel and Diversity and Equality Committee.
Prior to joining the Bar, Nipa worked as a litigation lawyer in a national firm for over 5 years. She is also admitted as a Barrister in England and Wales, and the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
Nipa completed Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of London, and Master of Laws from the University of New South Wales.
Judge Weinstein
His Honour was appointed a judge of the District Court of New South Wales in December 2018, and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2011. His Honour is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales where he teaches the law of evidence, and is the lead author of the recently published Uniform Evidence in Australia. At the bar, his Honour was a Councilor of the NSW Bar Association, Chair of a Professional Conduct Committee and an Advocate for Change.
Christine Tran
Partner, HSF
Christine is an experienced commercial litigator, with specialist expertise in defending class actions (particularly securities claims). She has acted in several of the most high-profile class actions in Australia and is one of the few practitioners with trial experience in both shareholder and product liability class actions in Australia. She regularly advises major ASX-listed companies and multinationals across a variety of sectors on managing class action risks.
Rose Khalilizadeh
Barrister
Rose Khalilizadeh is a Barrister at Forbes Chambers in Sydney, New South Wales. Her practice is primarily in criminal law. Prior to being called to the Bar, Rose was a solicitor at Legal Aid NSW, the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT and private practice at a criminal defence firm. Rose has also worked at the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, the NSW Legislative Council, and for a Judge of the Supreme Court of NSW (Court of Appeal). Rose currently sits on the criminal law and legal aid committees of the Bar Association and is involved in a number of working groups addressing criminal law reform and juvenile justice. Rose has been an author of several criminal law resources including LexisNexis Practical Guidance (Criminal) and was a tutor at the University of Sydney Faculty of Law.
Jane Needham SC
Jane Needham SC has been a barrister for over 30 years and senior counsel for 16 of them. She was President of the NSW Bar Association in 2014-15 at a time when a significant number of programmes to assist in flexibility, equality and diversity were introduced. She practices in succession, equity and trust law, and in major inquiries and inquests. She is a single mother of three teenagers.
Christine Mendes
Public Defender
Christine was appointed a Public Defender in December 2019 and is based in the Riverina area of New South Wales. Christine appears as defence counsel in criminal matters predominantly in the District Courts of Wagga Wagga, Albury and Griffith. She was called to the NSW Bar in 2002. Christine commenced practising in the criminal law in 1996 as a lawyer with the Western Aboriginal Legal Service NSW.
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