LSB September 2019_Web

EVENTS
Chief Justice of Australia holds court
at profession’s night of nights
MICHAEL ESPOSITO
More than 300 people gathered to
celebrate the achievements of the
legal profession and hear guest speaker,
The Hon Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC, at
the Law Society’s Legal Profession Dinner
on 2 August.
Society President Amy Nikolovski, in
welcoming guests, remarked that it was
fitting that the first female Chief Justice
of the High Court was the guest speaker
at an event where the State’s first female
Attorney General was in attendance and in
a year that marked the 125 th anniversary of
women’s suffrage in SA.
Ms Nikolovski herself is only the
fourth female president of the Society,
YOUNG LAWYER OF THE YEAR: BRITTANY ARMSTRONG
and, at 38 weeks pregnant at the Dinner,
was certainly the first president in the
Society’s 140-year history to be with child
during the course of her presidency.
Chief Justice Kiefel’s wryly humorous
speech detailed some particularly telling
interactions with colleagues and peers
that were indicative of some of the
more traditional attitudes that some male
practitioners had towards women in the
law.
While Her Honour’s speech made
some pointed observations about the
experience of being a woman in the law,
her timing and delivery was calibrated for
maximum comic impact, and the speech
MARY KITSON AWARD: AMY NIKOLOVSKI
PHOTOS: PAGES 8-9 >
was received with a rousing reception from
delighted guests.
Ensuring the laughter continued
throughout the night, Alex Ward
performed his MC role with his usual
panache and witty irreverence.
The Society is grateful to the City
of Adelaide’s Ten Gigabit Network and
Notable Imprint for being Major Sponsors
of the Dinner, Supporting Sponsor Peter
Shearer Menswear and Young Lawyer
of the Year Award Sponsor PEXA. The
Society would also like to thank its major
sponsor Bank SA, Imperial Measures
Distilling for sponsoring the Gin Bar on
the night and wine sponsor Wine Direct. B
Young Lawyers Committee Co-Chair Erica Panagakos (left), The Hon Justice Tim
Stanley, Young Lawyer of the Year winner Brittany Armstrong, PEXA representative
Daniel Roesler, and Young Lawyers Committee Co-Chair Georgia Hagias).
Brittany Armstrong was an Associate at the District Court
before joining Shaw & Henderson as a Criminal Lawyer.
Brittany has excelled in this role, working on complex criminal
trials and appeals with exceptional skill. Brittany is passionate
about equality before the law and regularly does pro bono work
to ensure that those who would otherwise not have access to
proper legal representation are afforded their rights. Brittany
is particularly interested in youth justice and the relationship
between disadvantaged youth and crime. She is a strong advocate
for a more effective child protection and child welfare system.
Brittany recently developed a CPD about doli incapax (the
presumption against age of criminal responsibility for children
aged 10-14), but has been a powerful voice for increasing the
age of criminal responsibility to 14. Brittany has been heavily
involved in the Ice Factor program founded by Marie Shaw QC.
She has coordinated numerous fundraisers, organised the Ice
Factor Spectacular (a charity dinner with more than 500 guests),
and organised for 200 teenagers to undergo modelling training.
Mary Kitson award winner Amy Nikolovski with her husband Tony Nikolovski
Amy Nikolovski is the youngest ever female President of
the Law Society and is also the youngest person to be made an
Equity Partner at Duncan Basheer Hannon (age 35). By sheer
example, Amy continues to advance the interests of women
lawyers. Amy was a Member of the Society’s Gender Equity
Working Group and was instrumental in garnering support
for the gender equity reforms undertaken by the Law Society
in 2015. In all her actions she reminds people of unconscious
bias and the challenges that women face. She is Chair of the
Society’s Bullying, Discrimination and Harassment Working
Group; and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
She is also a Member of the Society’s Council and Executive
and numerous other committees, in addition to being a Director
of the Law Council of Australia and the Society’s representative
on the Law Council’s Equal Opportunity in the Law Committee.
6
THE BULLETIN September 2019