Law initiative honours social justice advocate

Charles Darwin University will launch the Alicia Johnson Law Centre this week in an initiative that brings together solicitors, students, academics and eligible clients.

With offices at the Waterfront Precinct and Casuarina campus, the law centre honours the memory of a young Top End social justice lawyer and early career academic Alicia Johnson.

Law lecturer Ken Parish said the centre supported social justice projects within the School of Law’s clinical program. 

These include the Indigenous Justice and Exoneration Project led by Felicity Gerry QC, which researches legal issues relating to Indigenous incarceration and advises on appeals for NT prisoners and detained youth serving sentences of more than 10 years who apply for assistance.

“A more recent initiative seeks to provide legal assistance to low income earners who are unrepresented and with little or no access to legal advice in civil disputes,” Mr Parish said.

“Law students in their final year will assist participating law firms with matters under the close supervision of experienced lawyers and supervising academics from CDU.”

The Alicia Johnson Memorial Trust is administered by the CDU Foundation, and has had a long association with law school initiatives that enable students to gain practical experience during their later undergraduate years in a range of legal services.

It has provided funds to the school’s legal clinical program, which in recent years has allowed students to work with legal practitioners in immigration law at Ward Keller, environmental law at the Environmental Defender’s Office, litigation arising from the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse with Pipers Barristers and Solicitors, and with the Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency.

The invitation-only formal launch is scheduled to take place at CDU’s Waterfront Precinct this Friday.