Hal Wootten Lecture with The Honourable Justice Dina Yehia
Thursday 30 October from 6:30pm to 7:30pm
“Advocacy – From Bourke to Bugmy and Beyond”
Justice Yehia will explore the various aspects of advocacy within and beyond the court room. What is the role of an advocate? Why is advocacy more important than ever?
The lecture will focus on advocacy in the context of First Nations Peoples interactions with the courts and the criminal justice system. Drawing from the values and principles propounded by our founding Dean, Hal Wooten AC QC, Justice Yehia will emphasise the importance of First Nations voices and initiatives in driving systemic change.
Join us for the Hal Wootten Lecture to hear of Justice Yehia’s personal journey from Bourke to the bench, as she shares her experiences and reflections on the transformative power of advocacy.
About the speaker: The Honourable Justice Dina Yehia
The Honourable Justice Yehia graduated with a Bachelor of Arts/Law from the University of NSW and a Masters in International Criminal Law from Sydney University. Admitted as a solicitor in 1989, she worked with the Western Aboriginal Legal Service, representing thousands of Aboriginal people. She later served as a Solicitor Advocate with the Legal Aid Commission and was called to the Bar in 1999, becoming a Public Defender and taking silk in 2009 and became the first female Deputy Senior Public Defender in 2013.
Her Honour’s notable cases include murder trials and the 2009 terrorism trial at Parramatta. In 2013, she appeared as lead counsel in the High Court case of The Queen v Bugmy and in the Special Leave application in Honeysett. Appointed a Judge of the District Court in 2014, she chaired Diverse Women in Law from 2019 to 2022, mentoring women of diverse backgrounds in the profession. Currently, she chairs the Ngara Yura Committee and is a member of the Bugmy Bar Book Committee and the Australian Institution of Judicial Administration Board.
On 23 June 2022, Justice Yehia was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW and was sworn in on 4 July 2022. She became an Adjunct Professor at UNSW Law & Justice in January 2023, teaching a newly devised sentencing course. Her book, The Essential Guide To Sentencing in NSW, was published in December 2023.