Queensland lawyer and Maurice Blackburn Director Michelle James is the new national President of the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
Michelle leads Maurice Blackburn’s Queensland and Northern Territory road injury, work injury and public liability practices.
Based in Queensland, Michelle has been working in the legal profession since 1998.
In accepting the position, Michelle reaffirmed the ALA’s commitment to justice, fairness and protecting the rights of the individual.
“Our values and principles are relevant whether we are fighting for justice for someone injured on the road or in a workplace accident, a survivor of abuse, someone in immigration detention or a person living with disability,” Michelle said.
“The right to bring a claim under the common law is something that many people don’t know about and they don’t know about it because they don’t need to know about it, until they do.
“It’s a terrible outcome to tell someone that has been injured through no fault of their own that they don’t have any rights because a government thought that it was a good idea to take them away.
“The ALA has impacted many positive changes for the rights of injured people around Australia.
“As we mark 30 years of the ALA, our commitment to protecting and promoting common law rights is still as important as ever and there continues to be work for us to do.”
Michelle has previously led the Queensland ALA branch as State President and now takes on the national president role as Victorian Partner Shaun Marcus from Arnold Dallas McPherson steps down.
“It is critical the ALA retains a national perspective, and we learn from the experiences in all jurisdictions as we continue to work to protect and promote the rights of individuals. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues from all across Australia in this national position,” she said.
The ALA began in 1994 and was originally known as the Australian Plaintiff Lawyers Association.
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