During an admission sitting, nervous new lawyers focus on many different things – remembering to stand, hearing their name read out or the Chief Justice’s wise words. But for newly admitted lawyer Mark Kleine, they remember the courtroom itself.
The LGBTI Legal Service lawyer was admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland on 17 November along with more than 80 others.
For Mark, the Banco Court stands out in their memory from the admission sitting.
“The Banco Court! It really is a beautiful courtroom, especially with the mural Dibirdibi Country by Sally Gabori,” Mark said.
“To me, it’s a visceral reminder of our shared histories when living and working on country, and the significance of First Nations communities to the social fabric that we will now serve as lawyers. The mural left a profound impact on me during the ceremony.”
Mark started studying law in 2010 at the Queensland University of Technology after high school but left to pursue other commitments.
“I admit that I did not find the law especially interesting at the time and was more excited about making art,” Mark said.
“Since then, my involvement in the arts, in addition to many experiences I’ve had as a queer person from a migrant family, assisted a growing understanding of the role that the law plays in its capacity to facilitate fairer treatment for marginalised communities.
“As such, I decided to return to law school at UQ in 2018 hoping to one day practise law in a way that spoke to my experiences.
“It has been a very interesting journey so far, and I now have a deepening interest in communities facing violence and the ways the law can address this, such as in domestic and family violence, family law, and discrimination to name a few.”
Mark asked Brisbane barrister Kate Fuller to move their admission.
“Kate is a barrister who I first met at a Pride event back in 2019 while I was a student at UQ. She has since helped my career as an ally of the LGBTQ+ community,” they said.
“She brought me to court for the first time and has been an effective mentor since I began working for LGBTI Legal Service, especially in matters relating to family law and domestic and family violence. It was touching for me that she moved my admission for these reasons.”
Kate said she had two main feelings in moving the admission
“Moving Mark’s admission brought about two main feelings for me: one – Pride in how much work Mark has put in to their journey to becoming a lawyer and the contribution Mark has made, particularly through the LGBTI Legal Service, to date and two – excitement about the next stage which Mark is about to embark upon, and the immense contribution that I know Mark will make as a practising lawyer,” she said.
She met Mark through her volunteer work at the LGBTI Legal Service.
“We first crossed paths at the Pride Fair in New Farm Park on 21 September 2019, when we were both holding down the stall for the LGBTI Legal Service,” Kate said.
“I think Mark was volunteering at that time and later went on to be employed by the service – again, a testament to Mark’s work ethic, commitment to community and general wonderfulness.
“At the time, I was a solicitor working as a partner at a law firm. Mark expressed an interest in domestic violence, family law and court proceedings generally, so a few weeks later Mark came along for some work experience at the Cleveland Magistrates Court with my law firm (Fuller & White) where we were providing duty lawyer services.
“I was also keenly interested in Mark’s work as a performer because having interests outside of the law (and law school) is so important and I do love a bit of music and theatre.
“Since that time, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mark on several matters through the LGBTI Legal Service, including a brief period when Mark and I worked to bring back ‘in-person’ clinics at the service.
“Mark brings a perspective that has been essential to helping me support clients, and I’ve always valued the additional insight, as well as the administrative support, that Mark has given me.
“Mark works tirelessly not just to advocate for systemic change, but to help the people through the service regardless of whether it’s a ticket matter or a matter that might wind up before Justices of the Supreme Court.
“Meeting lovely humans like Mark is one of the many benefits of volunteering with community-based legal centres.”
Kate said she was “completely chuffed” to have been asked to move Mark’s admission.
“Over the course of (nearly) 11 years since being admitted myself, watching my friends and colleagues (and my cousin, earlier this year) become admitted as lawyers and go on to have such brilliant careers has been very special.”
As for Mark’s future plans, they said they had been lucky when it came to work in the law.
“But I would be so happy to get more involved in policy in terms of violence against LGBTQ+ and migrant communities. I’m very interested in intersectionality as a framework to understand marginalization, so addressing issues such as structural racism in policy work would be fabulous.”
Proctor celebrates all newly admitted lawyers and congratulates them on this significant achievement. Please email details to proctor@qls.com.au. Ensure you include some details of your current role, your admission mover, along with images from your admission sitting.
Share this article