The Queensland African Lawyers Network (QALN) mooting team won its second Culture & Law Moot title in a row at the recent event at Brisbane’s Banco Court.
The moot, which give lawyers from diverse backgrounds to appear before esteemed judges, was held on 25 March before the judging panel of Chief Justice Bowskill, Justice Darryl Rangiah of the Federal Court of Australia, and Chief Magistrate Judge Brassington.
The event, in its third year, is a collaboration of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association (AALA), Pasifika Lawyers Association of Queensland (PLAQ), QALN and Tilé and Olly Meets Podcast.
The speakers presented on the topic – Gen AI will improve access to justice for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) litigants and lawyers more effectively than conventional dispute resolution processes.
The winning QALN team of Denye Anyene and Aluel Chol argued in the affirmative.
Ms Chol said what she enjoyed the most was “the flow and line of questioning between the judges and mooters”.
“The questions were both challenging and informative,” she said.
All speakers were congratulated on their efforts including Chloe Dickson and Michael Mullany (PLAQ); Liza Shoebridge and Sophie Lillyman (AALA), and the new team from Caxton Legal Centre of Samuel Mashman and Destinee Whirisky.
Ms Dickson said: “This topic resonated strongly with my own experiences of how culture shapes understanding, reinforcing that for future lawyers, our responsibility is not simply to adopt new technologies without critical reflection, but to preserve the cultural awareness, trust and human connection that generative AI cannot replicate.”
Mr Mullany said: “The performance of my colleagues at the Culture and Law Moot reflects an exciting new generation of principled and passionate advocates from all backgrounds, whose voices shape the fabric of national identity and who play an indelible role in fostering a more fair and just society.”
Olamide Kowalik, event organiser and co-sponsor from the Tilé and Olly Meets Podcast said: “It is great to see this event continue for a third year with continued support from diverse lawyer associations, the judiciary, the College of Law, the Bar Association of Queensland and our major sponsor, the Queensland Law Society.
“Thank you to everyone involved, but in particular the mooting teams themselves who I know spent many hours preparing their submissions in anticipation for their first appearance before a judge.”
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