Unless they’ve done something wrong, it’s not every day students get to talk to a judge.
But this week Griffith Law School students had the opportunity to meet Her Honour Judge Fleur Kingham and gain insight into the complex world of the judiciary.
As part of the Judge in Residence program, Judge Kingham spent five days with the Griffith Law School at the Nathan and Gold Coast campuses.
She participated in a range of activities including question and answer sessions and presented two guest lectures: “Reputation: Who Cares?”in the Ethics and Professional Responsibility class, and “How Flexible are the Rules’’,in the Civil Procedure class.
Griffith Law School Dean Professor Pene Mathew said the Judge in Residence program provided a unique opportunity for law students to learn firsthand about the law in practice.
“Being able to interact with Judge Kingham has no doubt inspired many of our students to think more deeply about the role of the legal profession in a just society.”
Students also had the opportunity to network at an alumni event at the Banco Court, Supreme Court of Queensland, where Judge Kingham joined Professor Mathew and colleagues to debate the topic “Refugees and the Rule of Law’’.
Judge Kinghamhas been a District Court Judge in Queensland since 2006. As a student she was heavily involved in student politics and since that time has done much to advance social justice causes including co-founding the Women’s Legal Service, and working as an environmental lawyer.
She was awarded theQueensland Law Society Agnes McWhinney Award(2010) in recognition of her significant contribution to making justice more accessible to the community and bridging the gap between land and resources issues and Indigenous communities.