LLB103-

Dispute Resolution
Shekira Cardona
N9442430
LLB103- Assessment Item 1: Interview & Reflection

1.0 Report and Respond

The first interviewee is a non-Indigenous male solicitor (MI) with 16 years of
experience in the legal profession. He is currently a solicitor at the Aboriginal and
Torres Straight Islander Legal Service, (ATSILS), where he has worked in the civil
law section since 2008. He previously worked in the private sector.

In stark contrast, the second interviewee is a young female, Indigenous solicitor (FI)
with 2.5 years legal experience working in a top-tier law firm in the city. She initially
worked in litigation and was involved in native title settlements, and has since worked
in intellectual property.

As a future Indigenous lawyer, there was an interest in cultural influence. The

following themes arose:

1.1 Theme 1: Cultural competence in practice: How practicing as a lawyer in a

culturally competent manner is beneficial, cultural barriers working primarily with
Indigenous clients being non-Indigenous, and broader benefits of cultural competence
in the workplace.

1.2 Theme 2: Gender: How gender influences working with clients, inequality for
women, as well as career advancement.

1.3 Theme 3: Practicing in a community based legal service and private practice:
Satisfaction from working in both the community and private sectors, and effects on
wellbeing.

1.4 Theme 4: The effects of an increase in Indigenous legal professionals: How

this influences Indigenous legal services, private practice and the legal profession in
Australia.

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2.0 Relate
2.1 Cultural Competence in practice

MI
Something that was evident in both my understanding of ATSILS and the
interviewees, was the importance of being culturally competent when practicing in
an Indigenous legal service. As an Indigenous person, I was particularly interested in
seeing how a non-Indigenous person worked with Indigenous clients and overcame
cultural barriers.

FI
As an Indigenous lawyer, there is a different perspective as the FI naturally had a
greater cultural understanding on how to communicate effectively with Indigenous
people, being raised in an Indigenous family herself. An example she provided was
negotiations with traditional land owners in regards to native title settlements. As an
Indigenous person, it is understandable that culture can create a linking bridge
between the lawyer and the client.

2.2 Gender

MI
He did not believe that the legal profession was male dominated, which went against
my limited perception of the legal profession, nor that his gender influenced his work.
However, he did acknowledge there to be gender barriers when clients only want to
speak with another man or another woman.

FI
Similarly to my expectation of the legal profession, the FI agreed that the profession
was male dominated, but that it was working towards a balance. From my experience
at law school, the cohort seems to be half female, half male. The FI mentioned that
although there is a high level of female law students and graduates, it is evident that
female lawyers are less likely to progress to higher-level positions, such as partners

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and associates. This meaning the glass ceiling, an understood concept, remains an
evident problem for female lawyers.

2.3 Satisfaction from community and corporate experience

MI
The MI realised the most satisfying component of working for ATSILS was helping
disadvantaged people who could not have afforded legal assistance otherwise. When
considering my own future legal career, I have never imagined working in
commercial or corporate law. I have always wanted to use my law degree as a way of
connecting directly with disadvantaged people and/or groups, with the expectation to
gain similar satisfaction to what the MI described. Therefore, I understand his drive
for continuing in his line of work.

FI
In private practice, the FI stated that she enjoys working with a wide variety of clients
and helping them come to agreements. However, she finds most satisfaction helping
grassroots communities and organisations on a pro bono basis. Before interviewing
her, I struggled to see how I could be satisfied working in a corporate environment,
and understand her finding greater satisfaction helping disadvantaged clients.

2.4 The effects of an increase in Indigenous legal professionals

MI
It was clear MI was interested in seeing an increase in Indigenous legal professionals
due to the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. He
also believed it would assist in overcoming barriers with Indigenous clients.
Motivation for my own study is to help better my people within the law, therefore I
could easily relate to the MIs message.

FI
When questioned on the benefits of increased Indigenous representation in private
practice in particular, the FI brought up points I had not previously considered. These

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include benefits to the Indigenous community without directly working with an
Indigenous legal service. It was emphasised that Indigenous lawyers are bigger than
just native title, criminal law and family law- all of which still remain important. But
that the presence of Indigenous legal professionals increased diversity in workforces,
and that being included in the corporate world was a big part of our progression as a
people.

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3.0 Reason

3.1 Cultural competence in practice

Cross-cultural lawyering is paramount in effectively representing clients and
increasing diversity in the legal profession.1 Furthermore, the incorporation of cross-
cultural perspectives in practicing law can enable students to help build a more just
legal system.2 A good lawyer is said to be one that is culturally sensitive and aware. 3
Therefore, possessing these skills can be highly valuable for a lawyers professional
wellbeing by working effectively. However, cultural competency is not as widely
taught to lawyers, unlike other helping professions such as educators, social workers,
nurses and other professions that deal with a wide variety of diverse populations.4

It is evident from both interviews that cultural competence is essential for Indigenous
specific legal services, but also in private practice, particularly in pro bono settings.5
Part of being a culturally competent lawyer involves understanding the negative
effects of stereotypes and discrimination in order to be most effective when
representing a client and serving justice for society.6 There must be an appreciation of
the social context of clients when they are seeking legal services and effective
communication.7 The MI explained that growing up in an Indigenous community
assists him in overcoming cultural barriers being non-Indigenous himself.

Although the legal profession is increasingly becoming more diverse, the majority
remains of namely white, male, able-bodied professionals from middle-class
families.8 Therefore, lawyers are not necessarily representatives of the larger society.9

1
Susan Bryant, The five habits: building cross-cultural competence in lawyers (2001) 8 (1) Clinical
Law Review 33, 36.
2
Ibid.
3
Nelson P. Miller, Beyond Bias- Cultural Competence As A Lawyer Skill (2008) Michigan Bar
Journal 38, 39.
4
Ibid.
5
Miller, above n 40.
6
Rose Voyvodic, Lawyers Meet The Social Context: Understanding Cultural Competence (2006) 84
(3) Canadian Bar Review, 565.
7
Ibid 567.
8
Voyvodic, above n 570.
9
Andrea A. Curcio, Teresa M. Ward and Nisha Dogra, Educating Culturally Sensible Lawyers: A
Study of Student Attitudes About the Role Culture Plays in the Lawyering Process (2012) 16
University of Western Law Review 100.

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Because of this, it can be challenging for most lawyers to be able to connect with the
issues their clients face without cultural training.

3.2 Gender
Gender inequality has been an ongoing issue within the legal profession.10 Despite
near equal enrollments of female law students, women remain significantly under-
represented in positions of leadership and positions of power across the legal
profession.11 This is evident from the FIs observations. A gender imbalance in the
legal profession can be due to the profession being aggressively male dominated, with
difficulties of balancing lawyer and family responsibilities.12 In addition, there is
evidence that income gaps between the genders exist, with females earning less than
their male counterparts.13 Furthermore, to demonstrate gender discrimination, reports
have shown that two-thirds of female lawyers have been subjected to sexual
harassment from male colleagues in private practice.14 However, as the FI mentioned,
there have been an increasing number of law firms that are offering more support for
women, in regards to maternity leave and creating a supportive family culture in the
workplace.15 Gender imbalance is a clear issue for womens professional wellbeing,
but it is also problematic for the legal profession at large as it begs to question, given
the nature of the profession, why such social issues are still present.16

The fact that the MI did not believe that the legal profession was male dominated
could potentially be put to the fact that as a male lawyer, the barriers that prevent
women from progressing in the legal profession have not adversely affected him.

10
Joanne Bagust, Keeping gender on the agenda: theorising the systematic barriers to
women lawyers in corporate legal practice (2012) 21 (1) Griffith Law Review 137.
11
Audrey Wolfson Latourette, Sex Discrimination in the Legal Profession: Historical and
Contemporary Perspectives (2005) 39 Valparaiso University Law Review 859.
12
Michael Kirby, Lack of Women in Legal Profession: Judge (2006) 1 AAP Bulletin Wire 1.
13
Ronit Dinovitzer, Nancy Reichman and Joyce Sterling, The Differential Valuation of Womens
Work: A New Look at the Gender Gap in Lawyers Incomes (2009) 88 (2) Social Forces 819, 843.
14
Hannah Brenner, Expanding the Pathways to Gender Equality in the Legal Profession (2014) 17 (2)
Legal Ethics 261, 264.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid 264.

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Although, the MIs belief that clients have gender preference with lawyers has proven
to be correct.17

3.3 Satisfaction from community and corporate experience

The effect of pro bono work is seen as a worthwhile, substantial contribution to the
betterment of society.18 Psychological benefits exist for lawyers who provide legal
assistance to those in need as it satisfies their social conscience and professional
wellbeing.19 Providing legal service by community based legal services or in the
private sector via pro bono work allows a lawyer to express their commitment to the
rule of law, access to justice and make their contribute to the public good.20
Additionally, a lawyers contribution to community or pro bono work resonates with
a positive sense of professional legal identity.21 This is in reflection to the interviews
as both the MI and FI described their motivation for pursuing law to help those who
need it most. Despite salaries being generally higher in city and commercial firms,22
lawyers in not-for-profit legal services enjoy higher job satisfaction and intrinsic
utility in comparison to the corporate sector, which compensates for salary
difference.23

3.4 The effects of an increase in Indigenous legal professionals at large

Indigenous Australia requires Indigenous lawyers to assist in achieving self-

determination, financial independence and to decrease discrimination.24 A significant
issue Australia faces is the fact that Indigenous Australians only count for 3% of

17
Oregon Supreme Court, Gender Fairness Task Force Report- Interactions Between Lawyers,
Clients, Staff and Other Professionals (May 1998) Oregon Judicial Department <
http://courts.oregon.gov/OJD/OSCA/cpsd/courtimprovement/access/pages/gender.aspx>.
18
Deborah L. Rhode, Balanced Lives for Lawyers (2002) 70 (6) Fordham Law Review 2207, 2208.
19
Rowena Maguire, Gail Shearer, and Rachel Field, Reconsidering Pro Bono: A Comparative
Analysis of Protocols In Australia, The United States, The United Kingdom and Singapore (2014) 37
(3) UNSW Law Journal 1164, 1165.
20
Mary Eberts, Pro Bono Publico: For the Public Good (2000) 15 (2) The Philanthropist 45, 49.
21
Maguire, Shearer & Field, above n, 1170.
22
Andrew Boon, From public service to service industry: the impact of socialisation and work on the
values and motivations of lawyers (2011) 12 (2) International Journal of the Legal Profession 229,
232.
23
Matthias Benz, Not for the Profit, but for the Satisfaction?- Evidence on Worker Well-Being in
Non-Profit Firms (2005) 58 (2) Kyklos International Review for Social Science 155, 156.
24
Dennis Foley, Quadrivum: So you want to be a lawyer? (2014) 8 (11) Indigenous Law Bulletin 19.

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Australias population, but represent 25% of the prison population. By being part of
a minority group with a long history of discrimination, Indigenous lawyers can bring
a unique skill set to their work as a lawyer, particularly when working with
Indigenous and non-Indigenous disadvantaged clients.26

However, it has been argued that commercial law is most important for Indigenous
lawyers to decrease reliance on government welfare.27 It would also mean that
Indigenous people are taking a more active role in the corporate, commercial world.28
In addition, Indigenous lawyers in commercial law would greatly assist in the
development of Indigenous businesses29 and promote cultural diversity in the
workforce at large.30 As the FI stated in the interview, We need to understand the
commercial and corporate world we operate in- we might not like it, but we live in it.
Therefore, it is understandable that an increase in Indigenous legal professionals in
the private sector is equally as important as our presence in government or the
community legal sector. Finally, creating a more diverse workplace would also
eliminate isolation felt by Indigenous or cultural lawyers, which could negatively
affect their professional wellbeing.31

25
Eddie Cubillo, Funding cuts to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services: Where is the
justice for our nations first Australians? (2014) 8 (14) Indigenous Law Bulletin 15, 16.
26
Harriet Morley, Breaking the Barriers: Victorian Indigenous Lawyers (2007) 81 (8) Law Institute
Journal 18.
27
Cubillo, above n 15.
28
Foley, above n 19.
29
Foley, above n 19.
30
Heather Douglas, The Participation of Indigenous Australians in Legal Education (2001) 24 (2)
UNSW Law Journal 485, 513.
31
Morley, above n 18.

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4.0 Reconstruct

Comparing and contrasting two different lawyers was a valuable experience when
considering my current studies as a law student and as a future legal professional.
From my personal reflection of the interview, I have acknowledged that culture will
always remain an integral part of my identity as a person, which can positively
influence my professional identity and wellbeing as a lawyer.32 However, I do not see
my cultural identity permitting me from enhancing Indigenous issues whilst also
being involved in the broader, mainstream community.33

It is evident in the interviewees responses that satisfaction of their work being part of
a helping profession directly affects and supports their wellbeing as not only a
professional, but as a person.34 Both interviewees agreed that their satisfaction has a
greater positive impact on their wellbeing, compared to the negative impact brought
about by long work hours, which both found dissatisfying.35

From the reflection, it is understood that my cultural motivations and my desire to be

a part of a helping profession that can manage/ resolves conflicts/ disputes can be
beneficial for my wellbeing as a future legal professional. Cultural competence can
increase a lawyers professional wellbeing as it enables them to be well informed and
produce successful outcomes.36 Additionally, with support for more Indigenous
lawyers, the profession will increase diversity and decrease any sense of social
exclusion that may be felt by cultural legal professionals.37 However, it must be
acknowledged as a woman entering the legal profession, gender discrimination may
have a negative impact on my professional wellbeing.38

32
Morley, above n 18.
33
Cubillo, above n 15.
34
Maguire, Shearer & Field, above n 1170.
35
Benz, above n 156.
36
Miller, above n 38.
37
Douglas, above n 485.
38
Latourette, above n 859.

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Ultimately, despite the difficult nature and issues the legal profession faces, the role
of a lawyer, contributing to the betterment of society, can be a rewarding professional
and personal experience and be very supportive of professional wellbeing.

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