Her story

Kylie is a Senior Principal Lawyer at Legal Aid Queensland.

Without mentioning your job title, how would you describe what it is you do now (whether at home, work, in the community, etc.)?

In my role I oversee the delivery of legal services across the Sunshine Coast region ensuring that the region's most vulnerable people have access to justice. I conduct a file load of serious and complex criminal matters and appear as an advocate in a range of jurisdictions. I mentor a number of women lawyers both within my organisation and external to my organisation. I engage with the region's allied legal service providers to ensure gaps in the delivery of legal services are addressed. I volunteer at my local community legal service and am a committee member of my local district law association.

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What are the first three words you think of when you hear the word ‘diversity’?

inclusion, togetherness, strength.

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What do you think it will take to develop truly diverse thinking within the legal industry?

There needs to be significant change at the top of the legal industry to develop truly diverse thinking within the legal industry. Executive Management Teams in both the private and public sectors need to demonstrate the commitment of the profession to diversity by being truly diverse in all aspects. This will lead to diverse thinking. The legal industry and its institutions remain cloaked in many traditions which do not support diversity. The profession as a whole must be prepared to rethink some of the traditions that may have been meaningful in the past but do not support true diversity in today's society. The profession must foster a culture that promotes the value of diversity and ensures that every voice is welcomed, heard and respected. The starting place is ensuring that organisations are work- places where people feel connected and know that their religious, cultural, sexual, racial or physical differences do not define their career and are attributes which provide benefit to the greater legal industry. This needs to be addressed in work place recruitment processes and internal policies across private and public sector. There also needs to be steps taken that ensure legal practitioners in regional locations have equal opportunities for learning and development and career progression to ensure that all practitioners have opportunities.

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What was your main driver to enter the legal industry?

I came from a family where neither of my parents finished high school. I saw disadvantage throughout my childhood and it sparked a desire to help people. I discovered in high school that the legal industry is a powerful way to help people and ensure all people have a voice. This inspired a diverse career in a range of public sector roles in Queensland and abroad which have enabled me to assist vulnerable people and ensure that they have a voice.

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