Community
7 March, 2025
An inspiring talk with world-class lawyer
MEMBERS of the GRIT Legal team took time to meet international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson at a recent conference in Sydney.
Director and principal lawyer Ann Cunningham and law clerks Zoe Wilkinson and Jasmine Malia attended the Smokeball Spark conference in Sydney recently, where they had the opportunity to meet with the highly-regarded lawyer.
Hailing from Berry, a small town on the New South Wales South Coast, Ms Robinson is best known for her work securing Julian Assange’s release home to Australia, successfully defending Amber Heard in the United Kingdom defamation claim brought by Johnny Depp and represented Vanuatu in taking climate change to the world’s highest court.
Ms Cunningham said the GRIT Legal team were “thrilled” to attend the conference, where they discovered technology and tools to improve efficiency and communication with clients.
“At GRIT Legal we value continuous growth and development and recognise that to be the best you should take opportunities to learn from the best,” she said.
“We were surprised to learn how many things we had in common with Jennifer, particularly that we all attended public schools and are very proud of that fact.
“It was also cool to discover that Jennifer’s father was a country horse trainer like mine, and that she studied Indonesian at secondary school, as did Zoe and I.”
“We were all excited to purchase a copy of Jennifer’s book, How Many More Women, which she was kind enough to sign, giving us an opportunity to speak with her.
“Her book examines how the law silences women who attempt to speak out about gender-based violence.”
Ms Wilkinson said she was inspired by speaking with Ms Robinson, taking away the key message of ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ from their conversation.
Ms Malia said she was also inspired by listening to Ms Robinson.
“She reminded me that the law isn’t just about power—it’s about justice,” she said.
“Seeing someone from a small town make such a global impact has motivated me to use my legal career to create meaningful change.”
Ms Cunningham said the conversation with Ms Robinson, as well as the book signing, tied in with an event being planned by Ms Wilkinson to acknowledge women impacted by male violence.
“The event will be held on March 14, 2025, commencing with a walk and concluding with a cuppa at Excuse Me Katie’s in Camperdown,” she said.
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