They couldn't walk across the stage to accept their award this year but our online event still honoured UTS Law students.
00:50
Good Evening and I'm very grateful that you're here
00:54
tonight attending our virtual annual
00:58
Law Awards Ceremony. My name is Lesley Hitchens
01:03
and I'm the Dean of the Faculty of Law here at UTS.
01:09
Our annual Awards Ceremony and Graduation Ceremonies are two of the
01:14
highlights of the Law Faculty. Certainly for me,
01:20
they're events that I look forward to in particular
01:24
every university year but sadly this year,
01:29
we have not been able to hold graduation
01:32
but we can at least do this small event to celebrate and to honor our
01:40
students and also those of you who generously support us through
01:46
donations and through the other ways in which you
01:51
support our students, whether it's through
01:54
mentoring or
01:58
teaching guest classes and so forth. And so,
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I'm very grateful to have you here this evening
02:05
and I hope that you'll enjoy what will be quite a brief ceremony.
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Before I go on, I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal People
02:18
of the Eora Nation upon whose ancestral lands
02:22
our city campus now stands. I'd also like to pay respect
02:27
to the elders both past and present, acknowledging them
02:32
as the traditional custodians of knowledge
02:35
for this land. So as I said, it's a very great pleasure to
02:40
welcome you here this evening, whether you're a student
02:44
a family or friend of the students or you're a friend of UTS Law. And as
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I've said, importantly having those of you who
02:54
donate prizes to our students, you are especially
02:58
welcome in making this ceremony but also
03:03
our prizes system as it were
03:10
happen possible. And especially grateful to you
03:17
for your continuing generosity and interest in the Faculty of Law
03:21
and our students. Your support is more important than ever as a faculty
03:28
and as a university. We face some ever-growing challenges in
03:32
the years ahead as you'll be aware.
03:37
I'd like to particularly acknowledge and welcome this evening
03:40
The Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG to our event.
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Michael Kirby has been a great friend to the Law Faculty and has
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continued over a number of years to mentor individual
03:57
students, something he always takes very seriously
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and I know that it can often be a life-changing experience
04:05
for the students who are being mentored. If I can just also remind you that this
04:12
is being recorded this evening and it will be available on our 2020 Law
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Awards Hub.
04:21
This year, I think perhaps it's more important than ever
04:25
to stop and acknowledge the remarkable achievements
04:29
of you, our students. We want you to know that we admire your resilience, your
04:36
adaptability and your desire to succeed no matter
04:40
what obstacles are put in your path.
04:44
When our students start out, they think they have a long journey ahead of us,
04:48
whether it's three, four or five years but it passes very quickly and I never
04:54
cease to be amazed that students I got to know in their
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first year, often in their first weeks, are what in seems like a moment,
05:03
now advanced students or they've even graduated.
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However, that connection doesn't stop there.
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One of the privileges as academics is to be able to see the successes of
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our graduates, as they progress in their careers and to
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remain connected with them as alumni and
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through the many ways in which they help the Law Faculty and
05:29
our law students to flourish. The faculty too has been active in
05:34
developing opportunities for lifelong learning
05:37
and we hope that the short courses that we've been developing
05:41
will be of benefit to our alumni. And it's why I'm also pleased that
05:47
tonight we're able once again to have an alumnus of UTS Law as our guest
05:52
speaker. This year it's another opportunity
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to mark the journey of our graduates and to draw wisdom from them
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but I want to take this opportunity also to acknowledge the faculty's academic
06:07
staff. It's their excellence in research and
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teaching, supported by our dedicated professional
06:13
staff that sustains the reputation of UTS Law. It's
06:20
their commitment to the classroom that enables and inspires our students.
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This year, I have been particularly impressed,
06:29
amazed actually, and humbled by their resilience, by their ability to
06:34
adapt quickly to the changing environment. They moved
06:39
to online teaching within a week and it seems as though there is a new
06:44
situation and a challenge almost on a weekly basis and yet they
06:49
did that with a great spirit of collegiality
06:52
and of service to the faculty and to the students.
06:57
The demands of moving online, and for many of our colleagues
07:01
home schooling at the same time, as well as travel limitations,
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have had an inevitable impact on research this year
07:10
and yet despite these challenges the faculty has continued its impact,
07:15
its commitment to impact and social change.
07:21
Thus, colleagues have used their expertise
07:24
to raise concerns about the impact of COVID on Indigenous Australians
07:29
and prison communities, exploitation of international students through low
07:34
forms low cost wage labour and potential
07:39
internationally environmental
07:42
disasters. At the beginning of the year, we were very excited to move in to our
07:49
beautiful new faculty home, UTS Central, and I am
07:53
sitting here in the building tonight where I had hoped to be able to welcome
07:57
you, so that you could see what a beautiful
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building it is. It's state-of-the-art, it's contemporary,
08:05
innovative and just such a beautiful space. It's
08:09
very much like our faculty but sadly at the present
08:14
where we are, we've had very little opportunity
08:18
to experience this. Within a month of moving here,
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we had to go into lockdown and work from home
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but we do hope in the new future that we will be able to make full use of this
08:32
space, to welcome you, our students, guests and
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friends of the faculty and to make it a hub for new and bold
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ideas within the precinct.
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Tonight we are here to celebrate our students achievements.
08:49
Whilst we can't celebrate you in person and give you your moment to walk across
08:54
the stage and receive your award, I want you to know that we recognise and
08:59
applaud your hard work and perseverance. Your achievements reach
09:05
across a broad spectrum, reflecting the key
09:09
components of what we aim to achieve through the legal education we
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provide at UTS. Many of the awards honour academic
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excellence and of course we value excellence and we
09:22
value the fact that our students are prepared to strive for that excellence
09:26
and to take pleasure in their learning and their achievements
09:31
but we also value the development of skills.
09:34
Skills that are necessary to ensure that our graduates are equipped to apply
09:39
their knowledge as professionals. Some of the awards
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acknowledge success in those skills. Skills that are embedded within the
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formal curriculum but also beyond through activities and
09:53
competitions organised by the faculty and student
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body. As well, our awards recognise service
10:02
that many of our students have made to the faculty
10:05
and to the university and the wider community.
10:09
Leadership through service is an important value
10:12
in our faculty. It is part of what it means
10:16
to be a professional and I'd like here just to acknowledge
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two prizes that I always regard as very special
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at the annual Awards Ceremony. The first is the Dean's
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Leadership Prize and that has been awarded this year
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to Ben Fong, who was President last year of the Law Students' Society
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and the Dean's Service Prize, which has been awarded this year to Margaret Cai
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and I will say a little bit about Margaret Cai in a moment, so that you
10:48
will get a sense of why she has been awarded
10:52
that prize. So the recognition that we give to students,
10:57
whether it's through skills or extracurricular activities through
11:00
service and leadership as is as important as the recognition
11:05
we give to all other awards. It's what being a law student at UTS means,
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disciplinary knowledge, professional skills
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service. To our students, my congratulations to all of you who are
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receiving awards this evening and to our donors family and friends,
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thank you also for your support to our students
11:31
and to our faculty.
11:36
I hope as students this evening that you will take the time to reflect
11:42
on your achievements and in spite of all the difficulties we
11:45
are facing at the moment enjoy your success and as I said we're
11:50
looking forward to the time when we can properly
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all be back together again in this beautiful faculty.
11:58
Now I would like to introduce you to Nicholas Saady,
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our speaker this evening. Nicholas joins us from California. He graduated
12:09
from UTS with the university medal and First Class Honours
12:14
in 2018. He worked as a graduate lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills and he then
12:21
went on to hold a to study a Master of Laws at
12:25
New York University Law School, where he has since graduated.
12:31
He studied there on a Dean's Graduate Award Scholarship
12:35
and the Elias Lieberman Fellowship Network. Nick will sit the New York Bar
12:41
in September 2020 and commence working as a second
12:46
year attorney in the Civil Litigation Group of Davis,
12:50
Polk and Wardle in New York City in October
12:55
2020. It's a great pleasure to have you here
12:59
tonight Nick, welcome!
13:03
Thank you Lesley! I'll start with some good news, tonight is a testament to your immense
13:09
intelligence and skill. You've been aptly rewarded
13:14
for your diligence and dedication. Savor the moment and enjoy it with your
13:20
loved ones. The even better news is that your
13:24
journeys have just begun. If you're a first or second year student,
13:28
you have a cacophony of subjects to go. If you're a latter year student or
13:33
recent grad, you have a lifetime of work to go.
13:38
Look forward to your paths ahead. This pandemic has shown that so much needs to
13:43
change in this world. Big questions have been raised about the
13:48
role of government, the power of corporations
13:53
the importance of listening to experts and social, racial and generational
14:00
inequality. In addition to those big questions, we
14:04
still face the challenges posed by climate change,
14:08
white nationalism and human rights abuses, to name just a few.
14:13
We need to address those big questions and challenges.
14:18
In the words of former U.S. President Obama,
14:21
now is a time where we need to prove that together,
14:24
ordinary people can do extraordinary things
14:29
but you are not just ordinary people. As UTS Law students and graduates, you
14:35
stand in a privileged position, with such privilege comes a
14:39
responsibility. You now have a duty and that duty is to
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make an impact. That's the first of my two messages to
14:49
you tonight. Go out and make a positive impact on
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your communities, your country and your world.
14:57
Taking on the big challenges and addressing those complex questions.
15:02
Your impact might be achieved through your academic work,
15:06
pro bono work or legal practice. It might be big, it might be small, it
15:12
might occur now, it might occur in a few years time.
15:15
Whatever it is, make sure that it counts. Your education
15:20
and experiences at UTS Law have equipped you with the capabilities to do this
15:26
and you've been trained to think critically and constructively by the
15:29
best academics and practitioners in Australia.
15:33
You survived the readings, you survived the exams amidst
15:37
the lure of the tab machines in the bars of Wentworth Park,
15:41
you navigated the stream of interesting individuals at Central Station,
15:45
you managed to stay healthy despite the delicious steady stream of Asian
15:50
restaurants in Haymarket, you balance the risks of arriving too
15:54
early at networking events, with arriving early enough to get the
15:57
best appetizers and for merchandise. And then you got through a
16:02
semester of what Fat Boy Slim would call eat,
16:05
sleep, study, lockdown and repeat. And that leads me to my second message
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to you tonight, in the current climate how can you successfully
16:15
make a positive impact? A tough research question. Using my
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impeccable research skills, I googled, I consulted the oracle of all
16:26
worthwhile knowledge - UTS Law. Typing that into the Google's
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search bar, I clicked, I then found the UTS Law Website
16:36
and the first thing I read was this: "a dynamic and innovative law school
16:42
achieving great success for the quality of its legal education
16:46
and research". In there, there are three critical
16:50
amazing words dynamic, innovative and success.
16:57
Those three words are critical for you as you continue on your journeys
17:01
and seek to positively impact the world. First be dynamic. Don't be afraid to
17:08
change things up, whether that be your career path, your
17:12
interests or even in your location. Your education
17:16
at UTS has equipped you with the capabilities to adapt
17:21
and innovate. Don't be afraid to be different,
17:26
whether that's through embarking on a unique area of legal practice,
17:30
starting a non-profit or pro bono organisation
17:33
or investing your time in a startup and then if you add another two factors
17:38
to the four factor balancing exercise, which you'd be
17:41
accustomed to, which are hard work and perseverance,
17:44
you'll be on the way to the third word, success.
17:50
Dynamism, innovation, hard work and perseverance .
17:55
Like the maxims of equity, ingrain those four words into your brain
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and you'll be on the path to success.
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Now some of what i'm saying might seem a bit crazy to you,
18:08
it might seem out of reach let me tell you that it's not.
18:13
If there's any imposter syndrome, drop it now.
18:17
I can remember it eating away at me during my time as a student.
18:21
Questions like "should I be here?", "how to get that mark?",
18:25
"am I good enough?". The answers to all of those questions
18:29
are yes. Just remember Michael Jordan was cut from his varsity basketball team
18:35
during his sophomore year. Bill Gates' first company
18:39
failed miserably. Einstein couldn't get a job for two years after he graduated
18:45
and J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected by 12
18:49
different publishers.
18:52
Now you are some of the brightest legal minds in our country.
18:57
Remember that. Let it inspire you as you embark upon the remainder of your legal
19:03
careers and your degrees here at UTS.
19:07
You're going to need every ounce of confidence in the current world.
19:11
It's not an easy place but you need to look on the bright side.
19:17
The radically different reality in which we now live
19:20
presents opportunities for you to be dynamic,
19:24
innovative and successful. As well educated and driven youth who
19:30
are willing to work hard and persevere now is the perfect time for you.
19:36
So as UTS Law students and graduates, let's shake things up.
19:42
Let's make an impact and in doing so, remember that we're in this together.
19:48
This world-class institution has created an unbreakable bond between us.
19:54
We stand together as UTS Law, We will work together as UTS Law and
20:00
ultimately, we will make a positive impact as UTS
20:05
Law. Congratulations again and enjoy tonight!
20:09
The future is bright for all of you. Now together, let's go forth as a new
20:14
generation of dynamic and innovative individuals and let us
20:19
dream of a future where our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
20:24
look back on us with gratitude. That we were successful in fulfilling
20:28
our duty to positively impact our communities,
20:33
our country and our world.
20:40
Nick thank you so much for that! I'm pleased to see that
20:44
despite having the achievements of the University Medal,
20:48
you were still able to understand all the
20:52
other aspects of life as a student around UTS such as the
20:57
food offerings and so forth. I'm glad none of the experience was
21:01
was lost on you but more importantly thank you for the words that you've
21:08
just conveyed because
21:11
we are facing really challenging
21:15
problems I think and yet I see amongst our
21:19
students just incredible opportunities for
21:23
having impact for change and I really encourage students to
21:31
think beyond that and you I know Nick, are a great example yourself
21:36
of someone who is not only focused on study, but really
21:40
thought about the future impact that you can
21:44
have and for example how you can support other
21:47
students coming through as well, so thank you again. Thanks Lesley! It's
21:53
been a pleasure, thank you! And we probably should
21:59
doubly thank you because I think it's about midnight where you are.
22:02
1 am! So we're very grateful. I want to now
22:10
turn to Margaret and Margaret is one of our
22:12
current students and as you heard Margaret was awarded the Dean's Service
22:18
Prize this year. She's currently President of
22:22
the Australian Law Student's Association, which is the body
22:26
that brings together law student societies from across the
22:29
from across Australia and I know personally that she has been
22:34
very active in bringing change this year and ensuring that
22:38
students have a voice on significant issues
22:42
affecting their future careers and so forth.
22:46
She is currently a finalist in the 2020 Lawyers Weekly Australian Law
22:53
Students 'Law Student of the Year' category and
22:55
we've all got our fingers crossed Margaret for that
22:59
outcome. We're yet to hear the results and you will have seen as well that she,
23:04
or you may not have seen, but she also appears
23:08
this evening on the Dean's Merit List, which is
23:12
the first time that we have had a Dean's Merit List and so we're
23:18
very excited to see the students who are appearing as part
23:22
of that recognition as well. So I'd like to hand
23:28
over to Margaret now thank you
23:33
Thanks so much for that Lesley! Thank you everyone for having me today and
23:38
congratulations to every award recipient
23:41
in this virtual room right now! I've been invited to share
23:45
a bit about my experiences at UTS, so I thought
23:49
I'd start at the beginning. I first set foot in a UTS Building
23:54
almost six years ago, as an 18 year old with a bit too much attitude. So the
24:00
gravity of my first days at uni never really struck me until recently.
24:07
When I started my plan was a simple one, I would study hard, I would hopefully
24:13
make some friends and after five years I would graduate
24:17
with two degrees that I'd probably forget about after I used
24:21
them to land my first job. It was a very clinical approach to a
24:26
university and law school that is anything but clinical.
24:31
This year in my role as the President of the Australian Law Students' Association (ALSA),
24:36
I work with students from law schools across Australia.
24:41
When I started my tenure, I had two main aspirations for ALSA.
24:46
First they'll become key stakeholders in the things that matter to us,
24:50
issues like diversity, mental health and bullying and sexual harassment in
24:55
the legal profession and second that in advocating on what we
25:00
expect in our law schools and the legal profession we lead by
25:04
example. It's a vision inspired by the things
25:07
that UTS does very well. Like all other industries this year, the
25:13
legal profession has been punctuated by changes and challenges. While studying
25:18
from home isn't an ideal situation to be in, I'm
25:22
proud to be part of a law school that continues to show leadership in our
25:26
community. In the aftermath of the Dyson Heydon
25:30
revelations, numerous members of our faculty were
25:33
involved in an open letter to the Attorney General calling for
25:36
reforms to the way judges are disciplined and appointed.
25:41
In response to the impacts of COVID-19, the UTS LSS
25:45
started an Elderly Pen Pals Initiative, where students sent messages of support
25:50
to senior members of the community and amongst many other things there's been
25:55
first year speed mentoring events, online careers seminars
26:01
and a new UTS Law podcast to keep us all connected and busy.
26:06
Such purpose and resilience is a testament to the character of our Law
26:11
School and the people who contribute to it now.
26:15
Although today is largely a celebration of our student
26:19
cohort, I want to also extend that
26:21
acknowledgement to all the members of our faculty.
26:26
They're the people behind the scenes who constantly
26:29
show up and support us. Last year I had the opportunity to represent UTS
26:35
in Oxford at the International Intellectual Property Moot.
26:39
Our coaches, Isabella and Evana, spent months working to turn our team with
26:44
three from a group who had no knowledge or
26:48
experience in the area of law into a team that made
26:51
the semi-finals. They reviewed draft after draft of our
26:55
submissions, sat through practice after practice and
26:59
while their names might not be on the slide show today,
27:03
they're the reason we made it as far as we did.
27:06
I don't think it's a stretch to say that everyone in this room will be able to
27:10
think of lecturers, academics, other members of faculty that
27:14
have motivated us to strive in ways that go beyond their job
27:18
description. Now like many other students over the
27:23
years, I found myself participating in things
27:26
like social sport, competitions and mentoring programs that I never thought
27:31
I would have been involved in when I first started uni.
27:35
The truth is I'm always going to be indebted to this law school
27:39
for some of the most remarkable experiences I've had
27:42
and some of the most incredible people in my life.
27:46
You know of course like many good love stories, I even met my boyfriend Jonathan
27:50
at Law Camp. It feels arbitrary then to reduce my
27:55
time at UTS down to a handful of highlights but I
27:59
think there are some certainties in all these experiences that are not
28:03
unique to me at UTS. The people we encounter are generous
28:08
with their time< the environment that we study in is one
28:12
where things like curiosity and teamwork help you thrive and from
28:16
day one there's a social justice imperative that
28:20
drives our community. These are the hallmarks of the culture
28:24
at UTS. And so while we might all be feeling a
28:28
bit of Zoom fatigue right now, I think it's a really, really exciting
28:33
time to be a UTS Law student. Thanks!
28:39
Thank you so much Margaret and you of course have been a student
28:44
who has been so involved and it's wonderful to see,
28:49
one of the things I love, is to see that richness of student life and the way in
28:53
which the initiatives that you and other
28:56
students who are active through the Law Student Society and
28:59
other activities to see that initiative that you take
29:04
and I want to say thank you as well for that really generous
29:07
tribute to my colleagues, to the academic staff and for the work that they do.
29:14
And it's perhaps a good opportunity for me to just mention
29:17
also again you will see it on the screen but
29:22
unfortunately we won't see the person on the stage we have an
29:26
annual prize which is awarded not to a
29:30
student but one to one of our academic colleagues and
29:33
it's the Lyndal Taylor and Emma Holt
29:38
Teaching Prize. And it's awarded to an academic who has
29:45
made some special contribution to legal education and I'm very pleased
29:51
to announce this evening that it's Robin Bowley, who not only
29:58
does puts a lot into the subjects that he teaches
30:04
but also who creates a lot of additional opportunities for students to
30:10
experience what it might be like to think about how
30:14
they apply law professionally and so forth. So a particular tribute
30:19
there tonight and in fact it's just coming up on the
30:22
screen now to Dr. Robin Bowley. Thank you again Margaret and
30:28
you of course and like so many of your cohort are some
30:31
of the students that are already having an impact and that we will watch
30:35
with pleasure in future years and so I'm glad that
30:40
you got over that clinical approach to your
30:44
law studies. That concludes our evening now and it would of course, in other
30:55
circumstances, we would be inviting you to some refreshments but
30:58
I hope that you might have an opportunity in your own
31:01
homes to celebrate in the way that you think is appropriate
31:05
the achievements that have been acknowledged here tonight.
31:10
So thank you all for attending this unusual Law Awards Ceremony!
31:17
Congratulations again to our students on behalf of the Faculty of Law and UTS.
31:24
Just to let you know there will be a dedicated website
31:28
with the details of all of tonight's award ceremony, the donors, the awards and
31:33
the recipients and that will be available next week and
31:36
we'll be emailing you a link
31:40
to that website. So for now, I will wish you a Good Evening once
31:46
again thank you and I do hope that you and your families
31:51
are all staying safe in this very difficult
31:55
and uncertain time. Thank you again!
UTS Law graduate and 2018 University Medal recipient, Nicholas Saady used a quote from former US president, Barack Obama to motivate recipients at this year’s online Law Awards ceremony.
With the COVID19 pandemic raging across the globe and so many challenges facing every country, Nicholas implored UTS Law students to make a positive impact:
We need to address those big questions and challenges. In the words of former US President Obama, now is the time where 'we need to prove that together, ordinary people can still do extraordinary things.'
Ironically, it’s partly because of the pandemic that Nicholas was able to accept the guest speaker invitation for the 2020 Law Awards event as he is currently in the United States.
After graduating from UTS Law, he worked for law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney before taking up the Dean’s Graduate Scholarship and the Elias Lieberman Fellowship to study his Master of Laws at NYU.
Nicholas is preparing to sit the NY Bar exams next month and will start work as a 2nd year Attorney in Civil Litigation with Davis Polk and Wardwell (NY) in October - he would not have been able to attend an actual event but he was able to join the online Law Awards albeit in the early hours of the morning New York time.
Nick is a great example of how far a graduate can go with a UTS Law degree.
Final year student, Margaret Cai is already using her legal and advocacy skills as the current president of the Australian Law Students Association. She’s also been involved in a range of co-curricular activities including travelling to Oxford last year as a member of the UTS Law team competing in the prestigious Oxford Intellectual Property Moot.
Margaret received the Dean’s Service award this year and is also recognised on the inaugural Dean’s Merit List. She says she is grateful for all the experiences UTS Law offers:
There are some certainties in all these experiences. The people you encounter are generous with their time, the environment that we study in is one where things like curiosity and teamwork help you thrive. And from day 1, there’s a social justice imperative that drives our community. These are the hallmarks of the culture at UTS.
The online event wasn’t the same as the usual ceremony where recipients get their moment to walk across the stage and accept their award but Law Dean Professor Lesley Hitchens says the recognition remains the same:
We believe it is more important than ever to stop and acknowledge the remarkable achievements of you, our students. We want you to know that we are full of admiration for your resilience, adaptability and desire to succeed no matter what obstacles are put in your path.
Nicholas says there’s no limit to what a UTS Law graduate can do – especially in these challenging times:
The radically different reality in which we now live presents opportunities for you to be dynamic and innovative. As well-educated and driven youth, who are willing to work hard and persevere – now is the perfect time for you.
Read more about the Law Awards 2020
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