The Witness Box

The Witness Box is an online series where UQ Law students interview noteworthy guests working in the profession. Released weekly and housed online 24/7, this series offers students, staff, alumni and professionals an opportunity to explore several organisations and specialties within the profession. Student interviewers also have the chance to establish a connection with their interviewees.

Whether you're staff, a student or the public, we're always looking for questions to ask in this series, so dive into the upcoming schedule below, and be sure to submit your questions online.

Plus, if you're a UQ Law student and want to delve deeper than each guest’s area of expertise, the challenges their industry faces and the available career paths, register your interest to become a student interviewer today. You will no doubt develop your soft skills and create great connections.

 

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A witness box in a court room

Chris Grier, Vice President, Legal and Governance at Abt Associates

5 November 2021 12:00pm1:00pm
Chris Grier is Vice President, Legal and Governance at Abt Associates. A member of the Executive team reporting to the Managing Director, Chris leads the legal, governance, insurance and contracts functions supporting the corporate and program operations of Abt Australia and Abt Britain, across more than 30 countries. He is also company secretary.
Photo of a witness box in a courtroom

Brian Kirkup, Associate, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

4 October 2021 12:00pm
A member of the finance team, Brian Kirkup advises global financial institutions, private equity sponsors and borrowers in connection with acquisition financing, distressed debt and other corporate transactions.
a witness box in a court room

Arthur (Artie) Abal, Impact Sourcing and Crowd Diversity at Appen

24 May 2021 12:00pm
Arthur (Artie) Abal (he/him) is a UQ Law graduate working at Appen, one of the world’s leading producers of data used for the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
the witness box in a court of law

Keilin Anderson, Office of International Law

3 May 2021 12:00pm
Keilin Anderson works as a Lawyer with the Office of International Law within the Attorney-General’s Department.
witness box in a courtroom

Jordan English, stipendiary lecturer in law at St Hilda's College, Oxford

29 March 2021 12:00pm
Jordan's college teaching currently comprises contract and trusts. He has also taught land law and tort law. On the BCL/MJur Jordan teaches Commercial Remedies and Restitution of Unjust Enrichment.
a witness box in a courtroom

Finian Cullity, Australian Government Solicitor

15 March 2021 12:00pm
Finian Cullity is a senior lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor specialising in competition law and complex regulatory disputes.
witness box in a courtroom

Milan Gandhi, Founder and National Director of The Legal Forecast

9 November 2020 12:00pm
Milan is the Founder and a National Director of The Legal Forecast, a national not-for-profit run by entrepreneurially-minded early-career professionals who, among other objectives, promote the role of innovation in enhancing access to justice and legal services.
the witness box in a courtroom

Bruce Cowley, ShedB Principal and Adjunct Professor

26 October 2020 12:00pm
Bruce Cowley, ShedB Principal, has extensive experience as a lawyer, governance professional, board member, author and speaker on governance issues.
The witness box

Molly Thomas, Legal Consultant at the International Criminal Court (The Hague)

12 October 2020 12:00pm
Molly Thomas is a Legal Consultant at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. She currently works on a trial concerning alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Mali.

Susannah Wilkinson, Digital Law Lead (Australia & Asia), Herbert Smith Freehills

28 September 2020 12:00pm
Susannah is driving the development of smart legal contracts in conjunction with the industry collaboration through the Australian National Blockchain. She is a key member of the global Connected and Autonomous Vehicle team with experience advising clients on procurement of autonomous equipment. 

Nitra Kidson QC, Barrister-at-Law

14 September 2020 12:00pm
Nitra practices almost exclusively in public law, particularly in the areas of administrative and constitutional law, native title law, migration law, freedom of information law and human rights law.
The witness box

Simon Cleary, barrister and award winning novelist

31 August 2020 12:00pm
Simon practises predominantly in the areas of trade practices, consumer law, financial services, tort law, workers’ compensation and administrative law. He appears in both State and Federal Courts and tribunals.
witness box in court

Alastair Blenkin UQ adjunct lecturer and Founder & CEO of Hyra iQ

17 August 2020 12:00pm
Alastair founded Hyra iQ in 2017 in UQ's ilab accelerator, following his experience in commercial contracting working as a property lawyer in top tier law firm, MinterEllison between 2011-2017.

Michelle Mahoney - Executive Director of Innovation at King & Wood Mallesons

3 August 2020 12:00pm
Michelle is the Executive Director of Innovation at King & Wood Mallesons and is responsible for the design and delivery of both the innovation and transformation strategies and portfolios.
witness box

Women in Law: 30 under 30 Finalists

15 June 2020 12:00pm
The Women in Law episode features three UQ Alumni who were recently named finalists in the Lawyers Weekly 30 under 30. Their experience and learnings will be invaluable for young females students starting out in the profession.
The witness box

Luke Furness of Clayton Utz

8 June 2020 12:00pm
Luke Furness a Senior Associate at Clayton Utz, Australia's largest, independent law firm. He has been at Clayton Utz for the better part of a decade and specialises in all types of disputes with a particular focus on tax and duties disputes, restructuring and insolvency, and IP and trade practices disputes.
witness box

Professor Heather Douglas, Law Deputy Dean (Research)

1 June 2020 12:00pm
Professor Heather Douglas researches in the areas of criminal justice and domestic violence. In 2014- 2019 she was awarded an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship to research the way in which women who have experienced domestic violence use the legal system to help them leave violence.
The Witness Box

Ted Cawrey of Blueprint Law

25 May 2020 12:00pm
Ted Cawrey is an entertainment finance lawyer and runs the Brisbane office of the boutique law firm Blueprint Law. Blueprint Law focusses on the media, tech and entertainment sectors and was established in Sydney 15 years ago.
witness box

Monica Taylor of the UQ Pro Bono Centre

18 May 2020 12:00pm
Monica is the Director of the UQ Pro Bono Centre having worked previously in the community legal sector advising clients across a range of areas of law including housing, disability, mental health and public space law.
Click through to submit a question.
witness box

Gabriela Christian-Hare of the Australian Pro Bono Centre

11 May 2020 12:00pm
Gabriela Christian-Hare is Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Pro Bono Centre, Australia’s centre of leadership for pro bono legal services. The Centre’s mission is to grow participation and excellence in pro bono across the legal profession.
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witness box

Associate Professor Paul Harpur of the UQ Law School

5 May 2020 12:00pm
Associate Professor Harpur has a mixture of practice and research experience, having formerly practised as a lawyer. He continues to work as an industrial relations special advisor in a national private practice.

Rosslyn Monro of Community Legal Centres Queensland

27 April 2020 12:00pm
Rosslyn has worked in the community legal sector for over 15 years in both solicitor and management positions and is committed to the support and development of the community legal sector in Queensland and Australia.

Wendy Herman of Tenants Queensland

20 April 2020 12:00pm
Tenants Queensland (TQ) provides high-quality, free, independent tenant advisory services to assist tenants to understand their rights and responsibilities and sustain, as far as possible, safe and secure tenancies.