The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) welcomes the commitment of law firm Gilbert + Tobin in establishing a Legal Cadetship to be placed at NAAJA.
Mililma (Mili) May is the recipient of the Cadetship as part of her studies of a Bachelor of Laws at Charles Darwin University. Mili was previously studying law in Sydney while undertaking a part-time Legal Cadetship in Gilbert + Tobin’s pro bono legal services. More recently she worked as a Community Legal Educator at NAAJA.
As part of the Cadetship Mili will work part-time at NAAJA coordinating the delivery of Community Legal Education at Don Dale Youth Detention Centre.
NAAJA’s CEO Priscilla Atkins said “we are really pleased to see this demonstrated commitment from law firm Gilbert + Tobin investing directly in our emerging Aboriginal talent – encouraging Mili to complete her studies in law and enabling her to continue to make a meaningful difference to the lives of others and in her work.”
“We know there are many opportunities for our Aboriginal talent and particularly our young people in the big cities down south, and so we recognise and acknowledge the importance of creating opportunities for our mob to stay connected and contribute here at home”, said Priscilla.
“This arrangement with NAAJA as an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation demonstrates that change is possible when we develop genuine partnerships across the legal system, and in this case we thank Gilbert + Tobin for this opportunity.”
“Much more could be done in this area, and we will continue to work across the profession and with government and education to create supports and opportunities for law students based in the Northern Territory”.
Gilbert + Tobin’s Head of Corporate and Social Responsibility, Eloise Schnierer, wholeheartedly supported Mili’s Cadetship. Since the launch of their Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2008, G+T has remained committed to providing work experience to university students and ensuring that talented young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students can pursue a legal career and contribute to their communities.
“A key priority of our RAP is to address the under representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the legal profession. We dedicate significant resources to our Indigenous Legal Cadetship Program, not only to offer law students the opportunity to work part-time during their studies, but to also ensure that we support their ongoing careers”, said Eloise.
“We are delighted to support both Mili, a former Gilbert + Tobin cadet, and NAAJA, an organisation with whom we have a long standing relationship with through the firm’s pro bono practice. Mili will be an asset to NAAJA both now and in the future. I’m personally looking forward to seeing her finish her law degree and join the growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lawyers in the Northern Territory.”