InBrief

Diversity

The Bar Association is delighted to announce that the second recipient of the Katrina Dawson Award for 2019 is Aleksandra Ilic, a senior associate at King & Wood Mallesons.

Aleksandra migrated from Serbia in 2001 and, like so many before her, worked long hours and made many sacrifices to establish herself in Australia. ‘The challenges I have overcome are part of my story, of which I am proud. Every step I have taken in my studies and career has been in furtherance of a dream I have had since I was a Year 7 student whose English was still a work-in-progress and who had not quite settled into this new country which was overwhelming in its opportunities – the dream of becoming a barrister’, she said.

Aleksandra was dux of Liverpool Girls High School in 2008. She attended the University of Western Sydney, from which she graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours and the University Medal) and a Bachelor of Arts (Distinction), majoring in philosophy. Among her various prizes she received the ‘Best Speaker’ award in 2011 and 2012 at the Robert Hayes Mooting Championship. In 2016 she was awarded the Ross Waite Parsons Postgraduate Coursework Scholarship to study a Master of Laws at the University of Sydney, from which she graduated with Distinction in May 2018.

Aleksandra was admitted to practise in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in October 2014. Since February 2015 she has worked as a solicitor at King & Wood Mallesons in their Dispute Resolution Practice. In July last year Aleksandra was promoted to senior associate at the firm.

Aleksandra is determined to give back to the community and during her time at the firm has been active in promoting reconciliation, mentoring and pro bono assistance, particularly through the Downing Centre Duty Solicitors Scheme.

Aleksandra will join the May 2020 Bar Practice Course and will read with Justin Williams and James Arnott. In the years ahead, Aleksandra hopes to participate in the Duty Barrister Scheme and to serve on the Bar Association’s Diversity and Equality Committee and the First Nations Committee.