The Honourable Justice Dina Yehia reflected on the importance of advocacy at UNSW Sydney's annual Hal Wootten Lecture.
Real change can only come about when we alter the way we think about the world.
That was the message from Justice Dina Yehia, a UNSW alumna, as she delivered the 2025 Hal Wootten Lecture, named in honour of the University's founding Dean of Law.
The lecture explored the evolving role of advocacy, what it means inside and beyond the courtroom, with a particular focus on First Nations peoples' interactions with the law.
"The role of a lawyer, engaging in advocacy, often representing the interests of the most marginalised in our community, the voiceless, the disempowered, is more important than ever," Justice Yehia said. "So too is fighting to safeguard the rule of law."
Breaking barriers and fostering community
Dina Yehia was admitted as a solicitor in 1989. She worked with the Western Aboriginal Legal Service and Legal Aid Commission before being appointed as a barrister in 1999. She was the first woman to become a NSW Deputy Senior Public Defender in 2013, and the first person of Greek Egyptian descent on the Supreme Court Bench of NSW in 2022.
Currently, Justice Yehia chairs the Ngara Yura Committee . She is also a member of the Bugmy Bar Book Committee and the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration Board.
Reflecting on her early career, Justice Yehia described her formative experiences working in remote NSW communities as a young solicitor.
"I journeyed over the mountains, past Dubbo, Bourke and Broken Hill. I was embraced with warmth, kindness and generosity. I was taken in by one particular family, sometimes referred to as their fifth daughter," Justice Yehia said.
"These relationships taught me a number of things, including resilience, loyalty and humility, and I'm happy to say that our friendships continue 35 years later.
"The anxiety, distress and humiliation experienced in court in the early days - mine, not my clients' - was fortunately contrasted with the security of being accepted into a small community by both First Nations and non-First Nations people."
Tackling a national crisis
Justice Yehia highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by First Nations communities in the legal system, particularly their overrepresentation among people in custody.
Statistics released this year show that Indigenous prisoners make up 37% of the adult prison population in Australia, despite representing only around 3% of the national population.
"The disproportionate representation of First Nations people in custody continues to be a national crisis, as is the lived experience of far too many First Nations people," she said. "This overrepresentation profoundly impacts families and communities, as well as individuals who are incarcerated."
Justice Yehia emphasised the importance of cultural safety, trauma-informed and solution-focused practices for lawyers.
"We are in the thick of it. We have a role to play in solution-focused and problem-solving objectives," she said. "We know what works and we know what doesn't. Of course, there are constraints on what we can say and do. But as Hal [Wootten] said, every now and then, there is an opportunity for a judge to give a little nudge that sends the law along in the direction it ought to go."
She also spoke about the Walama List , which involves Indigenous elders in the sentencing proceedings of eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders.
"We need to listen deeply with purposeful intent to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices. Change happens. We introduce and implement reform. Then what we hear alters the ways in which we think about the world around us and necessitates that we act and do our work differently."
Honouring a founding vision for justice and integrity
UNSW Dean of Law & Justice Professor Andrew Lynch praised Justice Yehia for her leadership and integrity. "Justice Yehia reminded us that advocacy is not only a skill but a moral commitment, one grounded in empathy, courage and service," Prof. Lynch said.
"Using powerful examples, she illustrated how lawyers and judges, within the legitimate bounds of their role, can apply use their knowledge and influence to challenge systemic inequalities, centre the voices of those most affected and pursue meaningful reform. In this way, she presented a much richer concept of 'access to justice' than simply a right to legal representation."
The Hal Wootten Lecture was established in 2006 by UNSW Law & Justice in honour of founding Dean, Emeritus Professor Hal Wootten. The lecture is a highlight of the Faculty's year and commemorates Hal Wootten's founding vision - that a law school should have and communicate to its students a keen concern for those on whom the law bears harshly.
