A Queensland barrister has won the 2019 Australian Young Lawyer Award, hailed for his outstanding contribution to the legal profession through pro bono work and access to justice and diversity advocacy.
Reimen Hii, 32, is co-founder of the Queensland branch of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association, a national non-profit organisation promoting cultural diversity in the legal profession.
He has spearheaded a range of initiatives to support junior and culturally and linguistically diverse members of the profession, promoting cultural and gender diversity and awareness in the profession and judiciary.
Mr Hii has practised at the Queensland Bar since 2017. He has also worked as a solicitor in private practice, a registrar of the Tongan superior courts, as an Associate to Hon. Judge Susan Purdon-Sully of the Federal Circuit Court, and as an Associate Legal Officer at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia, a UN-backed war crimes tribunal.
Law Council of Australia President, Arthur Moses SC, praised Mr Hii's contributions to the profession.
"Mr Hii is an incredibly accomplished young lawyer who has a clear passion for access to justice and diversity in the law," said Mr Moses SC.
"Whether mentoring law students, or providing pro bono support to Queensland community legal centres – Mr Hii has significantly contributed to the legal profession and community and is well deserving of this award," said Mr Moses SC.
"I have no doubt Mr Hii will continue to make an outstanding contribution over the course of his career."
The 2019 Australian Young Lawyer Award (Organisation) winner was The Legal Forecast, for its significant contribution to the legal profession and the community, empowering new ideas and change through the lens of technology, innovation, wellbeing and access to justice.
