The new national president of the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) is Maurice Blackburn director, Michelle James.
Michelle James leads Maurice Blackburn's Queensland and Northern Territory road injury, work injury and public liability practices. Based in Queensland, Michelle has been working in the legal industry since 1998 and is a tenacious fighter for the rights of injured people.
In accepting leadership of the organisation, Michelle reaffirmed the ALA's commitment to justice, fairness and protecting the rights of the individual.
"Our values and principles are relevant whether we are fighting for justice for someone injured on the road or in a workplace accident, a survivor of abuse, someone in immigration detention or a person living with disability," said Ms James.
"The right to bring a claim under the common law is something that many people don't know about and they don't know about it because they don't need to know about it, until they do. It's a terrible outcome to tell someone that has been injured through no fault of their own that they don't have any rights because a government thought that it was a good idea to take them away.
"The ALA has impacted many positive changes for the rights of injured people around Australia. As we mark 30 years of the ALA, our commitment to protecting and promoting common law rights is still as important as ever and there continues to be work for us to do."
Michelle has previously led the Queensland branch of the Australian Lawyers Alliance as state president and now takes on the national president role as Victorian law firm partner Shaun Marcus from Arnold Dallas McPherson steps down.
"It is critical the ALA retains a national perspective and we learn from the experiences in all jurisdictions as we continue to work to protect and promote the rights of individuals. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues from all across Australia in this national position," said Ms James.
The ALA began in 1994 and was originally known as the Australian Plaintiff Lawyers Association. At any one time, ALA members represent at least 200,000 people around Australia. The organisation has had several well-known national presidents including Noor Blumer, Tom Goudkamp OAM, Greg Barns SC, Andrew Stone SC and Peter Semmler QC.
