Creating future legislators who advocate for social justice

Through intellectual engagement and voluntary roles, students like Vishaya Pracy are inspired to pursue careers in law focused on making a positive impact.

Although classrooms have long been considered the centre stage for social change, developing a strong sense and deep understanding of social justice cannot be taught through theoretical means alone. This is particularly relevant for law students who will ultimately be required to practice and carry out justice worldwide. 

The UTS Law Brennan Justice and Leadership Program was introduced in 2011 as a joint initiative of the UTS Faculty of Law and the UTS Law Students’ Society. The program is named for the Hon Sir Gerard Brennan AC KBE GBS QC, former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia and UTS Chancellor. His life and career exemplified the qualities of professional leadership, service and excellence that the program seeks to nurture. It includes two key components; Reflections on Justice, in which students engage intellectually with ideas of justice, and Leadership through Service, where students undertake voluntary roles with a service element. 

One student participating in the program is Vishaya Pracy, who chose to study law because she was passionate about making the world a better place. Pracy has been involved in the Brennan Program since her first year of law and has volunteered at several organisations. 

The program teaches us why we need to learn about social justice and that you need to know about how the law impacts people who are often forgotten and invisible in this system. I think that allows you to then carry that sense of social justice and justice consciousness beyond your studies into your career as a lawyer.

The broader societal impact of the program is echoed by UTS Law Alumni Award Winner Nicholas Stewart, who is now a Partner at Dowson Turco Lawyers, an LGBTQA+ law firm based in Macquarie Street. The private practice regularly works with Brennan Program student volunteers.  

“The students that come and work with us get to interview clients, take evidence and write submissions. They learn in a workplace setting about real matters with clients who are facing real issues. 

“Some of the students have enabled clients to submit evidence to the LGBTIQ hate crimes and murders inquiry, and without the students' support, I'm not sure those clients would have been so willing to give that evidence. It is very impactful work,” Stewart explains.

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The Brennan Program is a voluntary program run for UTS law students. The key objectives of
the Brennan Justice and Leadership Program are to instil a sense of justice consciousness, and
an understanding of the rule of law. Also, it aims to encourage people to get involved with pro
bono work, so volunteering at a number of different organisations over the course of the
program, and ultimately just develop those leadership skills that you need to enter into the legal
practise.
The Brennan Justice Program is a really great program for university students to not only learn
about social justice, but also work practically in the community on social justice projects. It is
designed to look at those issues that perhaps mainstream society isn't looking at. It might
engage students to pursue other careers that they haven't considered.
The reason I chose to study law is because I was really passionate about making the world a
better place and getting involved in what I now know to be social justice issues, and on my very
first day of law school, the Brennan Program came and spoke at orientation and I remember
feeling so inspired and in awe by listening to people like me talk about the things that I cared
about, and that really was a moment that I was like, "I need to be involved in this in whatever
capacity I can."
The program makes sense to me because at its very core, it is about making sure law students
understand social justice and the role of law in changing society. Just makes sense for a
university to work with private practise to affect social justice change. And I think the Brennan
Justice Program is all about looking more deeply at the problems that we have in society and
looking at how we can tackle those. I feel so hopeful knowing that potentially thousands of
students are going to go through this program in the future, and they are all going to find
themselves in government, in companies, in not-for-profit organisations, and from early on in
their career, they will have developed all of these social justice framework skills that they can
then use as they pursue whatever they want to pursue.
Getting to experience the human rights sector as a student before I've even started my legal
career has been incredible in terms of shaping the way that I will approach the work that I do
when I graduate. I know that I will continue to be really involved in pro bono work, and that will
be a fundamental part of who I am as a lawyer. If you're thinking about getting involved in the
Brennan Program, it is easy. We design it around you. You get to volunteer where you want to
volunteer, you get to do everything you want to do, and really do the things that you care about.

“By getting such experiences, students graduate already well equipped with the skills and abilities to work within our human rights framework and affect change. That is what we all want - future leaders who understand human rights and social justice,” says Stewart. 

Exposure to such workplaces and opportunities have long-lasting effects on the students on their motivation to engage with social justice as part of their careers in law. This is evidenced by Pracy’s experience volunteering at the Refugee Advice & Casework Service where she was taking calls from people who didn’t have anywhere else to turn to. She learned the impact lengthy citizenship processes can have on their lives, and it inspired her to run an awareness event with guest speakers from refugee backgrounds.  

Getting to be involved in the human rights sector as a student before I've even started my legal career has been incredible in terms of shaping how I’ll approach the work I do when I graduate. I know that I will continue to be involved in pro-bono work and that will be a fundamental part of who I am as a lawyer. 

You can inquire further about the Brennan Program by emailing brennanprogram@uts.edu.au.