William Ah Ket became the first Chinese barrister to practise in Melbourne after joining the bar in 1904. William studied at the University of Melbourne and then completed his articles at the firm of Maddock & Jamieson (now Maddocks) in 1903.

The purpose of the scholarship is to encourage persons at the early stages of their legal careers to contribute to the discourse on diversity and inclusion in the law and legal profession. Applicants will write a paper researching a topic relating to equality, diversity and the legal profession or the law.

According to a statement from Maddocks, the scholarship is open to Australian residents that are final-year law students who have had not less than four weeks’ legal work experience or have completed a legal clerkship in Australia or overseas, law graduates currently undertaking practical legal training; and admitted lawyers with no more than five years’ post-admission experience.

Applicants are required to write and submit an unpublished paper of no more than 5,000 words on a topic inspired by an extract from William Ah Ket’s paper “The Chinese and the Factories Acts” (10 September 1906).

The accompanying prompt is “...when wholesale condemnation is indulged in concerning a race which must necessarily include good, bad, and indifferent, the unbiased mind will naturally enquire whether the whole truth is being told, or whether on the other hand either ignorant prejudice or improper motive underlies such sweeping charges.”

Further, applicants are asked to answer the following question, “How can the Australian legal profession and/or judiciary or wider legal system be improved to ensure the unbiased mind is brought to bear and the whole truth is being told?”

An event to officially launch the William Ah Ket Scholarship will be held next month with further details to be released soon on the AALA website.

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