Although there has been a rise in the proportion of Asian Australians in the profession, there is far below population-level representation in the upper ranks of legal workplaces, a new research has revealed.
Increases across all measures
Recently, the Asian Australian Lawyers Association (AALA) unveiled its 2025 Cultural Diversity Snapshot, which revealed findings from its research – its first major update to the snapshot in a decade.
For this report, the AALA collected a data set of 15,000 names in July 2025 and then analysed these names in September 2025 using a combination of name detection software and biographical data to determine the proportion of Asian Australians in the law practice.
Over the past 10 years, Asian Australian representation has increased across all measured cohorts, it found – up 2.1 percentage points in the judiciary, up 3.2 percentage points at the Bar, up 5 percentage points in partnerships, and up 3.5 percentage points across the overall profession.
‘Bamboo ceiling’
Despite there being a “strong pipeline” of Asian Australian lawyers at the associate level (over 21 per cent), the research showed that this was “not translated” into senior leadership or judicial appointments.
Nearly one in five (17 per cent) Australians have Asian ancestry in 2025, it revealed, but only around one in 18 (5.5 per cent) lawyers in the legal profession are Asian Australian. Asian Australians were also over-represented at junior levels, dropping off when it got to senior levels – this is evident where Asian Australians made up 21 per cent of associates, 16.8 per cent of senior associates, 8 per cent of partners, 4.8 per cent of barristers, and 2.9 per cent of the judiciary.
In addition, it found that over a decade, only four new Asian Australian judges were appointed, while the federal judiciary grew from 154 to 190. Similarly, it unveiled that that there were no Asian Australian judges in the High Court, or any state Supreme Court, apart from NSW and Western Australia
Despite Asian Australians comprising 17 per cent of the national population, only 11.8 per cent of major law firm solicitors, 4.8 per cent of barristers, and 2.9 per cent of judicial officers were Asian Australians.
Interestingly, the report found that in Australia, there are more judges named “Michael” (62) than the total number of Asian Australian judges (40). Further, the report found that improvements in gender equality at the Bar have not translated to proportionate increases in Asian Australian female representation at the Bar. In addition, the data revealed that there is almost a one-to-one representation of Asian Australian senior associates who make up 16.8 per cent, when put up against the population of Asian Australians in the nation (17 per cent).
Matt Floro, national president at AALA, said the study builds on the association’s 2015 Cultural Diversity Snapshot – revealing improvements in representation, but highlights a “bamboo ceiling” – which shows limits to advancement into senior roles and the judiciary for Asian Australians.
“At the current rate of change, the judiciary will not reach population-level representation of Asian Australians for at least 70 years,” AALA said.
Floro stressed the importance of representation for the integrity of the justice system. “Our profession must reflect the community it serves … We cannot wait another decade – or seven decades – for meaningful change,” he said.
Accelerating cultural diversity at every level
AALA called for reform across recruitment, retention, briefing practices and judicial appointment pathways to deal with “persistent barriers”.
“Diversity does not soften the law – it sharpens its sight, deepens our deliberations, and ensures that our profession is equipped to meet the needs of all Australians,” Floro said.
Floro recommended that firms adopt a diversity-aware recruitment strategy and actively seek candidates from culturally diverse backgrounds. He explained that this will involve widening outreach to diverse law students and professional groups through “diverse recruitment panels, mitigating bias in screening, and valuing multilingual and cross-cultural competencies”.
“Firms that embrace cultural diversity benefit from richer problem solving, stronger client relationships, and enhanced cultural intelligence – particularly as Australia is situated in the Asia-Pacific,” he said.
“Diverse teams improve retention, innovation, and workplace culture, enabling firms to better reflect the communities they serve and deliver more responsive, inclusive legal services.”
Carlos Tse is a graduate journalist writing for Accountants Daily, HR Leader, Lawyers Weekly.
