By Ann Marie Angebrandt
WERRIBEE resident Linda Lovett will become Victoria’s first female indigenous barrister this Friday.
A former lawyer with Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), Ms Lovett says her interest in law came from “always wanting to know my rights” after a childhood marked by racism.
Ms Lovett joined Victoria Legal Aid four years ago, first as an articled clerk, then as a criminal lawyer, working in courts across the West.
She overcame many obstacles on her way to a legal career.
Her father, a labourer, took his family of six across Australia, working wherever he could find it and living off the land.
He attended night school in the 1970s and became Victoria’s first indigenous meat inspector.
Ms Lovett has been very active in encouraging indigenous people to become lawyers, helping establish the Indigenous Law Students and Lawyers Association four years ago.
VLA managing director Tony Parsons said the organisation was proud to have had a role in nurturing Ms Lovett’s achievement.
