Katrina Dawson Award September 2022

28/09/2022

Diversity

The Bar Association is delighted to announce that Monica Aguinaldo is the recipient of the Katrina Dawson Award for September 2022.

Monica was admitted as a solicitor in 2012, and to the New York State Bar in 2017. From 2015, she practised as a solicitor in commercial litigation at Quinn Emanuel and was soon after promoted as Senior Associate.

Monica graduated from the University of New South Wales in 2012 with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons)/Bachelor of Arts. While at university, she competed in the Philip C Jessup International Law Moot. Monica has completed a Master of Laws at Harvard Law School as a Rotary Global Grant Fellow. She was an Editor for the Harvard Business Law Review and a student attorney for the Harvard Law Prison Legal Assistance Project.

Monica’s achievements are not limited to the classroom, she has served as a mentor to lawyers with the Asian Australian Lawyers Association Mentoring Program and emphasises the importance of pro bono work in her practice. She volunteered at the Kingsford Legal Centre and the Marrickville Legal Centre for several years and has also taken part in the Justice for Refugees solicitor referral service.

In 2013, Monica was the associate to the Honourable Peter Jacobson KC of the Federal Court of Australia and in 2018, she was the associate to the Honourable Justice Gageler AC of the High Court of Australia.

Monica passed the Bar Exam in June 2022 and intends to take the Bar Practice Course in the May 2023.