In 1979, a small group of law students with a vision for better access to justice occupied a small room in the Marrickville Town Hall. Their aim was to provide free legal assistance to individuals in the local area, particularly the growing migrant community. Since then, Marrickville Legal Centre has grown to extend its reach beyond Marrickville and the Inner West, to Sydney’s South West, Southern, Northern suburbs and across NSW – a catchment that covers over 1.5 million people.
In celebration of 45 years of dedicated service and advocacy, MLC hosted a Gala Dinner back where is all started over 4 decades ago. We brought together founders, supporters, alumni and partners for an evening of celebration, reflection and connection. This milestone occasion not only honoured our rich history of supporting the community through access to free and accessible legal services but also looked forward to a future of continued impact and progress.
The night began with a red-carpet entrance in the foyer of the beautiful and historic Marrickville Town Hall. As guests began to come in, they got their photograph taken, then were ushered inside for drinks, nibbles at our grazing table, and found their seats while the Steyer Brothers played Brazilian guitar.
Aunty Joan Bell kicked the proceedings off with a Welcome to Country and stories from her childhood. Her words had the guests laughing but were also deeply moving and provided a powerful reminder of the importance of respecting the culture and the land in which we work and serve our clients.
Our MC, Tyler Juel from Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, then introduced the speakers of the evening (in order): Mayor of Inner West Council Darcy Byrne, Clr Liz Atkins PSM on behalf of Jenny Leong MP, video messages from The Hon. Sophie Cotsis, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, The Hon. Justice Michael Lee and MLC’s CEO Vasili Maroulis.
We were honoured to have The Hon. Justice Michael Lee as our keynote speaker for the evening. His thoughtful words and reflections on the importance of access to justice were both inspiring and impactful, resonating deeply with all those in attendance. As a well-respected member of the judiciary, Justice Lee’s presence was cause for much excitement among our guests and truly elevated the occasion. As an organisation whose work, from its inception, has centred around the vision of access to justice for all, we are grateful for Justice Lee’s dedication to upholding justice.
We were also very lucky to have Sydney-based Hip Hop artist and advocate, Kween G, perform for us, including the performance of one of her new, unreleased songs.
To close out the evening’s formal proceedings, we brought to the stage Athena Touriki, one of the founders of Marrickville Legal Centre, Justin Abi-Daher, MLC’s Principal Solicitor, Vasili, and Tyler to cut the 45th Anniversary Cake (and celebrate Justin and Tyler’s birthday).
Guests stayed for dessert and cake, enjoying the opportunity to mingle as 2MOOGI provided the music.
On behalf of everyone at MLC, we would like to extend our gratitude to everyone who joined us for this special event and helped us raise over $23,000 for the centre’s services. All funds raised goes straight towards providing legal services to those in our community who need it the most.
A big thank you to our speakers and performers: Justice Michael Lee, Aunty Joan Bell, Mayor of Inner West Council Darcy Byrne, Clr Liz Atkins PSM (on behalf of Jenny Leong MP), The Hon. Sophie Cotsis MP (video message), Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (video message), Kween G, 2MOOGI, and Steyer Brothers.
Thanks also goes out to our special guests: Clr Jessica D’Arienzo, Clr Jo Carlisle, Alan Cameron AO, Peter Beattie AC, Justice David Chin, The Hon. Justice James McNaughton, The Hon. Justice Sarah McNaughton, representatives of the NSW Bar Counci and NSW Bar Association along with our presenting sponsor Santone Lawyers, supporting sponsors Gilbert + Tobin, and supporting donor Hall&Wilcox.
Lastly, thank you to our beverage sponsors Philter, Stockade Brew Co, Young Henrys and Leogate Estate Wines, our board and staff members who generously donated silent auction prizes, and all the local businesses who contributed towards our fantastic raffle prizes.
We hope you enjoyed your night! Here’s to another 45 years of providing access to #JusticeForUsAll.
