By Casey Neill
A Dandenong lawyer and former refugee is among the state’s best young legal minds.
The Law Institute of Victoria named Jenny Tran an emerging star alongside nine other early-career lawyers ahead of the Victorian Legal Awards, held on 19 May.
She didn’t take home the Rising Star Award from the gala dinner, but Maurice Blackburn Dandenong principal Gino Andrieri was proud of her achievement.
He nominated her for the honour.
“Jenny’s achievements make for not just a successful legal story, but an amazing human story,” he said.
“A child to asylum seekers making their way to Australia by boat, born in a refugee processing camp and raised in commission flats, the rise of Jenny to now an emerging leader and leading lawyer at Maurice Blackburn is quite extraordinary.
“It is these life experiences that have shaped her into the type of lawyer she is now; extremely hard working, intelligent but most importantly, caring.
“Jenny is driven by her desire to give back to her local community.”
She first joined Maurice Blackburn as a paralegal in 2011, started the graduate lawyer program in 2013 and was admitted to practice in 2014.
Ms Tran is based in Dandenong but also responsible for managing Maurice Blackburn’s Cranbourne visiting office.
Mr Andrieri said Ms Tran was involved with local organisations including Dandenong High School and the Southern Migrant and Refugee Centre (SMRC).
“Jenny is also a driver of the firm’s cultural diversity committee and recent recipient of the Maurice Blackburn Cultural Diversity Ambassador of the Year,” he said.
The Journal met Ms Tran last year when she shared her story at Dandenong High School during Pathways and Opportunity Week.
“What’s really lovely, I have to say, is how the girls respond to hearing me speak,” she said afterwards.
“Some of them will put their hands up and say ‘is it possible for me to be a lawyer?’.
“You may not get a perfect ATAR, but I’m proof that you don’t need to.”
She achieved an ENTER score – as the ATAR was then known – of 78.85.
Ms Tran worked hard for a year to achieve a high-distinction average for her studies then transferred into her dream course – Arts Law at Monash University in Clayton.
She grew up in Dandenong West, Dandenong North and Springvale.
Her dad being diagnosed with lung cancer likely caused by exposure in his workplace steered Ms Tran to a career in compensation and WorkCover.
