Welcome - Her Honour Magistrate Urfa Masood

ADDRESS AT THE WELCOME ON WEDNESDAY 11 MAY 2016 IN COURT 1 OF THE MAGISTRATES’ COURT AT MELBOURNE TO HER HONOUR MAGISTRATE URFA MASOOD BY PAUL ANASTASSIOU QC, PRESIDENT OF THE VICTORIAN BAR

May it please the Court.

I appear on behalf of The Victorian Bar to congratulate Your Honour Magistrate Masood on your appointment to this Court.

Your Honour’s family migrated to Australia when you were quite young – accordingly your secondary and tertiary education has been in Australia.

Your family moved about, so you went to school in four different jurisdictions – Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory.

Moving schools is challenging. Anyone who’s done it knows that State-based education differs, and moving States is doubly challenging.

Your Honour matriculated from Merici Catholic Girls College in the ACT. Merici proclaims itself as “Building Futures for Exceptional Young Women”.

Your Honour is exceptional.

You graduated Bachelor of Economics from the Australian National University in 1997 and Bachelor of Laws with Honours in 1999.

With an Honours degree in Law, you went straight from the University into the Australian Taxation Office.

Promotion was meteoric. Within five months, you were promoted from an Australian Public Service Work Level APS 2 position into an APS 5 position. Within a further three months, to an APS 6 position.

You worked in the Taxation Office for two years. Your last year was as Research Assistant to one of the Assistant Commissioners.

Working for an Assistant Commissioner, you researched complex technical issues, issued private binding rulings, and advised on policy issues.  You also liaised with senior staff and mentored new people.

You began the Australian National University Legal Workshop course needed to qualify for admission to practice while with the ATO. You took the on-line course; and took leave so as to complete your Legal Workshop placement with the Women’s Legal Service in Victoria.

In 2002, you worked for one of the London Borough Councils as a Democratic Services Officer. That year, you also completed the on-line ANU Legal Workshop and you were admitted to practice in the ACT.

On your return home, you began as a Criminal Law Solicitor with the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service – known affectionately – by those who received their baptism of fire there – as “VALS”.

VALS was a baptism of fire.

It was your first job after admission. Your Legal Workshop Placement had been at the Women’s Legal Service, entirely in Family Law.

VALS is Criminal Law advice and advocacy – and under pressure.

VALS services the whole of Victoria. For that purpose, it had cars in a tiny ground-floor garage. The first test was to navigate your VALS car out to Alexandra Parade down a very narrow alley-way.

In your 18 months at VALS, never a scratch.

Your Honour was responsible for the Magistrates’ Court and Children’s Court in Moe – as well as work in the Metropolitan Magistrates’ Courts – and some County Court work.

Jennifer Clark and Graeme Davis, both now at the Bar, supported Your Honour at the very start – but, collegial as you all were at VALS, the pressure of individual work-loads limited ongoing support – you were each on your own.

County Court matters of which Your Honour had carriage as the solicitor included armed robbery and rape.  And you appeared in the County Court in appeals.

After 18 months at VALS, Your Honour came to the Bar.

You read with Tony Lavery – himself a three-year veteran of VALS – and counsel Your Honour had briefed and instructed when you were a solicitor at VALS.

Your work and your briefs to him had been, and I quote, “immaculate” – and Tony was glad to take you as a Reader.

In your nearly 11 ½ years since signing the Bar Roll, you have practised in the areas of Criminal Law, Child Protection, Intervention Orders, and Family Law.

You have appeared in the Magistrates’ Court, Children’s Court, County Court, Federal Circuit Court, and in the Family Court – including arguing on appeal to the Full Court of the Family Court alone and without a leader.

True to the fundamental principle of the independent Bar – the cab-rank rule – the principle of accepting briefs in your area of practice – you appeared for both the Department in prosecuting Child Protection cases; as well, of course, for the families in defending such cases.

Your Honour has been, for a number of years, briefed by the DHHS Child Protection Litigation Office.

You consistently demonstrated insight into the social factors ever-present in the child protection jurisdiction; and empathy for the families involved, while still maintaining a clear and unwavering focus on the safety and best interests of the children involved.

Your Honour was under intense pressure in these child protection cases – dealing with highly sensitive and emotional material; and in urgent "emergency care applications," with no time to prepare – having sometimes the brief brought to you at Court.

Your Honour was always utterly calm and professional.

A senior Family Court Judge was so impressed with Your Honour’s appearance in a difficult case that he took the trouble to say so to your Clerk.

For four years, Your Honour has been an Adjunct Lecturer for The College of Law in Melbourne.  You taught when you could – mostly conducting Advocacy Workshops.

Your students found you warm, friendly and patient – and got a lot out of your classes.  And the Director speaks most highly of Your Honour.

Mr Sapountsis will speak of Your Honour’s time in Equity Chambers.

The Criminal Law set in Equity of which Your Honour became a member, used, from time to time, to have Friday afternoon gatherings.  Sociably, Your Honour was an active participant.  Indeed the most memorable such gathering was the one for which Your Honour and Nola Karapanagiotidis catered the food – for about 40 people! – the alluring scents and flavours of Sri Lanka and Greece.

Your Honour is a person of high ideals and strongly-held principles.  You are also realistic, pragmatic and practical.

The balance is nicely illustrated by your work at VALS.  No-one goes to VALS to earn big-bucks – in particular, no-one who was on an APS 6 level salary straight out of Law School – even before admission to practice.

Your Honour has the high ideals.  You took the position at VALS and committed yourself to the welfare of your Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients – giving high-quality legal services to people in one of the most profoundly disadvantaged groups in Australian society.

The realistic, practical and pragmatic balance was that Your Honour became the de facto union representative and spokesperson for the legal staff in negotiations with management.

Your Honour is frank, forthright and direct – and you are articulate.

It is nearly twelve years since you came to the Bar in the September Readers Course.  And still, members of that Readers Course remember what you said in a class in the first few days of the course.

Each reader was asked to address the class for five or so minutes on an issue of principle or law.

Your Honour spoke about your pride in wearing the headscarf, and about adverse reaction you had encountered.

You spoke with passion – but clearly, calmly and, above all, from a position of principle and reason.

You won the admiration, respect and affection of all present.

Your Honour’s positive attitude and good humour shine and engage with people.

You are also the master of the throw-away one-liner.

One Friday afternoon, a group of Readers, ready for the relief of the weekend, were chatting about what they had planned – the pictures – the football – cycling – relaxation.

Your Honour looked up – gave your trade-mark, radiant smile – and said, quietly but clearly:  “I’m getting married this weekend”.

It is delightful to see Your Honour and members of your family in Court to celebrate your appointment as a Magistrate.

On behalf of the Victorian Bar, I wish Your Honour joy in your appointment; and long, satisfying and distinguished service on this Court.

May it please the Court.