An Evening with Kimberley Motley

Don't miss this one-off chance to spend An Evening with Kimberley Motley, a US lawyer who has been hailed as one of the most extraordinary people in the world today.

Presented by Griffith University: Integrity 20, Kimberley's Brisbane visit is a unique opportunity to hear how this mother-of-three and former beauty queen – who'd never travelled outside the US – became the first foreign lawyer to practise in the courts of war-torn Afghanistan.

In conversation with award-winning journalist and lawyer Damien Carrick (ABC’s Law Report) Kimberley shares her insights into her fight for justice in one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

Kimberley's cathartic journey began in 2008 when she quit her job as a criminal defence attorney in Milwaukee and joined a program to help train lawyers in Afghanistan. In just two years, she had established herself as an expert on – and within – Afghanistan's fledgling criminal justice system.

Despite its labyrinthine legal complexity and stark cultural conservatism, Kimberley soon proved expert at wielding Afghanistan's religious law in the defence of her clients, some of whom had suffered terrible miscarriages of justice. In demonstrating how a nation's laws can and should embrace justice and "justness", Kimberley has helped restore the law to its original intention: to protect, not merely to punish.

Kimberley's impact has also been felt outside Afghanistan, including in Australia. In 2015, she led the case that saw the safe return of two children illegally taken to Afghanistan by their father. She also represented former Australian soldier Robert Langdon, securing a Presidential Pardon and his release from Afghanistan's most notorious prison. In 2016, Kimberley was the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary, Motley's Law.

All in all, it's an amazing and inspirational story, one that combines determination, courage, ingenuity and an unwavering belief in everyone’s right to justice. As Kimberley says: "Every human deserves protection under their country’s laws – even when that law is forgotten or ignored."

Her Brisbane visit coincides with the release of her new book, Lawless, a true-life legal thriller published by Allen & Unwin.

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