She’s the glamorous Australian barrister who’s taken London legal circles by storm.
In just three months last year, human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson was involved in two of the most high-profile court cases in the world.
She represented Amber Heard in Johnny Depp’s defamation action against The Sun newspaper in the UK and helped fight attempts to extradite long-term client Julian Assange to the US.
It was, she admits, “full on”.
“She works incredibly hard for her clients and she’s so courageous and so fiercely loyal towards them,” says her friend, writer Kathy Lette. “But she also understands that you have to occasionally swing off a chandelier with a cocktail between your teeth.”
At just 40, Robinson has achieved more than most lawyers will in a lifetime.
It’s no small achievement for a shy young girl from regional NSW who was educated at the local high school and became a Rhodes Scholar.
Back in Australia for an extended stay, Robinson is juggling her busy London practice with a mission closer to home. She wants to make sure promising public school students get the mentoring opportunities she wished she’d had.
“I didn’t know a lawyer growing up and I didn’t see examples of people from my school who had become lawyers,” Robinson says. “I think it is important to show public school kids what’s possible for them.”
To that end she has launched a scholarship program with other prominent people who came through the state education system, including Adam Hills and Myf Warhurst.
“She loves the fact that she didn’t do it the traditional way,” says her mother, Lyndy Cracknell. “She came up through the public education system and now she wants to help more Jennifers.”
Watch Raising the Bar on Monday 23 March at 8pm on ABC TV + iview.
You can watch replays on ABC NEWS channel on Wednesdays at 12:30am, Saturdays at 6:30pm and Sundays at 2:30pm and 9:30pm. All times are AEDT.
