The International Bar Association’s (IBA) Legal Policy & Research Unit (LPRU) has released the fifth episode in its Inspirational Legal Women podcast series, featuring an interview with Honourable Associate Justice Mary-Jane Ierodiaconou, judicial officer of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia.

Associate Justice Ierodiaconou, an employment and discrimination lawyer, was appointed to the bench in 2015. She co-founded the female-led collaborative Australian law and consulting firm Justitia in 2005, where she was a managing partner. Associate Justice Ierodiaconou has recently been appointed as a Commissioner of the IBA Professional Wellbeing Commission, which promotes the importance of wellbeing as a priority for the global legal community.

Below are a few excerpts from the podcast:

‘I read a book on meditation when I was studying my first degree, which was an arts degree. I thought I would try it and I went to some classes and found that it was really something for me. I should say too that, with all of these things, finding your tribe, so having a group of people around you who can encourage you in those well-being activities, is really important.’

‘There’s been a lot of challenges along the way. One of them that comes to mind was really the decision to leave large law firms and the security that was offered there and to start my own practise.’

‘When you’re in the courtroom, you are obviously in a position of power. I think it’s actually about being very mindful about how you exercise that power. There’s a lot of ritual and rules around that.’

Click here to read the full episode transcript.

Click here to download a photo of Associate Justice Ierodiaconou.

The Inspirational Legal Women podcast series encourages IBA members with interesting careers and remarkable stories to share their thoughts and experiences about what it means to be a woman in the legal profession and how they have navigated different types of workplaces and challenges over the course of their careers. The LPRU’s Sara Carnegie, Director of Legal Projects, and Isla Tobin, Project Lawyer, interview women across all areas of the law and a range of jurisdictions. The initiative was launched on 3 March 2025 with IBA Secretary-General, Deborah Enix-Ross as the first interviewee, followed by Carola van den Bruinhorst, the Immediate Past Chair of the IBA Legal Practice Division, and by Faiza Alleg Dolivet and Lucie Allen, Managing Director of BARBRI International.

The series complements the LPRU’s work on gender inequality in the legal profession, including the 50:50 by 2030: A longitudinal study into gender disparity in law project, which aims to explore and address the lack of gender parity across all areas of the legal profession with a focus on senior positions.To date, 13 reports have been released as part of the project: England and Wales, Uganda and Spain in 2022; followed by Nigeria, the Netherlands and Chile in 2023; and, in 2024, reports on the Republic of Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Ukraine and Türkiye. In December 2024 the Progress Report was published, which compiled the results of the reports that had been released up to December 2024, providing readers with an overview of the landscape. Also published in 2024 was a case study on Nepal, produced in collaboration with DLA Piper’s nonprofit affiliate New Perimeter.

Phase 2 of the project comprises a global survey seeking views from women in the legal profession about a variety of topics, including their experience in the profession, initiatives in place and their efficacy, barriers they have encountered and their reasons for staying in or leaving the profession. Female colleagues are encouraged to have their say.

ENDS

Notes to the reader:

1. A full list of episodes is available to access here.

2. Click here for information on the IBA’s 50:50 by 2030 – A Longitudinal Study into Gender Disparity in Law project.

3. The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, it was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.

   The IBA has considerable expertise in providing assistance to the global legal community, and through its global membership, it influences the development of international law reform and helps to shape the future of the legal profession throughout the world.

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