Adelaide Law School Alumni win prestigious international fellowships

Three Adelaide Law School alumni will be enriched by professional international opportunities, after being awarded 2022 Fellowships from the Law Foundation of South Australia.

Professor Judith McNamara, Dean of Law at Adelaide Law School, congratulates the Fellowship winners Flyn Wells, Azaara Perakath, and Christian Andreotti.

“This a remarkable achievement is a testament to the world class education provided by the Adelaide Law School,” says Professor McNamara.

“The foundation of excellence laid by our institution has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in preparing them for this remarkable journey towards further knowledge and professional success.”

The Law Foundation of South Australia provides Fellowships to university graduates who have been accepted for postgraduate study at prestigious tertiary institutions overseas, as their experiences will benefit not only the successful graduates but also South Australia and its legal community.

Flyn Wells: Yale Law School

Flyn Wells graduated from his Bachelor of Laws (First Class Hons) at the University of Adelaide in 2021. As a student he also served as Student Editor and Associate Editor of the Adelaide Law Review, and he received many commendations, including Dean’s Certificate – Minerals and Energy Laws, The Piper Alderman Prize for Excellence in Contracts and Property Law, and Thomson Reuters Prize for Academic Excellence.

After graduating, Mr Wells was associate to the Hon Justice A J Besanko of the Federal Court of Australia.

Mr Wells recently completed a Master of Laws at Yale Law School in the United States, as part of his Law Foundation of South Australia Fellowship. At Yale, he studied constitutional law and legal theory, with a particular focus on applications of those areas of study within the migration setting.

Following his experience abroad, Mr Wells will return to the University of Adelaide as a Sessional Tutor to teach public law and evidence, before commencing as associate to the Hon Justice Stephen Gageler AC of the High Court of Australia, who will be assuming the office of Chief Justice of the High Court in November this year.

Azaara Perakath: London School of Economics

Azaara Perakath graduated as Valedictorian of the Class of 2018 from the University of Adelaide, with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Hons) and Bachelor of Commerce (Corporate Finance). Ms Perakath is currently a solicitor at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (SA).

Ms Perakath’s passion for rights-based issues is founded in her experience within civil litigation, criminal and constitutional law, and she aspires to eventually establish a practice combining all three at the independent bar. Prior to taking on the role of criminal prosecutor, she was Associate to the Honourable Justice Blue in the Supreme Court of South Australia.

Ms Perakath’s commitment to ensuring the law is a remedy for wrongs will be enhanced through undertaking a Master of Laws at the London School of Economics, as part of her Law Foundation of South Australia Fellowship, where she will analyse emerging issues at the intersection of criminal, public law and equity. She will explore major trends in criminal justice policy, against broader notions of the dynamic between state and citizen.

Ms Perakath intends to return to a role within the public sector, before eventually transitioning to the bar where she can continue to advance important arguments, advocate for fundamental rights and liberties and contribute to law reform.

Owing to her passion for social justice, beyond the law, Ms Perakath mentors Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and is a volunteer with the Australian Refugee Association.

Christian Andreotti: University of Cambridge

Christian Andreotti graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Hons) and a Bachelor of Arts (International Studies) in 2020, having written a thesis critiquing reference to "soft law" in determining the content of prescriptive statutory duties. He served as an editor of the Adelaide Law Review in 2019, co-authoring a published article and providing research assistance to the Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG, and represented the Adelaide Law School in the 2017 Jessup Moot. Following his graduation, he served as a research assistant and sessional teacher of Comparative Constitutional Law.

From August 2020-May 2023, Mr Andreotti served successively as Tipstaff (Associate) and Researcher to the Chief Justice of New South Wales (formerly the President of the NSW Court of Appeal) and as Researcher to the Chief Judge at Common Law in the Supreme Court of NSW.

These experiences have cumulatively nurtured Mr Andreotti’s intellectual curiosity and developed a keen appreciation for the law not only as an academic discipline, but as the art of justice, which he is eager to explore further through postgraduate study.

To that end, Mr Andreotti is taking up the Fellowship to the University of Cambridge to study for a Master of Law (LLM). In broad terms, his proposed area of study may be described as "the constitutionalisation of rights", namely, the process whereby legal rights are framed and understood by reference to the structures, principles and values of a sovereign constitution. Generally speaking, that process has not found favour in Australia. He intends to interrogate why that is so by taking courses in public law, criminal justice and human rights, and legal history. In all of those courses, recognising the various distinctions between Australian and English law (notwithstanding the former's historical "inheritance" of the latter), he will apply a comparative lens to conduct critical analyses of the rights framework in each jurisdiction.

In the longer term, upon Mr Andreotti’s eventual return to Australia, he looks forward to applying the learnings of the LLM to practise as a barrister. Although it is his aim to establish a generalist public and commercial practice, he hopes to dedicate substantial time to representing clients from underprivileged and marginalised communities. In this regard, to paraphrase Kitto J in Ziems v The Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of NSW, he conceives of a barrister's ultimate goal as being to "endeavour to make successful the service of the law to the community".

The opportunity to study for the LLM in Cambridge, as part of Mr Andreotti’s Law Foundation of South Australia Fellowship, is a significant step towards realising that ultimate goal. 

About the Law Foundation of South Australia:

Established in 1985, the Law Foundation of South Australia promotes legal research in law reform, provide legal education in the profession and the wider community and to provide legal services to the South Australian community. The Law Foundation of South Australia has offered Fellowships since 1994.