UBC Reports | Vol. 51 | No. 5 | May 5, 2005

Law School Equips Community Advocate

By Brenda Austin

What makes Agnes Huang so special, her professors say, is the energy she has invested in her law studies and those around her. They agree many extracurricular activities reflect her spirit, character and dedication, and have enhanced the quality of life within the Faculty of Law.

Among other activities, Huang initiated a monthly newspaper, The Legal Eye, organized the annual lecture series of the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies, and worked as a researcher on legal projects.

All this reflects a passion for community involvement, which she says she learned from the example set by her parents.

“I was in my 30s when I came to law school and I was already a volunteer, an activist and an advocate for various issues in the larger community,” Huang says.

“Law school did not change my political views, but it helped me better understand and analyze how laws and judicial decisions are made. It provided an opportunity to be a more effective advocate and it totally expanded my knowledge of where to look for information and how things in law are connected.”

Huang is looking forward to a one-year Federal Court clerkship in Ottawa and then completion of her articles in Vancouver. In the long term, she sees herself in private practice focusing on refugee law and criminal law, although she is also drawn to constitutional law issues, family law and legal reform.

Some have told her she should be a judge, but she shakes her head. Her interests will likely keep her on the other side of the bench -- a passionate advocate for justice.