Kieran Pender

 Kieran Pender recently joined the Human Rights Legal Centre, previously a 

senior legal advisor with the International Bar Association (IBA) Legal Policy 

and Research Unit, and a Visiting Fellow at The Australian National University 

(ANU) Centre for International and Public Law. He led the IBA’s work on 

diversity and inclusion in legal workplaces, and is the author of Us Too? 

Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession (2019). Kieran is a 

graduate of the ANU, where he was awarded the university medal. 

His academic work has been published in the Public Law Review, Sydney  

Law Review and Melbourne University Law Review, and he has spoken at the 

United Nations, World Bank, European Parliament and OECD. Kieran is also 

a freelance journalist and has reported from four continents for The Guardian.

Recently he won a Sport Australia Media Awards for the Best coverage of a 

community sport issue – rural and regional media highlights journalists based 

out of the capital cities. with photographer Mike Bowers (Guardian Australia) 

about how surfing had helped a NSW South Coast community recover from 

the traumas of the 2020 fires.

Kieran talks about:

 Juggling a career in journalism and the law

 Writing for a myriad of publications in the area of law and sport

 How he nearly got to Turkmenistan as a reporter for The 

Guardian 

 His latest article tackling the thorny issue of the Christian Porter 

allegations

 Taking opportunities when they arise including as a 17 year old 

getting his first gig as a writer

 How helping a legal firm win the touch football competition 

during work experience later helped him get his first quasi legal 

role in his first year at university

 Dealing with disappointment

 His interview with David Katoatau, the Kribati weightlifter who 

brought to attention the effect climate change is having on his 

nation and how he did that 

 His work with Confia (Confederation of Independent Football 

Associations) and how sport can represent a nation can be a 

bridge between different cultures and political systems

 How sport can reflect the larger social issues affecting 

communities

 The forgotten bushfires of 2020 and the beautiful south coast of 

New South Wales

 Bullying and harassment in the legal profession and how an 

international report can be the impetus for change