Judith Milner’s debut art exhibition

PORTRAIT OF A

In her debut art exhibition Raising the Bar, lawyer-turnedartist Judith Milner showcases trailblazing women in the legal profession as inspiration to young female lawyers.

What started as a cherished hobby has now developed into a new career for Judith Milner (1996). She studied art and art history as a senior Dio student and seriously considered pursuing a fine arts degree. Instead, Judith opted for a somewhat more secure career path and gained an LLB (Hons) and a BA in psychology and art history from the University of Auckland.

After 13 years practising law (at Russell McVeagh and Spark), she’s left the field to pursue her love of art. Judith specialises in both portraiture and figurative paintings that explore themes of memory, connection and a sense of belonging.

She’s exhibited in several group shows, been commissioned by the Auckland Foundation’s Women’s Fund Charitable Trust for a site-specific portrait exhibition and been a finalist in various art awards. In 2021, Judith won the Michael Evans Figurative Award in the Walker and Hall Art Awards for her painting ‘Pink Summer’. She’s also been a finalist in the 2021 Hawkes Bay Art Awards and in the 2021 Kumeu Art awards – achievements that have helped validate her decision to leave law and pursue her passion for art.

CHANGING ATTITUDES TO WOMEN IN LAW

Ana Lenard Indiana Shewen Sabrina Muck LIFELONG FRIENDS

Studio One Toi Tu ¯ in Ponsonby. It featured 16 inspiring female lawyers who are blazing a trail in the legal profession. By painting their portraits, Judith wanted to celebrate their achievements and show young women relatable role models.

It’s been a privilege to work with these incredibly talented women, she says. “Not only are they inspiring, but they’re contributing to changing the nature and face of a profession that struggles with inequality and has been rocked by cases of sexual harassment and workplace bullying.”

When she began working as a lawyer, Judith was recruited straight from law school into a big firm. The culture at the time was challenging, with a ‘work hard, play hard’ mantra and a competitive, rather than collegial, atmosphere among the graduates.

“Just two out of 50 partners in the Auckland office were women,” she says. “The partner I worked for even told me that it was a waste of time training up women lawyers because they always gave up practising once they had children.”

On another occasion, Judith heard that it was easier to send her more junior male colleague to entertain clients because they could talk sport together – clients wouldn’t know what to talk to a young woman about.

Constantly dealing with such attitudes is demoralising, she says, but as a young person it’s hard to tell someone senior that their views are outdated and discriminatory. Judith wants to see these sorts of attitudes change. “The law is meant to uphold values of equity and fairness, but it’s been very much a ‘boys club’. And the challenges women face to succeed in the profession are amplified for non-Pa¯keha¯ women.”

In senior roles in the legal profession women are severely underrepresented. Although they make up 61% of lawyers working in law firms, women account for less than 31% of partners in those firms. The same is true of in-house lawyers: 60% are women but that proportion is not reflected in leadership roles. And only 26 out of the 110 Queen’s Counsel appointed since 2002 are women. The hourly chargeout rate for women is lower than men by 7-10%, regardless of the size or location of the firm.

“The High Court in Wellington is adorned with portraits of past judges – all but two are white and male,” says Judith. “These sorts of displays unintentionally but implicitly send the message that these are the types of people who belong in these environs. I wanted to showcase diverse women who are succeeding and achieving to let young women know that things can and will change and that these women are blazing a trail for them to follow.”

A LOVE OF ART IS BORN

Judith loved drawing from a very young age and would spend time making things alongside her creative mum. From her Dio art teachers, Mary Guyan and Shelley Ryde, she gained a strong grounding in foundational skills like shading, tone and colour theory, and was encouraged to push her ideas and develop her own style.

Judith found it hard to maintain a regular art practice while working full time. But during her five years living in London, she visited many British and European galleries. After moving to Melbourne in 2012 with her husband, Dan, Judith was determined to establish a regular painting practice and wanted to try her hand at painting more portraits.

“I took weekly classes with awardwinning artist Andrew Forsythe and set up a small studio at home. We returned to New Zealand in 2014 and our eldest daughter was born. I took a break from practising law while our children were little and continued to study art at Browne School of Art in Grey Lynn.”

Friends and family began asking Judith to paint portraits for them. Portraiture, she says, isn’t nearly as popular in New Zealand as it is in countries like Australia, the UK and the US. But fortunately, Kiwis are beginning to realise that contemporary portraits make a lasting and unique alternative to family photography.

“I think, in an age where we’re saturated with images taken on our phones, people are really starting to appreciate the lasting nature of a slowly crafted portrait painting.

“I love seeing my work in people’s homes, particularly portraits, as they’re such personal and evocative pieces of art. A client recently told me how comforted she feels every time she passes the portrait I painted of her late father. It’s a great

privilege to be able to create something so meaningful for someone. Revealing the finished piece to the client is a bit nerve-wracking but also very exciting.”

CAPTURING HER SUBJECTS ON CANVAS

For her ‘Raising the Bar’ series, Judith intentionally chose portrait subjects from diverse backgrounds and practice areas. She wanted young women to see someone they could relate to. Among her subjects was Dio alumna Lizzie Chan who’s been very active in promoting diversity in the arbitration sphere.

All the women Judith painted for this series were very enthusiastic and generous in their support of the concept, she says.

Judith painted the 16 portraits from photographs. It’s become her preferred method of working. “When I’m asked to do a commission, I work with the client to get a clear sense of what they want. Sometimes I take photos or help them choose what will make a good painting. We discuss the background and scale and I prepare a sketch to make sure what I’m planning fits with their vision.

“Sometimes I use elements from other photos, painting them in a setting that’s significant to them. For instance, for Lizzie’s portrait, we used a photograph of the view of Hong Kong from the Chinese University that was special to her.”

THEMES OF CONNECTION AND ICONIC NEW ZEALAND SCENES

While she loves portraiture, Judith is also interested in painting quintessentially New Zealand images that evoke memories and nostalgia. Through her painting process, she explores themes of family and relationships, time and place.

“I find myself drawn to images of connection and the more carefree times of a bygone era. Sometimes the subject is an iconic building like the Chelsea Sugar Factory or a New Zealand scene like an old caravan by the beach, others are based on old family photographs.”

She’s been lucky to have taken classes with artists Andrew Barns-Graham, Matthew Browne and Zahran Southon who have been very encouraging and supportive mentors.

“I’ve been inspired by Rita Angus since I was a teenager. I love her self-portraits and depictions of an iconic New Zealand. She was a pioneer of modern art in New Zealand and had a unique ability to distil her subjects to their essential forms.”

In addition to Dio alumna Lizzie Chan, Judith’s ‘Raising the Bar’ exhibition also included portraits of:

• Gisborne-based criminal defence lawyer Tiana Epati, the first Pasifika president of the New Zealand Law

Society (NZLS). • Jacqueline Lethbridge, who took up the role of President of the New

Zealand Law Society in April 2022. • Juliet Tainui-Hernandez, who was appointed as the Reserve Bank of

New Zealand’s Assistant Governor and

General Manager of Transformation and People in 2022. • Khylee Quince, the first Ma¯ori Dean of

Law at a New Zealand university. • Ana Lenard and Allanah Colley, who co-founded The New Zealand Women’s Law Journal — Te Aho Kawe

Kaupapa Ture a ngā Wāhine. • Stacey Shortall, a partner at

MinterEllisonRuddWatts and the founding trustee of the social-change charity ‘Who Did You Help Today?’. • Tupe Solomon-Tanoa’I, Chief

Philanthropic Officer at the Borrin

Foundation, which supports legal research, education and scholarship. • International lawyer and human rights activist Rez Gardi, New Zealand’s first Kurdish female lawyer and the first Kurd in history to graduate from

Harvard Law School. • Steph Dyhrberg, who’s been instrumental in the movement against a culture of sexual harassment within the profession. She heads the Wellington Women

Lawyers’ Association. • Indiana Shewen, a junior solicitor at Abuse in Care Inquiry and copresident of the Aotearoa Legal

Workers’ Union. • Litia Tureburelevu, a research fellow at the University of Auckland’s

Faculty of Law, researching Pacific

Peoples’ Experiences of New

Zealand’s Criminal Justice System. • Sarah Salmond-Elliot, who heads MinterEllisonRuddWatts’

International Trade Practice. • Sharon Chandra, a family law barrister at Bankside Chambers who’s among the five best divorce lawyers in Auckland according to website Best Rated.