University of Tasmania, Australia

Jurist and reformer Andrea Durbach presented the 2012 Sandy Duncanson Social Justice Lecture, titled: A Common Purpose - Inching the Law Towards Justice.

The Sandy Duncanson Social Justice Lecture is an annual event presented by the UTAS Faculty of Law and the Inglis Clark Centre for Civil Society.

Born and educated in South Africa, Durbach practised as a political trial lawyer and human rights advocate, representing victims and opponents of apartheid laws.

In 1988 she was appointed solicitor to 25 black defendants in a notorious death penalty case in South Africa. She later published an account of her experiences in her book Upington, which was short-listed for the Alan Paton Non-Fiction Award.

The lecture discussed those experiences and the documentary, A Common Purpose (2011), which is based on the book. The film was screened at the Sydney Film Festival, winning the Audience Award for Best Documentary.