Lyma Nguyen  LLM . LLB . GDLP . BA

Lyma practises as a barrister both internationally and domestically, primarily in the area of criminal law and human rights. In both 2021 and 2022, she was named amongst the Northern Territory’s 100 Most Powerful Women.  In 2020, she took the top place as overall winner of the 40 under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australian Leadership Awards having also been nationally recognised in 2014 as one of Australia’s 45 Trailblazing Women Lawyers whose oral history is archived in the National Library of Australia.

In 2018, Lyma was appointed List Counsel at the International Criminal Court, having worked between 2009 and 2022 as Civil Party Counsel at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, where she has, alongside Cambodian co-lawyers, represented victims of Cambodia’s genocidal Khmer Rouge regime across Cases 002, 003 and 004. In 2022, she was appointed a member of the Legal Advisory Committee of the International Criminal Court Bar Association (ICCBA), and in 2023, she was appointed a member of the Amicus Committee of the ICCBA.

Domestically, Lyma’s practice includes criminal prosecution and defence, appellate matters before the Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeal, disciplinary inquiries, and advisory work in a variety of administrative, civil and criminal briefs. Having commenced her career at the private bar with Darwin’s prestigious William Forster Chambers (including as a Director Member between 2017 and 2019).  Lyma is a member of Chapman’s List Barristers, Victoria and is on the roll of counsel in Victoria as interstate counsel.

In her spare time, Lyma exercises her creative spirit by making artwork and jewellery (sold locally at Jinglin’s Jewellery, The Voyage Arcade) and performing music at local venues, including ‘The Last Supper’, Bustard Town, Tracy Village, Novotel/Mercure Splash Pool and Cafe and previously Six Tanks Brew and The Lucky Bat. Since 2016, Lyma has performed with William Forster Chambers’ house band, “No Class Action” in the profession’s annual “Battle of the Legal Bands”. She has also performed in other bands: “The Judicious”, “The Infrequent Flyers” and “The Sabi Wabis”. More recently, Lyma performs in a duo, Asus2, scheduled to perform at the 2026 Seabreaze Festival. Since 2023, she has regularly performed at events for legal and community non-profit organisations such as the United Nations Association Australia (NT Division), the Asian Australian Lawyers Association (NT Branch) and the NT Fitzgerald Human Rights Awards, amongst others.