imprisonment, family law, and accident and injury matters. He built up a good
rapport with his clients, but they had difficulty pronouncing his name and would
ask for a Lawyer called “My Tree”!
A significant case was when he appeared for a young Aboriginal named
Stephen Bates who crossed the railway line in Broken Hill, but his leg got stuck
in the tracks. An oncoming train caused the loss of his legs and arm. It was a
difficult case establishing negligence by the railways as he had to show that
there was common use by the public crossing the tracks and that the railways
were aware of this usage. After years of legal battles, Maithri was able to win
substantial damages for Stephen.
In 1991 his children reached secondary school stage and he decided to
move to Sydney. He applied for a job in the 120-year-old firm of Carroll &
O’Dea Lawyers who now have over 200 employees. Michael O’Dea, a former
Managing Partner of the firm, said at the book launch that one of the best
business decisions that he made was when he interviewed Maithri in 1991 and
offered him a post in the firm. He has worked there for the past 31 years and is a
Partner in the firm.
At Carroll & O’Dea Maithri continued his work with Aboriginal people.
His most significant work has been with regard to the Stolen Generation. These
are mixed race children who were forcibly removed from their mothers between
1883 and the 1970s. They were placed in foster care and suffered abuse.
Because their removal was legal, compensation for these victims could only be
obtained if it could be proved that they suffered abuse. In 2014 a scheme was
agreed in NSW that Stolen Generation claims would be dealt with in an
informal manner and up to 75,000 dollars per claimant would be paid. To date,
Maithri and his team of 15 have successfully finalised over 250 such claims.
In 2015 Maithri was appointed Adjunct Professor of the School of Law,
Sydney, in the University of Notre Dame. In 2016 Maithri was awarded the
Order of Australia for significant service to the Sri Lankan community and to
the law, particularly in litigation and dispute resolution. He is recognised as one
of the country’s leading compensation lawyers.
The hard cover book “Pursuing a Vision of Justice” has 15 Parts and 30
Chapters and runs to over 500 pages. It is very interesting reading and recounts
Maithri’s journey ‘Along the dusty road’ from rural Gampaha to metropolitan
Sydney. It is well recommended reading. Space does not permit outlining
Maithri’s other numerous social service activities.
Chapters written by CSA Members include Chapter 2 where
Somasundaram Skandakumar recalls his friendship with Maithri when he was
High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Australia. In Chapter 17, Thiru Arumugam
outlines Maithri’s work with Indigenous Australians. Chapter 21 has been
written by the late Sunil de Silva where he gives some details of Maithri’s other
activities. In Chapter 27 Hugh Karunanayake writes about “Two acclaimed
Lawyers from Ceylon who migrated during the days of ‘White Australia’
policy”. The Lawyers are Leslie de Saram and Aubrey Martensz. In Chapter 29,
Maithri’s lawyer wife Ramya recounts how she was trapped in Nilaweli Beach
Hotel during the 2004 Tsunami. She was among the 30 survivors out of the 180
guests in the Hotel. Ramya also related her story at a CSA Meeting on 22
February 2009.
Australian residents can purchase the book through the Media release
dated 30 September 2022 on the website of Carroll & O’Dea. The cost is 50
dollars including postage.
(Originally published in “The Ceylankan”, the Journal of the Ceylon
Society of Australia, November 2022)