Larissa Yasmin Behrendt (born 1969) is an Australian legal academic, writer, filmmaker and Indigenous rights advocate. she is a professor of law and director of research and academic programs at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney, and holds the inaugural Chair in Indigenous Research at UTS. Early life and education Behrendt was born in Cooma, New South Wales, in 1969, of Eualeyai/Kamillaroi descent on her father's side. Her mother, who was non-Indigenous, worked in naval intelligence, while her father was an air traffic controller and later an Aboriginal Studies academic. He established the Aboriginal Research and Resource Centre at the University of New South Wales, Sydney in 1988, around the time when Behrendt commenced studying there. After attending Kirrawee High School, Behrendt completed a Bachelor of Jurisprudence and Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of New South Wales in 1992. In the same year, she was admitted by the Supreme Court of New South Wales to practise as a solicitor. After a stint of working in family law and legal aid, she travelled on a scholarship to the United States, where she completed a Master of Laws at Harvard Law School in 1994, and a Doctor of Juridical Science from the same institution in 1998. Behrendt was the first indigenous Australian to graduate from Harvard Law School. She also earned a Graduate Diploma in Screenwriting (2012) and Graduate Diploma in Documentary (2013) at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS), and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (2013). Career Legal and academic After graduating from Harvard Law School in the mid-1990s, Behrendt worked in Canada for a year with a range of First Nations organisations. In 1999, she worked with the Assembly of First Nations in developing a gender equality policy, and she represented the Assembly at the United Nations. The same year, she did a study for the Slavey people comparing native title developments in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Behrendt returned to Australia to become a postdoctoral researcher at the Australian National University, moving to University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) in 2000. In 2000, she was admitted by the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory to practise as a barrister. Behrendt is a republican, opposing the institution of monarchy in Australia. Behrendt has been involved in several pro bono test cases involving adverse