Tilé and Olly Meets: Hsuan An (Shannon) Chen

We laugh out loud and get deep with Hsuan An (Shannon) Chen, a criminal lawyer based in Brisbane. She has been in practice for nine years and in that time has worked in private practice, at Legal Aid Queensland and is presently a director of a boutique law firm, Hodgson Lawyers. Shannon has worked predominately in criminal law and has experience working on serious crimes such as murder, grievous bodily harm, and serious sex offenses.

As a solicitor advocate who appears in court almost daily, Shannon considers herself to offer and be something different from who you may consider typically seen advocating in court. She is Asian, queer, and may come across as non-binary but identifies as a female. These qualities she believes can be a blessing and a curse.

She was born and raised in Taiwan before moving to Australia with her mother when she turned 18 to study at the University of Queensland. Coming into law, Shannon has encountered lawyers and mentors who have inspired her and helped shape who she is as a lawyer. She is a client-oriented lawyer and does not shy away from having frank and honest conversation with her clients. She believes this is important to determine the best strategy for her clients.

Shannon was vulnerable and spoke candidly with us about many things. Some highlights for us were hearing about her struggles adjusting to the English language, her early exposure to seeing how people of diverse backgrounds shared space at her grandpa's shop, being misgendered in court, and having the courage to be who you are as a form of empowering others, and being the change you want to see.