Lawyer (Pro Bono)

Gilchrist Connell is a leading national firm operating across all Australian jurisdictions from its five offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. In recognition of our excellence in the insurance sector, Australasian Lawyer named Gilchrist Connell as the 2023 Insurance Specialist Firm of the Year.

For the fifth consecutive year, Gilchrist Connell is one of only 31 firms recognised as an Australasian Lawyer Employer of Choice. Certified as a Family Friendly Workplace and Great Place to Work, we adhere to best practice in supporting employees to meet their work, family and wellbeing needs.

We believe that partnering with sophisticated clients on high quality work and enjoying a rewarding personal life should not be mutually exclusive. The firm has a genuinely positive work culture, built on transparency in feedback, support of flexible working practices, leading support programs and employee benefits.

As a growing firm, we are looking for talented and ambitious professionals to join our team. With a dynamic and collaborative workplace culture, our firm offers excellent career opportunities and a supportive environment for professional development. We are seeking a 1-2 PQE Pro Bono Lawyer to support our National Pro Bono team.

This role provides a fantastic opportunity to work closely with our Pro Bono Principal Jilly Field. Jilly is a leading pro bono practitioner and thought leader who has directed programs in several law firms over the 15 years. She brings her commercial and front-line experience to deliver measured and client focused response. She has seconded to various front-line public interest and community law organisations and is on the Board of Community Legal Centres NSW, Womens Legal NSW and Transcend Australia. Jilly is a Fellow of Ethics and is studying her Masters in Sociology.

Key Responsibilities

As a pro bono lawyer, you will be undertaking pro bono legal work for community legal centres, individuals experiencing disadvantage and front line lawyers. This is not a coordination role. This is a legal role. Including:

• Implementing the Pro Bono Policy, Pro Bono Values Statement and processes.
• Providing high quality and culturally appropriate front line legal advice on secondment to Community Legal Centres or in support of Community Legal Clinics.
• Assisting with legal research, report and literature review drafting, writing on justice issues, preparing submissions and coordinating and undertaking large scale research projects nationally.
• Working to develop literacy on justice issues, structural unfairness, racism, feminism and the foundations of systemic disadvantage.
• Developing and managing relationships with pro bono clients, social justice advocates, in house legal teams, not for profits and key stakeholders across the legal assistance sector.
• Coordinating strategic pro bono projects, pro bono partnerships and sector collaborations.
• Assisting in pro bono communications.

The Successful Candidate

• The successful candidate will be approximately 1-2 PQE and will either have commercial legal experience and is looking to move into a pro bono role and/or experience in the legal assistance sector, pro bono or front-line response.
• Excellent research and writing skills are vital as our pro bono practice is focused on supporting front-line lawyers with written systemic reform material. You will need to love to read, write and critically think through unfairness.
• It is important that you demonstrate a commitment to respect, listen to and understand the needs of communities experiencing disadvantage and marginalisation. Our Pro Bono Practice is based on a commitment to ethics, integrity and humility. We run an understated practice and work against profiling the firm on justice issues.
• Experience working in front line legal clinics, managing pro bono or justice projects and practice in areas of rights, poverty law, family violence or mental health is looked at favourably.
• Around 1-2 years post admission experience;
• Experience in pro bono projects, front line community legal services and areas of law that are relevant to access to justice;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills that are adaptable to the audience;
• Self-motivated and able to work at pace;
• Ability to manage client expectations and run matters autonomously;
• Practical and client focused in solving problems;
• Previous exposure to business development with a natural ability to cultivate quality relationships with our industry leading clients;
• A team player who can collaborate on work;
• Prepared to work with both local and interstate principals, as required;
• Be able to demonstrate a “plain English” writing style and have excellent written and oral communications skills