I am a serving Law Society Councillor and absolutely love the opportunity to contribute!

I believe that the legal profession is underpinned by service – service to our clients, the Court, our communities, and each other. Your Law Society is just that – yours. In my time on Council we have achieved a great amount, and a key element of my focus has been membership. I became involved in the Law Society early in my career, and I believe this gives me a unique opportunity to grow with the role, allowing me to provide new perspectives regarding crucial aspects of our membership. I thrive on problem solving, analytics, strategy and engagement – skills that I bring to Council.

A passionate Wills & Estates Lawyer with a background in general practice, I love what I do. In Wills & Estates I work with new people every day providing an essential service, and have the chance to advocate for some of the most vulnerable members of our community.

I am a huge believer in education and access to it. Continual learning is essential for us all and I do my best to contribute.

The day I was admitted is the day I joined my regional law society, North Metropolitan, and I never left. I joined the executive later that year and have been elected to various roles each year since - currently Vice-President. Whilst not a rural practitioner, rural practice is very important to me. I have spent time in numerous regional law societies, getting to know members, delivering CPD sessions, and ultimately seeing some of the best our profession has to offer. I absolutely love getting out into our regions and do it at every opportunity. I am interested in how we, as your Law Society, provide value to regional law societies and how we can promote engagement in the regions (and an increase in regional lawyers).

I have worked hard within the North Metropolitan Region:

- I established and developed a young lawyer cohort which meets regularly and provides a safe space for young lawyers to network, leverage the expertise within our region, and find support;

- I have organised CPD and social events and promoted the visibility of our region and the expertise of our members (including delivering some of the CPD);

- I’ve chaired and set the agenda for many of our executive meetings, ensuring that we are continuously looking at improving the operation and sustainability of our region; and

- I’ve spent time getting to know our members – which is my favourite part.

I have also been involved in NSW Young Lawyers since my admission, and I currently serve as Chair of the Civil Litigation subcommittee. I have benefitted from all the best parts of NSWYL – friendship, growth, support, mentoring, education – and continue to champion the role of early career solicitors in our profession. It is vitally important that the more senior of our profession provide adequate supervision and training, and that the Law Society of NSW guides and facilitates this. That’s why I mentor each year. Early career lawyers are now a significant portion of the NSW legal profession and, in the aftermath of COVID, it has never been more important to make sure that we are supporting them as they start out and as they grow, ensuring that the increased use of technology doesn’t eliminate the ever-important ‘boots on the ground’ training in Courts and in offices right across the state.

In 2023 we are still working towards gender equality. I am particularly proud of the work of the Law Society in this space. The work continues and I will continue to champion, support, and give a voice.

I work hard and value collaboration. Diversity is important – we need to share our diverse views and then work together with a common purpose – to provide value to members, to impact internal and external policy deliberately and with insight, and to fulfil our co-regulatory function with integrity.

An appreciation of good governance is an important part of being in any leadership position, and governance is an area in which I am continually looking to upskill. I am a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. This has allowed me to engage more closely with the operational and financial reports provided to Council. I have a large amount of oversight into the financials of our regional law society, and I am very involved in developing our long and short-term financial strategy.

I have always been community-minded. I make sure that a significant part of my role as a Lawyer, Councillor and a Leader, is service to community. I provide education not only to the profession but also to the community to improve their access to legal information. I am often involved in multiple committees, and currently serve on the Elder Law, Capacity & Succession and Fidelity Fund Management committees. I have previously served on Professional Conduct, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Litigation Law & Practice committees. Our committees are a great way to assist the profession in terms of support and education, but they are also a vital mechanism to make submissions and engage in advocacy for and on behalf of the profession and community.

It's a responsibility and privilege to serve on Council. To ensure we have the skills and diversity of experience we need, I am seeking election with two other lawyers who share my values while bringing different expertise.

To find out more about us, please visit our website at www.councilelections.com.au - where you can also find links to connect on Facebook and Linkedin. We welcome your questions and suggestions.

When you receive the invitation to vote by email, please take a moment to vote for:
• Lauren Absalom
• Moira Saville
• Jennifer Wong

If you chose to vote using the ballot paper, when it arrives over the coming days please vote for the above using the “How to Vote” on our website.

Thank you for all you do to build our profession and support your local community!