Peter Collins of the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA won the Individual award for three decades of service to the cause of Indigenous justice.
The Curtin Tax Clinic received the Not-for-Profit award for the work it does for disadvantaged clients, including residents of remote communities and prisoners.
The Legal Aid Panel Member category went to barrister Jennifer Solliss for the high volume of publicly funded representation she has undertaken around the State.
Norton Rose Fulbright took out the Legal Firm award for its provision of pro bono work and secondment of lawyers to not-for-profit groups.
The awards acknowledge the legal profession’s pro bono and community law work for underprivileged Western Australians.
Attorney General John Quigley announced the winners at the Law Society of Western Australia’s 2024 Gala Dinner and Annual Awards Evening on 6 September.
“This work is a way to put the privileges of our positions to use for the benefit of marginalised and disadvantaged people,” Mr Quigley said.
“It helps to balance the scales of justice so all Western Australians can get a fair go.”
Department of Justice Director General Kylie Maj congratulated the award winners and finalists, thanking them for their efforts.
“We applaud the lawyers and organisations who providing these critical services to the community,” Ms Maj said.
Peter Collins has been a stalwart of the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA for most of the past 30 years and its Director of Legal Services since 2005. In that time Mr Collins has been a staunch champion of First Nations people who strives for justice and strongly advocates for change. Under his legal leadership the ALSWA handled nearly 30,000 criminal law matters in the last financial year alone.
Jennifer Solliss worked as criminal defence lawyer for Legal Aid WA in the Pilbara before beginning practice as an independent barrister. Since then, Ms Solliss has continued to represent Legal Aid clients in all jurisdictions and is a board member of the Sussex Street Community Law Service. Her work has included helping people with psychological issues, intellectual disabilities and other complex matters.
Curtin Tax Clinic engages students and staff at Curtin University to provide pro bono tax services for people in the community facing challenges. Last year the Clinic successfully assisted more than 1,000 taxpayers, while accepting referrals from more than 30 community organisations. It has collaborated with the Department of Justice to service remote indigenous communities at Aboriginal Justice Open Days as well as visiting 13 prisons to help more than 500 prisoners file their tax returns.
Norton Rose Fulbright’s lawyers in WA completed 2,444 hours of pro bono work in the past financial year, an average of just over 39 hours for each full-time employee. Over 2023 and this year, Norton Rose Fulbright has seconded six staff across community legal centres and not-for-profit organisations. That has included committing a lawyer to the Consumer Credit Legal Service for six months to help establish a financial abuse legal service in WA.
