Union advocate named younger lawyer of the yr

LIANA Tomassini, of the United Employees Union, is the ACT New Lawyer of the Yr.

She is the winner of one in every of 5 classes within the ACT Regulation Society’s annual ACT Regulation Awards.

Tomassini was named for her social justice and grassroots neighborhood work. She practices in employment and industrial relations regulation, and started her profession within the Division of Jobs and Small Enterprise, the place she was a part of the workforce delivering vital technical reform in relation to the Truthful Work Act.

Since late final yr, she has been a lawyer and industrial officer with the United Employees Union, with a selected deal with staff within the aged care and little one care sectors. She additionally makes use of her authorized experience in the local people, together with volunteering to arrange visa functions for refugees.

The Regulation Society’s Authorities Regulation Award has been offered to Patrick Hornby, basic counsel on the Australian Transport Security Bureau.

His work has included negotiating and drafting the Casualty Investigation Code for Maritime Investigations, which is annexed to the Worldwide Conference for the Security of Life at Sea. Exterior his authorized position, he’s basic supervisor for the annual Canberra Comedy Pageant, and enjoys mentoring younger comedians and others within the performing arts business.

The winner of the Professional Bono Service Award was Pierre Johannessen, of Johannessen Authorized, for his revolutionary method to professional bono work and his dedication to supporting socially and economically deprived individuals within the ACT. As a part of a really small workforce of three practising legal professionals, he has offered greater than $300,000 in professional bono work within the final monetary yr.

He has used his authorized experience to assist the Sisters in Spirit Aboriginal Company, and at the moment advocates for Barnardos ACT, the place he organises and runs fundraising campaigns in addition to offering professional bono recommendation for the youth and households the charity helps.

Chloe Curran, of Hijazi Curran Cameron Attorneys, was extremely counseled for her dedication to professional bono work within the household regulation house. She based and runs a clinic on the Ladies’s Authorized Centre ACT for home and household violence victim-survivors who will not be eligible for the Centre’s personal in-house service.

Griffin Authorized has been named ACT Agency of the Yr Award for its native professional bono contributions and dedication to range and employees wellbeing.

Within the final monetary yr, Griffin Authorized’s legal professionals have offered greater than 1000 professional bono hours. They’ve labored on initiatives together with a human rights case to formally recognise the Ngambri’s connection to Canberra, YWCA Canberra’s charitable property administration service Rentwell, ongoing recommendation for Palliative Care Australia, and property planning for terminally unwell sufferers for the Most cancers Council ACT.

The agency promotes and uphold gender equality, incapacity inclusion, and cultural range. It’s proud to be a female-majority office, have members of their workforce (together with a associate) with disabilities, they usually have carried out an indigenous recruitment technique. Greater than 75 per cent of its employees work flexibly with a purpose to preserve work/life steadiness.

They actively promote employees wellbeing and encourage psychological well being checks and bodily exercise. Their workplace features a leisure zone and quiet rooms, in addition to stretching and train tools.

The Regulation Society’s President’s Medal was awarded to Claudia Maclean, of the Ladies’s Authorized Centre ACT, who in simply six years has has reworked the centre’s authorized observe to a service that helps greater than 500 ladies a yr. She has overseen a rise within the Centre’s authorized and social work companies of over 212 per cent.