At Mallesons we believe everyone has a right to a quality education, and a career that sees them fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions. In partnership with schools, universities, our clients, and community organisations, we collaborate to create opportunities for people to learn and flourish, and for our lawyers to connect with issues and experiences that enhance their understanding of the law and its impacts on society.
These programs and initiatives aim to enable individuals to discover new pathways to progress and address barriers to equitable access to study and careers. As with all our programs, it takes long-term partnerships and a committed, strategic and multifaceted approach for successful outcomes, both for individuals and for positive systems change.
Working at a systems level to remove education and career barriers
Taking a long-term, collaborative approach, Fairer Futures includes a whole range of initiatives developed with our community partners and universities to address overlapping and systemic barriers to study, recruitment and early career opportunities. These practical pathways include paid, flexible internships as well as scholarships and grants. By working collaboratively, and taking a system‑wide view, Fairer Futures aims to contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable future for the legal profession
Mallesons Explore, running since 2019 in Singapore and Australia, offers paid internships in our professional services teams for tertiary students, offering them structured learning and exposure to our working environment and networks. Through mentoring and paid work experience the program aims to empower young people to make informed decisions about their study and career goals, and build connections to support them in their future careers.
In partnership with Griffith University, Mallesons and other law firms contribute to the First Nations Excellence in Law annual scholarship awarded to a female First Nations law student. As well as giving the recipient $10,000 towards living costs during their studies, the scholarship offers them mentoring and internship opportunities. “Beyond the recognition itself, the opportunities to connect with accomplished legal professionals have been incredibly valuable,” says Alicia George, recipient of the 2022 scholarship.
The Pinnacle Foundation’s work addresses the structural barriers to joining the legal profession. Mallesons have been a Pinnacle Gold Partner since 2019 and as part of our partnership with The Pinnacle Foundation, Mallesons also fund a scholarship for LGBTQIA+ law students. Like the Griffith scholarship, this opportunity offers financial assistance, mentoring, professional networks and career development opportunities. Our support also includes hosting The Pinnacle Foundation’s annual corporate and philanthropic partners’ dinner and providing pro bono services to secure Public Benevolent Institution status to open up new fundraising opportunities for their important work.
The impacts of Fairer Futures are also shaped by Mallesons’ contributions to cross-sector conversations and initiatives. We recently joined the Social Ventures Australia Fair Chance working group, a national program to raise awareness of the impact of socioeconomic background on equitable access to employment. Mallesons welcome this new opportunity to develop and share good practice and lead change, so that together we are shaping a workforce where everyone has a fair chance to thrive.
A partnership for education and career opportunities
For more than 40 years, Mallesons has proudly collaborated with The Smith Family, providing pro bono legal services, pathways programs, and funding to support its Learning for Life program. This partnership is built on the shared belief that every child deserves access to quality education.
“By addressing systemic inequalities, we want to contribute to a future where talent from all backgrounds can thrive,” says Clementine Johnson, Head of Community at Mallesons. “There are so many ways our people can get involved in our partnership with The Smith family, as buddies, mentors or supervisors in our Mallesons Explore program or by picking up a pro bono project that comes through The Smith Family.”
The partnership has inspired many from Mallesons, who have chosen to sponsor students through The Smith Family, donating to the Learning for Life program, volunteering for career and work activities at schools, or mentoring young people in our Mallesons Explore program. Maria DeBari, a Finance Business Specialist at Mallesons, has enjoyed many experiences and rewards from her long-term commitment to The Smith Family.
“My main involvement has been through the student sponsorship program, Learning for Life,” she says. “After sponsoring eight-year-old Aiddan through to secondary school, from 2018 I sponsored Matthew, a seven-year-old whose favorite subject was science and who wanted to be a police officer when he grew up. This year I was delighted to hear Matthew’s family circumstances had improved and my sponsorship moved to Zac, a seven-year-old who lives in WA.”
Since 1983, Mallesons have partnered with The Smith Family to support educational pathways and career opportunities for young Australians to overcome educational inequality caused by poverty, so they can make the most of their education and realise their potential.
of pro bono legal support since 2001
for tertiary students through The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program since 2019
in giving & grants
Margery is one of many students the Learning for Life program has supported, with financial assistance to her and her family starting from year one.
Igniting interest from the next generation of lawyers
Since 2015, the Mallesons TalkLaw program has been introducing high school students to the principles and practices of our legal system and how everyday Australians engage with it.
Our program volunteers join students in their classrooms to share knowledge about their legal rights in relation to police powers, employment, discrimination and online and they enjoy seeing the students’ interest and confidence grow across the series of workshops.
Impacts of the program extend far beyond the classroom as it ignites students’ interest in justice and builds confidence in their ability to engage with the law.
“Every year we start the sessions with a group of young students who are often uncomfortable speaking about these topics with adults and lawyers they have never met,” says Georgia Peake, Solicitor at Mallesons. By the final session, we always see an incredible shift in the students' willingness to engage with the topics and share their own stories about how these issues may have personally impacted them or someone they know.”
Georgia and our many TalkLaw volunteers value the opportunity to connect with young people face-to-face and share knowledge that empowers them, both as advocates for justice and as individuals navigating the adult world and the legal system.
“I didn’t know that my work was doing the wrong thing before I did TalkLaw,” said one student participant. “Now I know my rights.”
Hands-on experience for champions of social impact
Secondments with our community partners support two important outcomes for our goals of access to justice and opportunity. Providing extra legal support enables our community partners to have greater impact in work they’re undertaking by enabling them to increase their capacity for taking on complex and demanding legal matters. For community partners not working in the field of law, legal advice can support their growth in a whole range of ways, from governance to trademark and leasing matters.
For our people, the benefits of their secondment experiences are multifaceted and significant. We hear from many of our secondees how their work broadens their perspective and expertise on entrenched social and legal issues to take forward into their careers. Alex Mei, Solicitor in the Mallesons Melbourne office recalls the skills he developed on secondment to Tenants Victoria that he still uses to this day.
“My ability to structure advice, answer ad hoc questions and build rapport over the phone improved significantly,” he says. “I learned to break down complex legal concepts into clear, plain English for those with no legal background. Recognising the widespread impact of trauma, I learned to navigate sensitive issues and deliver a client-focused, trauma-informed legal practice. I also strengthened my ability to work effectively with clients with language barriers and disabilities.”
89,000 hours
of pro bono secondments completed with Mallesons’ community partners since 2001
“I did a huge variety of work while I was at the Human Rights Law Centre in 2014,” says Emma Newnham, now a Partner in our Melbourne office. “Tasks and cases included preparing a submission on drone weaponry, assisting a transgender individual with a discrimination case involving a government department, supporting two gay men on Nauru seek asylum, and much more.” Today Emma’s work at Mallesons is in climate governance, which is strongly linked to human rights and its role in a just transition to renewable energy in Australia.
The strength of our Community program doesn’t only rely on the commitment and passion of our many secondees. Pro bono coordinators, TalkLaw team leaders, Responsible Business ambassadors, shared services staff, Local Community Partner leaders and many others show up to offer support across our many Community program initiatives. They bring the leadership and energy that are essential in turning our firmwide commitment to making more possible into strong partnerships and action for a fairer, more sustainable future.
