Senior Lawyer, Family Law

The Organisation

Westjustice is a rights-based Community Legal Centre servicing Melbourne’s West on the lands of the Bunurong and Wurundjeri peoples and including the LGAs of Wyndham, Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay, Melton and Brimbank, a population of over a million people. Melbourne’s Western Suburbs are the thriving backbone of the state, and home to Australia’s most diverse and fastest-growing population.

Westjustice’s purpose is to deliver targeted services and drive meaningful change to achieve fairness, safety and justice for Melbourne’s West.

We work to uphold peoples’ rights by providing free legal, social work, financial counselling services, community engagement, and advocacy for systemic reform across the five impact areas of Workers’ Rights, Children and Young People’s Rights, Women and Gender Diverse people’s Rights, Economic and Housing Rights, and Our Team. We provide place-based, multi-disciplinary programs, and partner with values-aligned organisations to focus on servicing those most impacted by these issues, and to ensure people have access to the services they need where they need them.

Through our work, we consistently see complex legal issues and the cyclical impact they have on longer term justice, economic, health, and life outcomes. This is why our services and programs focus on prevention and early intervention in the cycle of economic precarity, criminalisation, violence and housing insecurity. It is also why we advocate for legal, social and policy reform to ensure the people of Melbourne’s West have access to services and the best version of justice.

Benefits & Culture

• Be a part of an organisation that 98% of our team are proud to work for
• Be a part of an organisation that 98% of our employees are proud to work for
• We pay 3% above the SCHADs award
• Not for profit salary packaging up to $15,900 per annum
• Flexible working conditions
• 17.5% annual leave loading
• Passionate, professional and dedicated team
• Gifted additional paid leave over the Christmas holiday period
• Strong focus on collaboration, wellbeing, inclusion and diversity

The Role

We recognise that family and gender-based violence are serious community concerns that disproportionately affect women, gender diverse people and children. Our vision is for our clients to feel safe and secure. We do this by representing clients in family violence intervention order proceedings, family law (parenting, property division disputes and divorce), criminal proceedings where they have been misidentified as the primary perpetrator and providing early intervention legal advice to clients being investigated by the Child Protection.

If successful, you will join a high performing and supportive team delivering legal services in family law, family violence, criminal law and child protection with an early intervention focus. As we are s29A panel certifiers, we also undertake legally aided casework by applying for grants of legal assistance for clients who qualify under Victoria Legal Aid’s family law, family violence, criminal and child protection guidelines. 

This role is primarily based at our Sunshine office and you may also be required to undertake outreach legal services at our key health justice partner sites in the Western suburbs. You will also represent our clients in court proceedings in the Sunshine and Werribee Magistrates Court and Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, as required. From time to time, you may also be required to work at our other offices in Werribee and/or partner organisation sites, depending on Program needs.

Role Requirements:

1. Contribute to the achievement of the Westjustice Strategy by providing high-quality legal services, including legal information, advice, casework and representation in any of our key areas of practice – family violence, family law, and child protection.
2. Maintain a caseload of both routine and complex client files and collect and record client data to demonstrate impact and support advocacy and funding growth.
3. Establish and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders to ensure effective referral practices, in addition to efficient and consistent service delivery.
4. Contribute to community legal education, systemic impact work and policy and process improvement.
5. Contribute to the ongoing development of our WISED UP culture by focusing on Wellbeing, Inclusion, Safety, Equity and Diversity to support an uplift in performance and potential through mentoring and supervision of less experienced lawyers, PLT law students, pro bono lawyers and volunteers.
6. Contribute to the implementation of the Westjustice Strategy and Impact Areas 2024-2027 which includes collaborating with other teams on the broader objectives of the organisation.
7. Comply with all relevant laws and standards, including Westjustice’s policies, procedures, risk management processes and best practice guidelines.

8.      Other relevant work as required

Skills and experience required:

• Direct family law experience, ideally a minimum of three years
• Advocacy and litigation experience or the demonstrated ability to develop these skills
• Experience as a family violence duty lawyer (desirable but not mandatory)
• Legal supervision experience (desirable but not mandatory)
• Excellent time management and file management skills.
• Dedicated interest and commitment to social justice legal practice and improving outcomes for clients who face life barriers in accessing justice.

The successful applicant will require a current Working with Children’s Check and a National Police Check or be prepared to apply for both. Applicants must possess the right to work in Australia.

Remuneration:

Base Salary – $118,000 – $124,000pa (dependent on experience) employer funded superannuation in accordance with Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth), salary packaging and meals and entertainment benefits.

For more information about Westjustice, please visit our website (www.westjustice.org.au) For enquires, call Cleona Feuerring on (03) 9749 7720 for a confidential discussion.

If this sounds like the role for you, please promptly apply. The position will be closed as soon as a sufficient number of qualified applicants are received.

Westjustice is committed to building a diverse workforce. We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people living with a disability, people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, mature age workers and LGBTIQA+ identifying people. People with lived experience of the justice system are encouraged to apply. A police check result does not automatically disqualify an application which in each case will be individually assessed for the relevant role.

Please ensure that you let us know, in advance, of any reasonable adjustment you may require during any part of the recruitment process including application and interview by contacting Theresa via theresa@Westjustice.org.au.  Any information disclosed will be held in the strictest of confidence.