Slater and Gordon Lawyers

This week, the Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) celebrated its 25th annual conference in Melbourne, a three-day event proudly supported by Slater and Gordon. The conference brought together union members, experts, speakers, and politicians, including Bill Shorten, the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and Ingrid Stitt, Victoria's Minister for Mental Health. Ikenna (Ike) Nwokolo, our Senior Legal Counsel in Public Liability, captivated delegates with an insightful presentation on advocacy skills to drive policy change, while our workers compensation and employment lawyers engaged with attendees throughout the event. A big thank you to our Union Services Coordinator, Jedd Rothman, for ensuring Slater and Gordon’s impactful presence at the conference alongside our valued Union partners, and for pulling the winning ticket (alongside Geoffrey Borenstein from our industrial and employment team) for the lucky attendee who won the raffle! 

We are delighted to announce the recognition of 35 of our lawyers in the 2024 Doyle's Guide.  This external recognition is testament to the extraordinary skill, passion and talent within our organisation. We are so proud of our colleagues who apply their craft, creativity and determination to create access to justice for all. We know that Slater and Gordon is a special place to practice law, and it allows every one of us to be part of a collective strength and wisdom that is formidable. Please join us in congratulating them all! Yevgeny Bagrin, Phillip Bussoletti, Nicole Valenti, Joanne Wade, Susan Accary, Diana Agostinelli, Neil Andrews, Emily Archer, Liat Blacher, Lily Boskovski, James Carlson, Ben Gilley, Naty Guerrero-Diaz, Margaret Kent, Lee Kimonides, Shari Liby, Tracy Madden, Rod Matthews, Peter Mileto, Ikenna Nwokolo, Jackson Pannam, Anne Shortall, Nunzio Tartaglia, Bridie Walsh, Barrie Woollacott, Jacqui Eager, Sean Sweeney, Laine McDonald, Joel Schneider, Tricia Wong, Tony O’Hurley, Cassandre Hubert, Martin Carrick, Joshua Carroll, Liam Casey 

Earlier this month, Slater and Gordon secured a $50 million settlement on behalf of ANZ and OnePath superannuation customers, the third in our Get Your Super Back Campaign, which we launched in 2018 in response to the Banking Royal Commission.    The no fault settlement has been reached with ANZ and its former subsidiaries, OnePath Custodians Pty Ltd (OPC) and OnePath Life Limited (OPL) (now Zurich Australia Limited).  Subject to court approval, the settlement entitles thousands of members with OnePath or ANZ superannuation or pension accounts to compensation, which will be paid to group members who register with the firm. This settlement further strengthens the momentum of the Get Your Super Back Campaign and reflects Slater and Gordon’s commitment to protecting the interests of millions of superannuation members across Australia. https://lnkd.in/gm-jthRW  

We're excited to announce that the following lawyers have successfully passed the NSW 2024 Accredited Specialist Program through The Law Society of NSW: Laura Barnett – Workers Compensation Elizabeth Edgar – Workers Compensation Emily Clarke – Abuse Law Selva Macarios Dankha – Abuse Law We’re incredibly proud of everyone who took on the challenge of preparing for and completing the rigorous examination process, regardless of the outcome. The lengthy written exam, mock file, and interviews cover all areas of personal injury law, and it takes immense grit and dedication to go through it from start to finish. We’ll continue to build on the Accredited Specialist study program, which includes mentoring, mock assessments, structured study sessions, and guest speakers. Thank you to our Learning & Development team, supported by Ramina Dimitri, Joanne Wade, and Genevieve Henderson for the valuable support that you provided to participants. A huge congratulations to Laura, Elizabeth, Emily, and Selva!

We have successfully offered seven roles as part of our 2025 Graduate Program, and pleasingly, all offers were emphatically accepted! Following a thorough and highly competitive recruitment process, the candidates participated in an Assessment Centre which involved an individual interview and case study presentation. The Graduates who were chosen had a strong and relevant CV, excelled at the various assessments and showed strong alignment with our values.  This program is currently based in Victoria (with a view to going national), and we can’t wait to welcome our first cohort in early 2025. Congratulations to all who have been involved in bringing this Graduate Program to life! 

We were so proud (and excited) to welcome back Slater and Gordon alumna, former Prime Minister The Hon. Julia Gillard AC, as our special guest speaker at the opening of our new Melbourne office last week.  Julia’s reflections on her time with Slater and Gordon and the role we all play in championing access to justice were truly inspiring. She spoke about the importance of helping the “powerless against the powerful” and the important way in which we intersect with people during a stressful time in their lives, as a “guide” and as a “helper”. A big thank you to Julia, our Chair James MacKenzie AO, and our CEO Dina Tutungi for their thoughtful speeches that reinforced our ongoing commitment to access to justice for all. 

On the front page of the The Sydney Morning Herald last week, young people bravely shared their stories of being subjected to strip searches by NSW Police officers – intrusive and humiliating acts which continue to affect them.  It would be daunting and difficult for a person to seek justice against the NSW Police alone. We are proud to join forces with Redfern Legal Centre in a class action on behalf of the thousands of festival goers who have been strip searched.  We agree with Redfern Legal Centre that young people have a right to safely enjoy live music without the threat of these invasive and traumatic practices. It is a privilege to be part of building access to justice for young Australians. Those interested in learning more can visit our Festival Strip Search Class Action page: https://lnkd.in/gsJ83RnH Read the Sydney Morning Herald story here: https://lnkd.in/gtsBDXPt

We are proud to congratulate Craig Lynch on his appointment as Judicial Registrar of the Common Law Division at the County Court of Victoria.     Craig has been with Slater and Gordon for more than 27 years, during which time he has carved out a formidable career as a determined and passionate advocate for his clients. An Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law, Craig was an active member of the Personal Injury Law Advisory Committee (2003-2011) and the Specialisation Board from 2005 to 2022, which included three years as Chair (2012-2014). In 2014, Craig was the recipient of the highly coveted Accredited Specialist of the Year Award. Since 2017, Craig has also been the Attorney-General’s nominee to the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) Rules Committee. Craig has been a generous mentor to many young lawyers. His compassion, expertise, and love for the law and the people it helps has earned him the deep admiration and respect of his colleagues, his peers and his clients. We wish him well in his new role.    Congratulations Craig!  

The quality of applications for the Slater and Gordon Graduate Program shows that the future of law is very bright. Our Graduate Assessment Centre was held this week for short-listed applicants, with a selection panel of both People and Culture team members and Leaders from across Slater and Gordon. Congratulations to all the candidates who participated in our 2025 Graduate Program Assessment Centre – you were all very impressive! We’re getting excited about soon being able to welcome our 2025 Graduate Program participants. After hosting the Assessment Centre, we asked the selection panel to share their top tips for all graduates who are preparing to attend interviews over the next 6 months. If you’re ready to take the next step in your legal career, you can find out more about our Graduate Program here: https://lnkd.in/ghitgPVc

The emotional story told in this ad draws heavily on the collective and personal experience of our Medical Negligence team and their clients.   This production has been almost a year in the making and reflects the compassion, expertise, and collaborative spirit of our teams. A special thanks to our Medical Law, Client Care, Technology, Marketing, and Media and Communications teams for their contribution and commitment.