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Lawyer leaves global for new pro bono management job

user iconMelissa Coade 19 July 2016 SME Law
Lawyer leaves global for new pro bono management job

A senior associate from Ashurst has been recruited to manage the pro bono practice of a national firm in Melbourne.

Sophie McNamara (pictured) has left her position as pro bono senior associate with global firm Ashurst to take on a managerial role for the Gadens pro bono program. She moved from Sydney to Melbourne for her new role.

Ms McNamara was named among Westpac’s 100 Women of Influence in the ‘Young Leaders’ category in 2015. Her pro bono work has assisted indigenous people, migrants and people living with mental illness and disability.

The accomplished solicitor was admitted in 2010 and worked as a migration agent and pro bono associate at Russell Kennedy before joining Ashurst last year. Ms McNamara has worked as a volunteer lawyer for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and has also undertaken secondments with the Cancer Council and the Community Legal Centre in Footscray, Victoria.

In a statement released by Gadens, Melbourne CEO Grant Scott-Hayward said Ms McNamara would further advance the firm’s corporate social responsibility program.

“Sophie will be a valuable addition to Gadens and what we are seeking to achieve, and we are delighted that she chose to join us,” Mr Scott-Hayward said.

Pro bono legal services have been an important part of Gadens’ corporate social responsibilities, which Mr Scott-Hayward suggested feed into the firm’s culture.

“As a firm we recognise the importance of taking responsibility for our actions and decisions, particularly within the communities in which we live and work.  Our profession has a responsibility to assist disadvantaged and marginalised people within our communities, enhance access to the legal system and embrace the concept of corporate social responsibility. 

“Our people across all areas and levels of the firm are encouraged to proactively participate in pro bono work and to contribute to community assistance initiatives,” Mr Scott-Hayward said.

Gadens pro bono partner Sophie McNamara

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