The art of leading hundreds of Legal Aid lawyers

In the space of a decade and a half, the civil law team not only grew to 300 people – three-quarters of which were legal roles – but expanded into a major multidisciplinary practice that covered issues such as elder abuse, natural disasters, and workplace disputes.

Osborne explained that the division also became an allied professional workforce that enabled its lawyers to “work alongside social workers, caseworkers, financial counsellors, Aboriginal field officers, [and] community engagement officers” to provide wraparound services.

Much like those clients, Osborne said her workforce is highly diverse, with 25 per cent of the team speaking a language other than English at home, 22 per cent identifying as having a disability, 8 per cent are First Nations people, and the team spans five generations.

“There’s incredible diversity in our practice. They have lived experience of barriers to accessing services, or their parents have, and they bring that experience, that insight, that knowledge of the communities we work in, and it really enriches our practice,” she said

The division has also needed to be adaptive to the communities. For example, during the pandemic, when everything went online, Osborne said the team took the opportunity to elevate its technology and systems “to deliver services through multiple channels”.

“Sometimes out of a crisis, there are some really innovative ways of working that can emerge as well,” Osborne added.

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Looking at the rapid advancement of legal technology and artificial intelligence across the profession, Osborne said the team is currently exploring a range of options to support lawyers and their workloads, “but also being really cautious that it is used appropriately”.

Osborne explained that everyone’s lives will “intersect with civil law at some point”, but particularly those who experience disadvantage: “Civil law, the way I describe it, is about everyday legal problems that impact on people’s fundamental needs and rights.”

While the practice focuses on housing, safety, basic income, financial hardship, healthcare, education, and disability, Osborne and her lawyers work across practice areas like government for social security, immigration, veteran entitlements, and NDIS appeals. There is also a human rights division, an employment law practice, a workplace rights service, and consumer protection advice.

“We’re Legal Aid, so our remit is to assist people experiencing disadvantage, our work is targeted to the clients who need us most, and that includes Aboriginal communities, children and young people, refugees, people with disability, our clients who are in custody, people experiencing domestic and family violence and elder abuse, people experiencing homelessness, and probably our most recent and rapidly growing priority is people impacted by disasters,” Osborne said.

For people across the legal profession, burnout and vicarious trauma are a big concern. This can be “really amplified” when the work involves distressing material, clients who have experienced trauma, or clients who have exhibited challenging behaviours, Osborne said.

It is why wellbeing is a “number one priority” at Legal Aid, with staff offered training workshops, external debriefings with psychologists and social workers, and an employee assistance program.

“Legal Aid has invested heavily in the wellbeing of staff. We’re really proactive at managing workloads, we have strong supervision arrangements for our staff, and we have a great induction program. We’ve got lots of staff in early career and [we’re] making sure they are getting the supports they need,” Osborne said.

In this same interview, Osborne spoke to Lawyers Weekly about a handful of the civil law division’s achievements, including the Work and Development Order and the Homeward Sisters project.

“These programs had very committed staff here who have driven and led those initiatives, and I am incredibly proud of them,” Osborne said.