Winners of the 2021 Victorian Bar Pro Bono Awards announced

Congratulations to the winners:

• The winner of the inaugural Debbie Mortimer S.C. Award for outstanding achievement in pro bono advocacy in a Tribunal or the Magistrates' Court is Joel Tito. Joel won for his significant work in a successful application for review at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of the Minister's decision not to revoke his client's visa cancellation. At short notice, Joel reviewed voluminous material, took instructions from a client on Christmas Island, and appeared at the hearing of the review application remotely, examining a number of witnesses.
   
• The winner of the inaugural Uncle Jim Berg Award for outstanding pro bono advice or advocacy that enhances access to justice for First Nations clients, either nationally or in Victoria, is Jason Gullaci. Jason won for his many appearances for clients of the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA in the Perth District Court, WA Supreme Court and WA Court of Appeal. Jason's pro bono work included acting for EYO (a pseudonym), an Aboriginal man from the East Kimberley region in relation to the admissibility of a record of interview where legal advice was sought and not provided, in a matter which affirmed the relevance of the Anunga Rules to the interrogation of Aboriginal suspects.
   
• The winner of the Daniel Pollak Readers' Award for outstanding achievement in pro bono advocacy undertaken by barristers who have completed their Readers' Course within the previous 12 months is Stephanie Brenker. Stephanie won for her extraordinary contribution to the court and in the representation of a previously self-represented litigant at a complex trial in the Personal Injuries List at the Supreme Court of Victoria.
   
• The winner of the Ron Castan AM QC Award for outstanding achievement in pro bono advocacy undertaken by barristers who are between one and six-years' call is Jim Hartley. Jim won for his consistent pro bono work, in particular on matters which have significantly contributed to advancing the rights of refugees and improving the health and safety of people in immigration detention.
   
• The winner of the Susan Crennan AC QC Award for outstanding achievement in pro bono advocacy undertaken by barristers who are between seven and 15-years' call but are not Silks is Scott Morris. Scott won for his substantial work on a difficult loans case assisting clients affected by health and workplace adversity.
   
• The winner of the Ron Merkel QC Award for outstanding achievement in pro bono advocacy undertaken by barristers who are more than 15 years' call or who have taken silk is Haydn Carmichael. Haydn won for his work in the case of Dean v Witness K involving consideration and submission on complex areas of procedural and substantive law involving many hundreds of hours of preparation and appearance time in Canberra.
   
• The winner of the Public Interest/Justice Innovation Award for outstanding achievement in pro bono advocacy, which has a strong public interest element or has involved a procedural or substantive innovation in the law likely to enhance access to justice is Michelle Zammit. Michelle won for her representation of a survivor of child sexual abuse who sought permission to publically identify herself and her deceased sister, who was also an abuse victim. Michelle's representation and advocacy contributed to the reconsideration of legislative amendments proposed in the Victorian Parliament.
   
• The winner of the inaugural Equality Award for outstanding achievement in pro bono advocacy that furthers the rights or interests of a disadvantaged and/or minority group is Leopold Faust. Leopold won for his repeated engagement in pro bono advocacy in an employment law context, including for assisting many women who had experienced sexual harassment at work.
   
• The winners of the inaugural Pro Bono Team Excellence Award for outstanding achievement in pro bono advocacy by a team of at least three barristers are Áine Magee QC, Dr Sue McNicol AM QC, Elizabeth Ruddle SC, Marko Cvjeticanin, Fiona Ryan, Maria Pilipasidis, Barbara Myers, Fiona Spencer, Andrew Sim, Dr Kylie Weston-Scheuber, Mathew Kenneally and Gayann Walker. They won for their pro bono advocacy and effective teamwork appearing at the Coronial Inquest into the Bourke Street massacre, representing the victims' families.
   
• The winner of the Victorian Bar Pro Bono Trophy for outstanding individual achievement in pro bono advocacy over a long period is Matthew Albert. Matthew won for his extensive pro bono work over a number of years, including significant recent work in the NTCAT and NT Supreme Court assisting residents of remote Indigenous communities in their struggle for safe, humane, and comfortable housing, litigation which has established precedents that will improve standards of living for remote communities across the Northern Territory.

We thank all the winners and nominees for improving access to justice for our community.