29 February 2024
Interim CEO Hamish McLachlan speaks to the a stark reminder of the pervasiveness of intimate partner violence in Australia, the commencement of new team members to fill FLS’s Family Law and Family Violence Team, and the remarkable recruitment of 50 new volunteers this month.
In February we welcomed two new members to our staff team, with the arrival of Sophie Jest as Senior Lawyer, Family Law and Family Violence and Eve Dickenson as our Trainee Lawyer for 2024.
We are delighted to now have a full contingent in the Family Law and Family Violence team which provides such vital services to our communities and seeks to tackle one of the most serious and intractable human rights issues in the country.
The horrific news of the recent alleged double murder in Sydney has served as a stark reminder of the pervasiveness of intimate partner violence throughout our many communities and, tragically, of how much work still needs to be done to eradicate it.
The commencement of a new trainee is always an exciting time in a legal organisation as lawyers find it an honour to contribute to the development of passionate and committed lawyers starting out in their career.
The FLS traineeship is highly prestigious, having been previously undertaken by so many lawyers who have gone on to serve our communities in myriad valuable ways. We are very confident that Eve will continue this impressive tradition. You can read all about Eve later in this issue of our newsletter.;
February has also been a big month for recruitment of our volunteers, with our staff spending many hours assessing and interviewing prospective new recruits. As always, we have been so impressed by the number and calibre of applications.
Thank you to all who have so generously shown interest in contributing to the work of our organisation which could not be done without you. Our vollies are very much the past, present and future of FLS. I look forward to working with you all.
Hamish McLachlan
Interim Chief Executive Officer
