Pro Bono Award

The Law Society’s Pro Bono Award recognises a South Australian lawyer or organisation that has contributed to the profession or the community on or for a good benefit.

The selection panel for the Pro Bono Award comprises of the President and the Executive Members.

Award Specific Criteria

Individual nominees for the Pro Bono Award must be admitted legal practitioners.

Nomination and selection process

  1. Nominees are not required to be Members of the Society unless otherwise specified in the award specific criteria.
  2. Nominees are not required to be admitted legal practitioners unless otherwise specified in the award specific criteria. 
  3. Nominators must be Members of the Society.
  4. Self-nominations are not accepted.
  5. The nomination will be submitted on the Law Society website via the online process;
    • Name and contact details of nominator
    • Name and contact details of nominee
    • Name and contact details of two referees who can attest that the nominee meets the Award criteria; and 
    • Description of the achievements of the nominee that address the Award criteria (Maximum 400 words).
  6. Nominees who are unsuccessful for an award in a given year will be included for consideration for the award in the following three years (subject to the nominee continuing to meet the award criteria and in the absence of the nominee, nominator or seconder withdrawing the nomination).
  7. A nominee/s must not be the subject of charges before the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Tribunal or the Supreme Court for unsatisfactory conduct or professional misconduct, or be a person suspended from practice.
  8. The judging panel for each award will consider nominations and make a final decision on the suitability of the nominee for the Award.
  9. The judging panel may decide that an award not be conferred in a given year, should there not be a suitably meritorious nominee.

Winner of the Pro Bono Award

2024 - Johnson Winter Slattery

Johnson Winter Slattery’s South Australian pro bono team, coordinated by Eve Thomspon, support JusticeNet SA’s Homeless Legal Clinic at the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT). The weekly clinic helps vulnerable clients at risk of becoming homeless by providing advice about their tenancy and property rights and legal options, as well as providing assistance with preparing written statements for submission to SACAT, with a focus on preventing homelessness.

In the 2023-24 financial year, 22 JWS lawyers dedicated a total of 604 voluntary hours to the SACAT legal outreach clinic. This equates to about $200,000 worth of pro bono legal services through the SACAT clinic in 12 months.

JWS’s pro bono team also facilitates secondments to community legal centres and staff legal outreach clinics.