Council & Executive

The Law Society of South Australia is governed by the Council in accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act 1981 and the Rules of the Law Society. The Council represents Law Society Members on matters affecting the profession, sets the strategic direction and priorities of the organisation, ensures the adequacy of the organisation’s corporate governance structures and approves its published reporting, inter alia.

The Council is broadly representative of the main segments of the South Australian profession. It is comprised of six office bearers, sixteen Metropolitan Members (eight female and eight male), three Members representing practitioners from country areas, two Members representing newly admitted practitioners; and the Attorney-General and Deans of the Law Faculties of the University of Adelaide, UniSA and Flinders University as ex-officio Members. Click the dropdowns on the right of the screen to view a list of the current Council Members.

The Council is assisted by a smaller governing body, the Executive, which has delegated authority to undertake most of the powers associated with the management of the affairs of the Society. The Executive is comprised of the President, Immediate Past President, President-Elect, Vice-Presidents, Treasurer and two other Members drawn from the non ex-officio Members of Council. Continue reading below to learn more about the current President and office bearers.

Members of the 2025 Council

Office Bearers

President - Marissa Mackie
Immediate Past President - Alexander Lazarevich
President Elect - David Colovic
Vice-President (female) - Elena Leonardos
Vice-President (male) - Raffaele Piccolo
Treasurer - Fraser Bell

Metropolitan Members

Metropolitan (female)

  • Talia Admiraal
  • Gemma Collins-Little
  • Yasmin Faiyad
  • Nour Harb
  • Stephanie Moore
  • Candice Scott
  • Melanie Tilmouth
  • Victoria Gilliland

Metropolitan (male)

  • Samuel Blackman
  • Sebastian Hill
  • Simon Holding
  • Peter Koutsoukos
  • Alexander Mackey
  • Sean Richter
  • Chris Johnston
  • Luke Rowley
Country Members

Country Member (Central)
Peter Ryan

Country Member (Northern and Western)
Sarah Minney

Country Member (Southern)
John Kyrimis

Junior Members

Hannah Guest
Madi McCarthy

Ex-Officio Members

The Attorney-General, the Honourable Kyam Maher MLC
Dean of the Law School, the University of Adelaide, Professor Judith McNamara
Dean of the Law School, Flinders University, Professor Tania Leiman
Dean of the Law School, UniSA, Professor Vicki Waye

2025 President - Marissa Mackie

Marissa is a Principal solicitor and counsel in the commercial and tax team at Norman Waterhouse who specialises in taxation, banking and finance, bankruptcy and corporate insolvency, administrative law and regulatory litigation. Marissa was admitted to practice in 2009, following completion of a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice. She has also completed a Master of Laws specialising in Corporate, Commercial and Taxation law.

She is also a sessional member at the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and teaches Banking and Finance Law and Corporate and Commercial Practice as part of the Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice run by the University of Adelaide and Law Society.

Marissa has been an active member of the Law Society and has been a member of and has sat on and chaired a number of committees. In 2018 she was appointed to Council before becoming a member of the Executive in 2022. She has presented numerous CPDs and authored a number of articles for the Law Society Bulletin and also teaches Banking & Finance Law and Corporate & Commercial Practice as part of the Law Society's GDLP program.

Marissa is the immediate past president of the Women Lawyers Association of South Australia. Outside of the law, Marissa enjoys spending time with her family, running and travelling.

Please click here to read Marissa's President's Message.

Members of the 2025 Executive

David Colovic - President-Elect

With a career spanning over 30 years, David is a principal at LK Law and practises in the areas of Commercial Litigation and Insolvency.

David was admitted to practice in 1991, after graduating from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Economics (1986) and from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Laws (1990). David commenced private practice in 1991 with Corrs and has subsequently been a partner at Thomson Playford, Kelly & Co, HWL Ebsworth and principal at Lipman Karas and LK Law.

David has been involved in and led significant insolvency litigation proceedings across Australia, including in the Western Desert Resources, Arafura Pearls, Candetti Constructions and Noelex Yachts liquidations and the Warren Anderson Group receivership.

David has been a member of the Law Society continuously since 1991 and Vice President of Council in 2023 and 2024. He is also a member of the Law Council of Australia Insolvency and Reconstruction Committee (SA), Chair of the SA/NT Committee chapter of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association (ARITA) and a member of INSOL. David is also a board member of the Real Estate Institute of South Australia.

David's personal interests include wine, horseracing and football. He has been Chair of the Football Federation SA Disciplinary Tribunal since 2022.

Elena Leonardos - Vice-President

A proud graduate of Flinders University, Elena holds a double degree in Business Economics and Law & Legal Practice. She was admitted to practice in South Australia in 2007 and is also admitted to the High Court of Australia.

An active member of several professional organisations, Elena enjoys contributing to the Law Society of South Australia, the Law Society Legal Advisory Service, and the Hellenic Lawyers' Association.

Elena has successfully completed the National Mediation Assessment, making her eligible for accreditation with prominent bodies like the Resolution Institute. Her mediation skills were rigorously assessed, reflecting her proficiency.

Throughout her career, Elena has built strong professional relationships within the legal community and is known for effectively negotiating for her clients and managing legal costs efficiently.

Elena also shares her knowledge as a lecturer for the Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice at the Australian National University in Adelaide, Sydney, and Canberra. Mentoring law graduates is one of her joys, helping to guide their careers.

Dedicated to practical and stress-free solutions, Elena ensures her clients feel supported and understood. Her friendly and approachable manner, combined with her experience, makes her a respected and trusted legal professional in South Australia.

Raffaele Piccolo - Vice-President

Raffaele currently practises at the South Australian Bar, having previously worked as a Federal Prosecutor in the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and as a defence solicitor in the Criminal Law Practice Division of the Legal Services Commission of South Australia.

Raffaele has been a member of the Law Society since 2015 and is currently a member of the Advocacy, Corporate Governance and Criminal Law Committees, and is Chair of the Human Rights Committee. He is also a Law Society nominee to the Law Foundation, Law Council of Australia Business and Human Rights Committee and Joint Criminal Rules Advisory Committee.

He was named the 2023 Young Lawyer of the Year (alongside Zainab Al-Sweedy).

Raffaele also has an interest in sports discipline law, and is a member of the Disciplinary and Appeals Committee for Football South Australia and the Internal Sports Tribunal for Volleyball Australia.

Fraser Bell - Treasurer

Fraser Bell is a Partner at Thomson Geer. He leads the group focusing on all aspects of environmental and planning law, climate change, and contaminated land.

Fraser was admitted to practice in 1988 after graduating from the University of Adelaide. Prior to joining Thomson Geer in 2007, he was a partner at Finlaysons.

In addition to his role as Treasurer of the Law Society, Fraser is: Chair of Bellberry Ltd; Chair of East Waste; a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) SA/NT Council; a current Executive Committee Member of the SA Branch of the Waste Management Association of Australia (President 2002 – 2003).

Fraser was a Member of the Law Society Council from 1988 to 1989 and re-joined the Council in 2018.

Away from the law, Fraser enjoys playing tennis and golf and enjoys music and the arts.

Alex Lazarevich - Immediate Past President

Alex joined the bar in 2004. As a solicitor he has worked in a large national practice with Minter Ellison, a small boutique commercial practice with Johnson Lawyers, and in government with the Attorney General’s Department.

He has been actively involved in the profession, both in terms of committee involvement and the regular publication of CPD papers on topics including unconscionable conduct, caveats, voidable transactions, and setting aside transactions to defeat creditors.

Alex was the President of the Law Society of South Australia in 2024, is the Chair of the Civil Litigation Committee, and has been on Council for both the South Australian Bar Association and Law Society of South Australia.

Alex is an accredited AMDRAS mediator, and a panel mediator for the Panel Mediator, Department of Industry Tourism & Trade NT and the Magistrates Court of South Australia. He has appeared as counsel in a range of Courts in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the Northern Territory, and Tribunals from Magistrates Court and Tribunal level to the Court of Appeal, Federal Court, and High Court. Alex also sits as a senior sessional member at the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.