At Gilbert + Tobin, pro bono is a vital part of who we are and what we do. We are proud proponents of social justice and since the firm’s beginning in 1988, pro bono work has been an integral part of our practice.

We have a particular focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations, people with disabilities, refugees and human rights matters. We work hard to ensure our services are accessible to people who need them, both in the cities and in rural and remote Australia.

In 1996 we became the first firm in Australia to appoint a full-time, in house pro bono lawyer. We now have two full-time pro bono partners, Michelle Hannon and Anne Cregan, pro bono special counsel Laura Lombardo and three full-time pro bono lawyers together with paralegals from our Indigenous Legal Cadetship Program.

Pro bono is not only the domain of the pro bono team.  Pro bono work is undertaken by lawyers across the firm. On average, our lawyers spend 73.4 hours each year on pro bono work – adding up to over 32,150.4 hours in 2021-22, conservatively valued at $17.3 million.