We are really proud to have exceeded the National Pro Bono Target for the second consecutive year. Nationally, we contributed an average of 42 hours per lawyer in the past financial year. Our pro bono hours for the Canberra office (which does the majority of Commonwealth work for the firm) in the past financial year were more than 4 times the contribution in FY2023.

This strong contribution reflects that pro bono work is not an afterthought at Maddocks. We recognise the privileged position that solicitors hold and strive hard to give back to the communities in which we live and work.

Our pro bono program prioritises supporting those experiencing homelessness, people living with mental health challenges, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, refugees and people seeking asylum, and the not-for-profit sector more broadly.

In the past financial year, we have worked with 27 different community legal centres (CLCs) to assist them in supporting some of the most vulnerable members of our community. We provide secondees to CLCs such as the Canberra Community Law Centre and Anika Legal, participate in the legal clinic run by the Kingsford Legal Centre and assist CLCs such as Justice Connect, Eastern Community Legal Centre, Arts Law, Refugee Legal and the Women’s Legal Centre. We have also established new relationships with the Racial Justice Centre and Villamanta. 

During the same period, we have provided pro bono assistance to other organisations, ranging from Tangaroa Blue Foundation (an environmental not-for-profit committed to stopping the flow of litter into our oceans), the Haymarket Market Foundation (which supports those experiencing risk of homelessness or harm related to alcohol or other drugs), Karinya House (a community based not-for-profit offering crisis care for women in the ACT and surrounding regions), Aboriginal Housing Victoria and Djaara (a traditional owner group representing the Dja Dja Wurrung People). 

Importantly, our pro bono work has been performed at all levels and all practice groups across the firm — approximately 2,400 hours at partner level, 1,400 hours at special counsel level, 4,000 hours at senior associate level and 4,300 hours at other levels.

Maddocks has proudly been a long-standing signatory to the National Pro Bono Target of the Australian Pro Bono Centre. In recent years, Maddocks has invested heavily in the growth and impact of our pro bono practice. We have:

• Launched a new pro bono strategy
• Published our first pro bono annual report
• Appointed a dedicated pro bono special counsel to lead the program, supported by a lead pro bono partner in each office
• Expanded partnerships with community legal centres, including pro bono secondments to Westjustice, Jobwatch and the Arts Law Community Legal Centre

The success of our pro bono program is due to the efforts of every lawyer in the firm who has been involved in a pro bono matter, and in particular the pro bono team, which in FY25 was Tamsin Webster, Claire Thurstans, Libby Walker, Veena Bedekar, Katarina Bonatakis, Rosalie Byrne, Peter Francis and Norman Lucas.