The Development of Baker McKenzie's Pro Bono Practice
In the last seven years, Baker McKenzie’s pro bono practice has grown significantly in terms of the breadth of practice areas, number of clients and the amount of pro bono work undertaken by our lawyers. Our Pro Bono team is comprised of three senior lawyers - Kate Gillingham, Partner; Lynn McMahon, Special Counsel; and Luke Hall, Senior Associate. We each have our own pro bono practices, and together, we manage the pro bono practice across the wider firm. Kate also works with Vicki Kontellis, our First Nations Lead, to oversee the firm’s community service initiatives and engagement with First Nations’ peoples, including our recently launched Reconciliation Action Plan.
Kate Gillingham is partner at Baker McKenzie, responsible for the Australian pro bono legal practice as well as overseeing the firm’s community services initiatives and engagement with First Nations people. Kate has more than 25 years’ experience as a lawyer - most recently in the pro bono sector and previously as a commercial litigator at DLA Piper (formerly Phillips Fox) and Baker McKenzie. Kate’s recent work involves human rights issues and litigation, with a focus on assisting refugees, women and children who have experienced domestic violence and the elderly.
Luke Hall has advised charities, not-for-profits and philanthropists . Luke advises pro bono clients on charity establishment and governance issues (including amending governing documents, and board/governance training), corporate restructures (including transfers of registration), and advising on tax concessions and deductible gift recipient (DGR) endorsement, in particular, public benevolent institutions and ‘health promotion charities’. Prior to this, Luke was at Prolegis Lawyers, a firm that services charities and NFPs exclusively, having worked in government, NFP and charity sectors over his 20-year career (including managing a charity for five years).
Lynn McMahon is Special Counsel in the Baker McKenzie pro bono team. Lynn has more than 20 years’ experience as a lawyer and a long background in the pro bono sector. Most recently she was Principal Solicitor and Director of Salvos Legal where she ran a pro bono practice with a focus on advice and representation for refugees and asylum seekers. Prior to this she led the Herbert Smith Freehills pro bono program across its offices in Asia after a long career in Australia and London as a commercial litigator. Lynn’s practice at Baker McKenzie is focussed on human rights issues and litigation
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