I am pleased to announce the appointment of two new lawyer members to the Victorian Legal Services Board, and the reappointment of an existing lawyer member.
On Monday 23 May, the Governor in Council, acting on the Attorney-General’s recommendations, appointed barrister Sam Hay KC, and solicitor Jacinta Lewin, as new members of our Board, and re-appointed current Board member, solicitor Liz Harris for a further term of office.
Sam is the current President of the Victorian Bar Council, and has extensive knowledge and experience in many legal areas, including banking and financial disputes, corporations law, insurance disputes and class actions. Sam has regularly appeared in Royal Commissions and in Commissions of Inquiry.
Jacinta is the Principal Lawyer of the Social Justice Practice at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. Jacinta’s experience includes federal worker’s compensation law and complex litigation, with a focus on tort and administrative law, and has a particular interest in diversity and inclusion initiatives that create a strong legal service culture to support lawyers and the community.
Both Sam and Jacinta were appointed for four-year terms. They replace our outgoing Board members, Jennifer Batrouney AM KC and Geoff Bowyer, whose terms have now expired. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Jennifer and Geoff for their considerable insight and expertise, which have greatly enhanced our work over the past five years.
We are also very pleased that Liz Harris has been re-appointed to the Board for a further four-year term. Liz has made a significant contribution to legal regulation over the last five years, and we are very fortunate that her skills and experience in legal costs and practice management will continue to benefit our work.
Following amendments to our legislation that took effect last year, lawyer members are now appointed to the Board, replacing the former election process. Under the changes, the Bar and the LIV provided a pool of suitable candidates to the Attorney-General to inform her recommendations to the Governor in Council.
For more information on the composition of the Victorian Legal Services Board and the appointment process, visit our website.
Fiona Bennett
Board Chairperson