Q&A
Know Your Council Member: Melanie Tilmouth The Bulletin spoke to Melanie Tilmouth, who was recently appointed Vice President (Female) of the Law Society for 2021-22, about her career to date, the value of giving back to the profession, and the burning issues in the law that she thinks need to be addressed. Can you please give a brief overview of your career to date? am a Family and Divorce Senior Solicitor working at Resolve Divorce Lawyers. I initially undertook my clerkship with Tony Kerin, who was then at Johnston Withers and it was Tony who sparked my interest in practice, for which I will be forever grateful. I then worked for a medium sized firm firstly in one of their county offices before moving to their city office a few years later. I always recommend working in the country to graduate lawyers. It is such a fantastic way to have immediate, handson experience and work out where your passion lies without being pigeon holed early on in your career. I slowly gravitated towards family law and it was then that I realised that I wanted to be mentored to refine my skills and I moved to work within Jane Miller’s family law team in a large firm. The resources of a large firm allowed us to work on very interesting and complex matters and Jane was such an inspiring leader and continues to be a great mentor. When Jane was called to the bar I then moved to my current position.
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What drew you to a career in law? Initially, I chose to study law in conjunction with a degree in international studies with the hope of a career in international diplomacy. It was a requirement of my degree at Flinders University that I undertake a clerkship. My clerkship under supervision of Tony Kerin was transformative. He sparked my interest in practice and helped me understand that
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legal practice is being in the service of others and your community.
What drew you to your current workplace/area of law? Early on in my career I had no in interest family law but working in general practice in the country meant that I had no option but to give it a go. I then found it so rewarding to help people at some of the most challenging times of their life, particularly given that the decisions I helped them make could have such significant impact on their future. I was drawn to working at Resolve Divorce Lawyers as it was female led with my director recently having returned from maternity leave like me. The firm sees the opportunity to improve the way in which clients experience family breakdown. I also am a strong believer in the firm’s philosophy that the law is only a part of the puzzle of family breakdown and you need to help your client build a team of support people around them such as psychologists, financial and other advisors to support them to help them achieve their best outcome. Why did you nominate for Council? When I began practice in the country, I felt disconnected from the profession so I joined the Young Lawyers Committee (YLC) as a way of reconnecting. This was the start of my journey with the Law Society and when I decided to step down at co-chair of the YLC I wanted to continue to remain closely connected with the profession, and Council felt like a natural step. I feel strongly about giving
Melanie Tilmouth
back to the profession, supporting each other and the community and Council provides those opportunities.
What have you got out of being a Council Member? I was gained a much deeper understanding of various functions of the Society and the significant amount of work it does for the profession. There is momentous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. I have been able to connect with other members of the profession, outside my area of practice, which has had positive impact personally and professionally. What do you see as the key challenges for the legal profession? Some of the key challenges facing the profession include: • The ongoing under funding of the justice system both at a state and federal level.
