LAW IN THE COMMUNITY
Giving back to the community: Two lawyers explain why volunteering means so much to them
M
ore than 100 years ago, during World War I, the Law Society of South Australia administered the Red Cross Information Bureau out of the Verco building on North Tce (incidentally, the current Law Society premises is behind the Verco Building’s façade). A significant portion of the legal profession put their hand up to volunteer for the service, which entailed lawyers fielding requests from loved ones seeking information on missing South Australians who had been fighting overseas. This task particularly suited lawyers as it involved extensive investigations to search for facts amid a maze of misinformation, logistical obstacles, and the fog of war. Looking back at the history of community service by lawyers serves as a reminder of the proud legacy of pro bono work in the legal profession. Even a much more recent review of some of the Law Society’s Justice Award recipients, who are acknowledged annually for their outstanding service to access to justice in the community, reveals an enduring commitment to helping people in need. Lawyers do have a unique set of skills which, combined with an education rooted in principles of justice and equality, seems to engender a sense of duty to use that expertise to serve others. In a recent Law Society survey, 82% of respondents reported that they engage in pro bono work, averaging about 6.3 hours of pro bono work per month. For this special community edition, we spoke to two lawyers who, while they have a very busy day job, contribute an extraordinary amount to the community. Alice Tester, a solicitor at Roach Corporate Law, and Will Gray, who has recently set up his own practice after several years working as a solicitor in mid-sized law firms, have generously given what little spare time they have to discuss their volunteering activities, why they choose to volunteer, and what they get out of serving the community.
20 THE BULLETIN July 2022
relationship with Coolock House, which provides safe and secure temporary housing for families. Our firm is one of the collection points for various household items that we then deliver to Coolock House for the families there. We have delivered a couple of times, but we are always looking for more donations! We are happy to provide the “wish list of items” from Coolock House if anyone is interested. We have also shared this on our firm’s Facebook page. Alice Tester (middle) at a Rotary sausage sizzle
ALICE TESTER How did you and your firm become involved in Rotary? We initially reached out to Rotary as the firm’s founding director, Daniel Roach, had connections with others who were in the Rotary Club of Seaford. I also have a long history of involvement in various community and charity groups, and it seemed a good fit! It flowed naturally from there and as a member I attend Club meetings and then at one Club meeting I put up my hand for a board position and I am now involved in that side of things in the Club too. What kind of community activities to you do as part of Rotary? The community activities I have been involved in so far with Rotary include fundraising BBQs at Bunnings Seaford, cleaning up the Seaford Wetlands, and collecting and delivering various household items to Coolock House. We are also involved in raising money for the building of a medical facility in Mbale, Uganda. The projects therefore range from local community to international causes. There are so many different causes and projects that the Club is involved in and it’s going to be exciting to be involved in those further projects moving forward. Can you tell us about the service for domestic violence women that you are involved in? The Rotary Club of Seaford has a
You are heading up a walkathon to raise money for bowel cancer in memory of Daniel Roach. Can you please tell us a little bit about Daniel? As part of our corporate membership with the Rotary Club of Seaford, the firm is in the process of organising its own project to run through the Club. We have talked about organising something in memory of Daniel. Daniel was an amazing person and boss. I will always appreciate his patience and teachings and guidance when I was a new grad. He also had a great sense of humour. He is terribly missed. As Daniel was one of those people who would go for a run before work, we thought a walkathon would be a good idea. Here we would be raising money for a charity involved in cancer research or similar. We are still planning and organising however and will send out details when the project is more finalised! You are the vice-president of the Southern United Netball Association. What does this involve? In my role as vice-president of SUNA, I assist with certain communications and meetings with clubs and members, review internal regulatory and policy documents, and attend various community events put on by SUNA such as the ANZAC annual match and the Carnivals where many clubs and teams come to participate and play netball. It has been a great role and I have developed some great relationships with others in the community.
