Marrickville Legal Centre (MLC), one of NSW’s largest community legal centres, has formed a pro bono partnership with leading law firm Barry Nilsson.
Barry Nilsson, renowned for its expertise in insurance, health law, family law, and wills and estates, will work alongside MLC to provide graduate secondments, supporting MLC to meet growing demand for free and affordable legal assistance while providing early-career lawyers with valuable, hands-on experience.
Tu Le, Marrickville Legal Centre’s Strategic Partnerships Manager, reflected on the new collaboration: “This partnership reflects MLC’s strategic commitment to collaboration, early intervention, and improving access to justice for communities experiencing disadvantage. By working with Barry Nilsson, we can extend our reach and connect more people with high-quality legal support, particularly in complex matters where timely assistance can make a critical difference.”
“It also strengthens our ability to deliver practical, client-centred outcomes while contributing to broader system-level change through shared expertise between the community and private legal sectors.”
Katie Swain, Barry Nilsson’s Head of Pro Bono & Responsible Business, said: “This partnership supports our long-term goal of fostering a strong pro bono culture through Barry Nilsson’s ‘Impact Project’ initiative. It also aligns with our firmwide strategy, which embeds ‘positive social impact’ as a core firm value.”
“This core value is reflected in our ongoing commitment to the National Pro Bono Target of at least 35 hours per lawyer each year, and underpins our approach to building sustainable partnerships with community legal centres that align with our lawyers’ skills and the needs of the communities they serve.”
Kawshalya Manisegaran, Barry Nilsson’s National Pro Bono Manager, explained: “Our graduate pro bono placement program plays a pivotal role in our firm’s pro bono strategy, providing early career lawyers with meaningful, hands-on experience in community legal centres from the outset of their careers.”
“Partnering with MLC enables us to expand those opportunities for our Sydney-based graduates while supporting a well-established service with a strong advocacy focus, delivering critical legal assistance and empowerment to people facing disadvantage in NSW.”
One of MLC’s first Barry Nilsson secondees, Lawrence Qiu, highlighted the impact of the collaboration: “This partnership is about strengthening access to justice and supporting MLC’s work assisting people with a broad range of legal issues, including housing, employment and family matters.”
“By working alongside MLC, we can contribute to addressing systemic barriers while gaining exposure to different areas of law and learning from the expertise of community legal practitioners.”
This partnership reflects a shared commitment to improving access to justice and responding to increasing demand for legal assistance. By working collaboratively, MLC and Barry Nilsson aim to deliver meaningful, sustainable outcomes for individuals and communities experiencing disadvantage.
