Mr. Speakman said Monique Hitter is an exceptional and accomplished leader with a proven track record of achieving justice outcomes for some of our state`s most vulnerable people. A veteran of justice-related political roles, Thomas now has the task of leading Legal Aid NSW into a future that currently seems uncertain. While the legal profession is eagerly awaiting the outcome of the Attorney General`s decision on legal aid funding, Thomas already has a clear and ambitious idea of where the extra money would go. “This worries me, especially outside of Sydney and in rural areas where any type of service is inferior – legally and otherwise,” thomas says. We are facing a cliff and, at some point in the not too distant future, we will struggle to provide enough legal services in New South Wales. Ms Hitter said she was honoured and honoured to have the opportunity to lead Australia`s largest legal services provider and its exceptional and dedicated workforce. The private profession will focus on additional training, so that lawyers are better equipped to deal with process assistants. “Most of our clients are the most disadvantaged people in the state – they are people with mental health issues, addictions, homelessness. The role of our organization is not only to provide a legal service, but also to provide a service in an accessible and meaningful way for people in these situations. “The level of legal need is enormous, and as we try to understand the magnitude of that need, I`m always surprised at how much there is. Last year, we opened branches in Bourke and Walgett.
In Walgett, we held an opening ceremony for the office. I gave a speech, greeted the dignitaries and parishioners, and there were people queuing outside to access it. They introduced themselves when we delivered the ceremony. We didn`t have a presence there before, so the legal necessity was just masked. “Having led Legal Aid NSW`s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Hitter is well positioned to lead the organization beyond the challenges of the past two years into its next critical phase in providing legal aid services. “In particular, we found that customers often don`t know where to go. You need too many attempts to get through the front door. We recently took over the management of the Law Access call center to streamline client access to legal advisory services. “About 80% of our family law cases involve some form of violence, and most of the serious violence prosecuted by the criminal justice system is caused by the provision of legal aid, so our employees deal with complex people in really terrible circumstances,” thomas explains.
“If you don`t provide legal assistance, you won`t be meeting too many very disadvantaged people, and we expect lawyers to treat those people comprehensively and appropriately,” he says. “We are increasingly dependent on a smaller number of people and the goodwill of those people. If we can`t provide them with work properly, it makes their entire business model unprofitable. If these lawyers are not viable, who is doing the job we are not doing? Who is there in the church to make the wills and estates, the contracts? The Community is suffering, and I am very concerned about that. “They could give us double the budget and we would always find that we have to meet,” he says. Attorney General Mark Speakman today announced the appointment of Monique Hitter as CEO of Legal Aid NSW. The Chair of the New South Wales Legal Aid Council, Craig Smith, welcomed The appointment of Ms Hitter. Thomas realizes he has a challenge ahead of him, especially when it comes to the stagnant hourly rates currently paid to private doctors – many of whom are regional lawyers trying to keep their businesses afloat in a depressed and drought-stricken economy. A proud man from Wiradjuri, Thomas has had an impressive career in government, including leadership positions at the Department of Justice and the Attorney General`s Department, to name a few, as well as key positions on the New South Wales Victim Advisory Council and the Australian Institute of Criminology. As Legal Aid NSW celebrates its 40th anniversary, the organization`s CEO shares his vision and hopes for the future. “We have done a lot of work over the past 12 months to talk to clients about their experience working with legal aid.
We`ve found some really good things and things we need to work on,” he says. This makes the work of our employees more difficult, but more important than perhaps in the past. Interestingly, Thomas says the downside seems very different today than it did 40 years ago. Download the news release: Announcement of a new Chief Legal Aid Officer (PDF, 167.9 KB) Prior to that, Brendan was Undersecretary of the Department of Justice, who led key criminal and civil justice reforms, including sentencing reforms, major family violence reforms, services for victims of crime and Indigenous communities, including Indigenous sentencing courts. Brendan Thomas has long been fascinated by politics and the criminal justice system, particularly to improve the experience of Indigenous people who come into contact with her. He has worked extensively on offender management reforms, the introduction of restorative justice and community practices, and has led extensive work in the area of crime prevention. He founded the Design Out Crime Research Centre and was a member of the Australian Criminology Research Council, the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology, the Board of Directors of the NSW Crime Commission, among others. “If we don`t work with private lawyers to provide training and expertise, how else will they make ends meet?” Dealing with trauma can have a negative impact on lawyers, which is why Thomas also sees well-being as an integral part of Legal Aid`s vision for the next 40 years. “We now have offices in 25 locations in New South Wales, with a focus on where the most disadvantaged people live,” says Thomas. Thomas says the organization wants to make sure customers are at the center of their actions, and this strategy is influenced by conversations with customers themselves. “Ms. Hitter has earned the commission`s respect and support.
Their commitment and passion for the cause of legal aid will ensure our continued success in serving the community and providing access to justice,” said Smith. “We want to make sure that we provide comprehensive services so that we don`t just treat people as a criminal problem or as a civil law issue; we deal with them as a person. They tell their story once and get help as soon as possible. “It is a great privilege to lead and serve New South Wales Legal Aid and to make a meaningful difference to the people and communities who need us most in New South Wales,” said Ms Hitter. The fact that legal aid funding is rushing to a cliff makes Thomas naturally uncomfortable, but for now, he hopes that positive results will emerge from the budget discussions. Monique Hitter immediately takes on her duties, replacing former CEO Brendan Thomas “Ms. Hitter has a deep understanding of Legal Aid NSW`s core and unique responsibility to ensure access to justice for vulnerable people, including people with mental health issues, people with developmental disabilities, seniors, and people living in remote and regional areas.” Our clients are becoming more and more complex, with more dual diagnoses – mental retardation, mental health issues, long-term addictions, truly complex families and environments, and in difficult times,” says Thomas. Over the past 40 years, legal aid has become one of the largest law firms in the country. It has more than 600 lawyers and about 2,200 private lawyers on the books. In the New South Wales judicial system, legal aid is involved in approximately 50% of all criminal cases in local courts and 75% of all work in higher courts. “We need to do everything we can to make sure they are well and that they are healthy and healthy.
We do, but we need to make sure that we are at the forefront. However, he acknowledges that even if requests for additional funding are met, the bucket will never be full enough.