Senior Solicitor

Passionate about gender justice? Committed to driving meaningful change?
Join us in advocating for women’s safety and economic security in a dynamic, feminist organisation that puts values into practice every day.

We are expanding the capacity of our legal programs and are seeking Senior Solicitors with expertise in our areas of legal practice and a deep commitment to working with clients experiencing deep and persistent disadvantage.

As a Senior Solicitor, you will provide legal advice and representation to women experiencing discrimination, violence, and other forms of disadvantage across a range of practice areas. Our legal practice operates across three specialist programs:

• Women’s Rights Program
• First Nations Women’s Legal Program
• Working Women’s Centre

Together, these programs provide free, trauma-informed, culturally safe, and client-centred legal services grounded in a gender justice framework.

You will bring strong expertise in the law and legal processes within our areas of practice. Your legal work will be high-quality, holistic, and trauma informed. You may work across all the programs or bring specialist expertise to either the Working Women’s Centre or the Women’s Rights Program:

• Working Women’s Centre: Focus on workplace issues including underpayment of entitlements, unfair dismissal, discrimination, and sexual harassment.
• Women’s Rights Program: Focus on family, domestic and sexual violence, family law, discrimination, victims support, and compensation.

In this role, you will manage and litigate complex matters, undertake strategic litigation in support of our law reform and advocacy priorities, and provide expert counsel on litigation strategy. You’ll collaborate closely with our legal team as well as private solicitors and pro bono barristers.

This is a unique opportunity to work in a collaborative, supportive environment where your work directly contributes to systemic change for women across legal, social justice, and community sectors.

If you’re organised, values-driven, and committed to making the law more accessible and equitable for all women, then this is the role for you.

Your role in the Team

Key Responsibilities include

• Providing high-quality, trauma-informed legal advice to clients via phone, online, in person, and through outreach clinics
• Managing a caseload of complex legal matters and strategic litigation with minimal supervision, including representation in courts and tribunals
• Supporting and mentoring paralegals and solicitors in legal practice, case strategy, and professional development
• Leading and coordinating legal service delivery in specific practice areas or projects
• Contributing to legal expertise to the development and delivery of community legal education and training
• Participating in and leading rural, regional, and remote outreach trips across NSW
• Driving law reform, strategic litigation, and advocacy projects aligned with feminist, intersectional, and systemic change goals
• Upholding best practice standards in legal ethics, client care, and culturally safe, trauma-informed service delivery

You’ll be joining an organisation that values lived experience, intersectional feminism, and strong, respectful relationships with community. As a Senior Solicitor, your work will directly support women experiencing disadvantage and contribute to systemic change through strategic casework, legal reform, and advocacy. You will play a key role in shaping a more accessible, safe, and equitable legal system for women across NSW.

About us

Women’s Legal Service NSW advocates for an end to gender-based violence and for gender equity in Australia. As a state-wide specialist women’s legal service, we assist women and non-binary people across NSW to obtain legal advice and representation from our client centred, trauma informed, culturally safe, holistic legal practice to address women’s safety and economic security.

We use our experience gained from working with over one hundred thousand women and our expertise in a feminist analysis of social issues and the law to determine where we can make the most meaningful and impactful interventions that make positive change structurally and systemically. We have invested in the development of our specialist expertise to advocate for structural changes in legislation and policy through law reform and through the provision of education and training to our colleagues in the legal profession, the community services sector, and the community.

We advise and represent women in a range of practice areas including discrimination, employment, sexual harassment, family law, domestic/family and sexual violence, and compensation and victims support for victims of crime.

Senior Solicitor – Salary range 2025-2026

Women’s Legal seeks to close the gender pay gap by providing job and economic security with an Enterprise Agreement that pays above Award and provides generous leave provisions. You have the option to salary package which can add up to $15,900 in tax-free pay annually.

Grade 6 $125,491 – $139,405 per annum and salary packaging.

Women’s Legal considers being a woman is a genuine occupational qualification for this position under s. 31 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW).

Selection criteria

Selection criteria must be addressed for you to be considered for an interview.

Essential criteria

1. Commitment to Social Justice and Gender Equity. Demonstrated understanding of, and commitment to, social justice issues for women, particularly First Nations women, and women experiencing deep and persistent disadvantage (social, economic and cultural) and lack of access to legal services.

2. Qualifications. Admitted as a Solicitor in NSW with a current unrestricted NSW practising certificate.

3. Legal Ethics and Risk Management. Demonstrated understanding of legal practice obligations under the Legal Profession Uniform Law.

4. Legal Knowledge and Practice Areas. At least 5 years post-admission experience, including litigation and managing a range of complex legal matters and providing high-quality legal advice in either discrimination, employment, sexual harassment OR two of the following areas: family law, domestic/family and sexual violence, compensation and victims support for victims of crime.

5. Client-Centred and Trauma-Informed Legal Practice. Proven ability to work with clients facing disadvantage, trauma and legal complexity across diverse client groups and demonstrated experience in providing client-centred trauma-informed, culturally safe, legal advice, casework, and court/tribunal representation.

6. Legal Research and Analysis. Excellent legal research, analysis and drafting skills.

7. Communication and Interpersonal Skills. Excellent interpersonal, collaboration, negotiation, and written and verbal communication skills.

8. Technical & Systems Proficiency. Proficiency in Microsoft Office and legal practice management tools, (e.g. Actionstep) and data reporting.

9. Time Management and Organisational Skills. Excellent organisational, project management, and problem-solving skills with capacity to independently manage competing deadlines and priorities.

10. Law Reform and Advocacy Engagement. Proven ability to identify and lead law reform initiatives including strategic litigation.

11. Legal Education and Community Engagement. Ability to design, deliver and evaluate legal education and training spanning the range of Women’s Legal Service NSW practice areas.

12. Leadership and Mentoring. Strong mentoring skills.

Additional criteria

12. Pre-Employment Screening. Satisfactory Working with Children Check.

13. Willingness to Travel. Ability to travel in line with work commitments.

14. Professional Development. Commitment to ongoing professional development and compliance with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements.

Desirable criteria

15. Sector Experience. Experience in the legal assistance sector.

Being a woman is a genuine Occupational Qualification for the purposes of Women’s Legal Service NSW service provision (Section 31 Anti-Discrimination Act 1977).

For enquiries about the position contact Sharmilla Bargon, Legal Director Working Women’s Centre WLSNSW, at ProjectManagement@wlsnsw.org.au using the subject line: Senior Solicitor enquiry via ProBono.

A position description is attached.