Participant details
Hon. Jaclyn Symes
Jaclyn was appointed as Victoria’s Attorney-General in December 2020, tasked with delivering the Labor Government’s important reform agenda.
Jaclyn completed a Bachelor of Laws at Deakin University and was admitted to legal practice in Victoria in 2006. During her tertiary education, Jaclyn worked as a carer for people with intellectual disabilities. This job exposed her to the barriers to inclusion and restrictions on opportunity that those with a disability experience on a daily basis, and the importance of the Government putting in place the right policy settings to address their challenges.
After finishing university, to further her legal training Jaclyn became an Industrial Officer at the Australian Services Union before moving into government as an adviser to Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls. In 2010, she was appointed as Senior Legal and Justice Adviser to then-Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews.
In 2014, Jaclyn was elected Member for Northern Victoria, the area of the state she grew up in and where she is now raising her family. She has a passion for social justice and hard work and is focused on delivering a just and equitable justice system for all Victorians.
Jaclyn also serves as the Minister for Emergency Services and Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council.
Justice Greg Garde AO RFD
Justice Garde is a Reserve Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, capping a long and distinguished career in the law, starting in 1974. Beyond his career as a barrister and on the bench, Justice Garde has been highly influential in many aspects of our justice system.
He is Victoria’s longest serving President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, having held that post for six years and overseeing key reforms to support better access to justice.
He is currently Chair of the Law Library of Victoria Committee and the Supreme Court Library Committee; was a founding member of the Courts Council of Courts Services Victoria, and of the Judicial Commission of Victoria; as well as many other leadership roles. In addition to his work in the law, Justice Garde was a Major General in the Australian Army, serving till 2004 as Assistant Chief of the Defence Force (Reserves) and Head Reserve Policy. He has chaired the Foundation since October 2020.
Professor Nigel J. Balmer
As the inaugural VLF Research Director, Nigel led the development of the Research function at VLF including the Public Understanding of Law Survey (PULS).
He has been conducting empirical research for over twenty years and is an expert in the application of social science and modern quantitative methods to explore how the public understand and interact with the law.
Nigel’s research includes work on the role of law in everyday life; attitudes to justice; public experience of and response to legal issues; the interaction between legal and health problems; and design of legal services and legal aid. He is best known for his work on legal need surveys around the world, including recent guidance supporting global access to justice initiatives under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 16. Nigel is also Honorary Professor of Law and Social Statistics at University College London.
Fiona McLeay
Fiona was appointed Victorian Legal Services Commissioner and CEO of the Legal Services Board in January 2018. She was reappointed to the role for a second five-year term on 8 January 2023.Fiona is the former CEO of the access to justice organisation, Justice Connect, and has previously held a number of senior roles, including General Counsel and Company Secretary at World Vision Australia and Special Counsel at Clayton Utz.
Fiona has a BA (Hons) from the University of Melbourne majoring in psychology with honours in criminology, an LLB from the University of NSW and an LLM in public and international law from the University of Melbourne. She also has an LLM in public service law from the New York University Law School and has attended both the Harvard and Stanford Business Schools, where she completed the Stanford Executive Program in 2017.
Fiona is the Co-Chair of Equality Australia and the chair of the Australian Communities Foundation. She was the inaugural Deputy Chair of the Australian Not-for-Profit and Charities Commission Advisory Board for five years, was on the board of the Human Rights Law Centre from 2010to 2017 and the inaugural Board Chair of Health Justice Australia from 2016 until 2023.
